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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2008-05-22 TLELAH PLANNING COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAII HEARING TRANSCRIPT MAY 22, 2008 REUBEN LELAH (SPP 08-000052) A regularly advertised hearing on the application of was called to order at 9:05 a.m. at the King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel, 75-5660 Palani Road, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, with Chairman Rodney Watanabe presiding. PRESENT: Takashi Domingo ABSENT & EXCUSED: C. Kimo Alameda Lani Bowman (from 9:10 a.m.) Andrew Iwashita Shelly Ogata Alvin Rho Rene’ Siracusa Rodney Watanabe Rell Woodward Ivan Torigoe, Deputy Corporation Counsel Christopher Yuen, Planning Director Norman Hayashi, Planning Program Manager Phyllis Fujimoto, Staff Planner Jeff Darrow, Staff Planner  Maija Cottle, Staff Planner Jhq`mDlkdq+Qdoqdrdms`shudneCdo`qsldmsneOtakhbVnqjr And approximately 60 people from the public in attendance. APPLICANT: REUBEN LELAH (SPP 08-000052) Special Permit to allow the establishment of a psychological counseling clinic and related improvements on approximately 2 acres of land situated within the State Land Use Agricultural District. The property is located along the west side of Huehue Street, approximately 1,600 feet north of the Kaloko Drive – Huehue Street intersection, Kaloko Mauka Subdivision, Kaloko, North Kona, Hawaii, TMK: 7-3-48: portion of 4. WATANABE: The first agenda item we have would be Reuben Lelah (SPP 08-000052); this is a Special Permit to allow the establishment of a psychological counseling clinic and related improvements on approximately 2 acres of land. With that, I’ll turn it over to you, Mr. Darrow. DARROW: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, Planning Commission, Mr. Chairman. If I can direct your attention to the wall for our presentation.The applicant in this case is Reuben Lelah; he is requesting a Special Permit to allow the establishment of a psychological counseling clinic and related improvements on approximately 2 acres of land. To be able to identify the location of this application, this is within the North Kona District. More EXHIBIT A 1 specifically, we are looking at Kaloko Mauka Subdivision. We have Mamalahoa Highway running in a north-south direction. We have Kaloko Drive that winds up in an east-west direction, mauka-makai. The area of the application is identified with the black outline. This is off of Huehue Street. We have a closer view of that; we have Kaloko Drive in this area on the location map, and we also have Huehue Street. The property is approximately 22 acres in size. The green represents the zoning, which identifies the zoning as County Agricultural-20 Acres. The property next-door to the south is identified in blue, which is Agricultural-10 acres. The applicant in this case is requesting a Special Permit to allow the establishment of a psychological counseling clinic and related improvements on approximately 2 acres of land. This would include an office building and surrounding gardens. The proposed clinic would utilize the existing office building and surrounding gardens for treatment and therapy with families. It also includes a proposed music therapy room; this room would be used periodically for treatment, and there will be no noise -, according to the applicant, there should be no noise emanating from this structure. There is also an open deck and concrete driveways from Huehue Street. Included with that is parking. This is the submitted site plan from the applicant. On the lower portion of the map, we have Huehue Street. We have the access into the property, which is concrete at this time. This particular structure is the office building.If you were to travel up towards the applicant’s residence, you would take a left turn and come back towards the proposed music therapy room as well as the open deck. We have an aerial photo that kind of shows the layout on the ground; again, we have Huehue Street on the bottom, we have the proposed office area and we have the proposed open deck and music therapy building area. We do have photos available. This is the office that’s existing at this time; it was permitted as an additional farm dwelling. One of our conditions will require the applicant to withdraw the Additional Farm Dwelling Agreement and to re-permit this as an office. There is -, under construction at this time, this is the proposed music therapy building and this is the open deck. And there have been some issues with this open deck. And it appears that they have been resolved between the adjoining neighbor to the west -; this will be covered under a changed condition that I’ll mention shortly. This is actually looking from the adjacent owner’s property towards the mauka end of the property. We can see the height of the structure from the ground, and in the back we can see a portion of the music therapy building. Again, we have the open deck and the music therapy building. Conditions to mention, I’m going to pass over this because these conditions have been changed; so I’m just going to go ahead and pass over these. We did receive a petition for standing in a contested case from the adjoining neighbor to the west, Mr. Jim Juvik. Since it was submitted, the applicant has contacted us and has sent in a request to withdraw that petition for standing. The Commissioners should have a copy of his withdraw letter, which had been faxed to us yesterday morning. They had come to an agreement. Additionally, we have a memorandum of understanding that was submitted; and this is regarding the surrounding property owners, and issues that they had, and resolution that they had met with the applicant. To be able to incorporate some of the issues that were mentioned in the contested case petition, we have changed Condition No. 2 and Condition No. 6, and if I can just briefly touch upon those. Condition No. 2, we are deleting the last paragraph of the Condition, which states, “The activities of the Special Permit will be limited to this permitted EXHIBIT A 2 area and will not include the area of the open deck or the area of the proposed music therapy structure.” At this point with the resolution, the Planning Director is allowing that particular area to be part of the permitted area. Condition 2 requires the applicant to submit metes and bounds in written and map form, so that we know exactly where the Special Permit area is on the 22-acre property. Condition No. 6, presently it states, “Approval of this Special Permit does not include the use of the open deck or the proposed music therapy structure.” We are striking that out, and we are going to be adding in the following: “The deck shall be reduced in size to 80 feet by 25 feet and shall include handrails or guardrails along the perimeter of the deck.” This is mainly for safety purposes. The size of the deck was the agreement that was met between Mr. Juvik and the applicant. Going on: “The deck shall be used for quiet individual or small group activities and the music therapy shall be conducted only in the enclosed building with individual or small groups.” So that will be our revised Condition No. 2 and Condition No. 6. There have been numerous letters of support that were submitted along with the application as well as after the application was submitted. The Planning Director is recommending that the Planning Commission approve the Special Permit request. Are there any questions? WATANABE: Fellow Commissioners, any questions for Mr. Darrow or other staff? Yes, Ms. Siracusa. SIRACUSA: I’m looking at the background report, and No. 19 on Page 4, under Flora and Fauna Resources, the last part of the first sentence doesn’t seem to belong to that sentence. And I’m wondering -, it says, “except for the structures that were constructed on-site;” but the rest of the sentence is talking about native trees and shrubs and non native vegetation. And I’m wondering where that part of the sentence is supposed to be, so it’ll make some sense to me here. Jeff, can you