PL-SPP-2022-000016 Elise Fried Support Testimony 07.06.23 within 48 hrs

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From: elise Fried To: WPCtestimonv Subject: Support for H.e.r's special use permit PL-SPP-2022-000016 Date: Thursday,July 6,2023 7:05:22 AM Greetings! and Aloha! AsI was asked, I am willing to write you in support of the above application for a special use permit. I resided at H.E. R recently, for three months, and it was a beneficial and healthful experience. I believe that with the special use permit, the facilities could be more greatly utilised by the greater community. They are and have been doing their best under adverse conditions for a decade. What has resulted is a community mindset, but also a functional mindset to the degree that they attract people who are also contributors to the planet, in ways which are musical, artistic or academics in need of a place to think, as well be balanced by nature. As a resident if Puna, I believe this place helps those who wish to be healthy, eat healthy and also to detox from substance abuse, as there is a strict no substance policy. Nada. There is also a general friendliness and competency, with no frills that can be witnessed. Mr. silber, while not a perfect human, is certainly open minded enough to accept criticism and try to improve, and evolve, which the best of us, do, meaning open to adaptation and problem solving. I do not see him as rigid or argumentative, but conciliatory, consensus seeking, and conscious. His authoritarianism is strictly in the effort of` getting things done around the farm, and I have witnessed that he is the hardest worker there. Up before dawn and stopping at communal dinner. Dinner is a wonderful event, showing off the lands abundance, and the care and talent of its current inhabitants. Always healthy fare, with accommodation for food preferences, allergies and the like. The gardens/orchards and off-grid infrastructure exemplify how people can live more closely to the land. It also teaches one to live with insects,pigs and morning birds. And there are many people in this world who do not get that opportunity. They return to their place of origin changed. Why is this place different? Most people stay a month or longer. This is not Kalani style tourism, it is a deeper dive into puna, and many guests return, or use this place as a stepping stone to buy land, and fully integrate into the larger puna or island. I have witnessed 6 such people since arriving. Places to land in puna only help its economy. Air bnb's do not help with integration, eco sensitivity, or literally planting food crops. I believe a trifecta of functioning places, like H.E.R, sundari, and kalani are necessary for puna's economic well being, as would connecting the road back to four corners. Those people have become economically isolated and are struggling. I have witnessed negotiations and responsiveness to neighbours , in that regular meetings