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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPL-SPP-2022-000016 E. Utyro Testimony 01.03.23 From: edward utyro To: WPCtestimony Cc: Edward Utyro ICE;aardentemole22Cayahoo.com;Gary Hauler Subject: Special Use Permit for PL-SPP-2022-000016 Date: Tuesday,January 3,2023 11:06:55 AM Attachments: SUP Resoonse.odf SUP Resoonse.docx Aloha ***PLEASE COnfirm Timely Receipt*** I am submitting the following for myself. Other neighbors with similar concerns may have sent earlier versions. This contains my final version as I am pretty much sole author. As noted early in my comments many people we spoke to don't believe the sign that was posted on the Red Road long enough-even one person who live really close never saw it. At least one believes it was temporarily removed in recent weeks. You are only going to see the tip of the iceberg of community concern because many of us just learned of this in the last few days. I really hope the spirit of our intentions don't get lost in the details and mechanics but we just don't have confidence that this is being fully and properly evaluated by the planning department It just maybe the application somewhat avoided important things happening on Lolia place and thus PD didn't address them, so we are now asking you to address some critical issues that seem to have been ignored. you may have answers and we look forward to hearing them, but then there are other issues concerning the applicant that would still need to be considered. I am attaching a Word version and a pdf version for your convenience. Ed Utyro This is on behalf of me and Gary Hauler Ed Utyro& Gary Hauler (808-987-6933) 13-6519 Kalapana-Kapoho Beach Road Date: January 2, 2023 To: Hawai'i County Planning Department and Windward Planning Commission From: Neighbors of Special Permit Application PL-SPP-2022-000016 Re: Written Testimony for January 6th Planning Commission Meeting it APPLICANT:ROBERT J.SILBER(PL-SPP-2022-000016) Application for a Special Permit to legitimize the operation of a holistic education center on approximately 8.134 acres of land in the State Land Use Agricultural District.The subject property is located at 13-2060 Lolia Place,approximately 0.3 miles northwest(mauka) of its intersection with Kalapana-Kapoho Beach Road,Pohoiki,Puna,Hawaii,TMK: (3) 1-3-002:140." Community Recommendations to the Planning Commission Introduction and Summary: The public Notice identifies subject property as in Pohoiki but shouldn't be like Opihikao. This and misplacement of the public notice signage (behind the gate) have significantly and detrimentally limited the public's information on these matters. While some extension was granted it was over the holiday period. Furthermore PD has amended its report on 1213012022 without Public Notice and has extended the period for compliance for certain recognized violations from 6 months to 12 months. Meanwhile we believe the vast majority of the community near subject TMK believes no further extension is warranted. Due to recent events involving an overnight 1213112022 "Slumber Party"at subject property, some members of the community now have a heightened interest in this permit not proceeding and now seek additional time to make the full merits of their opposition known. We begin by highlighting a main concern not addressed in the application and in the County response. We found the application and much of the PD's report almost unrecognizable to our understanding of this business. The application does not address the central element of the business as per the website: lttps://www.hawaiiecoretreat.com/communityagreements, here are some highlights about what this place is about: Sex-Positive Embody, explore and express our sexual energy in a way that feels safe and consensual for yourself and others. Release the shame surrounding sexual energy by being transparent about your desires. Support all in consensual sexuality for 18+ adults. Take responsibility for your sexual choices and affirm your agency in making choices... Body Positivity. Embrace the natural human body through a clothing optional environment (bottoms must be worn in kitchen and dining lanai). Nudity is not a sexual invitation. Personal Self-Responsibility Take responsibility for your choice to be here, for your words and actions. Ask for a pause, a stop and state boundaries where necessary. When a breach of community agreements comes to your attention, take empowered action to make amends. Tantra Festivals also have been a major recurring event at the subject TMK. We have screenshots with Robert making claims of 100 participants in his Conscious Sensuality Temple Night. These words above and large events seem to be lot a more about what the neighbors and community understand and believes is at the heart of the business seeking a Special Use permit. As such, on these grounds alone the whole process should be rejected or restarted at a minimum. The elephant in the room regarding sex and nudity must be fully addressed by the County to the satisfaction of the community. The PD report does not address sex or