help me with that? Do you see what I’m talking about? DARROW: That would be the first sentence under No. 19 -. SIRACUSA: Yeah, the last half of that sentence. It says, “except for the structures that were constructed on-site.” So where are we excepting something? It doesn’t belong there. DARROW: Well, in the beginning of this sentence, when you see “According to the applicant,” we are actually taking this straight out of the application. So if we could maybe defer that to the applicant as far as their understanding of what they were trying to state in that. SIRACUSA: Okay. It just seems like a total non sequitur to me. Thank you. WATANABE: Yes, Ms. Bowman. BOWMAN: I have a question – and pardon me because I haven’t been on the board as long as others. The proposed office was permitted as a farm dwelling, correct? DARROW: Correct. EXHIBIT A 3 BOWMAN: Is this a precedent-setting -, I mean, it appears -, I’ve looked up what farm dwellings or the intent of farm dwellings, and I’m just wondering if this is common to, when land is sold, to change the use. DARROW: Well, this actually was permitted as an additional farm dwelling, as a dwelling. The applicant had changed the use of the structure to an office. And what happened subsequently to that is there was a complaint, a warning letter was issued to the applicant, and ultimately a notice of violation. So part of that corrective action was to come in and fix this problem to a special permit. The Building Division’s comment memos in regards to this application state that the structure was not permitted as an office. So they will need to -, part of our conditions state that they will need to revise their building permits, withdraw their Farm Dwelling Agreement and permit this as an office. BOWMAN: So again -. WATANABE: Yeah, go ahead. BOWMAN: I’m just -, is this common? I mean, it appears that someone -, the intent of farm dwellings in agricultural land are for that. I understand the property has been sold, you know. Is this a precedent-setting -, I understand that -, okay, so we have a special permit and that’s what they are applying for basically for running the office and subsequent services. DARROW: The use would not be allowed as it is at this time as an office. It’s actually a violation or it’s a non-permitted use. So to be able to -, and that’s why they were issued this violation. So originally when they did come in, they were, you know, following the law; they received the Additional Farm Dwelling Agreement, they submitted an agricultural plan, and the dwelling was permitted as a farm dwelling. But again, after that it was changed to an office. And that requires -, to be able to conduct the use that’s not allowed in the Agricultural District, you would need to get it permitted through a special permit. And so at this point it’s an after-the- fact special permit application. BOWMAN: For the office and then the subsequent deck and music building and -. DARROW: Correct. BOWMAN: The use. DARROW: Yes. BOWMAN: Okay, thank you. YUEN: If I could just jump in with what I think is part of your question. Certainly, we don’t encourage people to simply establish uses that they are not supposed to. So we cited the applicant in this case. We have not taken the position that having a violation disqualifies you from applying for the special permit and legitimating your operation. It’s not EXHIBIT A 4 the procedure that we would encourage people to do; we would encourage them to apply for the operation before they establish it. It is fairly common that it does go the other way around. And you have seen a number of applications previously where people were operating without special permits and were cited by the Planning Department and then came in for the permission. We would not say that it disqualifies you from applying. We would encourage the Commission not to give them an advantage by virtue of the fact hat they have in some cases built a structure, put money into it; you should still evaluate whether a special permit should be issued for the site or not. It shouldn’t be an advantage to them to start up without a permit; but it should not disqualify them, either. WOODWARD: Mr. Chairman. WATANABE: Yes, Mr. Woodward. WOODWARD: If I might just put in my two cents worth. Part of the problem is that on the Big Island of Hawaii somewhere over 50 percent is land that is federal government land or state park. That leaves less than 50 percent as saleable land, and over 80 percent of that is zoned Agricultural, including the lot that the Mayor’s house is on. So you know, it’s kind of an absurd system really when you look at it. And I don’t look upon this as being precedent setting. Now, a special permit, those are given out like lollypops, you know; that is not something that is a precedent-setting phenomenon. Now, if you were to rezone it, well, yes. But as I said, our problem – and I know Commissioner Iwashita has addressed this on many occasions – we have a basic problem; the basic problem is we didn’t get it right in the beginning. We did not get it right in the beginning. And it’s absurd to think that over 80 percent of the saleable land in this County is zoned Agricultural. I live in Ocean View; you can’t grow anything on lava, nothing. So you know, this is the basic problem. WATANABE: Thank you. Mr. Iwashita. IWASHITA: Thank you, Mr. Chair. I won’t characterize this as defending my position, but -. I think it is precedent setting every time we grant a special permit in an Ag area. But it’s also a symptom, and it’s a symptom of a system that has some dysfunction or maybe a lot of dysfunction in it. And then you know, we are on the commission, in my opinion, part of that dysfunction; but it’s, in my opinion, systematic. And I really like it when we have lots of people like this in the room because, I’ll tell you, usually when we consider matters, rezonings included, we are lucky to have a dozen people sitting in this room. And in that process, to me that is a major symptom of the fact that this process that we are in is the same process that was used to create Oahu and Maui and all that great things that they have there. So we are going to copy them. We are going to keep copying them until 20 or 30 years from now, we’ll have -, because we have ten times or – I don’t know the exact number but – we have a lot of more land to mess up. So thank you, Ms. Bowman, for bringing this up. But it is precedent setting. It’s also symptomatic. And you know, so we do need to be careful and consider about these things. And we just had one on this side, involving a bed and breakfast that was not done properly and came in to get it legalized; and it was a very contentious issue. But it is precedent setting in my opinion. And I think in the bigger picture we need to recognize that it’s a symptom of a system that’s not really going to work real well. EXHIBIT A 5 WATANABE: Thank you. Mr. Rho. RHO: I have a question on the background report. Exhibit 12 is from the Kona Traffic Safety Committee, and it references the $400,000 for the improvements at the intersection at the bottom of Kaloko Drive – I think that’s what the road name is – and it’s also nd mentioned in the applicant’s representative’s letter to Mr. Yuen, dated April 22. And if I can just read his statement: “We also question what progress has been made to improve the Kaloko- Mamalahoa Highway intersection since there has been two years pass without action, even though the $400,000 has been collected by the County.” So I guess my question is whether or not you know whether or not any action has been taken or what’s happening to the money. I think at the last time Kaloko Mauka property came under review or for decision by this Commission, that same issue was brought up, and there was at least one negative vote. And my understanding is that it went up to the County (sic) and didn’t get approved, even though the Commission approved – I’m not sure whether it was a rezoning – but it was to split a property into two parcels, so you could build two houses on, let’s say, ten acres or 20 acres. It