HomeMy WebLinkAbout2025-08-26 PL-REZ-2025-000083 Testimony from Andrew J SuttonFrom:Jeff Sutton
To:WPCtestimony
Cc:Jeff Sutton; Christy Schuerch
Subject:William Morris PL-REZ-2025-000083 application. Written testimony due by Tuesday, Sept 2.
Date:Tuesday, August 26, 2025 5:04:21 PM
Thank you for the opportunity to submit testimony today. I do not support William Morris’s PL-REZ-
2025-000083 application for change of zoning. The applicant’s Volcano Village property is located in
a quiet, residentially and culturally-focused area, and is part of Niaulani rainforest-- one of only a few
such surviving older growth tracts in Hawai`i. The subject property is bordered on all sides except the
frontage road by family residences tucked into that rainforest.
To be clear, the applicant’s request to rezone implies subdividing this residential property pursuant
to turning a portion of the property into a commercial venture. The applicant has placarded the
edge of the property saying he wants to establish a café/deli. Rendering native ‘Ohi`a and Koa forest
trees and scraping the land in order to make parking areas and erect a storefront degrades Niaulani
Forest’s character and vitality. This degradation of plant and bird habitat seems needless; Volcano
Village already hosts an underutilized commercial zone that includes stores, cafés and sandwich
shops located less than a thousand feet from the applicant’s property.
County zoning in Hawai`i exists to help manage and protect Hawai`i Island’s limited land, and to
prevent incompatible land use. For those of us living in Volcano Village, zoning helps us thoughtfully
grow our community in a way that respects and preserves our remaining native forest—a big part of
what makes Volcano special in Hawai`i nei. The applicant’s property sits squarely within the
residential zone as identified in the Volcano Long Range Plan for this reason. In summary, I urge the
Windward Planning Commission to retain the current RS-20 zoning, to deny the applicant’s request
for rezoning, and to encourage the applicant to pursue their commercial venture within the existing
and ample CV-zoned part of the village. Respectfully Andrew J Sutton, Volcano Village