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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-07-06 Hearing Transcript - Verizon Wireless USE 17-000067WINDWARD PLANNING COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAII HEARING TRANSCRIPT JULY 6, 2017 A regularly advertised hearing on the application of VERIZON WIRELESS (USE 17-067) was called to order at 9:03 a.m. in the County of Hawaii Aupuni Center Conference Room, 101 Pauahi Street, Hilo, Hawaii with Chairman Gregory Henkel presiding. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Gregory Henkel, Donald Ikeda, Myles Miyasato, and Thomas Raffipiy. ABSENT & EXCUSED: Joe Clarkson, Donn Dela Cruz. ALSO PRESENT: Michael Yee (Planning Director), Daryn Arai (Deputy Planning Director), Amy Self (Deputy Corporation Counsel for the Planning Director), Malia Ho Hall (Deputy Corporation Counsel for the Windward Planning Commission), Jeff Darrow (Planning Program Manager), Maija Jackson (Planner), Christian Kay (Planner), Shancy Watanabe (Planner), and Sarah Hata-Finley (Commission Secretary). And 25 members from the public in attendance. APPLICANT: VERIZON WIRELESS (USE 17-000067) Application for a Use Permit to allow the construction of a new, non -manned telecommunication facility, consisting of a 167 -foot tall steel monopole tower and related facilities within a 900 - square foot portion of a 1 -acre parcel of land situated in the County's Agricultural 1 -acre (A -la) zoning district. The property is located northeast of the `Ohi`a Avenue - Alapua Street intersection, in the Eden Roc Estates Subdivision, Kea`au, Puna, Hawaii, TMK: 1-1-082:031. HENKEL: And with that, we'll go to today's first agenda item which is the USE 17-67, Verizon Wireless, and Maija will be making the presentation. JACKSON: Good morning, Commissioners. MIYASATO: Good morning. JACKSON: I think my mic is off KAY: You have to turn it on, Maija. I did that yesterday. JACKSON: Thank you. Good morning, Commissioners. Your first agenda item is a request for a Use Permit, and the Applicant is Verizon Wireless. The subject property is in the Puna District in the Eden Roc Subdivision. It's shown on the slide with a red dot. And, just to orient the Commission, you have Volcano Highway running in a EXHIBIT A north -south direction at the left side of the slide, and then we have South Oshiro Road and, excuse me, this is the Eden Roc Subdivision shown here in the light green. You have the Kopua Farm Lots to the east, and Fern Forest to the west. The subject property is located in the northeast corner of the Alapua Street and `Ohi`a Avenue intersection. This is Alapua Street, and `Ohi` a Avenue is on the west side of the property. The zoning for the property in the surrounding subdivision is Agricultural — 1 acre, which is shown in the light green color. The Applicant is requesting a Use Permit to construct a new telecommunication facility consisting of a 167 -foot tall steel monopine with twelve 8 -foot tall panel antennas and related facilities within a 900 -square foot leased area on a 1 -acre parcel. The 900 -square foot leased area will be fenced and used for accessory ground facilities which will include a radio and battery equipment cabinets, an emergency generator, three surge protectors and one GPS antenna on a concrete slab foundation. The proposed project will serve the Eden Roc Estates Subdivision as well as parts of Fern Acres and Fern Forest and Kopua Farm Lots. This is a site plan of the proposed tower. Again, you have `Ohi`a Avenue on the west side of the property; Alapua Street on the south side or makai side. And, this is the property boundary here generally. The proposed tower would be located closest to the intersection on the property. And, these are some elevation plans showing what the proposed tower would look like. They are designing it to look like a pine tree. The General Plan designation for the property is Rural for the entire Eden Roc Subdivision. And, this is an aerial photo of the area. You can see that the property is heavily forested in `ohi`a trees. The property is outlined in red, and the 900 -square foot leased area is outlined in the yellow color. The closest dwelling is located across `Ohi`a Avenue. It's about 150 feet away from the proposed site. And, this is a view of the property from `Ohi`a Avenue — Alapua Street intersection. So, you can see the tower would generally be located in this area here. And, this is a view looking up `Ohi` a Avenue towards the mauka direction. The property is on the right side, and the driveway to the proposed facility would be generally located in this area here. And, then this is a view of the leased area from Alapua Street. Again, it would be in this general area here. The Planning Director is