was approved by the Commission but rejected by the Council. And now we are faced with another applicant, not the same issue necessarily, but the same concern, at least my concern, which is that intersection at the bottom of that subdivision. So my question, again, is whether or not you know what’s happening to that $400,000. DARROW: If I could defer, we have two people today that might be able to better answer that question, that would be our Director as well as our representative, Kiran Emler, from the Department of Public Works. WATANABE: Would you care to jump in, Mr. Yuen? I think the State was involved or the State’s approval was involved to some degree. YUEN: Well, about $400,000 has been collected for Kaloko intersection improvements. The funds were directed to do a study of what could be done with money on that scale, and they came up with a report that basically sight distance improvements could be made by shaving away the banks on the Highway there. So there was this engineering study done. And we have a basic permission from the State Highways Department to do the project. It would have to be done by the Department of Public Works, and I have periodically mentioned to the Department that these funds are there and available for the project. WATANABE: Mr. Yuen, is it appropriate to ask Mr. Emler? Mr. Emler, I know you didn’t come here specifically to address that issue; however, do you feel like you could give us an update on -? It seems like at least you’ve got approval from the State now. EMLER: I’m not aware of it being on any list for, priority list for County projects at the present time. WATANABE: Okay, however, that’s correct, you would confirm that it’s approved by the State then. The proposed improvements have been approved by the State? EXHIBIT A 6 EMLER: You know, I don’t want to be on record stating that unless I review the file again. WATANABE: Okay, okay, thank you. Well, I guess -. Yes, Ms. Siracusa. SIRACUSA: I’m looking at the background report, Page 5, No. 21, and the very last statement talking about Historic Preservation’s no-effect letter says that they believe “that no historic properties will be affected by this proposed activity because new construction or land alteration will occur in connection with this permit ….;” but I thought that they are going to use the existing farm dwelling as the office, and that there will be no new construction. So my question then is is this just a typo or is there something I’m missing about other construction or are they referring perhaps to the deck or the continuing construction of the music building? DARROW: This is unusual for this particular -, for them to use this statement, “because new construction or land alteration will occur ….;” it usually is “has occurred.” But in this particular case the dwelling has been built, or the office has been built. The proposed music therapy building and deck are under construction; they probably were under construction at the time that they applied for this or maybe at the time they were coming in for permits for that. But this is Department of Land and Natural Resources-State Historic Preservation Division, which we look towards for their comments on historical sites that would be affected, and they are saying that there will be no historical sites affected by this project. WATANABE: We might, Ms. Siracusa, clarify that when the applicant comes up because it’s also my understanding -. SIRACUSA: Well, we could do that. Because then I should think that it would say, “because no new construction or land alteration -.” WATANABE: I understand what you are saying. But if we really want to confirm that, we might want to confirm that with the applicant’s representative that no new construction will occur, rather than try to confirm that with Mr. Darrow. SIRACUSA: Thank you. Will the applicant please make a note to address this. WATANABE: Well, do we have any further questions? I’m sorry, Mr. Rho, we couldn’t get you a definitive answer on this; obviously they weren’t quite prepared on that. But it seems like they have made some progress. As I recall at our last discussion on this, they did not yet have approval from the State. So with that, I’ll call up the applicant’s representative, Mr. Mooers. May I swear both of you in. Raise your right hand, please. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth now before the Planning Commission? MOOERS: I do. R. LELAH: I do. EXHIBIT A 7 WATANABE: Okay. Before – you may lower your hand – before either one of you begins, would you state your name and address for the record, and you may begin your testimony. MOOERS: My name is Greg Mooers. I’m a planning consultant. My address is P. O. Box 1101, Kamuela, Hawaii. WATANABE: Thank you. R. LELAH: My name is Reuben Lelah. I’m the clinical psychologist in residence in Kaloko Mauka, 73-4340 Huehue Street, Kailua-Kona, 96740. WATANABE: Thank you. I assume Mr. Mooers is going to begin the testimony? MOOERS: Yes. WATANABE: Yeah, so you apparently reach some concessions with your neighbors and those who had proposed a contested case hearing. MOOERS: That is correct -. WATANABE: And your -. MOOERS: There should be two memorandums of understanding. WATANABE: Right. We are familiar with that. Have you had a chance to review the conditions as well as the revised conditions; I believe it’s Nos. 2 and 6? MOOERS: Yes, we have. WATANABE: And are those satisfactory to you? MOOERS: Yes, they are. WATANABE: And would they also satisfy the agreement that you have reached? MOOERS: Yes. WATANABE: Well, is there anything -, well, I guess Ms. Siracusa had an issue. MOOERS: Well, there are number of things that I would like to address. The first, Commissioner Rho spoke about previous action on Kaloko Mauka regarding the change of zone that was recommended for approval and that was subsequently denied by the Council; and that really is not true. I’m not aware of any of those. There were two applications that were recommended for approval by the Commission that are sitting with the Council, and have been EXHIBIT A 8 caught in this moratorium that has been going on for a couple of years, which they have extended asking for moratorium on any change of zone applications in North and South Kona until the adoption of the Kona Community Development Plan; and I believe that’s where those sit. But there haven’t been any that have been denied. I think the issue raised by Commissioner Iwashita is an interesting one, regarding the special permit as opposed to the change of zone applications. And one of the things that’s happened up in Kaloko -, and you may recall that there are two Council resolutions that address this is the desire to preserve the forest.Basically, there is a condition that if the applicant is willing to accept conditions regarding setbacks and preservations of 80 percent of the forest, that the Council is recommending, has two resolutions, or recommended for approval change of zones and subsequent subdivision with the premise that they would be preserving 80 percent of the forest. Currently, any subdivided property there is in the Agricultural District, and it can be used for agricultural purposes, which means you can cut down the forest and plant corn or tomatoes or whatever crop that you think you’d like to do, or you can simply denude the property, if you want to; not that, you know, anybody is particularly anxious to do that. Although, there have been properties in the lower ridges of Kaloko where people have put in roping arenas and things of that sort. And I think that’s the impetus for the Council to take action. I think Commissioner Domingo could probably speak to that; I think he was on the Council at that time. The advantage of a special permit in the Agricultural District is such that you can craft conditions as in this case that controls the types of activity that can or cannot take place on the property, as opposed to changing the zone, which would open up the property to an entire new set of conditions. And in this case I think the conditions are very clear. They