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    Guest User about 1 year ago

    July 6, 2023
    RE: Resolution 23-146: Oppose TMK: (2)3-9-046:017 (20.88 acres at South Kihei Road)
    Dear Chair and Committee members,
    My name is Tricia Iwamoto, granddaughter of Dr. Wilbert Yee.
    Dr. Wilbert Yee and his brother started Yee’s Orchard in the 1940’s.
    Our family has owned and operated Yee’s Orchard for nearly 80 years.
    Yee’s Orchard, TMK: (2)3-9-046:017 (20.88 acres at South Kihei Road) is on appendix A of your ADEPT-12 Resolution 23-146.
    I oppose Resolution 23-146. Please remove Yee’s Orchard, TMK: (2)3-9-046:017 from your list.
    Our farm is not for sale. We have turned down several offers by developers to purchase our property. We have no intentions to develop and plan to remain a farm. We currently have 3 generations of our family working on the farm as well as several employees. We work very hard to provide Maui with locally grown produce.
    To be forced to sell our farm to the County would be detrimental to our family as well as the community. Our main crop is mangoes and they thrive in a specific climate and take years to mature, therefore relocation is not a viable option.
    To be forced to sell our farm to the County would put us out of business and we would not be able to continue to provide Maui with locally grown produce.
    Our family strongly agrees there are flooding problems in Kihei. We have seen Kihei develop around us and the natural flow of water changed and diverted. In addition to preserving the wetlands there have been other community planning meetings we have attended in the past that introduced other options upland to reduce flooding.
    My family is strongly against the County acquiring Yee’s Orchard and request our TMK: (2)3-9-046:017 be removed from the list. We are not developers. We are farmers taking care of the land and the community.
    Should you have any questions please contact me (808) 242-9159.
    Respectfully submitted,
    Tricia Iwamoto