recommending approval of the Use Permit with conditions. And, we have received several communications that I'd like to bring to your attention. With your Background Report, you received a letter of testimony from Theresa Billian. You also should have an email dated June 29th from Julia Puckett, an email dated June 29th from Janice Record, a letter dated June 1st from Marleen Rodrigues-Quiroz, and a Petition for Standing in a Contested Case was received on June 29th from Norine Fitzgerald. You should also have a few emails between me and Verizon and Mr. Nelson Ho of Representative [sic] Jen Ruggles office. And, that concludes my presentation. I'd be happy to answer any questions you have. EXHIBIT A 2 HENKEL: We have a question from Mr. Ikeda. IKEDA: Can you tell me the nearest residence to the property? JACKSON: Yeah— IKEDA: Is it one of the people that is against the project? JACKSON: I do not believe so. IKEDA: You don't think so? JACKSON: No. IKEDA: Okay. AUDIENCE MEMBER: Yes. HENKEL: Any other questions from the Commission? Okay, since there's been a Petition for Standing in a Contested Case Hearing, before we take action on this specific issue, we've got to determine whether we grant the Petition for Standing in a Contested Case Hearing. So, at this point, following Rule 4-6(a), which is a new rule that we just okayed a couple months ago in a joint meeting in Kona, a person seeking to intervene shall file a written request on a form approved by the Planning Director and accompanied by a filing fee of $200, no later than seven days prior to the Commission's first meeting on the matter, and that criteria has been met. It also states [the] following criteria: His or her interest is distinguishable from that of the general public; government agencies whose jurisdiction includes the land involved in the subject request; or they have some property interest in the land or lawfully reside on the land; or that they do not [sic] have an interest different from the public; and persons who are descendants of Native Hawaiians who inhabited the Islands prior to 1778. And, I believe all that criteria has been met, but at this point, we're going to call up the—go ahead, Malia—help me out here. HALL: Sorry, let me just interject. The—the part where it states Native Hawaiian, it's not just that you're Native Hawaiian. It's also that you practice customarily or traditionally practice some sort of either gathering rights or on that property traditionally. So, it's not just, the condition is not just that you're Hawaiian but also that you actually have gathered or done some— HENKEL: Okay HALL: —some sort of customary practice there. FITZGERALD (from audience area): I'm Norine HALL: No, please come— EXHIBIT A 3 HENKEL: —Well, you'll get a chance to speak, but we've got to follow a certain protocol here. HALL: Yeah, you can call her up now actually. HENKEL: So, it's the person filing for a petition which is the Applicant [sic], Norine. HALL: Norine Fitzgerald, Petitioner. HENKEL: The Petitioner—are you Norine? Yeah, please come up and then also a representative from the Planning Department and a representative from Verizon. HALL: Please have a seat. FITZGERALD (from audience area): May I share my supplement to my Petition? Could I? HENKEL: Yeah, please just please have a seat and, Norine, and we'll get to you. HALL: You can hand your supplements to Sarah. FITZGERALD: Okay. I have an original and HENKEL: So, we've got Verizon, the Petitioner, and the County represented. Would you please all raise your right hands? Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth in this matter before the Planning Commission? YEE/SELF/SUNG/SHAFFER/FITZGERALD: I do/yes. HENKEL: Okay, thank you. When you speak, please speak into your microphone so that we can get this down on the record. And, I'm not sureI guess we should let the Petitioner go first, yeah? HALL: Yeah. FITZGERALD: Aloha. HENKEL: State your name and residence, please, Norine. FITZGERALD: Norine Fitzgerald. I live on Road 17 in Eden Roc. HENKEL: Okay. FITZGERALD: Would you like me to state my address? HENKEL: You don't need to state your address. EXHIBIT A 4 FITZGERALD: Okay. HENKEL: Just that you're a resident of Eden Roc is good. And, could you explain why you should be granted standing according to the criteria in Rule 4-6? FITZGERALD: Yes, I would like to go overI forget what rule it is, but it's regarding the Hawaiian standing. When I went to file my Petition in the Planning Department, Ms. Jackson advised me that the birth certificates would be sufficient and that I could submit [inaudible] my testimony later which is the supplement to Petition that I just gave you. And, so that is why I just have the birth certificates attached to the original Petition. My reason for