Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0766.022 2004-2006 SCD Kona 108 LLC 700 Bishop Street, #1000 Honolulu, HI 96813 October 18, 2006 Council Chairman Stacy Higa County of Hawaii County Council 25 Aupuni Street, 2„ d Floor Hilo, HI 96720 HAND DELIVERED RE: Bill 251 Comments Response Councilman Higa, Enclosed please find nine reports on the status of our communications and responses to public comments on our Change of Zone request on our land above Lowes-Kona at TMK 3/7-5-3: 007; 008; & 009, called Kona Coffee Estates. We ask you to distribute these reports to the Councilmembers. Stanford Carr (808.537.5220, ext. 225) and I (808.599.5720) are available for questions or comments from any and all of the councilmembers. Thank you for your attention to this matter. We look forward to seeing you soon. Sincerely, Richard A. Wheelock RAW: raw Enclosures CC: Stanford Carr w/Enclosure Marissa Furfaro w/Enclosure Chris Yuen w/Enclosure Comm. No. Ref. To: ~~1~Allt--T Ref. Dote OCT 19 2006 SCD Kona 108 LLC 700 Bishop Street, Suite 1000 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 October 16, 2006 County Council Chairman Stacy Higa County Council Members r 25 Aupuni Street, Suite 209 Hilo, Hawaii 96720 SUBJECT: Response to Comments on Bill 251 and Status Report r Dear Chairman Higa and Councilmembers, Stanford Carr and I have been working hard to address various issues and concerns raised by the public and Councilmembers concerning our Kona Coffee Estates project. We have been working with State and County agencies and have had numerous meetings with the various stakeholders over the last several months to address these concerns. This report summarizes the status of the project and the _ results of the meetings. Enclosed are written responses to the comments made at the May ls' Planning Committee hearing; the May 17'x' Council hearing; the June 21" Council hearing; and to written comments submitted to the Council during this time period. The responses are presented in summaries per each of these categories, and we have also put together a response based on the comments by category. We believe we have addressed all the comments that we have had access to, and are open to continue addressing the comments as they are made. r _ The vast majority of comments came from two distinct groups of people, one being some of the people living mauka of the project and the other group being residents of nearby Malulani Gardens. Some of these groups concerns overlapped and some were distinct to their geography. We will refer to the "Comments By Category" summary as it is the easiest to follow. A: Salvation Army As you know, the Honolulu real estate department of the Salvation Army made it known to us in May of this year that they are not committed to this site, and that they were not confident that this site was feasible for them, even if they got it for free. They told us they were going to do a site assessment to determine the feasibility of this site and get back to us "in a couple of months". We have not heard back from them so we are assuming they are not interested in this site, and intend to convert the five acres we had planned for them into about 40 additional multi-family homes. See attached Exhibit "A". r r October 13, 2006 Letter to Hawai'i County Council SUBJECT: Response to Comments on Bill 251 and Status Report Page 2 of 5 µ This revised project will have 57 1+ acre lots and 56 multi-family homes (for a total of 113 dwelling units), with a total of 23 multi-family homes designated as "affordable". The other 33 multi-family homes will be targeted to the local market as either "for-sale" or "for-rent" product, or as a combination of the two. This design produces a low-density project of one dwelling per just under 1-acre of land on the 108-acre site. Of interest is that the change from the Salvation Army site to additional housing actually decreases the traffic at peak hours while leaving the water usage about the same, so the change from Salvation Army to additional residential actually is better for traffic issues. W B: Public Mauka Access All the mauka property owner comments are on the record as NOT wanting public access on their small access road. All the Malulani Gardens residents are on the record as wanting additional mauka access. We agree that the road serving the mauka property owners who submitted comments is not sufficient to carry any increase in traffic and do not intend to use that roadway for our project. The Planning Department plans to extend Hienaloli Road from its current terminus to Palani Road across approximately seven separate properties as a major north-south arterial road. At the request of the Council, we made contact with all the affected property owners, and all but two have indicated a a willingness to work with such a plan (see August 7, 2006 letter to you from us and August 21, 2006 letter to you from Poka Laenui). The Burgess 'ohana and the Rapoza'ohana have indicated they (or at least some 'ohana members) are NOT interested in working with such a plan, so the timing of this road remains uncertain. The other road planned by the Planning Department is a mid-level road that is planned to eventually connect Kona Coffee Estates, Malulani Gardens and other area properties to Queen Kaaahumanu Highway and Palani Road. The County-required portion of this road already exists in graded form through Malulani Gardens (see letter with Exhibits to Scott Bell dated August 28, 2006) and the other property owners between Queen Ka ahumanu Highway and Kona Coffee Estates all support this road, but one of the two property owners between Kona Coffee Estates and Palani Road (the Rapoza'ohana) does not support this road. Therefore, it appears that this road will connect Queen Kaahumanu Highway and Malulani Garden&Xanuha'ohana property/Kona Coffee Estates to each other in the foreseeable future, but the status of this road continuing on to Palani Road is uncertain. See attached Exhibit "B" for an example of the likely layout of this road. Please note that the majority of Malulani Gardens owners who attended a meeting in September voted NOT to have this road connected as a function of building the Kona Coffee Estates project (they would prefer to have this road built later), and we agreed to comply with this request as best we can, subject to County requirements. a C: Water The County DWS has confirmed that we have 57 existing water unit commitments and that additional a water for the project as envisioned is available (see DWS letters dated August 3, 2006 and September October 13, 2006 Letter to Hawaii County Council SUBJECT: Response to Comments on Bill 251 and Status Report Page 3 of 5 14, 2006). We will have to complete water facility improvements as required by the DWS for these additional water units, and we intend to work with DWS, the Kanuha'ohana and Malulani Gardens to bring the existing Malulani Gardens private water system onto the County grid. The costs of this system are quite substantial, and we intend to dedicate the system to the County DWS as part of our infrastructure contribution in accordance with the County's desires. The issue that seemed of most concern to parties was the access of the waterline. The mauka property owners made it clear that they did not want that waterline coming down their roadway, even if it meant an upgrading of their PVC line system. We are in agreement with their desires, and will be bringing the water down from Mamalahoa Highway either in a new waterline that we will lay on Dr. Tallan's property (he is in agreement with this plan) or down the existing County owned waterline under Hiona Street, a public road that borders other property we own. I believe that the mauka property owners understand and accept these options at this time. D: Cul-de-sac Several parties are concerned about cul-de-sac safety issues. The current plan has Kona Coffee Estates accessing through both Malulani Drive and Henry Street via Hale Kapili Street, but the planned 113 units have a single major road access above Lowe's until such time as the mid-level road and Hienaloli extension are built. We plan an emergency access to Mamalahoa Highway through Dr. Tallan's property, but this road will be used in emergency situations only. r The Planning Department has not been overly concerned about this matter, as there are many (and much larger) cul-de-sac situations on all of the islands (Waikoloa Village; Kaloko mauka; North Kohala to name a few). We are prepared to build the mid-level road to provide another access if necessary, but this has been opposed by Malulani Gardens' residents, even though it will also alleviate their own cul-de-sac issues for their 121 unit project on a