03-29-2019, 02:02 PM
Pahoa has an advantage in getting commercial development because the village was there (with some stores and eateries) before the modern zoning regime went into effect. Even with that in place, the rules aren't always fair or equitably enforced in Pahoa.
Meanwhile, I can't think of a community anywhere in the United States as large as HPP that has no grocery store, no gas station, and no restaurant. All we have are a few auto repair and catchment equipment places. Between the politicians' "drive to Hilo" mentality and the Watamull family's refusal to develop the lots set aside for commercial use, HPP is a vastly underserved commercial desert. And this in a place with plenty of demand and a desperate need for jobs of any kind.
Meanwhile, I can't think of a community anywhere in the United States as large as HPP that has no grocery store, no gas station, and no restaurant. All we have are a few auto repair and catchment equipment places. Between the politicians' "drive to Hilo" mentality and the Watamull family's refusal to develop the lots set aside for commercial use, HPP is a vastly underserved commercial desert. And this in a place with plenty of demand and a desperate need for jobs of any kind.