being here today is because I believe that there were some errors made in Verizon's application. The main document that I'm looking at is Exhibit F. I apologize. I didn't have enough copying ability to copy that document as well as the Recommendation from the Planning Department. The two documents that I refer to is the Department of Planning, County of Hawaii Written Statement as part of application for Use Permit application, and then the subsequent County of Hawaii Planning Department Recommendation, Verizon Wireless Use Permit Application 17- 000067. I believe it's in error because Exhibit F from the HALL: Sorry, Ms. Fitzgerald, let me interject real quick. So, right now, we're just deciding on your Petition for Standing, so you—we need you to tell the Commission why you're either distinguishable from the general public and should be granted a Petition for Standing or the practices that your practice on this, in this ahupua`a that also allow you to be granted a Petition for Standing. FITZGERALD: I believe I should be granted standing `cause I live on Road 17 which ismy house is about 1,400 feet away from the proposed cell tower. I'm not part of the five hundred, but I also object to Verizon's 500 -feet distribution of letters because it also addresses only the owners and not the actual tenants, and so that's a problem. But, I believe I have standing because I live so close. I have actually knowledge of the cave that runs on 16 and 17, both, and I have lived there since 1992. And, I feel the land compelling me to protect it. This is not normal! We do not have any 8 -foot fences, security fences, in the whole subdivision. They say it's not going to materially be detrimental to the area. I believe that is false! I believe I should have standing. Thank you. HENKEL: Thank you, Norine. Does the Applicant have a response to that? Do you have any objections to the Petition for Standing? SUNG: Steve Sung with Wireless Resources for—for Verizon Wireless. That's fine. We have, we have no objection. HENKEL: Thank you, Steve. Planning Director, do you have any objections to the Petition for Standing? State your name, please. EXHIBIT A 5 SELF: Amy Self, Deputy Corporation Counsel representing the Planning Department. The Planning Director does object to the Petition for Standing because we feel that she has not clearly stated a reason that is distinguishable from that of the general public since she is fourteen under her own words -1,400 feet away. And, also, she has not fully described the practice that has been customarily and traditionally exercised for subsistent, cultural, or religious purposes. And for the Commission's reference, that is Planning Commission Rule 4-6(b) as in boy, and specifically items 1 and 5. HENKEL: Okay, thank you. Norine, do you have any response to the Planning Director's objections to your Petition? FITZGERALD: Yes, I do. I would challenge the Corporation Counsel to clarify her statement when it says, when she says that I am not different from the general public. The general public lives much farther away than 1,400 some odd feet. I think I am different in that category. Also, regarding my Hawaiian practices, I go to that land every day. I pass that land every day. I respect that land. I haveI have a kuleana towards that land to protect it, and the people around it. It's my right as a Hawaiian to do that. Do not deny me based on the fact that the Planning Director told me that my birth certificate would be sufficient. Now, it's something else. That is not right. I have a kuleana to that land and the people. That is my Hawaiian practice. HENKEL: Thanks, Norine. Commissioners, are, do you have any questions for either the Planning Department, Verizon, or the Applicant? IKEDA: Mr. Chairman? HENKEL: Yes. IKEDA: I know this is out of, not ordinary, but I'd like to hear from the closest resident to the tower. HENKEL: Thanks, Donald. Well, then the next agenda item on this—you people may have your seat, and we'll allow public testimony now, and give us a chance. I believe the nearest resident stated that she is here. I assume she's signed up to testify. So, I haven't been given a list yet of people that are signed up, but it's, it's coming, so please be patient. And, Commissioners, while we're waiting, you know, after the public testimony portion, if any of you would like to go into executive session to discuss the options with our Corp. Counsel, we can move and do that. Okay, we have four people signed up, and we'll get all four of them at once. Theresa Billian thank you—Julia Puckett, Tom Cumming, and Crystal Schiszler. So, I've got four signed up and three up here. Who's—you must be Tom. Here we go. Thank you. Will the four of you please raise your right hands? Do you swear to tell