nudity or the role of that in the business of the subject application. Such an omission of this magnitude requires a complete reassessment by PD. If its PD's position it has all ended, we ask how did they conclude this and why is it still being marketed as such? While we understand PD has limited resources, we are unclear why so many important things have not been addressed and others have not been thoroughly addressed. Were they rushed? As neighbors and community members we are those mostly impacted by the proposed "holistic education" center, we acknowledge eco-tourism as important to our environment and to the economic health of our communities. That said: 1) we don't believe that proposed "holistic education" and agricultural activities will represent even 25% of the revenue for this operation given the primary revenue sources are most likely and will most likely continue to be lodging & food services (ie that potion of food-related service not related to the agricultural products grown on the property). No meaningful quantitative effort has been provided to support any of the claims, particularly the economic claims, of the applicant. The County cannot and should not give preference to this operation over that of B&B's, vacation rentals and other tourism related activities without a very clear and compelling reason. The predecessor at this TMK, Lolia Eco Village, regularly offered monthly rentals of units. It seems this was done without an STVR and potentially even long term. How will that be stopped? Can nudity be imposed on people seeking rental housing? PL-SPP-2022-000016 fails the test of rigor of its economic claims in many regards but what is noteworthy is Kalani arguably neighbors it and may be even further distressed if this permit is granted. There was no analysis of the negative impacts on such similar operations, the costs of furnishing Medicaid and Food stamps and other public assistance benefits to "volunteers." The 75% of revenue generated will in effect support a bad neighbor, a bad community member and an entity not deserving of the various inherent and significant economic benefits that come with a Special Use Permit. Please note we don't think there is an established precedent for Tantra and Conscious Sensuality to be recognized by the state or County as truly eco-tourism or "holistic education" but would be happy to know if its PD's position if that is the case. 2) We are, and we believe the vast majority of the Red Road community, is concerned that many of the illegal and bothersome historical (during ownership of the applicant) uses of the property (many documented) will continue after the issuance of a Special Use permit but on a larger scale. Given that the Applicant has been the central figure in those operations, and has not fully represented the nature of all historical activities and is largely concealing those historical activities in his application, we do not believe this application should proceed and especially not without significant County investigation as to whether the activities on the property conform to various laws governing public sex and nudity. While some neighbors have no objection to nudity under certain circumstances, it is absolutely necessary that the County address the issues of public sexual contact and nudity to the satisfaction of the community as there are serious concerns as this relates to cultural appropriateness and whether this is truly something envisioned in eco- tourism. Given the applicant's expertise and history we find it impossible to believe that he would operate in a manner contrary to how he has historically. We hope the Planning Commission will carefully consider that. We REJECT the idea that most of what is requested is an "unusual use" or somehow merits a Special Use Permit. We recognize that Tantric Festivals ( as the one hosted are arguably an "unusual use' but is it really within the Planning Commissions intentions to create such precedent without a much broader public dialogue? While we applaud the County's effort to create approval conditions to safeguard the safety and health of visitors, residents and the environment, we are very concerned that the County has largely been deceived by the applicant and is falling far short in scope of the necessary restrictions in many areas. We would like the Planning Commission in order of preference to: 1) reject this application recognizing a later application is allowable 2) if not outright reject this application, require a new resubmission that fully addresses community concerns about a. use and treatment of volunteers b. the true extent of the "economic benefits" c. the potential for sexual exploitation d. public sexual activity on the property e. whether the additional identified uses not included in the PD report truly merit a Special Use Permit or is the applicant willing to cease certain activities that don't deserve the aegis of a Special Use Permit consider the following Community Recommendations, which are submitted as a Supplement to the Planning Department Recommendations, and for consideration in the Commission's final decision. 