limit the -, and the agreements that the applicant has made with his neighbors. There is no additional dwelling being proposed. Although, Commissioner Siracusa, to address your concern about the language, at the time that the application was written, the music therapy building was not under construction; so that was the new construction that was going to take place. But in regard to this application, they are requesting no additional building. And in fact, the agreement with Dr. Juvik is that a significant portion of the deck will be removed to limit the uses. And I think the surrounding property owners are concerned with quiet enjoyment of their property; we are concerned with that as well. And I think that the agreements reached are fair and enforceable, and hopefully address the concerns of the neighbors and also the Commission. In regard to the traffic improvements, this has been kind of a sore point for a quite some time because anytime you apply for an application, the statement is made that it’s a dangerous intersection, and there are needs to be addressed and funds have been raised. Unfortunately, my discussions with the Department of Public Works is that it’s not a priority; and that’s not to say that it’s safe, but that there are so many other priorities in Kona that they are looking at. They really have not moved forward on this. And I think Ki Emler probably accurately stated that this project is not on any pending list. And it’s an issue, I think, that needs to be addressed, and it hasn’t been addressed. A number of rezonings that were passed by the Council over the last – I would say – over two years ago now actually had a stipulation that granted the change of zone but restricted subdivision for two years, so that the intersection could be improved. And that two years period is now passed. So those subdivisions can now take place. So that’s an issue, continuing issue, I think, that needs to be addressed. EXHIBIT A 9 That’s all the statement I have regarding the application. And we are prepared to answer any questions that you may have. Dr. Lelah is here, and can explain if you have questions about the music therapy room or the use of the facility or his practice. WATANABE: Thank you. Yes, Ms. Siracusa. SIRACUSA: I have several questions and they all revolve basically around the flora and fauna resources. I find that No. 19 of the background report is really vague – “other native trees and shrubs” and phrases like that that don’t really specify. And I feel that it’s really important that we should because this is in the Alala recovery area. And I think we should be a lot more specific about what’s there. Especially since, for example, in the recommendations under the unusual and reasonable criteria, Dr. Lelah is growing protea, roses, fruit trees – these are usually sprayed. I would like to ask Dr. Lelah if he sprays, and if so, what he sprays with because I am concerned for the Alala and the other unnamed forest birds. Could you please -. R. LELAH: Yes, Commissioner, I can address that. The trees on this particular parcel of land are mostly ohia and koa. And I have the rose farm that is comprised of about 800 plants. The fruit trees, which I believe there are about 37, I do not spray them; they are just irrigated and fertilized. The rose bushes, I do spray but I use just fungicide, and the fungicide that I try to use the most of is ZeroTol; it’s a sort of hydrogen peroxide based fungicide.And then at times I do also use others like Zyban and Aliant, things for downy mildew and things like that. I do not use insecticides. And that was actually advised to me by Norm Bezona, you know, because of the birds and all of that; so we do not use those on the property at all. SIRACUSA: Okay, thank you. Cause I know that Norm does live up there also. So basically, you know, those were what my concerns were; because other than that, I rather like your project. But I did want to make sure, especially since there was no professional flora and fauna study done, that we weren’t going to be doing anything that was impacting those native species. I found it interesting that in (D) it says that unusual conditions, trends, etc. have arisen, and there have been because the numbers of Alala have decreased and certainly of other native forest birds, and then it further goes on to say that why their request was consistent was that there were no identified natural and environmental resources in this area; and I’m thinking what about the native forest, isn’t that a resource, aren’t the Alala, the forest birds resources. I would feel a lot happier with this, if we did have a professional study done. But other than that, I would want to support this. R. LELAH: Thank you, Commissioner. WATANABE: Well, do we have any further questions? Yes, Ms. Bowman. BOWMAN: I want to commend you on your work – I have met children that have seen a number of therapists – and I think especially on the outdoor setting that you have. My question is you are the only employee or you are the owner and the only clinician? R. LELAH: That’s correct, Commissioner. EXHIBIT A 10 BOWMAN: And I’m just and briefly – and I apologize for being a little late – looking at the size of your music room; is how close -, it looks awfully big. R. LELAH: It does. It’s a 35-foot diameter dome building, Commissioner. And if you were to visit the site, you would see there -, and it actually would take me about 90 minutes to speak to all of you about the underpinnings behind why this is the way that it is; I do believe I can very clearly speak to that, if the Commissioners would like to hear that. But other than that, this building is acoustically secure or would be acoustically secure environment and a very quiet environment with no distractions for the type of work that would be occurring within it. That is really not possible within the office building, which if you were to see that is really set up for play therapy and other types of treatment modalities with children and teenagers. There is no way technologically or space-wise or otherwise to use that facility for this type of work. The building itself, the reason why for the size is because the equipment that would be contained therein, which I should say has been predominately donated by major world-class companies, a very, very expensive price. They don’t do that if it’s a flaky operation; they want to make sure that the credentials of the person and what’s going on is really legitimate. And for that equipment and things to be in there, that type of space is required, Commissioner. BOWMAN: Thank you. And my question was on the acoustics; I don’t know how near your neighbors are, and that was -. So thank you for addressing that. R. LELAH: You are welcome. BOWMAN: And is there -, you have a multitude of services. Do you take interns? I don’t know how one person can do all that. So I’m just curious. R. LELAH: Whenever people ask me that question, Commissioner, my response is always spirit. So it is amazing when you come on the property and you see all that goes on and all that is going on, I know it’s unbelievable to people that I do everything. I’m the janitor, I’m the grounds keeper, I run the clinic, I do most of the maintenance and repair on the premises. And I know that there has been a question of, well, if there are two buildings, it would seem like you’ll have employees and other people coming, you know, on the premises. But you see, I don’t know of anybody, certainly on this Island but perhaps in the State of Hawaii, that knows how to do the types of work that I do. And I don’t mean that with my nose in the air; I just don’t know of anybody. And so basically I would be walking back and forth between these two buildings. It’s only a two to three-minute walk, which is very different than having a different facility in town where I would lose a lot of valuable treatment time driving back and forth. And it allows me the flexibility since I have no control over where the openings occur in my practice and who would fill those openings and what their treatment