the truth in this matter before the Windward Planning Commission? TESTIFIERS: Yes. EXHIBIT A 6 HENKEL: Okay, we'll start with the right side of the table. Please state your names, speak into the microphone, and give a brief summary. SCHISZLER: Okay, why I don't, why I'm against? HENKEL: Yes. SCHISZLER: Okay. My name is Crystal Schiszler, and I live with my mom, Theresa Billian, in Eden Roc, and we're on 17th Street. BILLIAN: Sixteen. SCHISZLER: Sixteen, and, yeah, I'm against the proposed phone antenna I guess, or whatever it's called, due to the fact that there's small children who play around, live right across from it, and they play right around the proposed site, like plenty, like maybe five kids I see out there at one time. And, this proposed antenna is a health hazard. I mean, it's widely known. I don't have any, you know, evidence to support that, but it's widely known to be a health hazard. That's why it used to be fenced `cause I heard if you get too close to it, you can actually harm small animals so I don't know if that's exactly true. I know it's a known health hazard so I'm completely against it and also `cause my mom lives right there a couple lots away, and she already is disabled, and I just don't think it's fair that these homeown—these property owners are rent, renting out their land, and they don't actually live there for, so they can make money while other homeowners around have to suffer. So, I just don't think that's right. I think this antenna should be somewhere where it's not such a residential area. It's very inappropriate. There's no antennas such as this in Paradise Park where I also live. I think it's just very inappropriate. Should be on the highway or somewhere where no one's around. That's pretty much it. Thank you. HENKEL: Thank you. And, you must be Julia? PUCKETT: Yeah, I am, yeah. HENKEL: Okay, please state your name and where you reside and proceed. PUCKETT: I'm Julia Puckett. I live in Eden Roc. The thing is, is that, I don't think enough research has been done. We have an endangered Hoary bat and endangered yellow -faced bee, okay? These are animals that they get around via sonar radar, radio frequencies. Now, we already have a tower over in Fern Forest exactly a monopole which is almost parallel to where they want to put up this one. Okay, the thing is that if we put up the monopole right there, it's overkill. It's redundant. Okay. Why are we putting these endangered animals at higher risk of colony collapses. And, the bats, you know, homing devices, you know, they're talking about, worried about their mating things, but they're not worried about their actual how they get around. How they live is via the frequencies. And, the more and more these towers are going up, the more and more colony collapses we're having of all sorts, of honey bees and everything, and that affects our food and our livelihood, and all I'm asking is like for one area of this island EXHIBIT A 7 to be free from these, these radio frequencies so the bees have a place to go and the bats have a place to go. It's like we are popping up these towers everywhere. We just want a sanctuary so to speak for these animals, and I don't think it's too much to ask. You know, not even getting into the health thing, which I know we, you know, we're not supposed to say, but my son worked on these towers. And, some guy as a joke flipped the switch, and my son was on the tower, and he started convulsing and throwing up violently. Okay, this is something, and that, I realize he was like within five and ten feet, but if that can happen there, what can happen to these animals flying between two poles which causes death alley, which is what it's called, it's literally cooking anything flying in the vicinity between two towers, okay? If we have the two towers close together like this, we're, we're frying the endangered owls. We're frying the, you know, the bees, the bats, you know all this stuff that go between these towers are literally being cooked in the air. Why do we have to have so muchI'm on Verizon. I have good cell service, and I'm in Eden Roc. Why do we need more? That's my point. Redundancy. Thank you. HENKEL: Thank you, Julia. Tom? CUMMING: Yeah, I was, I've been on the HENKEL: I'm sorry, please state your name and where you reside. CUMMING: I'm sorry, my name is Tom Cumming. I've been on the board of directors for Kopua Farm Lots for almost a decade. I'm currently not because I got [inaudible]. But, I'm concerned about the safety, safety issue of not having cell service out there. Currently, on my lot, I have to have a 30 -foot tower and a cellular repeater to get cell service. I basically can only get cell service inside my home because outside, I do not have the repeater access. I consider this a