HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0176.012 2006-2008 Murashige, Laura
From: Tom Walton [twalton@povn.com] '
Sent: Wednesday, March 21, 2007 8:38 AM ~
To: counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us yti~~ 2~
Subject: Bill 51
t~~t~~ .
Aloha,
If the Planning Commission's decision on SMA 05-005 on Thursday is a demonstration of the
best management of the process, then the process has either been misinterpreted or the
process itself is severely flawed. To allow the channelization of a flood zone without
requiring an environmental impact statement is beyond my comprehension. Who is responsible
when the rain comes and the flood comes? At the meeting on Thursday Chris Yuen assured the
commission that they weren't liable for decisions they made.
David Bills, the "drainage engineer" says that they are only responsible to make sure that
the development doesn't add any more water to the flood zone and was quite cavalier about
the ease with which this could be done. Geez I wish I was that smart. I would have had to
at least drill a few test holes to find out if the ground was actually permeable enough to
absorb all of the water that is currently dissipated over the 10 acres the flood zone now
covers.
- Greg Moores, the land use consultant, explained that it was impossible to determine the
impact that this development alone would have on the flood zone, restating that they are
only responsible to make sure that the development doesn't add any more water to the flood
zone and couldn't determine the collective effect of all of the new developments in the
flood zone.
Again I'm just a layman but wouldn't it make sense to have an EIS done for the entire
flood zone before allowing any alteration or development? After all the issue is not "who
do we sue" as much as will all of the development collectively cause there to be more
damage than if we just let Mother Nature do her best, after all she's the one who controls
how much water will come gushing down the hill.
Speaking of water gushing down the hill, should we not take a close look at what will
happen when the new mauka-makai connector which runs vertically downhill becomes a water
Slide? Wouldn't it make more sense to just complete the Alii Parkway to Kuakini? It would
cross the property horizontally and allow use of both splits of the Waiaha floodway to
shed the water. It would intersect Kuakini on a straight section rather than a curve with
limited sight distance.
I am also curious about what it costs developers to get the permitting required for a
project of this size. Not including the commercial development the "Kona Sea Crest"
project will be 289 units as proposed.
Developers in California pay as much as $2500.00 per unit for building permits. This is
for reference only, I'm sure the county understands the value of these permits as well as
sewer attachment fees.
Comm. No. l ,
Ref. To:
1 Ref. Date 1~0 -
There is also the matter of building inspections. It is my understanding that the county
has only a few inspectors. There are a number of private companies which the county could
use as contracted help, but there is absolutely no sane reason for allowing occupancy
without an inspection.
Residents at Alii Cove, another Sunstone development, were forced to vacate their new
homes when a private inspection done by the home owners association revealed that there
were no fire breaks in the walls, and they had to remove the drywall to correct this
omission. Every unit must be inspected. If the developer can't wait for a county
inspector to get to his units then there should be an option for him to get a private home
inspector to certify the unit, but certainly the county shouldn't issue a certificate of
occupancy without knowing that the structure is built to code. Oh..we do have codes right?
I guess my point is that if that county wants some control over how the island looks in
the future then maybe we need a moratorium on new permits until we can catch our breath
and take a good look at what has already happened, because it's clearly out of control.
Allow the Kona Community Development Plan to mature and become our guide for cultural
preservation and social and economic growth.
Mahalo,
Tom Walton
"Reality is merely an illusion, albeit a persistent one." Albert Einstein
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