3) If the Commission decides to ignore the community and proceed to grant this as propsoed by PD, it must create i) various mechanisms of inspection with no- notice access, ii) public reporting of those inspections as well as iii) enforcement capabilities and NOT dump the problems solely on the community. These inspections must address: a. Extent of lodging, F&B activities, agricultural production activities, building & related systems(water, sewage, power), vs permits. The Special use Permit should not be somehow construed to do an end-round any existing regulatory frameworks for anything related to housing, lodging and food. b. Extent of public events vs existing permits c. Compliance with laws for public nudity and public sexual acts d. Clearly defined materials providing information to Volunteers to get independent and private access of to appropriate and specified government resources to address any concerns they may have about i) working conditions ii) living conditions and iii) any acts of coercion, even suggestions, to be naked or otherwise participate in any activity involving sexual contact or intimacy. HER seems to be playing with fire of a sexual nature. We don't see licensed psychological or health professionals managing any of this. We don't see scientifically peer reviewed papers supporting Robert's various theories. Importantly PD has not addressed any of this. There is no input from Tourism authorities on Tantra as bonafied eco-tourism that the state supports or Department of Health. And while generically some may call this wellness, clearly for some, as we document below, some very disturbing incidents have occurred, and at times it seems it is the opposite of wellness and as such does not meet the burdens of earning a Special Use Permit. Community objections to the PD report, recommendations and limited role of PD taking concrete measures in insuring a reasonable impact on neighbors and the County: 1) Total omission of the central elements of this business mentioned above. While lodging and food services are responsible for much of the revenue, if you look at the HER website you clearly see the marketing drivers are related to this clothing optional community concept. 2) Failure to provide information as to an examination of other types of potentially suitable agricultural uses. see p. 4 discussion on soil types. A simple general soil analysis hardly speaks to the possibilities related to green houses, particular specimens that might do well in that soil type and many other possibilities. No expert analysis was furnished. Frankly most AG land lots are not suitable for real agricultural use just based on the economics of small lots. But the solution isn't anything goes. 3) The report does not make constructive recommendations that are enforceable: eg a limitation on the number of guest nights stayed per annum or the number of day visitor guests whether annually or monthly, the maximum number of resident staff and volunteers, etc. The report doesn't make any public reporting requirements regarding taxes paid like GE and TAT and headcounts. 4) The report just seems to adopt what we speculate to be the consultant's recommendations despite other agency objections and the report does so with almost no technical explanation or meaningful justification. 5) As to" B) Desired Use..." on p5. The commission will hear more from other neighbors but there have been loud events (using large loudspeakers) at the subject TMK and no one believes that will stop. In one instance someone personally familiar with an occurrence of such loud sound said it was like someone was sexually moaning over a loud speaker for a prolonged period of time and it was so loud it could be heard over 500 feet away. In fact, we believe there will be more loud events if the Applicant is given the protection of this permit. 6) As to "C) shall not burden public agencies..." There is no specific mention of any Public Health Authorities in the report as it may relate to nudity and public sex and possibly orgiastic type behavior. If PD investigates, neighbors report that it will likely find things that should concern such authorities. Whether its COVID, MonkeyPox or STDs, there seems to be a public interest. 7) As to "C) shall not burden public agencies.." Many in the community require all the noted violations be cleaned up in advance of the permit. The notion that the Applicant can continue to compound violations under the aegis of the Special Use Permit is not acceptable. The simple reason is many do not trust the applicant in any of his various promises. He will just keep growing the business. He emailed some of us neighbors a couple days ago regarding his New Years' "Slumber" party (yes 12/31/2022-just days before the Commission hearing) and we believe he represented falsely that this was a private party for his friends when in fact it was publicly advertised in multiple places at a cost up to like $80 including meals and some communal lodging. Some neighbors have characterized him as lying to their faces about things taking place at subject property. Its difficult for the community to imagine taking his word over the community's after so many violations for so many years which he has avoided accountability for be constantly extending his appeals for years. Arguably he has already burdened public agencies in several ways (violations, dragged out appeals, refusals for inspections) and will only continue to do so as many in the community are determined to resist this application on every front allowable by the county. It also does not remain at all clear whether the proposal is actually viable. There is no report by an engineer and no clear sense that the applicant has the means to make it happen. 