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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-06-02 Windward Exh A (Public Testimony re Item 1 Bath PL-SPP-2022-000010) WINDWARD PLANNING COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAI`I TESTIMONY TRANSCRIPT JUNE 2, 2022 Public testimony regarding the application of STEPHANIE BATH (PL-SPP-2022-000010) was called to order at 9:06 a.m. in the County of Hawaii Aupuni Center Conference Room, 101 Pauahi Street, Hilo, Hawaii with Vice-Chair Michelle Galimba presiding. COMMISSIONERS IN ATTENDANCE: Michelle Galimba, Gilbert Aguinaldo, Lauren Balog, Louis Daniele III, and Dennis Lin ABSENT AND EXCUSED: Wayne De Luz ALSO IN ATTENDANCE: Dakota(Cody) Frenz Esq. (Counsel for the Commission), Jean Campbell, Esq. (Counsel for the Planning Department), Zendo Kern (Planning Director), Christian Kay (Planner), Jessica Andrews (Planner), Tracie-Lee Camero (Planner), Clinton Mercado (Planner), and Melissa Dacayanan-Salvador (Windward Planning Commission Secretary) APPLICANT: STEPHANIE BATH (PL-SPP-2022-000010) Application for a Special Permit to allow a home occupation for a massage therapy establishment on a 3.0-acre property in the State Land Use Agricultural District. The subject property is located at 16-2059 Moho Road, approximately 0.37 miles from its intersection with Ale Road, Hawaiian Acres, Kea`au, Puna, Hawaii, TMK: (3) 1-6-045:007. Secretary's Note: "—" indicates that there were technical and/or internet difficulties, which made the conversation inaudible. GALIMBA: So, let's start with the in-person, Amanda Crandell. To all testifiers,please try to summarize your testimony within three (3) minutes and not be repetitive. If you have submitted written testimony,please do not simply reread it but supplement or update your written testimony. Staff will notify you at one minute left and when 3 minutes are up. After your testimony, the Commissioners may have questions for you. Please raise your right hand. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth in this matter now before the Planning Commission? CRANDELL: Yes, I do. GALIMBA: Please begin your testimony with your name and the town you live in and speak clearly into the microphone. CRANDELL: My name is Amanda Crandell and I live in Kurtistown, Hawaii. I'm also an Advanced Practice Registered Nurse, a Nurse Practitioner and I work in primary care in the Puna area. I've been asked by Ms. Bath to share my experiences with you and also my testimony. It's 1 EXHIBIT A my pleasure to support her in what she's trying to do to bring support to primary care in East Hawaii. I'm a little bit nervous. I apologize. I'm fairly new in the community. I've practiced here for almost a year. When I arrived on island, I was very struck by the fact that there's a dearth of primary care here. There's a real need for support especially on our side of the island for primary care issues. I found an average wait time to establish primary care in our community to be about four(4)to six (6)months just even to establish care. I've noticed that a lot of people are having difficulty keeping Primary Care providers because they don't stay on island very long. So, it goes without saying that robust primary care is very important to the health and wellness of any community. Considering all the unique challenges that we have in our area in our community to provide good quality primary care support. I'm grateful for the services that Ms. Bath provides as a licensed massage therapist. I feel that the work that she's doing to expand health and wellness support on our island is extremely important. I admire and wholeheartedly support the vision that Ms. Bath has for providing needed health care support to our community members through her massage therapy treatment center. FRENZ: One minute Ms. Crandell. CRANDELL: Thank you. So, as a primary care provider actively practicing in Puna, I feel it's essential to have trusted capable professionals such as Ms. Bath to refer my patients to for support and treatment of various ailments and injuries. The work that Ms. Bath does through her massage therapy practice is vital to supporting wellness in Puna and surrounding areas. Massage therapy is one of the non-pharmacological approaches to the treatment of chronic pain, musculoskeletal ailments and injuries, and rehabilitation that have proven clinical benefits. The American College of Physician Guidelines for primary care specifically recommend such approaches to be considered in the treatment of many commonly seen clinical cases. In my own personal practice, I often refer and write orders for massage therapy. FRENZ: Please wrap up Ms. Crandell. CRANDELL: Okay, according to the American Massage Therapy Association 73% of patients who receive massage do so as part of a medical treatment plan ordered by a doctor or other healthcare provider. This statistic reflects the fact that massage therapy such as the services planned by Ms. Bath for her new treatment facility is an integral part of health and wellness in a community. I urge you to facilitate her practice by granting her any necessary permissions to operate her business in Hawaii. Thank you very much for the time. GALIMBA: Commissioners do you have any questions for Ms. Crandell? Thank you very much. The public testimony ended at 9:11 a.m. The public testimony was reopened for testifiers by Vice Chair Galimba at 10:30 a.m. 2 EXHIBIT A GALIMBA: I'd like to call this meeting back into session and I will be reopening for testifiers. I'd like to call the first 2 testifiers up Mark Bath and Felis Garza. Please come up to the table here. Please try to summarize your testimony within 3 minutes and not be repetitive. If you have submitted written testimony, please do not simply reread it but supplement or update your written testimony. Staff will notify you at one minute left and when 3 minutes is up. After your testimony the Commissioners may have questions for you. Okay, can you please raise your right hand. