HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0056.031 2006-2008 Page 1 of 1
Murashige, Laura
From: Rob Tucker [castleb@aloha.net]
Sent: Thursday, January 18, 2007 12:45 PM
To: counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us
Subject: testimony Council Bill 220 & 221
Attachments: Bill 220 testimony Jan 19th 2007.pdf
Gi
4,. a
C~
m
'.1
Comm. D(a_ S`•
Ref. To: Pr
Ref. Uate 20U~
1 /19/2007
~ 6
am
Box 1189. Pahoa, HI 96778
Jan. 18, 2007
Re: Hawaii County Council Bills 220 & 221
Aloha Hawaii County Council members,
I am president of Mainstreet Pahoa Association and have presented oral and written
testimony to the planning commission and the council on this rezoning effprt
previously.
What I would like to add at this time is that I was approached by the rezoning
applicant, Tim Gardner and his corporate backer, last year seeking support from
Mainstreet Pahoa Association for the rezoning presently under your consideration.
Mr. Gardner represented that the self storage would be a good neighbor and that with
so few car visits the traffic safety concerns were minimal. I had to respond that if their
traffic flow was so small I could still see no justification for the additional expense of a
Hwy. 130 high traffic location and the resulting legal precedent.
I asked Mr. Gardner why a Hwy. 130 access was so important and was told that the
self-storage facility required maximum visibility from the highway.
My response was on two points:
1) Everyone, rich and poor, had to travel to the Pahoa transfer station and the
visibility there, for their expressed purpose was equal to or exceeding that of Hwy.
130.
2) That there was a self storage facility in HPP at 13th and Kololi which was extremely
busy without any highway visibility.
The highway visibilty issue did not make sense.
At that time I informed Mr. Gardner that Mainstreet Pahoa sees a need for self-storage
would welcome a facility in Pahoa but not on any Hwy. 130 location. To good
purpose I suggested that there were locations within Pahoa Village which we would
actively support rezoning and that they might even be less expensive property. I
directed their attention to any location on Pahoa Village Road and to vacant land on
the Transfer Station Rd.
I could get no apparent appreciation from Mr. Gardner on these points. It occurred to
me then that there might be some other purpose at hand for this controversial
rezoning. Perhaps the intent was actually something other than a self storage facility.
Or perhaps the proposed rezoning would set a precedent for rezoning other
properties they had invested in. I have no way to know.
In conclusion I want to make clear that Mainstreet Pahoa Association is not against
growth or self storage facilities per se. We are against random unplanned
commercial uses which would set legal precedent and encourage more such
unplanned development.
Mr. Gardner's interests could be well served in other nearby locations and might even
be less costly to develop. For instance, on Pahoa Village Rd. the applicant would
likely not need to dedicate $200,000 for traffic improvements. He is only limited in his
opportunites for self storage by his committment to only one inappropriate location.
Mainstreet Pahoa Assoc. opposes Bill 200 and Bill 221 for these reasons and others.
We have been consistant in our approach to all such rezonings.
Mahalo,
Rob Tucker, president
Mainstreet Pahoa Assoc.
P.O. Box 1189
Pahoa, HI 96778
808-965-1555