8) As to "D) Unusual conditions..." "Alternative health and Wellness" is no longer a niche thing. Frankly the zoning rules should be adjusted. Kalani has been around for decades and this trend will grow and grow and the County needs a workable mechanism that is fair to all parties. This shouldn't be left as a battle to each small community. Soon the Hotel industry will see that people are using these special use permits as a workaround to union employees and full employee benefits. There is really not much to support this claim by the applicant that much is unusual here, at least here in beautiful Hawaii, and that special accommodation should be made with respect the various rules hotels have to abide by EXCEPT being able to locate on agriculturally zoned land. Other specific uses may require special consideration but the substance of what is requested in the application suggests no special accommodation is really needed except being on agricultural land but as it is proposed the applicant gets away with many things that many other people want to do with vacation rentals but cannot. The HER Facebook Page (FB) currently says it is providing short term and long-term housing-"in a community setting"-which means you can have housing if you agree to various community guidelines than don't quite seem legally permissible in terms of housing requirements as it effectively prohibits housing to people of religious beliefs contrary to the "community' standards. But how is that permissible for even 1 more day? Maybe we missed it, but we don't see any approvals for multi-unit residential housing much less the PD addressing this concern that people of certain religious beliefs could be denied housing if they for example don't like the nudity. While the HER community standards may provide certain protections for people who identify as a group, can long term rentals and also employees be denied protection under §712-1217 Open lewdness. (1) A person commits the offense of open lewdness if in a public place the person does any lewd act which is likely to be observed by others who would be affronted or alarmed.(2) Open lewdness is a petty misdemeanor or§707-734 Indecent exposure. (1) A person commits the offense of indecent exposure if, the person intentionally exposes the person's genitals to a person to whom the person is not married under circumstances in which the actor's conduct is likely to cause affront.(2) Indecent exposure is a petty misdemeanor. Again the public has a right to know where these concerns fall. 9) On p9 of the PD report, under G PD says "the approval of subject request" would support the "Land Use Element" and the 1 st bullet says ".. in keeping with the social, cultural and physical elements of the county.' They have done so without addressing any of the issues we have highlighted above relating sex and nudity. How did they conclude this? And why haven't they addressed it in writing? 10)On p9 of the PD report, under G PD says "the approval of subject request" would support the "Economic Element". It is very unclear how the PD came to such a conclusion. Fundamental questions need to be addressed. How will the wages and benefits compare to existing similar industries like the hotel and vacation rental industries? What on the job education will be provided to volunteers? What are the county's cost for the volunteers with respect to government financial assistance? Etc etc. but the PD report doesn't support its claim. Rather there is a good case to be made that this is detrimental to the economic element. The opportunity for exploitation of "volunteers" is well-known in Puna. We believe the Commission must be aware of reported incidents in Puna of volunteers being taken advantage of. To be clear this isn't an accusation but a comment on the economic merits of such a micro-ecosystem that arguably bears resemblance to some common cult features. I stress while I am not claiming it is a cult there are troubling aspects as outlined in the volunteer agreements and also claims by persons https://www.tripadvisor.com/ShowUserReviews-g60603-d 16648108- r684239743-Lolia Eco village-Pahoa Island of Hawaii Hawaii.html .Has PD read the Volunteer Agreement? What is their assessment? https://www.hawaiiecoretreat.com/volunteer-agreement We encourage the Commission to carefully read it. Here are just a few concerning elements: • The Volunteer Agreement is not a rental contract. The Volunteer is not a tenant nor an employee and explicitly waives any and