COM 0163.002 2010-2012 - Laserfiche WebLink

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Island Planning 1405 Waianuenue Ave Hilo, HI 96720 808 989 -8322 April 19, 2011 Hawaii County Council, Committee on Planning Subject: Resolution 60 -11: Moratorium on General Plan and Rezoning in the District of Ka'u Aloha Chairman and Members of the Committee I am a land planning consultant testifying on behalf of Dr. Kevin Stuef DDS who sends his regrets for not being able to be here in person. Dr. Stuef has been a practicing dentist in Na'alehu for 29 years and is busy with a full load of patients this morning. He is the only resident dentist in the district of Ka'u and is one of the longest standing small business persons in the region. He has committed his professional life to the dental health of the people of Ka'u. Several years ago Dr. Stuef purchased a residential property from C. Brewer. The property is across Mamalahoa Highway from Na'alehu Park and adjoins the Na'alehu Sweet Bread Bakery outlet. The old home on the parcel was formerly used to house the County Fire Department. This is one of the classic old supervisory residences in the heart of Na'alehu and it had suffered from long term maintenance neglect. Dr. Stud's dream is to renovate the historic 1928 home and use it to house an expanded dental practice. To do so, he has hired a qualified historical architect to direct repairs on the building, and my firm to process a rezoning for the 20,637 SF property from its current RS -10 zoning to CV -10 to allow the dental office use. The project is a financial challenge for his small practice but Dr. Stuef has done everything right. With any luck, he could be in his new offices with expanded services by the end of 2011. We have prepared the necessary rezoning application and are awaiting response from the State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD) to provide a formal approval of the work needed on the historic structure. Our intention was to submit the application in the next 30 days. The property is in the core of Na'alehu Town and is designated for Medium Density use in the General Plan. There is commercial zoning already in place on several properties on either side of the subject property ( TMK 9 -5- 025:033) and across the highway. Resolution 60 -11, as drafted, would stop Dr. Stuef in his tracks. If the Resolution was approved in its current form, he would have to wait for the completion of the Ka'u Community Development Plan or the end of 2012 to complete his rezoning before he continued his work on the new dental office. We don't believe that small, General Plan conforming land use changes such as what Dr. Stuef proposes are really the intended target of the subject Resolution. However, if the Resolution is Caren No. /43.Z Ref. To: / PO Reef. Date APR 1, 2 »I