cul-de-sac. E: Emergency Access Emergency access was mentioned d by several parties as a safety issue, and we agree. Several of the mauka property owners wanted to make sure that such access was not on their access road, and we have no intention of using such an access road. As mentioned above, we intend to install an emergency access to Mamalahoa Highway from the upper potion of Kona Coffee estates through Dr. Tallan's property. This access could be used in emergency situations where the lower road may become blocked, and we intend to register this access with the emergency service providers and mark it with a colored road reflector. R Traffic Related Issues Traffic is by far the most often mentioned concern by both nearby residents and area residents. The ' KCE project has been designed to accommodate the roadway patterns laid out by the State and County, with the main accesses being from Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway and Palani Road via Malulani Drive and Henry Street/Hale Kapili Street. The project has future additional access points via the mid-level road and the Hienaloli Road extension, but the completion of those roads will be in the future. Working closely with State DOT-Highways and the County DPW, we have been involved in the October 13, 2006 Letter to Hawaaz i County Council SUBJECT: Response to Comments on Bill 251 and Status Report Page 4 of 5 planning and design of the roadway infrastructure with the intention of dedicating most of said infrastructure to the County. We have worked with the State DOT-Highways with their planned expansion of Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway at this area from three through lanes to four through lanes. We have contributed monetarily to the traffic signal under construction at Malulani Drive and Queen Ka'ahumanu Highway intersection which will be complete in a few months and dedicated to the State, and operated by the County. We will be building the extension of Malulani Drive to County dedicable standards up to the mauka edge of the multiple family housing site, and plan to dedicate this road to the County. We are contributing substantial graded rights-of-way to the County so that when the County is ready to complete the mid-level road and the Hienaloli extension, the infrastructure on this project is in place and ready. We have substantially reduced the planned density of this project to accommodate the wishes of some neighbors and reduce traffic use on Malulani Drive. We also investigated widening the lower portion of Malulani Drive at the request of some Malulani Gardens' residents, but this was not supported by the County or State agencies, and proved impossible due to legal constraints in any case. In accordance with County and State procedures, we have had a Traffic Impact Analysis Report ("TIAR') done by M&E Pacific, a licensed and qualified engineering firm in the State of Hawaii, looking at the impact of the KCE project as currently designed on the existing infrastructure system. This TIAR has been updated five (5) separate times due to specific concerns raised by various parties, - and copies of the TIAR and all updates have been provided to the County. The TIAR confirms that the low-density project as envisioned, together with the existing Malulani Gardens project and up to six homes on mauka adjoining lands; the Lowe's store; and the planned M commercial users adjacent to Lowe's does not degrade any of the intersections to be used for ingress/egress by the project to an unacceptable level. Some important points to remember include: 1. Malulani Drive is a four-lane road built to County dedicable standards on a 60' wide right-of- way, and is in the process of being dedicated to the County. 2. Malulani Drive is required by the County to be connected to the expanding roadway system infrastructure as a condition of approval for the Malulani Gardens project. 3. The mid-level road (right-of-way existing in the Malulani Gardens and planned in Kona Coffee Estates) is also designed to accommodate the planned traffic and is wide enough to be dedicated. 4. The mid-level road in Malulani Gardens is required (as a condition of approval) by the County to be connected to the planned grid and the Kona Coffee Estates project at some point in time. 5. The Hienaloli road extension planned to cross the upper portion of Kona Coffee Estates will be designed to accommodate a major collector road and to be dedicated to the County. October 13, 2006 Letter to Hawaz i County Council SUBJECT: Response to Comments on Bill 251 and Status Report Page 5 of 5 6. We do not intend to use the mauka property owner's roadway to Mamalahoa Highway in any way. G: General Comments There were around 10 general comments addressing diverse issues and opinions of parties. We have listed and addressed these comments in the attached "General Comments" section of the "Public Comments By Category" section. In summary, we have planned this project carefully to try to address the goals and needs of our neighbors and community. This project is designed for the Kona resident. Not one of the adjoining property owners has come forth to oppose our project, and many have testified in favor of the project due to our working with them. We have worked hard to address the issues raised by government agencies (only the Police Department has voiced opposition to the project as planned) and other various parties, working with the community and County officials throughout the process. We have contributed and will continue to contribute substantially to Kona's infrastructure in the areas of roads, traffic signals, water, and electrical improvements, and will help connect over 80 Malulani Gardens users to the County water system versus their current private system they have complained about. We will be contributing substantial additional funds to infrastructure through the required zoning change contributions. We will be placing almost two dozen Kona families in desperate need into affordable housing, and will be adding another 33 townhomes to the mid-market that is terribly underserved in Kona at this time. We feel this is a good project for Kona and respectfully request approval by the County Council of our Change of Zone request. Please contact Stanford or me with any comments or questions you may have. Sincerely, Richard A. Wheelock, Managing Member r RAW: raw Enclosures W CC: Stanford Carr w/Enclosure Marissa Furfaro w/Enclosure Chris Yuen w/Enclosure W. KONA COFFEE ESTATES PUBLIC COMMENTS BY CATEGORY Salvation Army: 1) Sammie Stanbro (mauka neighbor) stated that TSA wouldn't be supporting project except for "donation" of land, and re-iterated that 2-3 people from TSA at the Planning Commission hearing thanked Stanford for giving them this land. Not accurate, no such statements in the Planning Commission records. 2) Brenda Ford stated there was a "rumor in the community" that TSA was buying their five-acre parcel for half-price, and that this was a favor. SCD feels it is the right thing to do to support local community support endeavors and has agreed to sell the land below market to TSA should they want it. 3) Scott Bell is adamantly opposed to TSA in this location, feels it is wrong location. Especially concerned about rehab portion of project. TSA does not intend to have a rehab component. TSA has not yet committed to this project, and will require an additional public process called a Use; Permit procedure should they do so. 4) Joel Gimpel stated that TSA may not buy the land, suggested making the sale of the 5-acre parcel to a non-profit a condition of the approval ordinance. SCD intends to build additional multi family units on the five acre parcel should the TSA not purchase the land, including additional affordable housing. Public Mauka Access: 1) Linda Cavis (mauka neighbor) strongly opposes it on her road. (SCD agrees) 2) Sammie Stanbro (mauka neighbor) strongly opposes it on her road. (SCD agrees) 3) Bill Van Horn (Malulani Gardens-"MG") demands additional mauka access. 