all rights that a tenant or employee would have. • The volunteer will not disclose information about their Volunteer Agreement with any other person. • If a Volunteer does not complete their work hours or does not act in accord with the Volunteer Agreement or Community Agreements,Hawaii Eco Retreat management may choose to dismiss the volunteer from their position,which would also end the volunteer's residency at Hawaii Eco Retreat. It is at the discretion of Hawaii Eco Retreat management whether or not to allow the person to continue as a renter or guest at Hawaii Eco Retreat. • If the Volunteer breaks their volunteer agreement or community agreement,Hawaii Eco Retreat staff have the right to inspect the volunteers sleeping space. Why the secrecy? Are such searches meriting preferential public treatment for this permit? Is it really a great economic prospect that people can be searched and evicted with no notice? What about Housing laws concerning eviction? Has PD given any thought to ADA? Fine if they did but we don't see it. And what happens when and employee is no longer like-minded and in agreement with the nudity and sexual values of subject property? Are they forced to just quit? Has PD gone to the appropriate County attorneys for consultation in these regards? If so, fine but there is a keen public interest that needs to be addressed. 11) P. 12 and following of the PD report as to desired restrictions which are wholly insufficient at this time. Many corrections of violations need to occur before any serious consideration. How can the community be assured that violations won't be allowed for decades? Other neighbors will address the various inadequacies and the Commission should take it all very seriously because what PD has proposed isn't workable and far too much relies on good faith in the applicant that simply doesn't exist for many and likely most in the community. Others will submit testimony as to good faith. 12)The subject property is listed for sale. The PD makes no mention of this. The public doesn't know if this is an active or inactive listing but this matters a lot. While the situation is not good now we are not naive enough to believe it cannot be worse. But what we believe is especially relevant for PD and the Commission aside from the neighbor concerns as to a possible transfer is whether the applicants claims of economic hardship for not dealing with violations have any merit. The property is offered for$2 million We have reserved this final section for the Planning Commission to carefully weigh who we have been dealing with and with whom you are considering handing this special permit too. There is no better place to start than with his words. We believe the HER website gives some insight and we have provided some snippets above but arguably they may not be directly from the applicant personally but still clearly represent HER's administration. We shared the Tripadvisor review which is troubling but now we present Robert's firsthand views that we believe infuse his community. youtu.be www.youtube.com/watch?v=Fn69UQpz39U This requires a little bit of patience but many parts will likely raise at least eyebrows for many people. youtu.be It gets really interesting at 2:15. http://conscioussensuality.com/about/founder/ hfp://conscioussensuality.com/conscious-sensuality-robert-silber/ While many of his claims may have some or even significant merit, the question is do all those claims around sex actually have merit but he does not offer a scientific defense (perhaps we missed in some materials somewhere) but we just haven't had enough time to properly explore his body of work but believe the County should have some concerns that have not been addressed. Certainly some of his views on sex are strongly contrary to various beliefs held in Hawaii and also arguably anything that the Special Use Permit structure contemplates. But that is potentially irrelevant and particularly so if he does not act on it as Robert is entitled to believe what he wants and largely personally act as he chooses as long as doesn't break the law or harm others. We are not trying to argue he is evil or anything, but what if he is well intended but seriously misguided on these sex issues. Is he selling the equivalent of hydroxycloroquine to COVID suffers? Is this really wellness? Should the County facilitate this with a Special Use permit? Another question is whether he is willing to impose any of such beliefs on others. Arguably there are elements of the HER community agreements and volunteer agreements or housing agreements which suggest some imposition as it relates to nudity. But suppose you can excuse that, where does it end? We admit that their aspects related to his sexual teaching that we cannot judge, but doesn't someone with knowledge need to assess this before the County adopts the position that whatever someone wants to call Tantra or Wellness is considered eco-tourism. Back to Robert: Robert's August 30, 2019 FB Post (highlighting added to emphasize key considerations): Aloha all, I have been reflecting more and want to share. I am very grateful to have