hunterbishop.com

Sorry Hunter, I don't live down in lower Puna and thus never got the time to check out the sight of the storage facility and had to rely on what everyone said here. However, having a fire station with a driveway onto the highway is just as inept as having the storage facility with a driveway onto the highway. So no make sense. How da heck is da firestation okay and da storage facility not okay when they probably would have shared the same driveway?
No make sense. Obviously the GP is pretty screwed up.

Josephine, I am not 100% sure, but I think there are legal reasons that the storage facility and fire station can't share the same entrance onto the highway. The best access option mentioned for the storage facility was to get an easement through the back area owned by Hawaiian Homelands, which was apparently not seriously pursued and is now moot. Perhaps someone with more knowledge can confirm or correct my assumption.

In any case, the commencement of work on the Public Safety complex is good news. At least one badly needed County project is under way in Puna.

WE need both! Josephine you are correct NO MAKE SENSE! Wankine is also correct an easement would have solved both problems and allowed a needed commercial enterprise. Let me see $5million of taxpayer money is approved and $3 million of private investment is disapproved. The Government will make all decisions. Lenin would be so proud. Soon we'll have a welfare state where free enterprise is always evil. OOPS were already there.

Wankine,

To try and clarify a couple of points about the new civic development and the proposed storage facility adjacent to highway #130.

Because highway #130 is a state highway and not a county road or highway, the county must apply to the state for permission to directly enter their highway and show that it will benefit the community by doing so. Emergency [fire department] and police fast response put these guys over the top and they got approval after some time. Even tho the Governor turned this property over to the district of Puna for civic development they had to apply to the DOT for permission to do so.

On the other hand a storage facility was trying to do an end-around to get permission for the same entrance to the highway by stating that it was a low impact type of enterprise, and that the entry would be used very little. [special use permit]. Thankfully people saw thru this and voted it out.

Our councilwoman Emily tried to get the place re-zoned without doing enough ground work because the developer dangled a carrot in front of her, nipping at her sense of doing good for her people. [A homeless shelter], God knows that we need one but not at this expense. Emily went to her people [DHHL] and asked if they would give up some right-of-way to put an access road behind the Ag. lot. Well, when the laughing was done they said, “no way, shove off”. What she should have done was look at a TMK map and she would have realized that all of the property that is adjacent to highway #130 for about a mile is Ag. zoned, [owned by the State of Hawaii] the property behind these are home lands. She should have approached the state and county with a proposal to slice off about 60 ft. from the back side of the Ag. lots to build a secondary road with entries from the rear. This road could be entered from Kahakai blvd. especially if there is a new roundabout there. [but that is another story].

The Ag zoned lots that run for about a mile from Kahakai, Hilo bound could be re-zoned for commercial development keeping all entry and exits away from highway #130. Folks, this is called infrastructure and is a win, win situation. What is so hard about this to understand?

The Lack

I should have noted in my earlier post that I opposed the 130 rezoning and support waiting for the CDP before allowing any more changes.

Aloha Josephine and Brian,

ABOUT: "having a fire station with a driveway onto the highway is just as inept as having the storage facility with a driveway onto the highway... How da heck is da firestation okay and da storage facility not okay when they probably would have shared the same driveway."

There are differences in the uses of a driveway for a fire station and a storage shed.
The fire trucks have sirens and lights; the trailers hauling stuff in and out of the shed never have sirens and often do not have lights.
Roadside-flashing-lights set off by the firehouse alarm are common where firehouses are at a busy road; however I don't remember the request before Council discussing roadside-flashing-lights for trailers to and fro the storage shed.
If a fire truck has a mechanical failure in the driveway, that won't be a great stressor for the trailers to and fro the storage shed; however, if a trailer axle breaks in a driveway and then the fire alarm goes off...


xxx

Aloha Mr. Lackey,

You lay out a most interesting story and proposal.
Have you put this idea forward to the Puna CDP?

James,

The concept is not actually mine it belongs to Dr. Keola Downing. He is part of the C.D. P. and after long studying he came up with this concept. He has a computer program that pin points every T.M.K. all over the island. When you see the big picture it is [simple stupid] it should be viewed by the people that make the decisions as to what is going to happen to our district. To just spout off can be fun sometimes but when the facts slap you in the face, one should listen, A LOT.

There are so many people that contribute to this blog that are so full of common sense that I do believe it scares our politicians. So folks keep it up.

The Lack