4) Jim and Virginia Cochran (MG) want it. 5) Gust Koutroupis (MG) wants it. 6) Walt and Pat Hof&nan (MG) want it. 7) Adele DeCuyper (MG) wants it. 8) Pamela Poore (MG) wants it. 9) Scott Bell (MG) wants it. Water: Note: KCE has sufficient water commitments and infrastructure to build 57 dwellings including affordable housing component without any additional off-site water system requirements. Although not required to do so, SCD is planning to develop " additional off-site watersystem improvements in accordance with County of Hawaii DWS requirements in order to assist Malulani Gardens' homeowners in Phases II & III (approximately 80 owners) to hook-up their existing private water system to the County system, and has obtained Kanuha ohana agreement to work on this goal. This agreement has been done in accordance with requests from Malulani Gardens homeowners; the County of Hawaii DWS; and the developer of Malulani Gardens, Mr. Brian R. Cook. This is a substantial benefit to Malulani Gardens, one that would have cost in excess of $1,000,000.00 if they were to do it themselves. a. 1) Linda Cavis (mauka neighbor) concerned about "three vague options", feels this problem is not already solved. Dr. Tallan and Keopu access options per DWS r request for MG system hook-up, plus internal KCE option, depending on engineering issues. Option to cross Rapoza property is out. SCD does not intend to use the road Linda Cavis uses for waterline access. 2) Sammie Stanbro (mauka neighbor) says there is no water coming in from the top of the property. SCD intends to utilize either Dr. Tallan's access of the Hiona Street access, not Sammie Stanbro's road, for waterline access. 3) Adele DeCuyper wants Malulani Gardens hooked up to county DWS to increase the water pressure. SCD intends to bring County waterlines to MG subdivision to allow this to happen. 4) Brenda Ford of South Kona is concerned about there being sufficient water pressure and not having any "spaghetti" or Driscoll pipes in the project. The County DWS will assure that we provide sufficient water pressure. There will be no above-ground "spaghetti" or Driscoll pipes on the property, all lines will be below ground. 5) Cheryl King felt there is not enough water for this project. County DWS will not grant approval unless we have sufficient water for the project. Note that this project is primarily a residential use with an Ag component, and is not designed to be an Ag project with such a project's inherent higher water usage. 6) Lorraine Peters (mauka neighbor) says the water issue ash not been addressed. See above. 7) Jake Jacobs says there is insufficient water. See #5 above. 8) Adele DeCuyper (MG) says water is a barrier, only hookup is the one used by MG and Lowes, and that KCE will require a water reservoir 150' in elevation above the highest home. Many owners in MG, who are on a similar system, complain about inadequate water pressure. KCE has the option of building a private system similar to what she describes as approved by the County DWS, although the actual elevation difference is 100', not 150'. Our engineers tell us that the system should have sufficient pressure if designed and used properly. However, SCD plans to bring a new waterline down from the hillside in one of two accesses that SCD has. This will not only benefit the KCE project, but also the MG project as SCD intends to offer this waterline to MG owners as well, _ alleviating their existing pressure problems. 9) Sammie Stanbro (mauka neighbor) stated the Rapozas were against the waterline easement across their land that SCD had requested, and she doesn't know where the water is coming from. SCD did not receive a denial from the Rapozas for the waterline request until weeks after Sammie made this statement, so SCD was certainly not aware of any such position at that time. In any case, SCD has two other waterline transmission line location options at Dr. Tallan's lot and at Hiona Street. 10) Sammie Stanbro notes that SCD also owns the Keopu property, and that SCD could access their waterline through that route. This is accurate and is one of the options SCD is considering. «.tl Cul-de-sac: 1) Joel Gimpel (Kona Traffic Safety Committee) states this is a safety issue. SCD plans to alleviate this concern with an emergency access from Dr. Tallan's and the eventual completion of the mid-level road and the Hienaloli extension. 2) Bill Van Horn (MG) states KCE will be the "largest cul-de-sac on the Island". Waikoloa Village with well over 1, 000 units is probably the largest cul-de-sac on the Island, possibly excluding North Kohala. Even Mr. Van Horn's Malulani Gardens has 121 units in a cul-de-sac compared to the planned 73 units in KCC. 3) Adele DeCuyper (MG) references "huge cul-de-sac". See # 2 above. Emergency Access: . 1) Gust Koutroupis (MG) demands alternate route for emergency vehicles. SCD plans emergency route through Tallan property, and eventually through mid-level road and Hienaloli extension. 2) Scott Bell (MG) concerned about safety issue, must be additional access road from upper section of property. See #1 above. 3) Sammie Stanbro is concerned KCE emergency access is planned for her access road, but states we do not have access on that road. SCD does not plan to use that " road. 4) Joel Gimpel (Kona Traffic Safety Committee) wants emergency access. SCD plans to provide it via Tallan property and mid-level road. ' 5) Michael Flaherty (MG) wants emergency access. See #4 above. s 6) Linda Cavis (mauka neighbor) is concerned about its location. SCD does not intend to use the road to her home for emergency access. Traffic Related Issues: 1) Linda Cavis (mauka neighbor) is concerned about increased traffic. SCD plans to market these homes primarily to existing residents, which will result in re- locating the existing traffic to an Urban location in accordance with "smart growth" concepts, and not adding a whole lot of traffilc to the Kona area. 2) Sammie Stanbro (mauka neighbor) feels the Salvation Army adds a whole lot more people to that small artery (Malulani Drive). Malulani Drive is a four lane road built to dedicable standards in accordance with "collector road" status on a 60' wide ROW. It has been approved by County, State and private engineers and is deemed capable of handling the traffic anticipated from the proposed KCE. 3) Adele DeCuyper (MG resident) stated the Henry Street/Queen Kaahumanu Highway intersection is one of the worst in town. Feels Malulani Drive is inadequate for expected traffic. Suggests SCD consider purchasing the adjoining ' Malulani park and widening the road. Malulani Drive is built to County collector road standards and is approved by State, County and private engineers. SCD reviewed expanding Malulani Drive by acquiring a portion of or all of the parr but the configuration of the park relating to Malulani Gardens' gate and the State DOT intersection requirements for Queen Kaahumanu Highway make this very difficult if not impossible. In addition, the Association would have to acquire the park and then obtain a 75% approval vote to do this in any case, a situation which is questionable. 4) Joel Gimpel (Kona Traffic Safety Committee) says MG access is insufficient, and that the shared access lane from Malulani Drive to Henry Street is dangerous. Also notes that Queen Kaahumanu Highway is a limited access roadway. According to State, County and private engineers, Malulani drive is sufficient for W. the planned purpose of the project. The State DOT is widening Queen Kaahumanu Highway to add another north-bound lane from Malulani Drive to r. Henry Street as part of the on-going Phase I of Queen Kaahumanu Highway widening project, which should alleviate the condition Joel is concerned about. It is true that Queen Kaahumanu Highway is a limited access highway, and the r, State DOT has always planned on the ROW which is known as Malulani Drive being the access for all of these parcels of land (Malulani Gardens; Lowes etc.; Kanuha ohana land; and Kona Coffee Estates land). This is the reason that the lower portion of Malulani drive was built to County collector road standards with four lanes, and why a lighted intersection has been approved there by the State and County. 5) Cheryl King concerned that the northbound traffic congestion on Queen Kaahumanu Highway starts in the area of Malulani Drive. The State DOT's addition of another northbound lane is designed to help alleviate this congestion in this area. 6) Jake Jacobs (Kalaoa resident) says the project will add traffic. SCD intends to minimize additional traffic affects for the general area by focusing on existing residents as buyers of the project, so as not to bring in new residents. This project will increase traffic on Malulani Drive. 7) Jim and Virginia Cochran (MG residents) state that KCE should obtain access from Palani Road, away from the Queen Kaahumanu Highway congestion. While SCD supports the Palani access, making that a main access is probably not realistic as the majority of users will be coming from Queen Kaahumanu Highway and are not likely to drive up and around to a Palani access unless they are coming down Palani already. In addition, Palani Road is a two lane road that will have some issues to deal with in being able to handle the additional traffic w- anticipated in any case. The best scenario is that the intersection to Palani crosses Palani to another mid-level road heading north towards the high school. In any case, SCD can not build a road across Rapoza's land, which is between KCE and QLT's land fronting Palani Road. 8) Gust Koutroupas (MG resident) wants to add an additional ingress and egress to _ KCE, and wants KCE to access upper Palani Road. The planned mid-level road ' and the Hienaloli extension will provide an additional ingress and egress to KCE eventually. See #7 above as to the Palani Road connection matter. 