HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-07-13 Margaret Widjaja and Rohit Wad Support Testimony
From: Margaret - Lokahi Orchards
To: Planning LPC Testimony
Cc: Jason Eisert
Subject: SUPPORT — Kona Kai, LLC, Special Permit PL-SPP-2025-000109 (July 16, 2026 hearing)
Date: Monday, July 13, 2026 9:34:07 AM
Aloha Chair and Commissioners,
We are Margaret Widjaja and Rohit Wad, from 75-877 Keaolani Sbd in the subdivision adjoining the applicant's property — our home sits within 500 feet of the
farm. We are writing because if this operation were a problem for its neighbors, we would be among the first to know. It is not, and we support this application.
We keep a wide variety of trees on our own property — coffee, mango, citrus,
avocado, lychee, banana, rambutan, dragon fruit, etc. Anyone who has tried to keep even a small orchard healthy in Kona knows what that demands: pruning, feeding,
watering, fighting pests, and real money going out the door every season whether or not anything comes back in. Tending our own trees has given us a firsthand
appreciation for what it takes to keep a coffee farm alive — and why a farm needs honest ways to earn income from the land it cares for.
Jason has been a generous and considerate neighbor to us. When we had questions
about bean collection and yields, he was happy to set aside time to help. When we needed some help with the ohana, he came over to look, and offered valuable
suggestions. He is the kind of person you hope ends up on the land near yours.
Living this close, what we experience from our home day to day is a well-kept, actively farmed agricultural property. To us, this application is simply a real farm
finding a way to stay a real farm — which is exactly what agricultural land here should be, and what this particular property is well suited for.
Please approve Special Permit Application PL-SPP-2025-000109. As two of his
neighbors, we would welcome that outcome.
Respectfully,
Margaret Widjaja and Rohit Wad
75-877 Keaolani Sbd, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii