HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0176.147 2006-2008
JUL. 24.201 6:12PM CAST'_F & COOKE 1U.1~36
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7ulY 25, 2007
The F[onorable Pete Hoffman
Coutn~il Chair & Presiding Officer
Hawaii County Council
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, HI 96720
By fay:simile: (808) 961-8912
By Email: counciltestimony@ co-hawaii.hi.us
12E: OPPOSE Bill 51(DRAPT 4), Relating to Stormwater Management, SIJPPCIRT
Administration's Request to Hold Bill for Further Deliberation
Aloht. Chair Hoffman and Councilmembers,
I am Bruce Barrett, Executive Vice President of Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii, Inc. Castle &
Cooke strongly opposes Bi1151> Draft 4 and the Proposed Draft 5 because it will stop or
severely impede development of approved and future projects in Hawaii County, by adding
additional cost and time to the production and delivery of homes.
It is our understanding that Bill 51 was ori;
pally intended to be a "housekeeping" measure,
proposing revisions to the Hawaii County Code to ensure compliance with various Federal and
State :~gulations including those of the Federal Emergency Management Administration.
However, due to certain additional amendments, professional engineers, developers ar.d others
have described this bill as "extremely problematic; 'and have raised, among other things, the
follow+ing concems regarding Bi1151:
• Conflicts with existing laws and rules;
• Technical requirements based on ambiguous and undefined terms;
• Procedural inaccuracies;
• Arbitrary design standards 10 times more restrictive than EPA requirements; and
• Potentially detrimental impacts.
We do support the original intent of the bill, to ensure compliance with various Federal and State
regulations. We also support the administration's request to hold this bill for further
deliberafion. However, should the Council choose to act on Bi1151 iua its present form, we
wish t:o log our strong opposition to tbis bill, as it presents technical concems (as described
above) that will stop or impede the supply of new housing opportunities for residents and will
result in extensive additional development costs that aze ultimately passed on to home buyers.
We respectfully recommend that the Council take action to revise Bill S l back to the original
version proposed by the Hawaii County Department pf Public Works.
Thank you again for the opportunity to express our views on this important matter.
Cavde & Cooke Hawari consists of the Ha~vaz'i sufxddiarirs of Cantle & Cooke, Inc. which inchule
Casdc & Cooke Homes Haaaii, Inc., Castle & Cooke Pmpetties, Inc., Casde & C~ IteSlnlS, IJC~~hei
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Ref. Tp{~tMn/~
Ref. Date 2 5 X007