12-17-2006, 11:13 AM
Aloha Rob,
I am a resident of HPP, and can I tell you that there is quite a bit of opposition to a road though here. Some of this is from folks along some of the rumored routes,and some more of it is solidarity to insure that nobody gets a highway in their front yard.
My own feeling at this time is to oppose it until I know exactly what is being proposed. Where is it going to be? How big a road will it be? How are property owners going to be compensated, not just for the dollar value of easements, but for the aesthetic and lifestyle harm done?
We have heard about 15th, 16th, Railroad, multiple routes, gated emergency only routes, parkways, and Lord knows what else. Neither the County Planning Dept. nor the State Highway Dept have a reputation locally for openness or listening to the community, so I have no clue as to which of those options is likely.
All of this has everything to do with the county council getting greedy for tax money 40 years ago and allowing all these so-called substandard subdivisions to be built and then built on. I guess they never actually thought all those lots would ever be occupied, so they did not plan for adequate roads. Now they are asking people who bought into a semi-rural lifestyle in good faith to sacrifice it so somebody else can get to Hilo faster.
I am not saying that there is no way it could ever be acceptable, but it would take a lot more money and a whole lot more thoughtful planning than we are used to seeing invested in this community.
Rob, I really appreciate and respect your question, but until I know what we are getting, I can't give a complete answer.
Cheers,
Jerry
I am a resident of HPP, and can I tell you that there is quite a bit of opposition to a road though here. Some of this is from folks along some of the rumored routes,and some more of it is solidarity to insure that nobody gets a highway in their front yard.
My own feeling at this time is to oppose it until I know exactly what is being proposed. Where is it going to be? How big a road will it be? How are property owners going to be compensated, not just for the dollar value of easements, but for the aesthetic and lifestyle harm done?
We have heard about 15th, 16th, Railroad, multiple routes, gated emergency only routes, parkways, and Lord knows what else. Neither the County Planning Dept. nor the State Highway Dept have a reputation locally for openness or listening to the community, so I have no clue as to which of those options is likely.
All of this has everything to do with the county council getting greedy for tax money 40 years ago and allowing all these so-called substandard subdivisions to be built and then built on. I guess they never actually thought all those lots would ever be occupied, so they did not plan for adequate roads. Now they are asking people who bought into a semi-rural lifestyle in good faith to sacrifice it so somebody else can get to Hilo faster.
I am not saying that there is no way it could ever be acceptable, but it would take a lot more money and a whole lot more thoughtful planning than we are used to seeing invested in this community.
Rob, I really appreciate and respect your question, but until I know what we are getting, I can't give a complete answer.
Cheers,
Jerry