received so much support from everyone and to have received honest feedback. First I want to acknowledge that I have been undiscerning in my sexuality. I have been sexual with people sometimes without deep clarity and love. I have not always been as sensitive to other's emotions as I would like. I take responsibility for my actions and I apologize for anyone who feels upset by any interaction with me. I am willing to listen, to read, to mediate and ho'oponopono with anyone who wants to. I also think that my own desire for freedom, for love, for pleasure and for acceptance and appreciation led me to be sexual with people. While this is natural and understanding, sexuality is not a substitute for personal healing. I am grateful for those who have shared how our interactions have affected them, both positively and negatively. I came from a place of fear, shame and guilt and have been working on myself my whole life. I am wounded and have made mistakes in my journey to wholeness and consciousness. One of my mistakes was to believe that just because i needed sexual liberation and freedom that others desired it as well or that a more open sexuality would be beneficial for them as well. This was a projection based on my wounding which became a filter that affected how I perceive others. Secondly, I attempted to do session work with clients without a strong foundation of practices and a strong relationship with mentors. I had to learn by making mistakes. While this is true in many occupations, working with people's emotions, sexuality and wounding is very challenging work and requires a very high level of consciousness which i did not always possess. While I meditated,prayed and used tools that supported hundreds of people and myself, I don't claim to have always known what was best for people. For instance, in the past I was too quick to give hands on work to clients who asked for it. I learned that people can only benefit from touch after they are in touch with themselves and have body awareness, emotional awareness and ability to speak their truth. Without this, any touch could be harmful for a client and dangerous for a practitioner. I also underestimated the wounding from our patriarchal culture and the historic abuse and suppression of women's sexuality. I thought that just because i wanted to do good people would sense my love and care. Many people did, but some did not. At this time I do not do much hands-on session work (i have done less and less over the last several years) and have taken some steps to ensure I don't cause harm. (I follow all laws in different jurisdictions i work in and don't do any hands on sexual work in Hawai'i or in the United States.) I only do touch work with women who have already received touch work from a woman and who are able to take full responsibility for their choices and requests. I do not tell clients what they should do but inquire as to their perceptions, emotions, sensations, desires and boundaries. Due to patriarchal wounding, consent is not enough. For sexual healing and empowerment to occur, women must express desire and make requests. Anyone doing healing work needs to be humble, listen and not impose their ideas on what would be helpful for a client. Without clearly and soberly expressing desires and making requests, women can fall back into shame, self- judgment and believe they were violated. So I made mistakes in focusing more on openness than on empowerment. Due to the pace of my schedule and traveling much of the time, i also was too quick sometimes and progressed through subject matter and experiences without adequate preparation, understanding and time to integrate. While I have addressed this in my work, I want to acknowledge it is an issue particularly for men working with women as one of the wounds is men being too quick and insensitive to women. Meditating, going slow, listening, breathing and feeling are more healing and helpful than any sophisticated or intimate touch technique. It is arrogant and egotistical of me to think I know best and damaging to try to find validation from another's response. Without deep self-love and knowledge, a practitioner is vulnerable to fooling themselves that their actions are designed to benefit another while in reality they are being subconsciously driven to support a wounded psyche. I have also been too quick to engage sexually with people without feeling myself and understanding them and their reasons for deciding to be sexual with me. I thought that consent, eros and openness was all that was needed for positive experiences. I was wrong. While I might not have felt damaged by my interactions or relationship, i have been insensitive and not willing to take responsibility for the impact of my actions. In particular, I have been unaware that my power, privilege and status led people to trust me and surrender to me. I recognize that now. Differences in power, age, gender and so on do matter. While I wish these differences didn't matter and we could all just be adult human beings and responsible for our choices and sexuality, it does matter. It's up to me to make sure that