COM 1077.000 2018-2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Aaron S.Y. Chung, Council Chair and Members of the County Council County of Hawaii Page 3 93,600 square -foot complex which would house varied commercial uses, such as financial institutions, restaurants, grocery store, office space and possibly a gas station. Also proposed was 500+ parking stalls with appropriate accessibility requirements. According to the applicant, the shopping center project concept is part of this current proposal but includes a proposed reduction in the size of the commercial project from 93,600 square -feet to 72,600 square -feet. Also included in this current proposal is the inclusion of a "transit hub" in the form of a public bus transfer station, as well as the addition of 100 multiple -family residential units. There were several reasons cited for the amendment requests. According to the applicant, one of the reasons for not completing the project within a timely manner is that due to the global economic meltdown that occurred over a decade ago, securing the required financing to initiate and complete the project as represented was too difficult to obtain and thus they decided to prioritize exploring alternative uses of the property, and exploring sources for construction financing. The applicant believes that the current economic outlook is amenable, however time is still needed for the applicant to address the various conditions of approval, to incorporate and finalize plans, and to secure the required financing. Another reason given is that they have worked on compliance for several conditions, including the conveyance of a 5 -acre site for a future school as required by Condition V, but it ultimately did not get approved. The subdivision of the school site from the subject parcel received tentative approval, however final approval was contingent upon making substantial infrastructure improvements that would be feasible only if the commercial and residential project were developed simultaneously. Lastly, although there has been no physical construction that has occurred, the applicant states that they have expended a considerable amount of "soft" funds. These funds include nearly $1 million spent for more detailed land use planning and the preparation of infrastructure construction plans for this project, as well as the adjoining residential project proposed by Suffolk Development, LLC. While the proposed requests meet the Urban Expansion LUPAG designation and are in an area served by existing infrastructure, several primary factors necessitate this unfavorable recommendation. First, the zoning of the subject property is not consistent with the goals, policies, and actions of the Kona Community Development Plan (CDP) and the General Plan. Second, the retention of the existing zoning would not result in an appropriate land use pattern at this time, therefore the Planning Director believes that a Project District zoning designation is more appropriate. Additionally, the Director feels that the requested time extension and amendment requests would support the continuation of a speculative entitlement of the subject property for the purpose of resale.