HomeMy WebLinkAboutPL-SPP-2022-000016 J. Ruggles Testimony support 01.05.23 Jennifer Ruggles
P.O. Box 794
Mt. View, HI 96771
jenniferlruggles@gmail.com
Windward Planning Commission
101 Pauahi Street
Hilo, HI 96720
Re: Special permit application for TM 1-3-2-140
Dear planning commission members,
Thank you for considering Mr. Robert Silber's application for a special use permit for Lolia
Place on the Red Road in lower Puna. I was born and raised in Puna and have lived here my
entire life. In 2016, 1 was elected to the Hawai'i County Council to represent the district the lot
is in and served two years in office.
The year I was elected, Lolia place was just a clear lot with an empty slab. Since, I've
witnessed Mr. Silber preserver through the costly struggle of developing it with diligence to
be legal and to code with dreams of supporting our local community. He has succeeded in
transforming it into a beautiful, abundant, clean, safe, and sustainable community resource. If
the special permit is approved, Lolia Place will serve as an invaluable asset by way of
providing good quality jobs, bringing wealth to the district, (which is the poorest district in
the State), and building resilience through cultivating community.
Lolia Place also has something special to offer the lower Puna district that I believe many
officials may overlook. While I was in office Puna faced a natural disaster whereby people lost
access to homes, electricity, running water, and more. It became clear that we needed
community resource within the area that could operate off-grid to provide electricity, shelter,
and potable water to support response efforts to natural disasters like the 2018 lava flow. Lolia
Place is one of the few infrastructure complexes in lower Puna that is built to code, while
being completely unaffected by electricity cut-offs.
From my experience with Mr. Silber, he is an honest, generous, forward-thinking and
community minded man, and Puna would greatly benefit if this application was approved.
Please support Puna by supporting this special use application.
Sincerely,
Jennifer Ruggles