9) Walter Hoffinan (MG resident) wants no intrusion of traffic into Malulani " Gardens' gated, private roads. He wants the traffic to go to Palani Road with no use of Malulani Drive. SCD does not anticipate any additional traffic intruding into Malulani Garden's private road, although they will have to place two " additional gates on their private road once the mid-level road is connected, as is required under the County's approval of Malulani Gardens development. The m existing four land collector road known as Malulani Drive was designed as a major access for the other properties in the area, and in fact is the only access to the Kanuha ohana land. SCD does not feel that a four lane collector road which is required to be part ofKona's connectivity, which has a traffic signal, which was designed for access by the State DOT, which ahs approval by the County DPW, which has extensive Traffic Impact Analysis Reports documenting that the planned project will not exceed the capacity of the road, and which is the only legal access of record for the 70-acre Kanuha ohana property should be denied use by the residents of Malulani Gardens. 10) Pamela Poore (MG resident) is concerned about congestion, and that the two lanes of Queen Kaahumanu Highway merging into a single lane will lead commuters to use Malulani Drive (via Henry Street and Hale Kapili Street) as a r. shortcut. Since the merge of the two lanes on Queen Kaahumanu Highway occurs well south of the Malulani Drive intersection, it is unlikely that anyone will - use Malulani Drive as a shortcut unless there is a blockage on Queen r Kaahumanu Highway, such as an emergency situation. 11) Scott Bell (MG resident) concerned about a single access point for the project through Malulani Drive. Actually, the project has access to Henry Street via Hale Kapili Street as well, and the TZAR anticipates that this route will be used. He is worried about 250 additional vehicles per day causing deadlocked traffic on Queen Kaahumanu Highway and Henry Street, all the way to Kuakini Highway and Palani Road. The TIAR does not anticipate this occurring. Concerned that Police and Fire Department personnel are not in favor of KCE due to lack of ingress and egress. While the Police Department response to the Planning Department expressed concerns about access to Queen Kaahumanu Highway, the Fire Department response did not do so, and KCE will be built in accordance - with Fire department regulations. "Little Malulani Drive is not the County standard." Malulani Drive is built to County collector road standards, on a 60' wide ROW with four lanes (two 12' wide and two 11 'wide), with curbs, gutters and sidewalks. It is in the process of being dedicated by Brian Cook A lighted intersection is under construction at Malulani Drive and Queen Kaahumanu Highway as approved by the State DOT and County DPW By way of reference, 12' wide is the State standard for major highway lanes. 12) Sammie Stanbro (Mauka neighbor) states SCD doesn't know where the roads are. The main access road is as shown on the plan, connecting to Malulani Drive and Henry Street via Hale Kapili Street. In addition, SCD plans for the mid-level road and the Hienaloli extension. 13) Sammie Stanbro (mauka neighbor) says that other properties we are proposing limited access to already have 5-6 homes on them and are planning to subdivide, with her belief that the resulting increased traffic will overwhelm Malulani Drive. In addition, she claims that all these properties have access to Mamalahoa Highway so the public will use this route as well, further overwhelming Malulani drive. Only two homes exist on these three lots, but the lots could accommodate up to a total of six homes in the future. However, the access agreements with these lot owners specifically disallow any other users and the accesses are not up ' to County code requirements so will not allow further subdivision of any of the lots using these accesses. Also, all there of these properties are gated, so no " public use will be allowed. 14) Michael Flaherty (MG resident) is concerned about all the traffic being funneled to the Malulani Drive/Queen Kaahumanu Highway intersection for traffic and safety concerns. He is also concerned about the effect on Malulani Gardens' ingress and egress. The secondary access through Hale Kapili/Henry Street and the planned emergency access via Dr. Tallan's mauka property will help alleviate the safety concerns both for KCE as well as the existing Malulani Gardens. The TZAR indicates that the roadway as planned can handle the project's traffic. 15) Curtis Tyler feels the new signal at Malulani Drive is going to be a disaster. This is part of the infrastructure required by the State and County, and approved by both. Curtis feels KCE will be the worst disaster in Kona. SCD respectfully disagrees with this assessment. 16) Curtis Tyler wants SCD held accountable for the roadway the previous developer was going to build. SCD is not aware of any unfuflled roadway obligations of the previous developer. General Comments: 1) Brenda Ford stated that flood channels should be left as open space. KCE does not intend to build in the several acres of flood zoned land on their project. 2) Cheryl King is concerned that there is insufficient water, schools and safe access for this project. The Department of Water Supply requires SCD to provide adequate water for the project or it will not get built; The State Department of Education has indicated that there is sufficient capacity for the additional students from the project as planned, and the TSA will provide an additional pre- school if they go forward; the State Department of Transportation and the County Department of Public Works has approved the planned roadway access infrastructure for the project. 3) Jake Jacobs says the schools are overcrowded. See 42 above re: schools. 4) Adele DeCuyper feels no subdivision should be granted until the Kona Community Development Plan is approved. The CDP is designed to refine the County General Plan, in place since 1971. The County general plan has designated the subject land as "Alternate Urban Expansion "for over 30 years, and this plan is in accordance with such designation. 5) Joel Gimpel is concerned about boarding houses; small commercial users; crematoriums; telecom antennas; etc. being erected on the 5-acre site if TSA does not buy it. All these referenced uses require either Planning Director approval or a "Use "permit to be developed, so the County and Public would have a say for ay of these uses except a boarding house. In reality, none of these mentioned uses are economically viable or practical at this location. 6) Gust Koutroupis concerned about safety and that Richard Wheelock did not get back to MG homeowners before June 21" hearing. Traffic and roadway safety issues addressed by professionals. The June 21" hearing was deferred so that SCD Kona could deal with MG raised issues. Two meetings with MG held since them, neither attended by Mr. Koutroupis. 7) Dan Olsen concerned that KCE is not coffee estates, can't be afforded by farmers, coffee can not be grown at this low elevation, and two homes will be built on each lot. KCE is in the State LUC "Urban" designated area and is designed primarily for the local white collar workers who will grow coffee on their primary residence lots, not for farmers looking to make a living farming. Coffee does grow on this land now. The requested zoning RA-la only allows one home per lot, not two. 8) Curtis Tyler notes that the property is in the State LUC designated "Urban" zone, and that this project does not come close to offering what Palamanui offers. KCE is in the "Urban" zone, subject to the numerous conditions of the LUC D&O that were required to obtain the Urban designation. The Palamanui project is over six w. times the size of KCE, is in an outlying area without much of the infrastructure existing at KCE, and is agreeing to provide numerous benefits as conditions of its D&O with the State LUC, which KCE did years ago. The situations are not v. comparable. 