safety issue. I've also hadI lost $20,000 worth of items in a burglary, and I put in a security system that also depends on a cellular system to warn me when my house is being broken into. So, I consider this a safety issue. It is also people want to have jobs. Want to get, you know, called for, babysitters, want to call their office. You can't do that without cell service. My biggest concern is that this a Verizon only tower, is my understanding, and not everybody has Verizon. So, I know that in another subdivision where I am on the board of directors, we used Vista Towers for our tower, and we have three providers on the same tower. So, we don't have to have a whole bunch of towers. And, this is where it's great. The tower is next to our park. It is next to homes, and there have been no complaints. Anyway, that's my testimony. Thank you. HENKEL: Thank you, Tom. And, Theresa, please state your name and where you reside. BILLIAN: Hi, my name is Theresa Billian. I live at Alapua Street, five lots away from this tower. I bought this property in 2001, and I want to preserve it, my health and well-being, and I cannot do so with the cell phone tower beaming down on me. I am worried about the plants; the EXHIBIT A animals; and especially human life, and there's children in our subdivision. I have no idea why big business wants us to suffer. That's all. Thank you. HENKEL: Okay, thank you. Question? IKEDA: Yes, can I ask her—how far is your home from the tower? BILLIAN: It's five lots away. IKEDA: Distance wise. How many feet? BILLIAN: Five lots, oh, roughly 500 feet. HENKEL: Thank you. You may be seated. SCHISZLER: I'd like to add something to that. We have to pass by this proposed tower site just to get in and out of our property or else we have to go extra far and extra on a bumpy road that our cars cannot handle, so we, you know, I don't think that's fair. Are we going to have to change our route to even get to our own house that's going to cause even more inconvenience on us due to other people wanting to be, have more convenience? I don't think these people who are saying it's a good idea—they should have to live next to it and say that `cause we are going to have to. And, I think children are, too. I think it's very sad if it's going to happen. We might have to move. HENKEL: Okay, thank you. You may be seated. I'm sorry, we have a question. RAFFIPIY: Mr. Chairman, I just wanted to know who owned that house 150 feet away from that, from that proposed tower? SCHISZLER: There's a family with children right across from there. HENKEL: But, they're not represented here today I believe. SCHISZLER: Well, I've seen them, and we know them, so they exist. Thank you. HENKEL: Okay, thank you. So, I've—you know, just to remind everyone, what we're, we're not discussing the issues. We've heard the testimony, but we're not discussing whether or not to approve the cell tower. What we're doing is we're discussing whether to grant the standing for petition. And, this, the new rule was passed to encourage public participation in government, and I appreciate all of you people for coming. So, if any of you feel the need to talk to Corp. Counsel about how we should proceed this is a little different than our normal meeting. You should MIYASATO: —Chair HENKEL: hear a motion for executive session. EXHIBIT A 9 MIYASATO: Excuse me, but could we call up back Verizon to have any comments on the testimony? HENKEL: Okay. Verizon, would you like to come up and respond to the testimony you've heard? SUNG: Thank you. HENKEL: I don't think I need to re -swear them in, right? HALL: No. HENKEL: Okay. Just state your name again, please, for the record. SUNG: Sure. Steve Sung with Wireless Resources on behalf of Verizon Wireless. Yeah, I do want to actually reply to a couple issues that was brought up. As far as the—Department of Fish & Wildlife provided their recommendation on the, on these couple issues that was brought up from one of the public. We will follow strict guidelines from as far as how we build the site, when we build the site, with, I guess five possible—bear with me here, I'll just pull that—on Hawaiian Hoary bat, Hawaiian hawk, and couple other species that they have. They, it was never required, a bird study per se, but they do have conditions they want us to follow, and Verizon will absolutely follow those conditions. SHAFFER: In relation to the cave, we also had HALL: Sorry, can you state your name? SHAFFER: Oh, this is Corey Shaffer with Verizon Wireless. HALL: Thank you. SHAFFER: We have the, the letter from State. Sorry, I want to get the right name of the—it's a Ph.D. from the State who basically did the analysis on the existing lava tubes and basically saidI saw reference to that in some of the contested information—and