12-05-2014, 04:36 PM
This letter appears on Dr. Kimura's website. I think it is important to realize that apparently there are those who are prepared to make Lower Puna an exclusion zone. This is the unedited document. My apologies to Mr. Traylor for posting this without his expressed permission, but I thought Punaweb folks would find this interesting.
Charles Traylor#8206; Lower Puna Infographics by Dr. Mark Kimura
November 8 at 7:24pm ยท
Aloha,
Several merchants in Pahoa Town have recently expressed their opinions to me about what they might intend to do if their business establishments were to be burned out by lava. The consensus is that they would take their insurance money and rebuild. Everyone I talked to responded that their locations of first preferences would be to relocate as close to Pahoa Town as possible, or somewhere in Lower Puna, while staying out of any lava flow, because those locations are as close as possible to where they already have established their customer bases.
Tiffany Hunt, for example, who is one of the owners and operators of a Pahoa located retail store, called Jeff Hunt Surfboards, LLC, noted frustration that there is almost no commerical or industrial land or lease space available anywhere in Pahoa or Lower Puna. Although a small amount of land in Pahoa and Lower Puna has been recently rezoned to commerical use, the overall quantity of available commercial and industrial zoned land appears to be nowhere near to coming close to meeting the pent up need. Now that the lava flow has emerged I fear that even the small amount of recent rezoning activity may be showing signs of being managed by the County of Hawaii Planning Department down to almost zero. It is fundamental to the economic viability of the communities of Pahoa and Lower Puna to have a healthy presence of commercial and industrial uses. These communities, if reduced to being agricultural and residential bedroom communities for the rest of the Big Island, are too far removed from other uses and will tend to deteriorate and fail.
Almost all merchants in Pahoa Town and in Lower Puna are in permanent structures, which cannot be moved. Should any of these merchants, displaced by lava, choose to relocate to land, which might be zoned commercial or industrial, there is always the possibilty that new lava flows might follow them to their new locations. New facilities could be designed and built with portability in mind, much like was recently experienced with the relocation of the Pahoa Transfer Station. That move took place within a day or so, and the Pahoa Transfer Station is functioning quite well in its new location. Oil companies transport portable personnel camps all over the world and set them up and take them down on short notice. They perform admirably. The same thing could be done for merchants in Pahoa and Lower Puna. Movable merchant facilities can be designed and built to be as attractive and secure as permanent structures. A wonderful and beautiful existing example is the Star of the Sea Painted Church in Pahoa on Highway 130 between mile marker 19 and 20, which was built in Kalapana in 1927 and moved to its present location in 1990 ahead of an advancing lava flow.
Last week I dropped by the County of Hawaii Planning Department and visited with one of their planners, Jeffrey Darrow. Mr. Darrow assured me that the County is actively seeking opportunities to expand the base of commerical and industrial zoned land to respond to the potential needs of merchants and businesses in Pahoa, who might eventually get burned out by laval flows, and I asked him where that might be. He replied, "Kea'au". I suggested that commerical and industrial zoned land for merchants, who might be displaced by future lava flows, should be made available as close as possible to where these merhants are located now and that that would not be ideally located in Kea'au. He asked me where I might suggest, and I responded, just for openers, "Four Corners". He replied, "But that's on the wrong side of the lava flow." As we continued to talk it became apparent to me that the County of Hawaii Planning Department may be quietly shifting staff recommendations for continued approval of new commerical and industrial zoning completely away from Pahoa and Lower Puna. Mr. Darrow argued that it will probably be too difficult to bring traffic and other infrastructure into the Pahoa and Lower Puna areas over the long term, because of potential difficulties with present and future lava flows. So, I asked him if that meant that the County and State and HELCO would be abandoning the Geo-Thermal Plant, and of course, he repled, "No, I know of no plans to discontinue operations at the Geo-Thermal Plant. It will remain open at all costs." I pointed out to him that it appeared the County of Hawaii Planning Department might be applying a double standard, regarding land use and traffic and infrastructure access, one for the Geo-Thermal Plant and the other for the entire balance of land in Pahoa and Lower Puna.
Mr. Darrow indicated that the General Plan for Pahoa and Lower Puna is becoming the result of input from all applicable County, State and Federal Agencies, and that the consensus is that Pahoa and Lower Puna will gradually be transitioned out of commercial and industrial uses in favor of other nearby communities "on the other side of the lava flow". I suggested to Mr. Darrow that such an arbitrary application of planning and zoning would serve to undermine the economic stability of the Pahoa and Lower Puna communities by isolating them from the benefits of urban goods and services, which would otherwise be available with a healthy presence of commercial and industrial zoned land. Mr. Darrow suggested that if I wanted more information on the subject I should visit with Warren Lee, the Director of Public Works, because it would be Mr. Lee's Public Works Department, which would manage any traffic and other infrastructure proposed to cross recent or old lava flows.