9) Curtis Tyler feels there is no north-south connector road nor concurrency of w infrastructure. He feels that this project should not be allowed to go forward until there are co-operative agreements for infrastructure. KCE is planning to provide segments of two north-south connector roads within their project. KCE has " already or will be contributing to the Malulani Drive signal; extension and dedication to the County of Malulani Drive plus the two north-south connector roads; water and sewer facilities that will be given to the County; expansion of the HELCO system; and upgrading of the existing Malulani Gardens water system. In addition, the existing Henry Street and Malulani Drive roads were both built with this project in mind as part of the roadway and infrastructure system. Queen Kaahumanu Highway is being widened below KCE. Infrastructure in this area has been and continues to be upgraded and installed as the central urban area is built. This project has been assessed for a lot of infrastructure through the State LUCprocess and the County COZprocess, and these agreements' conditions are co-operative agreements in effect. y. d. r Comments by Sneaker-May 1 2006 Planning Committee Hearing 1) Linda Cavis, mauka property owner of 7.947 acres at TMK 7-5-2:35, neighbor of project. Land is over 750 feet away from project boundary and approx. 100 feet higher in elevation. Concerns: A. Noise. All work will be done in accordance with State and County requirements. B. Aesthetic view altered. Property over 100 feet above KCE mauka boundary, can not block view. C. Fear of trespass, theft & crime increase due to increase access, opposes any connected access. We do not intend to connect her roadway to our project. D. Felt that actual rainfall is less than 70" per year according to government data, may not be sufficient for ag use. Concerned about waterline access. Don't know about rainfall (consultants provided that info), but the focus of KCE is not on extensive ag use, don't anticipate large water volume usage. Waterline access will not be on her road. 2) Joel Gimpel, Kona Traffic Safety Committee member. Pointed out that Malulani Drive/Queen Kaahumanu Highway intersection was scene of one fatal accident already. True, one reason traffic signal is needed and is being installed. Felt that Malulani Drive will be principal access to Lowes and Kona Coffee Estates once 'r signal is completed. Northbound traffic on Queen Kaahumanu Highway will use it as principal entrance but majority of users will still come from Henry Street according to the TZAR. Felt the shared lane from Malulani Drive to Henry Street is a danger. The State DOT is in the process of adding a second northbound lane to Queen Kaahumanu Highway from Malulani Drive to Henry Street, which should alleviate this condition. Felt that the single access is a safety issue. KCE has access to both Henry Street and Queen Kaahumanu Highway, and we are planning an emergency road at Tallan's property. r Recommends: A: Provide additional access and facilitate eventual connection to future subdivisions. Emergency access and planning to hookup to Hienaloli extension and mid-level road. B: Doubts Malulani Gardens will allow access due to their being a gated community. The County conditions of approval of the Malulani Gardens PUD require hookup of their two roads for connectivity goals. C: Main road be built no more than 8% grade to dedicable standards. Lower portion dedicable, upper portion not possible to achieve less than 8% grade. D: Sidewalks be required to encourage walking. Lower portion which is higher density on dedicable roads ok upper portion very low density and designed to be more rural in character. r 3) Sammie Stanbro owns 5.636 acres about 750 feet mauka and 100 feet higher in elevation than KCE mauka boundary, consisting of two parcels of land at TMK's 3/7-5-2: parcels 28 and 29. Concerns: A: Said that SCD represented at Planning Commission hearing that SCD is "giving land to the Salvation Army". Not an accurate statement. No record of such a statement in Planning Commission transcript. B: KCE has no water coming from top of property. Not accurate. KCE can bring waterline in from either Dr. Tallan's property or Hiona Street. C: Quoted one of the owners of adjoining property at TMK 317-5-3:10, Mr. Clarence Rapoza, as being "dead set against this development". Clarence told Richard Wheelock directly in a phone conversation that he "accepted that development in Kona is on-going and will continue D: The top portion of KCE nearest to her property should stay 5-acres. We feel our low density project is appropriate for this area. E: Concerned that Salvation Army's m 500 students; large commercial lot; and store plus administration building is a lot °w more people than the "small artery" of Malulani Drive can handle. TSA proposes 150 students, not 500, and there is no large commercial lot, just the store, church, A pre-school and admin building. In any case, Malulani Drive was designed and built as a connector road, with four lanes (two 11' wide and two 12' wide, which conforms to highway standards) that are to be part of the central connectivity desired by the County. The TZAR and Addendums all indicate that this road can handle the projected traffic. F: Stated that Stanford went onto Clarence Rapoza's land when Stanford did the Lowes' project development. Not accurate, as Stanford did not do the Lowes project development, so knows nothing about this. 4) Adele DeCuyper owns home in Malulani Gardens. Concerns: A: Henry Street/Malulani Drive intersection one of most dangerous in town. That is why the signal is going in to accommodate ingress/egress. B: Malulani Drive is not wide enough to accommodate the present traffic, let alone the ` additional traffic to be generated by KCE. As pointed out, the lanes of Malulani Drive are to highway width standards, and the State Department of Transportation- Highways Division; the County of Hawaii Department of Public Works' Traffic ` Division; and M&E Pacific's engineers have all agreed on the improvements _ designed for Malulani Drive as being sufcient for the project. C: Perhaps SCD could purchase the Malulani Gardens park and widen Malulani Drive. This is under consideration and review. D: Has concerns about water, wants SCD to abide by previous owners' (Hawaiian Development Corporation/Joe Whitney) agreement to provide County waterlines to Malulani Gardens. SCD has offered to do so under their current development plan. ^ 5) Brenda Ford, a South Kona resident. Stated she is neither "for nor against the subdivision". r Concerns: A: The "urbanization" of the area to some degree due to "large commercial complex". SCD feels the TSA is less a large commercial complex than community service facility. B: Wants ingress and egress at two points for safety issues. KCE has access to both Queen Kaahumanu Highway as well as Henry Street, and intends to have emergency ingress/egress at Dr. Tallan's property. C: TSA buying their 5-acres at "half-price" is a "favor". Yes. D: Flood channels in ar the area should be open space. SCD's development plan does not develop any land in the flood channel. E: Arch sites should be dedicated with buffer walls, not part of individual lots. All sites to be preserved will be preserved in accordance with approved State plans. Separate subdivision of the arch sites is not feasible under existing subdivision rules. F: Feels there is insufficient water pressure, does not want spaghetti lines or Driscoll pipes. KCE will have sufficient water pressure from County approved underground waterlines. ^ 6) Lorraine Peters, a mauka property owner, is opposed. No testimony. Comments on Written Submittals to Council from May 1 to May 17, 2006 1) Cheryl King, May 14 email. Main congestion on Queen Kaahumanu Highway from the south starts in this area. Not enough water, space in schools, or safe access to this area. The various governmental agencies have informed us that water, school space, and safe access for this low density project as planned are adequate. 2) Lorraine Peters, a mauka neighboring property owner, fax on 5-17-06. She joins her neighbors Linda Cavis and Sammie Stanbro in opposition to the KCE. Water has not been adequately addressed; poor access to the property; neighboring properties have easements so number of cars using roads will be greater than represented. Water is adequate for project; the access is acceptable by the State DOT and County DPW,- the maximum of 6 additional homes on lots to be provided access has been determined as having a negligible impact on the TZAR by the W Traffic Engineer. _ 3) Jake Jacobs' email dated 5-17. Mr. Carr, a speculator, should benefit ordinary people, working people, people already here and not just rich mainlanders. Project will add traffic; use more water than is available; and increase overcrowding in our schools. Doesn't even offer roads or parks. Wait until infrastructure is in, including mass transit. Jake is sick of gates and curbs and manicured lawns. Why not sell land and develop southern California desert? SCD is long- term developer, not speculator. This project is designed for the local market, and looks to infill w an Urban location in accordance with "smart growth" ideals. Water is adequate; State DOE figures indicate that this project will not produce overcrowding in schools, and in fact we hope that TSA build s much needed pre-school for the "ordinary people " Jake is concerned about. mm The project offers quite a bit of roads and infrastructure, including plans to hook up over 80 homes to the County water system. Mr. Carr was born and raised in Hawaii, does not do southern California projects. 