my power, privilege and status doesn't lead someone to surrender to me in the hopes that I know what I am doing. I don't always know what I'm doing and my choices are impacted by my subconsciousness, my wounding and my desires. The structural imbalances of power must be changed. Men, and white men in particular, hold an inordinate amount of legal, financial and sexual power. Just because I don't want to support the patriarchy doesn't mean I don't benefit from it. While I have attempted to be of service, it's vital that I do my part in creating a post-patriarchal world. So that's why i am transferring ownership of the Hawaii Tantra Festival to a woman as well as creating a new structure for Lolia which will have a Foundation Board with a majority of women and women-led staff. I am open to feedback and suggestions about the direction of Lolia. I am dedicated to creating a space that is driven by a community-in-service to personal growth and development. We have a mission statement which will be edited by the Board over time and executed by the staff. If you want to support please give your feedback. I am not a guru nor have I claimed any esoteric powers of perception or skill in helping others. I pray that everyone finds healing, love and empowers themselves. Mahalo nui loa. I hope the Commission is as troubled by this as the community has been. Here is man who is claiming to give up his "patriarchal" power because it seems he doesn't trust himself with that power. But in reality he hasn't given up much. He still owns it. We don't have a financial analysis to see if there is a true independence. What if he changes his mind? Does he still live there? We don't know the answers and the PD report has not helped us in this regard either. Robert may have changed. We don't know. We believe he lied to us in the last week regarding the Snuggle Party at subject TMK in order to get this permit. But him speaking out for the event suggests he still has a prominent role in HER. So we, many member of the community, cannot trust him and we kindly suggest that the Commission should not either. Even if he has largely changed who wants accountability for any recidivism? But sadly it doesn't end here either. This is a FB post from Violet L Alexander on April 26, 2017 cw: sexual assault, community un-accountability, white people, new age community Shoutout to Robert Silber who approached me to "verify to veracity of the claims" against my rapist. He started off by lying to me about why he was contacting me, saying it was for a friend rather than as a community appointed verifier of survivor claims (WTF). He's seeking "specific data" and wonders "whether the survivors would be willing to publicly testify" or "share their personal stories privately." UGHH, but as if he/they will do ANYTHING of worth with our stories (who has?) and/or have any plan in place at all. Send experts. Don't toy with survivors. Her last two sentences are powerful. Who is policing this when it goes wrong? Where are the professionals and experts? If you follow the rest of the thread there is a strong sentiment that there is a lot of sexual abuse in the Tantra community. Is that a Fact? I don't know but not my job. Seems plausible given the attention some notable gurus have gotten. But again, what does PD have to says about the Tantra and similar events at the TMK in question? Nothing. Did they consult with the state tourism authority as to whether this Tantra line of"Holistic Wellness" is desirable? Does the County have a public position? We stress there may be very legitimate places for this as we don't think we need to pass a moral judgment on Tantra and similar things but we don't see that agriculturally zoned land and the Special use Permit process as appropriate given the various standards they contain. We realize there will be a temptation by PD or even perhaps the Commission to say this is all hearsay but what if this is just the tip of the iceberg given the tendency of victims having a disinclination to report. A decision to allow this permit, resembling its existing form, to go forward will almost certainly haunt everyone given what has transpired and likely to transpire given the history of the applicant (and again not because he is evil or any such thing) as there is a real risk he is misguided and playing with a fire he cannot control. We kindly ask the Commission to end what PD has proposed now and provide a clear signal that much more work needs to be to even begin making a serious effort of consideration. We have endured enough and truly believe others have been victimized and we don't have confidence that HER has been fully and permanently transformed from its successor into an operation sufficiently independent of the applicant and that has a proposed operating structure with sufficient built-in safeguards. We are not empowered to properly police this and we shouldn't bear that responsibility, but we recognize the County will not either as they have limited resources, unless simple quantifiable, measurable and community verifiable requirements are imposed if a Special Use Permit is granted.