needs would be, you see. So it allows me the flexibility to go back and forth between the buildings and then to provide for the children and teens’ families what seems to be needed. BOWMAN: Thank you. R. LELAH: You are welcome. EXHIBIT A 11 WATANABE: Yes, Ms. Siracusa. SIRACUSA: Referring back to the other shot of the deck as seen from the side where you can see all the (speaker noise) substructure -. DARROW: Unfortunately, it appears that our system is being interrupted by cell phones. So if we could ask if anyone does have cell phones even on vibrate, it might be better to just turn them off at this time. Thank you. SIRACUSA: Thank you. And the -, Jeff, you said that the picture was taken – that’s the one, back, yeah, that’s the one – was taken from the Juvik property. DARROW: Correct. SIRACUSA: So I’m wondering what kind of distance do we have there, and is there some landscaping between those two parcels that -, I mean, did you have to be on Dr. Lelah’s side of the property line when you took that picture or was it from the Juvik side? DARROW: This – just to clarify, we had someone from the Kona staff go out for us and take some pictures for us – but this picture is from the Juvik’s property looking towards the applicant’s property that I believe – and the applicant can correct me if I’m wrong – I believe that the property line is pretty close where that yellow tape is on the ground. Is that correct? R. LELAH: Yes, that’s correct, Commissioner. DARROW: Okay. So there was an issue that the deck may have been infringing on the setback; so at this time the applicant was in the process of cutting back the deck to be out of the setback but they had come to agreement with Mr. Juvik to even cut it back further. One of our conditions is going to require the applicant to put landscaping between the two properties. SIRACUSA: That was the basis for my question; I was going to try to figure out how close to the property line that was. So -, because it looks like something really ugly to look at from a neighbor’s side, and I was wondering, if the landscaping would be further away on the boundary, it seems to me that you would still need some landscaping around the base of this deck in order to hide that. Was that your intention? R. LELAH: Yes, I can address that, Commissioner. First of all, that picture for the purposes of this meeting is actually -, doesn’t represent what this is going to end up being. The land drops off significantly as you move toward makai. And what I had spoken to Dr. Juvik about was that we are actually going to be removing most of that deck. So most of that is not even going to be there; only the back 25 feet of the deck will remain. And if you would look at the post and pier that holds the makai region of that 25 feet, it’s much less in height than anything like what this is. So that’s the first part, that the deck will be really quite small. The second part is that when I spoke with Dr. Juvik, we were talking about he wants to -, where the yellow string is over there, that actually is the property line and then his setback area and he wants to plant some koa and things over there, as he told me on the phone. What I was EXHIBIT A 12 proposing to do – and I’m hoping it’s okay with the Commission – is that in front of that deck, since the ground has been disturbed by the construction of the deck, to really hire professional landscapers and put in a very, very beautiful garden with trees that are strategically placed but not to just totally reforest it, but a beautiful garden that then could be used as an adjunct to the type of outdoor work that I would do with children. Dr. Juvik was in support of that as compared to just reforesting that land. SIRACUSA: Okay. Part of the reason why I’m asking these questions is because I want to figure out if we need to put in something in addition to Rule 17 Landscaping, you know, about hiding that part of the deck; but it seems like you’ve already got that planned out. I do mention that considering that you are within, you know, you’ve got the forest there and a lot of native forest birds and Alala, I hope that you will concentrate on native species of vegetation when you do that, but I’m not about to micromanage and put it in the condition. R. LELAH: We will do the best with that, Commissioner. WATANABE: Thank you. Maybe at this time I should remind the Commissioners as well as the audience that we have quite a few people here that want to testify. We also have a rather full agenda. And so I think we need to work to hurry this along because at our last special meeting when we discussed the Puna Community Development Plan, we ran from 6 to 10 o’clock just with testimony, okay. We tried to limit testimony to five minutes and we never ever deliberated on any of it; we never discussed it because we only had the facility till 10 o’clock. So I’d like to make sure that, you know, we get to address all of these issues, rather than focusing on smaller issues maybe -. MOOERS: Mr. Chairman, can I make a comment? WATANABE: Yes. MOOERS: I know that Dr. Lelah has a number of supporters that have appeared today. And if there is no opposition and if it looks like the votes are there for the Special Permit, we would ask those people not to testify, if that would accelerate your program. WATANABE: I appreciate that, but I’m a little leery of restricting public testimony; so if you all could be brief, and I have twelve testifiers signed up -. By the way – maybe I’m getting ahead of myself – just for the record, are there any further questions of the applicant? None. Okay, then you all may be seated then. Thank you. Again, I have twelve testifiers signed up; I’d like to limit you all to three minutes each, and I’d like to ask you to please not be redundant. If you are in support of it, I think, you know, coming up and being brief about why you are in support of this particular Special Permit will suffice. And so with that, may I call up the first – yeah, we have four chairs – first four who signed up: Pio Humphreys, Hank Silva, Michelle McClellan and Michael Toia. So will those four please come up. Would you all raise your right hand, so I can swear you in. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth now before the Planning Commission? TESTIFIERS: Yes. EXHIBIT A 13 WATANABE: Okay, thank you. Who has the mike now? Why don’t we start on that side. Sir? And would you -. TOIA: Good morning. WATANABE: Good morning. TOIA: My name is Michael Toia. I live in South Kona, on Painted Church Road. And I’ve had the blessing to me, Dr. Lelah, and seen his operation firsthand. And I urge you to support this proposal and Special Use Permit (sic) because nowhere in the State that I know of is -, or even in the mainland it would be very hard to find an operation like Dr. Lelah has here. And it’s a gem for Kona, and it would be a horrible thing to let this pass by because of this little thing here with the land use. So I encourage you to approve this. It will help Kona immensely. Thank you. WATANABE: Just a minute, just a minute. Do we have any questions for Mr. Toia? Thank you. DOMINGO: Mr. Chairman, Mr. Chairman. WATANABE: Yes, Mr. Domingo. DOMINGO: One question, just a simple question. WATANABE: Could you pass the mike back, please, to Mr. Toia. DOMINGO: What are the differences between his practice and other practice throughout the country? TOIA: You rarely get a chance to be in nature in the way Dr. Lelah has the opportunity in Kaloko Mauka. That environment doesn’t exist very often anywhere in the country, and it’s a rarity to have. And to have it here in Kona and make it available to children of Hawaii, I think he’ll attract kids from all the Islands, not just Kona. It’s something that I think each of you should go and look at before -, if you have any questions, just to see what he has done; and I think there won’t be any doubt in your mind. DOMINGO: You know, one concern here is that if the demand for his service will be to such an extreme and positive extreme, then with what he’s proposing now, it would be only a one-man, so-called