said that it was not in effect. So, we're not experts on Hawaiian history or the existence of lava tubes, but we did follow the process to submit that information to the State, and they came back and basically said that this site was okay. There were no known remains and that the lava tubes were far enough away. So, that, that issue—and then related to the health effects, I know people are scared of towers, but we do have towers all over. People live, you know, on the top floor of residential buildings on this island and every island in the State within five or ten feet of these antennas, and the fact that this is a 160 -foot tower, the exposure levels that you will experience on the ground are actually lower than you would experience from your own phone, and that's because the energy from a signal decays very quickly, one over the square of the distance from the EXHIBIT A 10 transmitter. So, when your phone is close to you, it can actually expose you to a bit more than the tower which is, in this case, at least a 160 feet away. So, from a—from an EME which is regulated by the FCC—and we also don't have any ability to change those rules, but we do abide by those regulations. And, at that large distance of a 160 feet, we know we'll be well below those levels set forth by the FCC for safety for the public and stuff like that. SUNG: Just one more thing to add, sorry. State Historic Preservation also provided that "no effect" letter back in 1985, 2015, excuse me, so I just want to point that out. AUDIENCE MEMBER: [Inaudible] HENKEL: NoI'm sorry, any questions for Verizon from the Commission? Yes, Mr. Ikeda. IKEDA: You know, one of the, how shall I say, people against your project stated that you have a lot of towers in there. Is it true that you have another tower close by? SHAFFER: So, the two closest towers, the one in the Glenwood Estates, we're already on, and it's pretty far away. It's over two miles away. The Fern Forest tower is too far west, and the tower, there's one other tower that was mentioned in the farm lots. That's about a mile away. So, we're planning several towers in the area, and they basically have to be spaced correctly in order to have contiguous coverage or we'll end up having to build another tower. So, one thing we don't want to do is put a tower in the wrong spot and then have to build two towers rather than one. So, one properly placed tower is better than two or three that are not ideally placed. And, as for co -location, the gentleman mentioned that some tower, the towers built by Vista, have multiple carriers on them. Our tower will also be available for co -location, so any—we can't make any other cell phone companies put their services on there, but any that are willing or would like to will be allowed to and that's encouraged across the industry as you folks know—to co -locate on existing towers rather than build a new one right next to an existing one. IKEDA: Another question, please? HENKEL: Yes, go ahead, Mr. Ikeda. IKEDA: The person who filed for contested case here filed that the—is the towers obsolete as, you know, because she said, right now, fiber optics are the way to go. Is it true? Not true? SHAFFER: So, fiber optics are on the line, so that's actually we use fiber optics to connect the cell site back to the switch which is then connected to other phone companies and the Internet so you can make phone calls and get on-line. So, we do use fiber optics. But, the last leg, the connection from the tower to the phone is electromagnetic. It has to be. So, it's not obsolete. It's not going away. EXHIBIT A 11 And, that reminds me of the other testimony that was given about the tower basically shooting to other towers. The tower is not this does not have a microwave dish which would be point to point communication that was talked about before. Our tower is designed just to cover cell phones in the area, so the signal will not go to other towers. It will be pointing, you know, generally out and downward toward the folks to cover a mile or two away, the residences in the area. HENKEL: Thank you. Any other questions? RAFFIPIY: Yeah, I have a question. HENKEL: Yes, Tom. RAFFIPIY: Is there any particular reason why you choose that one specific spot on that lot that is 150 feet away from the closest resident and the tower being 167 feet tall? SUNG: So, what we, when Verizon comes up with the search ring to improve their coverage and capacity, basically someone like me would drive within that search ring. We have to find, you know, able landlords who are willing to, you know, basically be interested to lease a portion of the land to put up our cell site. So, basically, we go through the process, speak to couple, you know, landlords around that area, and the obviously, one