2015-17.1 AC to PD response Pahoa Plan Consultant

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Communication No. 201 5 -1 7.1 April 14, 2015 Dear Mr. Kanuha and the Planning Staff, Thank you for your response to our March 10, 2015 letter as regards the Consultant for the Pahoa Regional Town Center Plan and the Wastewater Treatment Study. We can appreciate your concern about the dune 27" lava flow. However, life has returned to normal in Pahoa town, with all the businesses returning and new construction resuming. The lava flow has been reduced to "watch" status and FEMA is closing the lava flow incident. Residents are quickly returning, the housing market is coming back and the Malama Market now has 20 more employees for a total of 90 employees. Life in Pahoa and the surrounding areas is going on at a busier pace than before. Living on the slopes of volcanoes is a way of life for almost the entire island. In addition to the possibility of a lava flow from Pu'u O'o, Hawaii County residents are threatened by possible lava and eruptions from Mauna Loa and Hualalai. There is little reason to delay planning improvements in Pahoa Village. The issues that faced Pahoa before the lava are still here and are becoming more urgent. The wastewater problem needs to be addressed sooner rather than later. Large capacity cesspools (those serving more than 20 individuals) were banned effective April 5, 2005 by the federal Safe Drinking Water Act. At that time there were 2,300 large- capacity cesspools in Hawaii. Movement to address this issue needs to occur in Historic Pahoa. There are potentially less costly solutions than a single wastewater treatment plant, but we need to start work on finding those solutions as soon as possible. The other pressing issue is traffic flow. New development is happening and the hazardous traffic situation is going to become worse. In short, a Pahoa plan needs to be done soon. Pedestrian safety, bus stops, landscaping, access to the park,