Warren Lee's office was my next stop.
Mr. Lee graciously agreed to visit with me for a few minutes. Mr. Lee was much more positive about the situation than what I had encountered with Mr. Darrow. He indicated that his department is actively and agressively seeking opportunities to re-establish traffic and infrastructure at lava crossings. He said that his department is monitoring the cooled lava and measuring the crust thickness and analyzing the ability of lava flows, both active and cooled, to carry traffic and other infrastructure. A specific example is Apa'a Road, which runs by the old location of the Pahoa Transfer Station. Public works is looking at methods of getting traffic and other infrastructure successfully and on a long term basis across that lava flow.
If it can be demonstrated that there are opportunites to take traffic and other infrastructure across present and future lava flows in Pahoa and Lower Puna (and I know that it CAN be demonstrated), then I think there should be a mandate presented to the County of Hawaii Planning Department to include much more newly approved commercial and industrial zoning in Pahoa and Lower Puna. A Staff recommendation from the Planning Department to the County Council for expanded commerical and industrial zoning will carry great weight and persuasion with the Council. it is patently unfair to write Pahoa and Lower Puna off, just because of a bit of lava, flowing down the hill. No one wrote off Hilo, when Mauna Loa offered to come visiting that town.
We are hearing in the media from certain academic sources that people have left and are leaving Pahoa and Lower Puna in double percentage points. Any academic statisticians, who will tell you Pahoa and Lower Puna are losing significant population should first go stand in traffic on Highway 130 during rush hour or patronize the shops in Pahoa Town. There is more activity there than ever. The Building Department is continuing to process more building permits in Pahoa and Lower Puna than the Department can easily handle. It is taking three to five months to process building permits in the Hilo Office of the County of Hawaii Building Department, and a significant portion of that backlog is based in Pahoa and Lower Puna.
The communities of Pahoa and Lower Puna are poised for significant thriving and booming. The cost of living in the Puna District is less than it is in my native Dallas, Texas, and the cost of living in Dallas is below the national average. That is quite unique. All other Districts in the State of Hawaii vary in the cost of living, ranging from 50% to 100% more than the cost of living in Dallas, Texas.
If people cannot live AND work in Pahoa and Lower Puna, because the County of Hawaii Planning Department arbitrarily thwarts new commercial and industrial zoning, then Pahoa and Lower Puna and its entire tax base will erode, and it will take the fortunes of the rest of the County of Hawaii with it. Pahoa and Lower Puna are too big to fail, and should not be allowed to do so via arbitrary planning and misinformed academians.
Best regards,
Charles Traylor, Architect (I live in Pahoa)
Charles Traylor#8206; Lower Puna Infographics by Dr. Mark Kimura
November 8 at 7:24pm ยท
Aloha,
Several merchants in Pahoa Town have recently expressed their opinions to me about what they might intend to do if their business establishments were to be burned out by lava. The consensus is that they would take their insurance money and rebuild. Everyone I talked to responded that their locations of first preferences would be to relocate as close to Pahoa Town as possible, or somewhere in Lower Puna, while staying out of any lava flow, because those locations are as close as possible to where they already have established their customer bases.
Tiffany Hunt, for example, who is one of the owners and operators of a Pahoa located retail store, called Jeff Hunt Surfboards, LLC, noted frustration that there is almost no commerical or industrial land or lease space available anywhere in Pahoa or Lower Puna. Although a small amount of land in Pahoa and Lower Puna has been recently rezoned to commerical use, the overall quantity of available commercial and industrial zoned land appears to be nowhere near to coming close to meeting the pent up need. Now that the lava flow has emerged I fear that even the small amount of recent rezoning activity may be showing signs of being managed by the County of Hawaii Planning Department down to almost zero. It is fundamental to the economic viability of the communities of Pahoa and Lower Puna to have a healthy presence of commercial and industrial uses. These communities, if reduced to being agricultural and residential bedroom communities for the rest of the Big Island, are too far removed from other uses and will tend to deteriorate and fail.
Almost all merchants in Pahoa Town and in Lower Puna are in permanent structures, which cannot be moved. Should any of these merchants, displaced by lava, choose to relocate to land, which might be zoned commercial or industrial, there is always the possibilty that new lava flows might follow them to their new locations. New facilities could be designed and built with portability in mind, much like was recently experienced with the relocation of the Pahoa Transfer Station. That move took place within a day or so, and the Pahoa Transfer Station is functioning quite well in its new location. Oil companies transport portable personnel camps all over the world and set them up and take them down on short notice. They perform admirably. The same thing could be done for merchants in Pahoa and Lower Puna. Movable merchant facilities can be designed and built to be as attractive and secure as permanent structures. A wonderful and beautiful existing example is the Star of the Sea Painted Church in Pahoa on Highway 130 between mile marker 19 and 20, which was built in Kalapana in 1927 and moved to its present location in 1990 ahead of an advancing lava flow.
