HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0176.099 2006-2008
05/31/2007 PHU 17:36 FAX 808 929 7009 Kuahiwi ContracLOrs Inc. j90n1
Michelle Galimba ~JU7 fili''~ 3;! fi!9 `f':
Kuahiwi Contractors, Inc.
PO Box 294 ~
Na'alehuHI96772 `~~.~~'r;l
Tel: 808 938 7899
May 30, 2007
Honorable Council-members:
I am a rancher and paniola born and raised in South Kona anLl Ka u. I. am
also a Director on the board of the Ka'u Soil and Water Conse•rvatirH:.
District. In both capacities, I would like to express strong ophositinr. It F31:
51, draft 3.
This bill proposes measures which are heavy-handed, impracticable, <in:
short-sighted.
Compliance with this bill would cause disruption of the hydrulogi~;al ~;,clE,
damage the environment, hurt the agricultural economy of the isla c Li. li r:1.
potentially put lives in danger.
Depending on how these measures are interpreted, the provisions in r ti,. frill
could well make agricultural "development," such as tilling fields, i*IS1:11iril;
fences, clearing land of invasive species, or the construction c. F far ci
facilities economically unfeasible. This will have a devastatingly ru°;,~~:
effect upon agricultural operations. Such extreme requirements u is l ~ L>o
discourage farmers and ranchers from working with the consc+rvatdo:n
districts, since compliance will have such a negative economic imp;aca; ,.l ~a
their businesses. This unintended, but very real, by-product of this }r oo:,ed
legislation cannot be underestimated, and will hurt overall conser~u:iun
efforts.
Requiring retention of base-floods across the board, throughatrt the i8i anel,
will be costly, unsightly, ecologically unwise, and potentially ~.ian,;~r ~u~,
Compliance will require building enormous earth and concrete str.I r,;. r.n
steeply sloping lands. The standing pools of water that will result ii,i ~n phi,:
measure will be breeding grounds for mosquitoes and will geilerali;;
Comm. No.'~~•~~
Ref. To~~•le-~d'
Ref. Date
'(1] D I I i.
05/31/2007 THO 17:37 FAX 808 929 7009 Kuahiwi Contractors Inc.
health and safety hazard. Retaining all rainwater onsite w i i l ha ~ I: a n
adverse effect on stream and river eco-systems and the lancl~cape's i-.Iru.:~.l
systems for discharging water. Also, infiltration basins on itre shlrl~~ b:il:l;
suggested may be an unsound solution - a 100 year flood li ke the rite .lsri
inundated the area between Pahala and Kapapala, in Ka'u, could ci ~ ll
destroy whatever structures had been constructed to retain ~a-ater, ?'~~c~~ E I:I^
unleashing a wall of water downstream, such as happened za Kalai<:n nrl
Kauai.
Additionally, the proposed changes to the building code will finer; .a;: Il
already high cost of housing on this island, and make affordable L'u: I::,~. +
even more scarce.
I am not entirely sure what the council is attempting to achieve wir.:+ t.Ii:;
legislation which would negatively impact so many. I understand tlra
certain properties in Kona are being damaged by ill-planned devel ri::rn:~, It
above them. I sympathize with the council's desire to assist with tl l I' 1 i r:
oftheseproperty-owners, however this bill does not addres,•. their rya I; i.: ~r ,
and imposes a cure that is worse than the disease. I would sugge~ t i t tl E
best thing the county could do in this bill is to focus on being; in c^~nr,~. ;+:uac:
with NFIP, so that if a flood should harm these properties their ov; r,~:~rr ~-~-ill
have some recourse to this program. The broader question laf flocaa • Lc Ir.r
planning and problem-solving should be addressed from the groans'. nl+ v~ith
input from diverse sources rather than imposing a solution upon phi:; `.aa.nd
community in a top-down fashion, as this bill as it presently stand.:, s: ,rn ; to
do. Considerable design latitude needs to be incorporated into flo{:nI h~ir.f:r
legislation so that site-specific problems and resources can be ad+.i° es c..a
effectively as possible.
Sincerely,