4) Jim and Virginia Cochran of Malulani Gardens fax dated 5-14. The Cochran's want the project to access Palani Road. SCD feels access to Palani Road is desirable as well, but does not control the properties in between KCE and Palani Road. 5) Gust Koutroupis of Malulani Gardens letter dated 5-13. States no alternate route for emergency vehicles is a safety problem. Emergency access via Dr. Tallan's. Opening Malulani Drive will cause safety problem due to increased traffic seeking shortcut. TMR does not anticipate this occurring, but the connectivity of Malulani Drive is required by County approval of Malulani Gardens in any case. KCE should not be approved without alternate ingress/egress. r Emergency road at Tallan's and eventual Hienaloli extension and mid-level road. Don't approve unless project has access to upper Palani Road, away from congested Henry Street/Queen Kaahumanu Highway. TZAR indicates that the planned project is within acceptable levels for the existing roadway system. 6) Walt and Pat Hoffrnan of Malulani Gardens letter dated 5-12. they want a condition that will provide for "neighborhood compatibility". SCD is not sure what their definition of "neighborhood compatibility " is, but would consider any such condition approved by the Council. Traffic must be considered, must contribute to mitigation. SCD is already contributing to the traffic signal construction, and will contribute to roadway connectivity, and Hienaloli and mid-level road installation. Traffic and safety within MG must not be negatively impacted. Gated community was approved by the County, they want no intrusion into streets of MG. KCE will not use interior street of MG, however, when the mid-level road required by the County approval of MG is made, MG will need to install additional gates. The entrance to MG is dangerous, they want traffic routed to Palani Road. The State and County have approved the Malulani Drive access. They suggest blocking off Malulani Drive above the gate to MG, limiting access from this route to emergency vehicles only. The existing Malulani Drive, with four lanes and a traffic signal was not designed nor built solely for MG, but rather as a part of a roadway system to benefit all of Kona, and is required by the conditions of approval of MG to be integrated into said roadway system. This road is also the only access for the Kanuha ohana lands adjacent to MG on the north, and blocking off this road will preclude the Kanuhas from accessing their lands. The Hoffmans can support the zoning change requested if no use of Malulani Drive is allowed. This does not seem feasible. 7) Bill Van Horn of Malulani Gardens email dated 5-10-06 opposes project as "largest cul-de-sac on island". Actually, Waikoloa Village with over 2, 000 residences is substantially larger, as is Malulani Gardens with 121 compared to KCE's proposed 73 units. 8) Adele DeCuyper of Malulani Gardens email dated 5-17-06 referenced short notice of last meeting resulted in low turnout. Actually had just slightly less than the previous three meetings. Unfortunately, the new managing agent did not post the notice as was the custom of the previous agent. Referenced "secret deals" between MG developer Brian Cook and Richard Wheelock as reason to question Richard Wheelock's credibility. No deals, secret or otherwise, exist between Brian Cook and Richard Wheelock, and Brian can confirm this at phone 324-0395. rr 9) Adele DeCuyper letter (undated) references KCE as being "huge cul-de-sac". KCE's 73 units is not huge compared to the 121 units in MG, or the 2, 000 plus units in Waikoloa Village, or Makalei Estates, Kaloko, or any number of other existing cul-de-sac projects which occur naturally on an island such as this. Stated that KCE needs a mauka road. KCE plans an emergency mauka road and supports completion of the Hienaloli extension and mid-level road. r She references the Kona Community Development Plan, and questions why subdivisions such as ours are being discussed when the KCDP process is not complete. The KCDP refines the County General Plan, with which KCE is in accordance. We are not yet to the subdivision stage in any r case. She references a 50' cliff and 50' wall on the Lowes project, with the 50' cliff obliterating mauka access for future development. The cut and wall she references are closer to 40; still quite substantial. The access for mauka development has not been obliterated; it is where the KCE project shows it, across Kanuha land and SCD land in accordance with these property owners' wishes. The only water hookup for KCE is at Malulani Drive, and will require storage tanks. The upper portion of MG complains about poor water pressure and uses a similar system. KCE has water access from Malulani Drive, but also is looking at two options they have mauka, from Dr. Tallan's property and from Hiona Street. SCD has offered to provide MG with water hookup options that will allow them to become part of the County system.. 10) Pamela Poore from Malulani Gardens is against development because of "potential for r increased congestion" at Henry Street/Malulani Drive/Queen Kaahumanu Highway intersections, and is concerned about two lanes from Henry Street fimneling into one lane on Queen Kaahumanu Highway southbound, which will lead people to use Malulani Drive as a shortcut. The combining of the two lanes on Queen Kaahumanu Highway into one lane occurs well south of the Malulani Drive intersection, and the opening of Malulani Drive will be made in any case when the traffic signals complete. She wants alternative access onto upper Palani road for KCE. We do too, and will do our part. Comments by Speaker-May 17, 2006 Council Hearing 1. Scott Bell, MG Assoc. President: Concerned about TSA, especially rehab. No rehab in their ° project. Concerned about project having single access off Malulani Drive. Project has secondary access to Henry Street via Hale Kapili Street. Concerned additional 250 vehicles per day will deadlock traffic on Queen K and Henry Street, all the way to Kuakini and Palani. TZAR indicates this is not the case. Police and fire departments against the project due to lack of ingress and egress. Police department on record as concerned about traffic. Fire department has not commented to County Planning Department on this project. It is a safety issue; there must be an additional access road from the upper section of the proposed development. SCD plans an emergency road from Dr. Tallan's, plus the planned Hienaloli extension and mid-level roads. Supports providing low density housing for the community, but this is the wrong location for the Salvation Army. "Little Malulani Drive road is not the County standard." The dedicable portion of Malulani Drive is a County standard collector road with a 60 foot width, and the striping plan approved by the State DOT and the County DPW has four lanes, two 11' wide and two 12' wide. By way of reference, Queen Kaahumanu Highway's lanes are 12' wide. The roadway is in the process of being dedicated. Referenced "high trip generation overload". The TZAR indicates that the roadway system can handle the project as planned. 