of the biggest concern is we want to be as far away as possible, but sometimes the search ring is so, so small that we have to look at, you know, basically which, which landowner will be interested. So happened that particular candidate, the landlord was interested. So, that's why we went ahead and proposed that site in that lot. But, I mean, at 150 some odd feet, we feel it's, it's safe for the—for the owner, for the neighboring property owner. HENKEL: I have a question. I think what Tom was asking was could—and correct me if I'm wrong—could you have placed it at a different spot on that lot where it was maybe a little further from the road and less visible. SUNG: So, yes, we can, but obviously, we have to work with the landlord. You know, is would they allow us to put that, put that spot now. I did speak with the, the owner who is not present, but they are, they just retired. They're having, they're planning to come to move back to Eden Roc. They have plans to build a home toward the back, so that's why they wanted the site to be more closer, as far as meeting setback guidelines, what have you, to put that site where we are proposing to put. HENKEL: Ok, thank you. Are there any other questions of Verizon? Okay, you may be seated. Thank you. At this point, remember, we're just trying to establish whether we're going to grant the Petition for Standing for the contested case hearing. If we do grant the standing, then from what I understand, and please correct me if I'm wrong, Malia, but there will be a week's period [sic] of EXHIBIT A 12 mediation where the two parties could try to work out a, you know, compromise and exchange views, and try to, you know, work out an agreement, and then after that, we would have a contested case hearing if the mediation doesn't work. So, now would be the time either to, for the Commission to consult with our Corp. Counsel or to motion for action on the Petition for Standing. Yes, go ahead. IKEDA: Yeah, I move the Commission enter into executive session to consult with its attorney regarding questions and issues pertaining to the Commission's powers, duties, privileges, immunities, and liabilities, pursuant to HRS 92-5. MIYASATO: I second. HENKEL: It's been moved and seconded to enter executive session to discuss with our Corp. Counsel. All in favor, say "aye?" COMMISSIONERS: Aye. HENKEL: Opposed? Okay, we'll be in executive session. It shouldn't take too long, but we're going to have to ask that you clear the room. At 9:41 a.m., it was moved by Commissioner Ikeda and seconded by Commissioner Miyasato that the Commission go into executive session to consult with its attorney regarding questions and issues pertaining to the Commission's power, duties, privileges, immunities, and liabilities, pursuant to Hawaii Revised Statutes, Section 92-5. A voice vote was taken of all Commissioners present, and motion carried with four aye votes. The room was cleared, and at 9:43 a.m., the Commission went into executive session. At 9:47 a.m., it was moved by Commissioner Miyasato and seconded by Commissioner Ikeda that the Commission go out of executive session. A voice vote was taken of all Commissioners present, and motion carried with four aye votes. The meeting was reconvened at 9:49 a.m. HENKEL: Okay, we're back in session. Housekeeping first. I'd look for a motion to close public testimony. MIYASATO: I make a motion to close public testimony. IKEDA: Second. HENKEL: It's been moved and seconded to close public testimony. All in favor say, "aye." COMMISSIONERS: Aye. EXHIBIT A 13 HENKEL: Opposed? Public testimony is closed. Now, we'll look for a motion to action on the Petition for Standing. IKEDA: I move that the Petition be granted based on the, Ms. Fitzgerald's interest is clearly distinguishable from that of the general public. HENKEL: Is there a second? RAFFIPIY: I second. HENKEL: It's been moved by Commissioner Ikeda, seconded by Thomas. We'll do a roll call vote. JACKSON: Okay. Commissioner Ikeda? IKEDA: Aye. JACKSON: Commissioner Raffipiy? RAFFIPIY: Aye. JACKSON: Commissioner Miyasato? MIYASATO: Aye. JACKSON: And, Chair Henkel. HENKEL: Aye. JACKSON: Okay, the motion to grant standing passes. HENKEL: So, Petition for Standing has been granted. At this point, the two parties will have until our next meeting to mediate and discuss and, hopefully, come up with a solution that works for both of them. And, if not, then we would select a case officer and go into a contested case hearing. So, 1-1 trust that you guys are going to, you know, work together and talk, talk about differences and, you know, compromise and so forth. The discussion ended at 9:51 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Sarah Y. Hata-Finley, Secretary Windward Planning Commission EXHIBIT A 14