COM 0370.003 2002-2004 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Honorable James Y. Arakaki, Chairman and Members of the County Council County Council Page 2 December 2, 2003 2. Home improvement centers: Our Zoning Code, like many throughout the country, contains a basic distinction between "industrial" zones and "commercial" zones. Genera] retail activities aze not allowed in industrial zones. For the most part, classic "light industrial" uses such as warehouses, baseyazds, and repair shops do not generate as much traffic as a general commercial area. There is one exception: "home improvement centers" aze allowed in the ML (light industrial) zone. A "home improvement center" is defined as "a single establishment primarily involved in providing a large variety of goods and services directly associated with building and home improvements." This clearly allows such "big box" establishments as Lowe's or Home Depot, which can generate tremendous vehicular traffic. It is an entirely different type of use. The Council recently heard a great deal of testimony on the "Gateway" project in Kea'au, mostly focused on potential traffic effects. After long deliberation, considerable public scrutiny, and careful review of the traffic analysis that was done for the project, the Council, with the support of the administration, voted to approve that project. This current ML zoning has attracted almost no public interest, probably because it seems to only lead to light industrial-type uses. The level of interest and concern would be much greater if it were understood that this rezoning could potentially allow abig-box home improvement center. Without the suggested condition, this is a possibility, and it would significantly compromise the function of the Bypass Highway. To quote the comments of the District Engineer regarding the adjacent MCX zoning for the McCully parcel: "Development of adjacent properties leads to spreading of the Kea'au town urban core and its traffic. The result of the long-term impact will be that the Kea'au Bypass Road will become a roadway cutting through the middle of the town. New intersections will need to be constructed. Traffic will become stop-and-go, instead offree-flowing." (Letter of Stanley Tamura to Virginia Goldstein, Mazch 18, 1998). We do not want this rezoning to lead to this kind of result. At the last Council meeting on this bill, a desire was expressed for more commercial and industrial zoning in Puna. The Planning Department supports this, and basically supported this rezoning and the Gateway project, and has proposed additional industrial and commercial areas in the General Plan revisions, for Paradise Park and Orchidland. These new aeeas should be carefully planned, however, and potential problems dealt with. The site in question is well-suited to light industrial use, but it should not be developed with a project that could be a high traffic generator, creating another obstacle