2. Sammie Stanbro, mauka property owner. Claimed Mr. Wheelock lied to Council, that Mr. Rapoza (another nearby property owner) sent his representative to last meeting, that Mr. Wheelock sent that representative home. Not true, Roy Nakamoto, Esq. of Hilo is Rapoza family representative, and he has confirmed to Sammie Stanbro that he never attended any meeting nor was "sent home" by anyone. Claimed that Mr. Wheelock understood that the Rapozas were against the waterline easement that SCD requested of Rapozas across their property. Not true, SCD had not received a response from the Rapozas at that time, which Roy Nakamoto has also confirmed with Sammie Stanbro. (SCD has since then received a negative response from the Rapozas to the waterline easement request.) Referencing page 4 of 5 in the Planning Commission minutes, she says that Mr. Wheelock told the Council that the Rapoza property waterline easement is a "total option that was open to him, he was told that morning that it was not." Not true. On page 4 of 5 in the commission statements Mr. Wheelock is on the record as stating that water is available to the site, which it is via Malulani Drive. There is no quote of "option open" attributed in any of the records, and as T previously stated, Roy Nakamoto has confirmed that SCD had not been denied that waterline easement request as of May 17'h. Sammie Stanbro repeats that the Rapozas had turned down the waterline easement request. Not true, as confirmed by Roy Nakamoto. In response to SCD's statement that three other landowners who want limited access, Sammie W Stanbro states that "there are no landowners where he is talking about that are for it". Not true. The three landowners are Mr. Mark Norman's family; Dr. Eric Tallan's family; and Mr. Ralph Fukumitsu as buyer of the Yokoyama family land. The tax map key numbers are 317-5- 2: parcels 27, 41, & 51. Sammie states that SCD cut a deal with Mark Norman, a neighboring property owner, at the first public meeting to provide an easement. Actually, Richard Wheelock had agreed to try and provide access to Norman quite a while ago. Sammie states that Dr. Tallan's property is 16 acres and he plans to do a subdivision using the SCD easement to go through KCE. Not true. Dr. Tallan does NOT plan a subdivision, and in fact has singed a ten year commitment on his land to an organic farmer. In any case, the easement will not be sufficient to allow further subdivision of Dr. Tallan's property. Dr. Tallan is a medical practitioner who is concerned about getting to Kona Hospital in a timely fashion when he moves to Kona in the future, and SCD has agreed to provide him limited access. Sammie references Mark Norman looking to develop his property. Not true. Mark Norman bought his land adjacent to KCE about 20 years ago, and has raised his family there. He has two homes on his 7.961 acre parcel zoned A-5a, which can not be further subdivided. He has stated he has no intentions at this time of seeking any change ofzone or further development for his family property. The easement SCD will provide him will not be sufficient to allow further subdivision in any case. Sammie talks about 2 other large properties, at least 50 acres, which is owned by a trust and that the family that owns that land is intent on breaking it up. Not true. TMK's 7-5-2: parcels 13 & 41 total 31 acres, and David Kaapu, Esq., the representative of the Yokoyama family that has owned that land for many decades, has confirmed that they have no plans at this time to develop or subdivide their land. In any case, the easement SCD proposed for this land would not be sufficient for subdivision purposes. Sammie accuses Richard Wheelock of saying things that are misleading and dishonest. We will let the record speak for itself. Sammie doesn't know where the water is coming from or where the roads are. The water is coming from either Malulani Drive, Dr. Tallan's property, or down Hiona Street. The roads are planned for an extension ofMalulani Drive, a mid-level road, an extension ofHienaloli Road plus an .r emergency access through Dr. Tallan's property. She wants to know where the 12 foot wide emergency access is, concerned it is by her house which she claims SCD doesn't have access over. The proposed 12' wide emergency access is on Dr. Tallan's land and does not use the same road that Sammie uses. She says the plan is not well thought out, needs to be urban and rural or maybe urban at the bottom and rural 5-acre ag at the top. The entire site is already designated Urban by the State LUC, SCD plans to develop the lower portion into higher density and leave the upper portion near Sammie's' property in lower density development, although the lots will be more like 1.5-2 acres instead of 5 acres near Sammie's home. Says that the Salvation Army is a maybe (True) and that he water is a maybe (Not true). Claims five additional large landowners, with probably 5-6 existing houses, will be using the easements to get to Malulani Drive, and that these lands are all accessible from Mamalahoa Highway to the public, and that therefore the public will be using the Malulani Drive road as well. Not True. SCD intends to provide limited easements to the aforementioned properties ONLY, they have only two homes on them combined at this time, and all of these properties are gated farms or ranches and do not allow public access ' on them. 3. Joel Gimpel (Kona Traffic Safety Committee member). Stated the Salvation Army may not buy. True. If TSA does not buy, then RM-3.5 zoning on the 5-acre parcel will allow boarding houses; crematoriums; small commercial users; major outdoor amusement facilities; and telecommunications antennas. If TSA does not buy the 5-acre parcel, the SCE) intends to develop the land into additional multi family units, including much needed ' affordable housing. Although the sues Mr. Gimpel is concerned about are allowable uses under the County zoning code, all of those uses except Boarding Homes needs either the Director's approval or a Use permit, so the public would still have a say in such uses. In any case, these uses are not commercially viable for this site at this time. He is concerned about traffic safety and congestion, and the project having only one access route. State DORT/County DPW/and private engineers have approved the roadway plan as meeting their requirements. Project actually has second access to Henry Street via Hale Kapili Street already, and plans to contribute to the mid-level road and the Hienaloli extension to help _ alleviate congestion. He recommends that occupancy not be allowed until a County standard alternate access route is in place. He also suggests amending the Ordinance to require as a condition of approval that the 5-acre portion be purchased by a 501-C-3 entity. 4. Brenda Ford states that the Kona Community development Plan is heading on the direction i of not allowing substandard subdivision such as this one. The Kona Community development Plan is directing preferred growth patterns for the region, not subdivision details. The subdivision of KCE will not be "substandard" in any case. 5. Adele DeCuyper (Malulani Gardens resident). The MG residents are opposed to this re- zoning. The owners of about 54 of Malulani Gardens' 121 homes have signed petitions opposing this re-zoning, and the owners of another 40 plus homes are away. This huge cul- de-sac needs a mauka road. SCD is planning for an emergency access on Tallan's property, as well as the hookup of the mid-level road and the extension of Hienaloli Road. KCE's 73 units can hardly be called "huge" compared to Malulani Gardens' 121 units, Waikoloa Villages' over 1,200 units, or many other existing projects. Asks why approvals for subdivisions are even being discussed prior to the Kona Community Development Plan being approved? The KCDP is designed to refine the existing County general Plan, which designates this project as "Urban Expansion" land and KCE is in accordance with this designation. KCE is not at the subdivisions stage in any case. Adele states that water is a barrier to developing this project, that it is only available from the stub out at Malulani Drive and that will require a private system with a reservoir, and that some of the Malulani Gardens residents whoa re now on such a system (about 80 residents total on the private system) complain about water pressure. SCD has additional options for water transmission at Tallan's property and at Hiona Street, and in addition, SCD plans to provide Malulani Gardens with the option of hooking up to the County system, a $1, 000, 000 benefit for MG that will alleviate the existing pressure problems. 