one-man operation. And that would limit him from addressing all the other needs of the rest of the people or children that who need that kind of treatment. So I don’t know, it might be -, if the demand would be that much, it might be the applicant should somewhat alter the application and so state that other improvements may be needed. TOIA: I don’t know what his workload is, but I know that -, I don’t think you are going to be needing to add lanes on Kaloko Mauka to get to his place because of the demand. EXHIBIT A 14 But I think the focus is local, you know, but I think that once the words get out, I think there will be a somewhat of demand statewide, maybe even nationally. DOMINGO: Thank you. WATANABE: All right. I might add, Mr. Domingo, that the memorandum of understanding that’s going to be recorded restricts it to just one right now; so if indeed that demand does surface, then I guess he would have to reapply, all right? Thank you. You must be Michelle. M. MCCLELLAN: Yes. WATANABE: So would you state your name and address, please. M. MCCLELLAN: My name is Michelle McClellan. My address is 76-6224 Halehau Street in Kailua-Kona. I’m a teacher for the Department of Education, and I’ve been a teacher for nine years. I have two children who visit Dr. Lelah of very different reasons. I’ve also been in contact with other psychologists and therapists and counselors on behalf of my students, and I have never experienced the spirit that Dr. Lelah offers to his patients. It’s just not seeing the property; it’s feeling the property. Even as a single mom, going up there, and it’s about a half hour from my home both ways, it’s something we gladly do. We all have submitted letters as well, and I tried to reflect that in my letter there’s a feeling that comes over us. There is calmness. The drive itself offers therapy. And I would strongly encourage you to please allow this. He does a great service for our children. WATANABE: Okay, do we have any questions for Ms. McClellan? DOMINGO: One question. WATANABE: Yes, Mr. Domingo. DOMINGO: Ma’am, you said you work for the Department of Education. M. MCCLELLAN: Yes, I do. DOMINGO: Are those children referred to Dr. Lelah based on their performance in school or are those children brought to him on their parents’ own initiative? M. MCCLELLAN: I’m sorry. Let me clarify that. It is my two children whom I take to see Dr. Lelah. My students, I don’t refer my students to Dr. Lelah. DOMINGO: Okay, thank you. WATANABE: Any further questions? Thank you, ma’am. Mr. Silva. EXHIBIT A 15 SILVA: I’m Hank Silva. I’m a retired police major from the Hawaii County Police Department. And just to cover the previous testimony that was heard today -. WATANABE: Mr. Silva, could you state your address, please. SILVA: Seven-three-seven-seven-five-two Kaumalumalu Drive. WATANABE: Thank you. SILVA: And my focus is to tell you that I’ve been in behavior modification for a long time. I still do volunteer work for the Police Department. I work cold-case homicides. And this behavior modification thing, I think, oversees the questions we have such as the intersection and what not; because someday the children that the doctor works with will have to be dealt with another way, which could include other state or county enterprises, and it’s much better to solve the problem or nip the problem in a bud, help these children with their lives, so they can be successful citizens in our community, rather than to them come into the stage that we have to deal with. I think it will save everybody money in a long run. I’ve been to his place. It’s beautiful. And I’ve seen some of the work he does as exemplary. And I urge you to pass this. WATANABE: Thank you. Do we have any questions for Mr. Silva? Thank you. Ms. Humphreys. HUMPHREYS: Hi, my name is Pio Humphreys. I live at 73-4310 Huehue Street, next door to Dr. Lelah. And I’m here representing my neighbors who -, we’ve all been in Kaloko for over 25 years. And I’d like to explain the memorandum of understanding, which we signed with Dr. Lelah. We made this memorandum of agreement with him for the sole purpose of restricting the ever-expanding construction and building that was going on on his land, which encroached on our property boundaries or close to our viewpoint. This memorandum, which we agreed, we nowhere in there said that we are in favor of this; we only agreed not to oppose it. We would really prefer to have it quiet country, and we really cannot say that we are in favor of his proposal. WATANABE: Thank you. Do we have any questions for Ms. Humphreys? Thank you. Then you all may be seated, so I can call up the next four individuals. I have Margie Abinosa, Tyler McClellan, Deb – I believe it’s – Sipiala, Christian McClellan. So would those four come up, please. Okay, may I swear you all in. Would you raise your right hand, so I can swear you all in. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth now before the Planning Commission? TESTIFIERS: I do. WATANABE: Thank you. Okay, for each of you, would you state your name and address prior to your testimony. And maybe we can begin with you, Ms. Abinosa. ABINOSA: Margie Abinosa, I’m at 73-4515 Mamalahoa Highway. EXHIBIT A 16 WATANABE: You may begin your testimony now. ABINOSA: Okay. My grandchildren have been going to Dr. Lelah for nine years. His environment is what really helps with the treatment and everything else. He is an astounding man. It is a benefit for Kona hands down, and it is a plus for all our children and the children who will be coming to him in the future. My grandchildren have greatly benefited and all the other people I’ve ever talked to. Thank you. WATANABE: Just a minute. Do we have any questions for Ms. Abinosa? No? Okay. You may pass over the mike then. SIPIALA: Deborah Sipiala, and my address is 75-5819 Lupa Place in Kailua-Kona. My son is seven, and has the blessing of being under Dr. Lelah’s care. He struggles with many issues. And the beauty of Dr. Lelah’s environment is that we get to step outside of the craziness of everyday life, for me and for him. And he was awarded Student of the Month yesterday; and that would not have happened without Dr. Lelah’s help. Sorry I’m emotional, but this -. Sorry. Okay. So I just think that everything he does, he does with love, and the children of Hawaii deserve his care. WATANABE: Thank you. Do we have any questions of the testifier? Okay, Mr. -. T. MCCLELLAN: I’m Tyler McClellan. I live at 76-6224 Halehau Street in Kailua-Kona. I go to Dr. Lelah’s office on Thursdays. And I originally started going because I was having some attitude problems with my mom. And Dr. Lelah has, I would say, helped me significantly on that, and he also has helped my performance in school and my attitude. And he has helped me gain a lot of knowledge and wisdom from my going to his office. WATANABE: Do we have any questions of Tyler? No? You may pass the mike over. IWASHITA: Mr. Chair. WATANABE: Mr. Iwashita. IWASHITA: Thanks. How old are you? T. MCCLELLAN: I am 14. IWASHITA: And how long have you seen Doctor? T. MCCLELLAN: I’ve seen him a couple of months. IWASHITA: Thank you. C. MCCLELLAN: Hi, my name is Christian McClellan. I’m twelve years old. And I go to Dr. Lelah’s office every Wednesday now. I started going there because I was sort of impulsive EXHIBIT A 17 with what I do. And he is helping me out and he is like teaching me how to control my impulsivity. And he is helping me out a lot. WATANABE: Any questions of the -. Okay, thank you. You all may be seated. Let’s see, I have Emil Spencer, Jeffrey Mermel, Sandy Lane and Meg Greenwell. Would you all come up, please. Would you all raise your right hand, so I can swear you in. