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JNZY OF h,� William P.Kenoi �:•'�� '.ol Duane Kanuha Mayor Director Bobby Command f•• N�M >e oF'N►�' Deputy Director County of Hawaii PLANNING DEPARTMENT PUNA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ACTION COMMITTEE Aupuni Center • 101 Pauahi Street,Suite 3 • Hilo,Hawaii 96720 Phone(808)961-8288 • Fax(808)961-8742 October 14, 2014 Duane Kanuha, Director Hawaii County Planning Department 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3 Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Subject: Volcano Long Range Plan - July 2014 Greetings Director Kanuha, The attached 2014 Volcano Long Range Plan (VLRP) is a strategic action plan tiered to the Puna Community Development Plan (PCDP). It is the fruit of a grass-roots effort of Volcano community planning began in 1985, intensified in the 1990s, and revived again after County approval of the PCDP in 2008. Over the past two years the Volcano Community Association has engaged in a rigorous process of updating and revising the 2007 Volcano 20-20 Plan that has resulted in a community vision, goals, objectives and actions that enjoy broad support within the Volcano community and align well with the goals and objectives of the PCDP- so much so that a subcommittee was formed within the PCDP Action Committee- the Volcano Long Range Plan Subcommittee- to steward the forward momentum of the process into inception and implementation of the much needed plan. Development in Volcano has been proceeding at a rapid pace in recent years with increasing signs of more projects likely to seek approval in the near future. This condition, combined with the rapidly increasing demand for local access to goods and services, have created the necessity for us to expedite the planning process that began in Volcano nearly 30 years ago and evolved into the Volcano Long Range Plan(VLRP). The VLRP identifies and prioritizes the actions we believe are necessary to guide growth in the Volcano community for the next 20 or 30 years. Without the VLRP in place, new development will proceed without the guidelines crucial to maintaining the character and sense of place of Volcano. It is prudent that we now secure the professional guidance necessary to translate the past 29 years' work of community volunteers into a working plan with clearly defined guidelines and standards of how growth and development in the Volcano planning area shall occur. As such we believe it is best to get input from you first on whether the VLRP is adoptable in its current form or whether a planning consultant is required. Hawai`i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer