HomeMy WebLinkAboutPL-REZ-2022-000033 LAI OPUA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT CORP TESTMONY 12.15.2022£a'i'Opua Community DeveCopment Corp.
74-5146 Haleolono Place, Kailua Kona, HI 96740
P.O. Box 3230, Kailua- Kona, HI 96745
Kailua- Kona, HI 96745
December 14, 2022
Leeward Planning Commission
Michael Vitousek
West Hawai`i Civic Center,
74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway,
Building E, 2nd Floor,
Kailua-Kona, Hawai`I, 96740
Mr, Vitousek,
email....bokahui650;gnwil.com
Phone. 808-896-2252
Please be advised that the Laiopua Community Development Corporation unanimously support the
Change of Zone Amendment Application No. PL-REZ-2022-000033.
The Laiopua CDC Board on December 14, 2022 unanimously approved the testimony presented by
Bo Kahui attached in support to the change of Zone Amendment Application No. PL-REZ-2022-000033.
Please contact me if you require further information.
M alo,
et —
Dora Aio- Leamons,
Secretary
£a'i'Opua Community Development Corp.
74-5146 Haleolono Place, Kailua Kona, HI 96740
P.O. Box 3230, Kailua- Kona, HI 96745
Kailua- Kona, HI 96745
December 15, 2022
Craig "Bo" Kahui
Laiopua Community Development Corporation
74-5146 Haleolono Place
Kailua-Kona, HI 96740
Email: bokahui65@gmail.com
Dear Chairperson Michael Vitousek and
Members of the Leeward Planning Commission
email... hokahui65(a�mail. com
Phone. 808-896-2252
Letter in Support of Amendments to Ordinance No. 02 131
Change of Zone Amendment Application No. PL-REZ-2022-000033
Applicant: Kona Three LLC
Tax Map Keys: (3) 7-6-021:016 and 017; N. Kona, Hawaii
My name is Craig Bo Kahui and I'm a native Hawaiian and I would like to encourage
the Leeward Planning Commission to support the amendments to the zoning ordinance as
requested by Kona Three LLC, which if approved, will give them the opportunity to proceed
with the proposed Royal Vistas multiple family residential project that will provide much -
needed employment and housing opportunities for our local families.
The proposed Royal Vistas multiple -family project is a part of the larger Kona Vistas
community that was originally approved in 1984 by both the State Land Use Commission and
the Hawai`i County Council. The past 38 years has seen the completion of the 215-lot Kona
Vistas single-family residential subdivision targeting the upper -income market. Now its time to
focus on providing more affordable housing opportunities for many in the actively working
segment of our community.
The 450-unit Royal Vistas project will offer both fee and rental opportunities for the mid -
market group of residents, which include the workforce gap group represented by people like me,
with incomes too high to qualify for subsidized affordable housing and too low to afford market -
rate homes. Most important, the proposed Royal Vistas multiple -family project will impact native
Hawaiians who for many years have been on the wait list for Hawaiian Home Housing
opportunities. In fact, some have waited for over a 20 years.
The past 3 years have seen historical levels of inflation, especially in the real estate
market, pricing out many local families. The proposed Royal Vistas community will give
hundreds of local families that opportunity to live and prosper within a growing urban
community that has seen most existing housing units priced well beyond their means.
Finding an affordable place to live in the Kailua-Kona area is next to impossible. Many
of us who work in the North Kona area reside in the outlying communities of South Kohala,
South Kona, and Ka`u. Many also make the daily trek from the east side of the island. All of
these commuters add to the overall congestion along North Kona's arterials. The most practical
solution is to provide affordable housing opportunities where people work, thereby reducing the
number of residents having to make the long commutes.
I have heard of people opposed to this project due to traffic concerns along the already -
congested Queen Ka`ahumanu and Kuakini Highways. To oppose the granting of additional
time to complete this housing project is very short-sighted.To deny this project the ability to go
forward will not make the traffic congestion better, because I will continue to drive in order to
make a living. Here is a chance for the County government to find solutions and to not make
excuses.
Roughly 90% of the work is in the North Kona/South Kohala region and a significant number of
my colleagues are from other districts, who have to drive daily into or through North Kona to get
to their job sites. If we could find an affordable place to rent or own in Kona, it will make our
lifestyle so much easier, and reduce the traffic congestion that we add to every single work day.
The Royal Vistas housing project is the right type of project in the right location and at
the right time. This multiple family residential project was planned about 38 years ago as part of
a larger residential community, which stopped after completion of the Kona Vistas subdivision.
This project is nothing new. But it could help aid towards addressing some of the most important
issues in North Kona, such as:
1. providing housing for people who cannot afford market -rate homes, but make too
much to qualify for affordable housing;
2. provide part of the solution towards interconnectivity of roads between existing
Pualani Estates to the north and Kona Vistas subdivision to the south;
3. help manage drainage within the Holualoa and Horseshoe Bend drainage systems;
4. contribute fair share funding to parks, roads, solid waste facilities, police and fire
services; and
5. offer affordable housing units in conformance with the County's affordable housing
guidelines.
6. Provide affordable housing opportunities for native Hawaiians who have waited so
long on the Hawaiian Homes Commission "wait list" thus, offering another option
for affordable housing
We need to support projects that provides more -affordable housing opportunities for local
residents, and we need it now! I urge you to give Kona Three LLC the additional time they need
to complete the urgently -needed Royal Vistas housing project.
Finally, the Laiopua Community Development Corporation Board, a native Hawaiian
501C3 non profit corporation founded to promote the betterment of the Laiopua Homestead region
implementing community economic opportunities for Housing, and energy unanimously support
the change of Zone Amendment Application No. PL-REZ-2022-000033
Sincerely,
Craig Bo Kahuie'
Laiopua CDC, ED
Homesteader, Villages of Laiopua