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth now before the Planning Commission? TESTIFIERS: Yes. WATANABE: Okay. So you are probably familiar with the drill – name and address before you begin your testimony. LANE: Hi, I’m Sandy Lane. I live at 77-362 Sunset Drive, Kailua-Kona. My children and I have been patients of Dr. Lelah for about – long time – eleven years. And if it wasn’t for him and what he does -, my one son has severe disorders, between the Department of Health, the school, Dr. Strickler and him and myself, my son probably would be institutionalized. And he is a very smart child. And because of his help, helping me so I can cope and my other son cope with our son who has major difficulties, and him dealing with my son. My son is very productive. He’s been kept out of school because he is bipolar; he has had some episodes with that. When we are out there in his surroundings, he calms him down, calms me down. I had to learn and my whole family had to learn how to live as healthy as we can. We’ve had the police called to our house from our neighbor because my son was having an episode. When the police left, they told me, “We think you should spank your son, we feel sorry for you;” and they weren’t being sarcastic. Dr. Lelah was able to calm me down – of course, it was a Sunday. But also a thing about Dr. Lelah, he has boundaries. Even though we don’t need to see him as often, even when I call, he says, “I’m booked up for two weeks.” He only does what he can do. So people are on a waiting list and we respect that. So it’s not going to be more people coming and going than he can possibly do and take. And if you walked down, there are the roses; I’ve been able to just calm down and be able to listen and hear what I need to do for my children because of him and the surroundings there. Thank you. WATANABE: Thank you. So we have any questions for Ms. Lane? DOMINGO: Mr. Chairman, one question. WATANABE: Yes, Mr. Domingo. DOMINGO: Ma’am, with the behavioral problems that your children have, have you sought any kind of other care from others besides Dr. Lelah? LANE: Oh, yeah. We have some of the best doctors here. Like I said, the Department of Mental Health (sic) has helped me; they’ve sent me this way. The schools work with me. And when I came to school for help, I was able to get a lot more resources because of the work I’ve already done with Dr. Lelah. EXHIBIT A 18 DOMINGO: Thank you very much. LANE: And the behavioral management that’s happening in our family because of it. DOMINGO: Thank you. WATANABE: Yes, Ms. Bowman. BOWMAN: I have a quick question. Were you referred from the schools to Dr. Lelah? LANE: No. Dr. Locatelli gave me two different people; he recommended Reuben, or Dr. Lelah, and another psychologist, Katie Nova, recommended Dr. Lelah. And for what my children have, the ADA, the ADHD issues, obsessive compulsive issues, and the bipolar, Dr. Strickler also highly recommended him. BOWMAN: Okay, thank you. WATANABE: Okay, Ms. Greenwell. GREENWELL: My name is Meg Greenwell. My address is 82-6190A Napoopoo Road, Captain Cook. My family has been seeing Dr. Lelah for about nine years. He helped us through some very difficult times with grace and the spirit. The spirit is there. His place is calming. It’s beautiful. He took me on walks around there. And you get there and you just really relax. You are allowed to be at peace, and you are fed acceptance. And what he does up there and offers for this community is really special. What she said about his availability, if you call him with a crisis, he can’t take you tomorrow; you do have to wait. He has a waiting list because he is the only person. I know he does all of it, the gardening; I’ve seen it. He does the janitorial; I’ve seen that, too. He has a wonderful place for the kids to play. He gives them the opportunity to play out some of their aggressions and then sits down with them and talks to them and allows them to open up to him. He truly has a gift for dealing with people, children and adults. I mean, he has allowed me to understand how to deal with certain situations, too. This man has a gift. And I urge you, please, please, to allow him to continue. Thank you. WATANABE: Do we have any questions of Ms. Greenwell? Okay. Mr. Spencer. SPENCER: My name is Emil Spencer. My address is P. O. Box 5000, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96745. My family and I have been patients of Dr. Lelah for nearly four years. My son and I were the victims of a driver who was under the influence on Alii Drive. We were walking over from the beach, and we were just about to turn up Laaloa Street to head home when he hit us with his truck. Dr. Lelah has given myself, my son and my family the tools to cope with the aftermath of this accident. Personally, I feel that in addition to Dr. Lelah’s caring and knowledge, the property itself is a place for healing. I have personally walked around the property, and I have seen the structures that you were showing. I stood on that deck. And I’ve seen the roses and the fruit trees and the ohia trees. And just the property itself is a special place. And I think it is important in the work that Dr. Lelah does. EXHIBIT A 19 WATANABE: Thank you. Do we have any questions? Okay. Jeff Mermel. Did I pronounce that properly? MERMEL: Yes, thank you. Good morning, Commissioners. My name is Jeffrey Mermel. And many of you know me as a small business owner in Hilo; many of you know me as president of the Volcano Community Association. By the way, my address, Box 342, Volcano. What you don’t know is that I’m also trained as a psychologist. I have a Bachelor’s and a Master’s degree from Berkeley and San Jose State. And I only say that because I have had occasion to visit Dr. Lelah in relation to my retail business. I’d like to ask each Commissioner where do you go to find peace, solitude to get restored from this crazy world we live in. Well, luckily, for this side of the Island, Dr. Lelah has created that space in Kaloko. It’s not -, the type of work he does and where you can get restored and renewed and calmed to look at what’s going on with you and your children cannot happen in downtown Kailua. He’s created this in a residential neighborhood, true. However, he has very heartfelt work at healing the relations with his neighbors. They reached agreements. I think what he rally works for is harmony with the children and the adults in the children’s lives and currently his work at harmony in this neighborhood. I would encourage you to approve his application. Thank you. WATANABE: Do we have any further questions? No? Okay, thank you. You may be seated. I think I’m calling up the last three: Tamara Gouveia, Lelah – it’s Lelah S, Denisha Soto-, no, I’m sorry, Denisha. Okay, would you raise your right hand, so I can swear you in, please. Okay. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth now before the Planning Commission? TESTIFIERS: I do. WATANABE: Thank you. Then maybe we can begin with you, Denisha. State your name and address, please. SOTOMAYOR: Hi, my name is Denisha Sotomayor. I live in 75-6060 Kuakini Highway, Apartment F-3, Kailua-Kona. And I’m here on behalf of my son, not really myself because I’m not in therapy with Dr. Lelah. He is four years old; he’s actually in the back right now over there. And the reason why I’m here -, first of all, my voice is trembling cause I’m kind of nervous to sit here in front of you guys and tell you all this. But saying that also I think it was very brave of the two children that sat here a little while ago; I don’t think at that age I would have been able to sit here in front of everyone and state to everyone that I have a problem and how this wonderful person is helping out. We’ve been going to Dr. Lelah since last October. It’s for reasons of my son; he has some actions that we weren’t able to explain – it’s our first child. So we sought help of him. He was highly recommended. And first time we actually went up there – it’s about a 20-minute drive up a hill – and me and my husband, I remember we were complaining, cause, oh, my God, the car is going to stop for all this. A couple of months later, I couldn’t wait for Tuesdays to actually go up a hill and make my car suffer, because I was looking at what my son was doing after every visit with Dr. Lelah. We were experimenting at home the peace that we experimented up there, which was -, we really didn’t have that before. We had a really ruckus