COM 0690.000 2004-2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Stacy Higa, Chairman and Members of the County Council Page 10 provide access if the parcel immediately mauka of the subject property is developed someday. Conditions of approval will require this property to provide easements on project roads in favor of the mauka parcel so that if this property is developed it can use the same access to Alii Parkway and to Kuakini Highway. The Alii Parkway will create a high traffic roadway near the northern boundary of the subject property. This will create more noise, among other impacts. The potential for noise impacts from the Alii Parkway was discussed in the 1988 Enviromnental Impact Statement for the highway project, and the 1996 revision of the EIS. The Federal Highways Administration (FHWA) uses a "Leq" standard for noise impacts. The "Leq" standard combines the projected noise level with the time of exposure. The FHWA sets an Leq of 67 dBA as the maximum recommended noise level (outdoors) in a residential area. In the Hillcrest area, where the closest residence is about 150' from the highway, the 1996 EIS projected that in 2020, the Leq at 150 Feet from the highway would be about 61 dBA. It projected that a 23 feet separation from the highway to any residences would be sufficient to meet the 67 dBA standard in this general area. The acceptable distance is closer in this area than some other portions of Alii Parkway because the operating speed is supposed to be only 25 mph. The projection in the 1996 EIS was based on a four-lane highway carrying 38,000 vehicles per day. This is a very high volume of traffic. By comparison, the Queen Kaahumanu Highway, between the Nani Kailua and Hualalai Rd. intersections, had a traffic count of about 23,500 vehicles per day in 2002. Because the current plans for Alii Parkway call for atwo-lane road, which would not carry as many vehicles, it is reasonable that the noise levels at the proposed residential project can be expected to be below the 67 dBA Leq standard. Most of the proposed project is more than 80 feet from the Alii Parkway right-of--way, but four of the proposed fourplex buildings are about 40 feet from the right-of--way. It is also possible that mitigation may be necessary when noise levels significantly increase because of a new highway, even if noise does not reach the 67 dBA Leq standard. This is difficult to predict because it depends upon other ambient noise levels, and the federal government does not have a mandatory definition of what level of increase is considered significant. A condition of rezoning will require the project to be responsible for any noise mitigation required because of the construction of the Alii Parkway.