6. Michael Flaherty, (Malulani Gardens resident). Concerned that all traffic will be funneled to " Malulani Drive/Queen Kaahumanu Highway intersection. Some traffic will go to Henry Street via Hale Kapili Street, and completion of mid-level road and extension of Hienaloli Road will alleviate most of this pressure. Suggests substantial modification to Malulani Drive to avoid ingress/egress problems. Doesn't want to be "held hostage" by "big land _ developer" who wants to use a roadway (Malulani Dive) that was designed for a limited amount of vehicles. Malulani Drive is built to County standard "collector" standards, with four lanes (two 12' wide and two 11 'wide), an under construction traffic signal, with the design for all of these approved by State, County, and private sector engineers specializing in such work. This roadway has been planned and designed for such use as proposed by State and County departments as well as other landowners for over 20 years. Malulani residents had a substantial benefit package offered to them in mediation over this roadway with Lowes several years ago but the residents demanded $10, 000, 000 in "damages" which terminated the mediation. The matter proceeded to two arbitrations, both of which were lost by Malulani Gardens' residents. Hardly a "held hostage " situation. There are fire and safety issues in trying to jam KCE and MG residents into one exit. KCE is providing a second r. egress option to Henry Street via Hale Kapili Street, and also intends to provide an emergency mauka access at Tallan's. 7. Linda Cavis (Mauka neighbor). Concerned about Mark Norman subdividing into 1-acre lots using our easement. Our easement will not be sufficient to provide him subdivision access. In any case, his zoning is A-5a and he has stated he has no plans to re-zone the property at this time. Linda is concerned about the location of the 12' wide mauka emergency access road, does not want KCE to use her access road. SCD intends to provide the emergency - access from Dr. Tallan's property. Comments by Speaker-June 21, 2006 Council Hearing 1) Gust Koutroupis, Malulani Gardens Resident: a. This project will create an unsafe situation. State and County agencies, as well as engineers following professional standards, have or will approve of the improvements on this project. No conditions w„ that create a public safety issue will be approved. b. SCD Kona 108 has not come back to the Malulani Gardens residents, which is typical of Mr. Wheelock. SCD Kona 108 LLC requested a delay in the Council's action to address changes requested by Malulani Gardens residents that involved three other nearby property _ owners; State Department of Transportation Highways Division; County Department of Public Works; County Department of Public Works Engineering Division; County Department of Public Works Traffic Safety Division; County Department of Water Supply; County Planning Department; HELCO; Hawaiian Development w Corporation; M&E Pacific Traffic Engineers; T&T Electric and major design ' changes to the Kona Coffee Estates master plan by SCD's planners and engineers. After a tremendous amount of effort and meetings with all of these parties (some more than once), another meeting was held with Malulani Gardens residents to discuss the status of the project on July 6, 2006 Gust Koutroupis declined to attend the meeting, which was attended by about 15 residents. Another meeting with Malulani Gardens residents was held September6, 2006, with about 13 residents attending. Gust Koutroupis declined to attend this meeting as well. This was the tenth meeting with MG residents or their board members over the last two years concerning planning for this project. 2) Dan Olsen: a. KCE is not coffee estates, it is real expensive housing. KCE is intended _ to be for local residents who wish to grow coffee or have small farming operations in conjunction with their homes, and will provide a low-density transition to the larger farms mauka of the project. The affordable housing component of the project will not be expensive, but the large lots will be for the middle and upper middle class in all likelihood. b. Can't grow coffee at this low elevation. Coffee currently growing wild on the property's upper elevation (950 ) but will need to be watered and cultivated more at the lowest elevation (approx. 450 c. Half-acre lots ''/T mile from KCE on market for $485,000. Not affordable by farmers. Fully graded acre lots zoned Residential with roads and utilities in are indeed for sale starting at $485, 000 each by Dan Bolton adjacent to Kailua View Estates. Our market is the local middle class and upper middle class resident who wishes to have coffee or other crops on their property but is not earning a living farming. d. Based on what is allowed, each lot will have two homes, not one. Section 25-5-52 (8) specifically limits the lots in RA- ]a zoning (the requested zoning for the large lots) to "one per building site e. The road is narrow, without shoulders, not walkable. Lower section will be built to County dedicable standards with curbs, gutters & sidewalks. Upper portion built to Ag standards (non-dedicable) has shoulders/swales that can be walked along. f. Resolution 381-06 will give us 6 months to figure out what is better there. SCD Kona has already spent over two years working with adjoining and nearby property owners to develop the plan submitted now. 3) Sammy Stanbro a. Too bad the developer is asking to pass on this until it goes to Hilo. SCD asked to defer the hearing so it can deal with various issues Ms. Stanbro r - and others have raised, which takes a lot of effort and time. b. Chris Yuen _ indicated the Hienaloli Road extension is not a priority road; it is a difficult piece of road to build. Director Yuen has stated the extension is not a priorityfor the County M Planning Department. KCE will at least contribute their portion of the roadway. The roadway is not particularly difficult to build physically, but it may take County action to acquire some of the roadway land needed b. SCD owns the Keopu property, w and could access their waterline through that route. True, SCD is considering this option. c. Sammy believed Clarence Rapoza when he stated opposition to the _ waterline and roadway going through his property, did not mean to say anything bad about Mr. Wheelock. Clarence Rapoza could very well oppose the waterline and roadway through his property, but never expressed that to Richard Wheelock before _ the hearings. Richard Wheelock has never knowingly misrepresented any persons' attitudes on this project to the Council or any County agency at any time, and appreciates that Sammy did not mean anything bad by her previous comments. 4) Curtis Tyler a. This project is in the Urban zone. True, the State LUC has ' designated this land as "Urban". b. This project does not come close to offering what Palamanui is providing. This project is only 108 acres compared to about 700 acres for Palamanui; it is in the Urban core with utilities to the site versus an r outlying land parcel providing University of Hawaii facilities and needing all utilities. Does not compare evenly. c. There is no north-south connector. The planned Hienaloli extension plus the planned mid-level road are both north-south connectors, which this project will help contribute to. d. There is no concurrency of infrastructure. Henry Street, Malulani Drive and Hale Kapili Street have all been built on neighboring properties in the recent past, and Malulani Drive will be extended for this project, along with the portions of the two north-south connector corridors. The new signal at Malulani Drive is under construction. Water, sewer, electrical, telephone and cable conduits have all been extended to the project. KCE will contribute to the increased capacity of HELCO's system and the water transmission system in the area. KCE plans to provide County water transmission lines to Phases 71 and III of Malulani Gardens. Infrastructure has been and continues to be installed concurrently with the development of this project. e. The new signal - at Malulani Drive is going to be a disaster. This is part of the area infrastructure r required. There has already been one death at that intersection due to no signal The State DOT and the County DPW Traffic Division have both approved the signal as designed. f. Shouldn't allow this project to go forward until you have cooperative agreements for infrastructure. As itemized above, KCE has and will be contributing a tremendous amount of infrastructure plus affordable housing as a function of this project. g. It will be the worst disaster in Kona. SCD Kona 108 LLC respectfully disagrees with this assessment. h. Hold the developer accountable for the roadway the previous developer was going to build, or else it is not the time for this project. Previous developer was not required to build any other roadways under their approvals, so we are not clear on what this reference is to. The only obligation that the previous developer does not plan to live up to is an agreement with Brian Cook to provide water lines for Malulani Gardens to allow them access to a public water system, and SCD has offered to do this even though they are not contractually obligated to do so. r S s r ~ r Tlalm Z z z 0 8¢ o 0 Yi1 a o m w a Fo ma W ~ O r Q o w c s V O U w w ~F O W s W M W W W O z ,Q o Z 4 ¢ o O O 3 5 ~ f r W eft w O 0 0 O LL r P ~ 3 ~EEN~P ~J 8 e~ n w r a s N4 ~ III s~r m . C KU I it E SS a% o a m c~ c~ E[ V Z m~ z z O ~a o 0 F N N I^ a o ~ m Q ~ u4i ! 6 Z U w w O YG Yr ¢ ~ w a wo ma r O Q J m J o Q F J` m W w U Z O U W m Vyy ~ L O W a u, y W O U Z Z O 0U 6 Z 0 Z < ~ / J wi V) V~ y v~ 0 0 0 \a, W 3 8 A m