three-year old when we EXHIBIT A 20 started going there. He was kicked out of school at three. And we have a wonderful four-year old now, who thinks twice, who thinks twice at that age, when he is going to do something. And I really can’t expect any of you to understand that unless you meet him, or actually have met us before; but if you did, it’s another child. And I don’t think we could have accomplished that anywhere else. Because of the place that he is in -, I don’t know how many of you have actually gone up there; but if you haven’t, you probably should. We are not talking here out of -, you know, because we’ve got nothing to do. I had to bring all these toys to make him sit with me, so I could get a chance to tell you. You have to go up there and see what all these people are talking about. It’s not just a beautiful place, it’s what you feel when you are up there. You can’t really explain it, you just have to experiment it. So I really encourage all of you to take that 20- minute drive and make your car suffer a little bit before you make any decision because it will be worthwhile and you’ll be making a lot of people happy with it. So thank you. WATANABE: Thank you. Do we have any questions? Okay. Ma’am, you may begin. GOUVEIA: Good morning. I’m Tamara Gouveia. My address is 73-1427A Kaloko Drive. I live at the bottom. And I’m here to support the application. I have adopted my husband’s older daughter and her little sister who are born to diseases of ADHD, or drug- addicted children. And so there is a history in my life and my family’s life of ADHD. I grew up not knowing what it was. And when I was introduced to Dr. Lelah, Dr. Strickler and some other professionals in the community, I just learned how important it is to have people like Dr. Lelah in the children’s lives to give them stability to teach them, as they are growing up, how to be respectable citizens of our community. When they get into a situation and they don’t know what to do, they turn to the elders because that’s what they were taught at young age. I happen to live in the spirit of this particular land that we are talking about. I’m at the bottom of the hill. And I just -, I totally support him; I think it’s a wonderful idea. I, too, have been in counseling in a little psychologist’s office where I lie flat on my back on the couch; and I would much rather be in the forest. It’s just so much more peaceful, walking around the property and being one with nature and the spirit. I’m just really in support of it. That’s all I have. WATANABE: Do we have any questions for Ms. Gouveia? Thank you. Sir, name and address, please. S. LELAH: My name is Saul Lelah. I am the father of Reuben Lelah. I’m not here to talk about his capabilities as a doctor. WATANABE: Can you hold the mike a little closer, please. S. LELAH: I’ve been here in Kona for 23 years. I’ve seen things happen. I’ve seen things grow. I’ve seen things being killed.Mr. Chairman, you had a question to one of the people who came up here to talk about his capabilities; your question was, Dr. Lelah is one man, what can he do to do all of this stuff that he needs to do and give the therapy that he needs to give therapy to the kids. I was the instigator to bring my son here to Kona when he finished his studies at Harvard University. What this one man does is more than give therapy to the children who have special needs. He goes to court to fight cases for the children that needs special treatment, which certain insurance companies will not provide.He goes to the funerals of the EXHIBIT A 21 kids that have passed away due to terminal sicknesses. He also donates most of his time and his money to do what he is doing for the children of this community. This man is doing things that -, not as the father but as a human being looking at what he does. He calls me – and I don’t know, because I’m 80 years old and I do things that he can’t understand – and he says to me, “Dad, you need help.” I think he needs help; and the help that he needs is to be able to be given the tools that he needs to work with these kids. There aren’t many doctors on this Island who do what he does. And some of his patients who have come here today have asked you to go there and take a look, just spend a few minutes over his premises, and see what he has done for the children, what he wants to accomplish in the future for the children. And for all what he is doing, he is taking away my inheritance. I’m 80 years old, but I told him that I’m going to live to be 110. I like doctors; I don’t visit them. And therefore, I’d like to see what he leaves behind, which none of us will get because it is being left for the children. He is not doing anything of this sort for his property for him to enjoy but for the children. I’m not asking for him; I’m asking for the children. We see this everyday on television – children of special needs, children who need special treatment. We see this everyday on television. What can we do, if there isn’t the person who has the qualification? And this man has, and it all comes from the heart. Thank you. WATANABE: Thank you. Do we have any questions of Mr. Lelah? Yes, Mr. – please be seated – Mr. Iwashita. IWASHITA: Mr. Chair, can you have the testifier give his address? I don’t think that was made a record. S. LELAH: My address is P. O. Box 385785, Waikoloa. IWASHITA: And I want to thank you very much for coming and in your own special way supporting your son. WATANABE: Okay, thank you. You all may be seated. Well, that ends the public testimony. So we have a choice now, Fellow Commissioners, we could either make a motion or start deliberating without the motion. Does anybody have a preference? Yes, Mr. Iwashita. IWASHITA: I’m prepared to make a motion. WATANABE: Please. IWASHITA: Mr. Chair, with regard to SPP 08-000052, Applicant: Reuben Lelah, I move that the application for special permit be approved with the conditions proposed in the recommendation. WATANABE: Okay, that would be inclusive of the recently revised Conditions No. 2 and No. 6? IWASHITA: Yes, Mr. Chair. WATANABE: Thank you. EXHIBIT A 22 SIRACUSA: Second. WATANABE: Thank you. So it’s been moved and seconded. Would you -, do we need to discuss this? Does anyone have any input? No? Okay, Mr. Darrow. BOWMAN: I do. WATANABE: Excuse me. Ms. Bowman. BOWMAN: I would just like to say for the record that I know several of the people who have signed the memorandum of understanding, Pio Humphreys and the Juviks, and this in no way will affect my vote. I commend you. I run an after-school program for kids, and we reconnect kids to nature. We live in Kohala, and thank goodness we have places to go. But it is getting harder and harder to find places to take children for outdoor activities. I do have a concern for your neighbors. I think anytime there are changes in your backyard, that it is difficult. And my just desire is that things are worked out. And you know, I looked in what’s allowed in Agricultural zones; you could have probably more than what you are doing. So I just thank you, and I hope that your practice flourishes in a way that it’s copasetic in the environment that you have. Thank you. WATANABE: Mr. Domingo, any comments? DOMINGO: No. WATANABE: No. Okay. Mr. Darrow, we are ready for the -. DARROW: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The motion before us is to approve this special permit request with revised Conditions No. 2 and No. 6. With that, I’ll take the roll. Commissioner Iwashita? IWASHITA: Aye. DARROW: Commissioner Siracusa? SIRACUSA: Aye. DARROW: Commissioner Bowman? BOWMAN: Aye. DARROW: Commissioner Domingo? DOMINGO: Aye. DARROW: Commissioner Ogata? EXHIBIT A 23 OGATA: Aye. DARROW: Commissioner Rho? RHO: Aye. DARROW: Commissioner Woodward? WOODWARD: Aye. DARROW: And Mr. Chairman? WATANABE: Aye. DARROW: The motion passes eight to zero. WATANABE: So Mr. Mooers, you’ll be notified in writing, right? Okay, great. Congratulations. The discussion ended at 10:30 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Noriko Sauer, West Hawaii Secretary EXHIBIT A 24