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Planning Commission? M. BATH: I do. GARZA: I do. GALIMBA: Please begin your testimony with your name and the town you live in and speak clearly into the microphone. Mark you can start first. M. BATH: My name is Mark Bath and I live in Hawaiian Acres that's Kurtistown. This is affecting my business. I raise livestock, I run cattle and sheep and raise poultry. I've been told multiple times that our livestock are affecting people's businesses and it's kind of hard to do what the Ag land says you're supposed to do, and I know that they say that there's Right to Farm Laws. But my right to farm laws are in violation because of guardian dogs being teased, people laying on their horns, extra traffic that we do not need. Our roads suck! We need to have people that are more educated about agriculture land and livestock and to understand what they are doing to hurt us in our businesses. It's kind of hard to do what we need to do by law if we keep getting harassed. And I have had death threats from the neighbors because we share the same last name and other people do not want this thing here. So, they go after me. So, I'm not too sure what point I should do. Cops don't do anything because it's a family matter. So, I guess that's all I can say for now. GALIMBA: Thank you for your testimony. Commissioners do you have any questions? Felis would you like to testify? GARZA: Hi, my name is Felis Garza. I'm a neighbor. My main complaint is the traffic and people honking the horns. I own a cow, I bought, it was rescue cow. It was tied to a tree where it was all post with a rope. She broke loose off her rope when the horn was blaring. She ran into a pasture and was not saved for a couple days. She was timid and frightened not the same cow I had. It took me 8 months to calm the cow down, to get her to come to me or I could come to her and once this incident happened the cow wasn't"—" for a couple of days. It wouldn't come to me; I couldn't walk it to a tree to tie it to. It had to run free for a couple of days. It would not come to me like it has. That's my testimony. GALIMBA: Thank you. Commissioners any questions for this testifier? Thank you very much. I'd like to the next testifier, Philip Bath. Can you please raise your right hand? Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Planning Commission? P. BATH: I do, so help me God. 3 EXHIBIT A GALIMBA: Please begin your testimony with your name and the town you live in and speak clearly into the microphone. P. BATH: My name is Philip Bath. I live in Hawaiian Acres or Kurtistown, I guess. I've been there 40 years and I've had to sell my home due to their harassment over the past years and I have a commercial pig farm on the other side of them. I've got a letter from the Planning Department and Soil and Water Conservation considered it the first pollution-free pig farm in the State of Hawaii because there's no lagoon. It's all composted out. The permit is for over 200 pigs, and I've sold to Sack n Save before they went out of business, Foodland in Kea`au, excuse me that was Sure Save that went out of business. Foodland in Kea`au, Malama Market in Pahoa and Sack n Save. So, I am a commercial pig farm and got my first animals in 83' and the piggery is maybe 200 to 250 feet from her house. You know that livestock has some smell, it is Ag property, it's like I say it's been there for years. She's complained over and over again about animals because she doesn't like us killing and eating meat being vegetarians they are and so I've had problems with them for years. They are family but it's Ag property. The road is unpaved from the corner in and the more traffic we get the worse the road gets, and they don't really work on that road very much at all. Occasionally someone will do a little something, but the road is fairly bad. You've got to kind of work your way around the rocks and the pits to get a car in there and the more traffic that's brought in the worse the road is going to be. I think a business like this would be better in town and in a commercial property. At a hotel that would let them do such a thing or anywhere but in an Ag property. I would hate to see, `Ainaloa is quarter acre Ag, they are not bothering `Ainaloa. She calls it Residential Ag and has tried to get it rezoned several times. I would like to see the Right to Farm Law supported and continue it to be Ag property with Ag uses. Thank you for your time. GALIMBA: Thank you very testimony. Commissioners any questions for our testifiers? Thank you. The public testimony ended at 10:39 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Melissa Dacayanan-Salvador, Secretary Windward Planning Commission 4 EXHIBIT A