Last week I dropped by the County of Hawaii Planning Department and visited with one of their planners, Jeffrey Darrow. Mr. Darrow assured me that the County is actively seeking opportunities to expand the base of commerical and industrial zoned land to respond to the potential needs of merchants and businesses in Pahoa, who might eventually get burned out by laval flows, and I asked him where that might be. He replied, "Kea'au". I suggested that commerical and industrial zoned land for merchants, who might be displaced by future lava flows, should be made available as close as possible to where these merhants are located now and that that would not be ideally located in Kea'au. He asked me where I might suggest, and I responded, just for openers, "Four Corners". He replied, "But that's on the wrong side of the lava flow." As we continued to talk it became apparent to me that the County of Hawaii Planning Department may be quietly shifting staff recommendations for continued approval of new commerical and industrial zoning completely away from Pahoa and Lower Puna. Mr. Darrow argued that it will probably be too difficult to bring traffic and other infrastructure into the Pahoa and Lower Puna areas over the long term, because of potential difficulties with present and future lava flows. So, I asked him if that meant that the County and State and HELCO would be abandoning the Geo-Thermal Plant, and of course, he repled, "No, I know of no plans to discontinue operations at the Geo-Thermal Plant. It will remain open at all costs." I pointed out to him that it appeared the County of Hawaii Planning Department might be applying a double standard, regarding land use and traffic and infrastructure access, one for the Geo-Thermal Plant and the other for the entire balance of land in Pahoa and Lower Puna.
Mr. Darrow indicated that the General Plan for Pahoa and Lower Puna is becoming the result of input from all applicable County, State and Federal Agencies, and that the consensus is that Pahoa and Lower Puna will gradually be transitioned out of commercial and industrial uses in favor of other nearby communities "on the other side of the lava flow". I suggested to Mr. Darrow that such an arbitrary application of planning and zoning would serve to undermine the economic stability of the Pahoa and Lower Puna communities by isolating them from the benefits of urban goods and services, which would otherwise be available with a healthy presence of commercial and industrial zoned land. Mr. Darrow suggested that if I wanted more information on the subject I should visit with Warren Lee, the Director of Public Works, because it would be Mr. Lee's Public Works Department, which would manage any traffic and other infrastructure proposed to cross recent or old lava flows.
Warren Lee's office was my next stop.
Mr. Lee graciously agreed to visit with me for a few minutes. Mr. Lee was much more positive about the situation than what I had encountered with Mr. Darrow. He indicated that his department is actively and agressively seeking opportunities to re-establish traffic and infrastructure at lava crossings. He said that his department is monitoring the cooled lava and measuring the crust thickness and analyzing the ability of lava flows, both active and cooled, to carry traffic and other infrastructure. A specific example is Apa'a Road, which runs by the old location of the Pahoa Transfer Station. Public works is looking at methods of getting traffic and other infrastructure successfully and on a long term basis across that lava flow.
If it can be demonstrated that there are opportunites to take traffic and other infrastructure across present and future lava flows in Pahoa and Lower Puna (and I know that it CAN be demonstrated), then I think there should be a mandate presented to the County of Hawaii Planning Department to include much more newly approved commercial and industrial zoning in Pahoa and Lower Puna. A Staff recommendation from the Planning Department to the County Council for expanded commerical and industrial zoning will carry great weight and persuasion with the Council. it is patently unfair to write Pahoa and Lower Puna off, just because of a bit of lava, flowing down the hill. No one wrote off Hilo, when Mauna Loa offered to come visiting that town.
We are hearing in the media from certain academic sources that people have left and are leaving Pahoa and Lower Puna in double percentage points. Any academic statisticians, who will tell you Pahoa and Lower Puna are losing significant population should first go stand in traffic on Highway 130 during rush hour or patronize the shops in Pahoa Town. There is more activity there than ever. The Building Department is continuing to process more building permits in Pahoa and Lower Puna than the Department can easily handle. It is taking three to five months to process building permits in the Hilo Office of the County of Hawaii Building Department, and a significant portion of that backlog is based in Pahoa and Lower Puna.
The communities of Pahoa and Lower Puna are poised for significant thriving and booming. The cost of living in the Puna District is less than it is in my native Dallas, Texas, and the cost of living in Dallas is below the national average. That is quite unique. All other Districts in the State of Hawaii vary in the cost of living, ranging from 50% to 100% more than the cost of living in Dallas, Texas.
If people cannot live AND work in Pahoa and Lower Puna, because the County of Hawaii Planning Department arbitrarily thwarts new commercial and industrial zoning, then Pahoa and Lower Puna and its entire tax base will erode, and it will take the fortunes of the rest of the County of Hawaii with it. Pahoa and Lower Puna are too big to fail, and should not be allowed to do so via arbitrary planning and misinformed academians.
Best regards,
Charles Traylor, Architect (I live in Pahoa)
Un Mojado Sin Licencia