HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0670.000 2010-2012 .�JMty os ham,.' William T.Takaba
William P.Kenoi
�: \.;►.,,��S• Managing Director
Mayor
Wally Lau
e
.....H+ Deputy Managing Director
•County of Hawaii
25 Aupuni Street • Hilo,Hawai`i 96720 • (808)961-8211 • Fax(808)961-6553
KONA: 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway • Kailua-Kona,Hawaii 96740
(808)323-4444 • Fax(808)326-5663
April 11, 2012
N n
Honorable Dominic Yagong, Chairman
and Members of the County Council ='
County of Hawai`i w
25 Aupuni Street 4e
Hilo, HI 96720 ,; D
Dear Chairman Yagong and Members: v --
/Initiator: Planning Director
Amendment to Map 15 of the Land Use Pattern Allocation Guide(LUPAG) Map
Of the County of Hawai`i General Plan
Initiator: Planning Director
Amendment to Chapter 25 (Zoning Code) of the Hawai`i County Code 1983
(2005 Edition, As Amended) Relating to Notification Requirements for Zoning
Amendment, Project District and Agricultural Project District Applications
Initiator: Planning Director
Amendment to Chapter 25 (Zoning Code) of the Hawai`i County Code 1983 (2005 Edition,
As Amended) Relating to Crematoriums, Funeral Homes, Funeral Services, and Mortuaries
As required by Chapter 7, Sec. 6-7.5 (a), Hawai`i County Charter, transmitted herewith for the
County Council's consideration and action are the Windward and Leeward Planning
Commissions' letters and enclosures regarding the above-referenced requests.
Sincerely
William P. Kenoi
Mayor
Enclosures
cc: Planning Department ( Q
Comm. No. '�OJ/
C
Sill 2.30) Hawaii Opportunity i County is an Equal Oppor Provider and Employer Ref. To: 1 v
Ref. Date APR 13 2,11_
OJMSY OS N,.',.
County of Hawaii
WINDWARD PLANNING COMMISSION
Aupuni Center • 101 Pauahi Street,Suite 3 • Hilo,Hawai`i 96720
Phone(808)961-8288 • Fax(808)961-8742
, APR 1 1 2012 =,C)
CJ
The Honorable Dominic Yagong, Chairman "":
and Members of the County Council
County of Hawai`i p 7;3
25 Aupuni Street
0
Hilo, HI 96720 Co
Dear Chairman Yagong and Council Members:
Initiator: Planning Director
Amendment to Map 15 of the Land Use Pattern Allocation Guide (LUPAG)Map
Of the County of Hawai`i General Plan
The Windward Planning Commission, at its duly held public hearing on March 1, 2012, considered the
Planning Director's request for an amendment to Map 15 of the Land Use Pattern Allocation Guide
(LUPAG)Map of the County of Hawai`i General Plan(adopted by Ordinance No. 05 25, amended by
Ordinance No. 06 153)by changing the land use designation for Pahoa Village and the immediately
surrounding areas, Pahoa, Puna, Hawai`i.
The Commission voted to forward a favorable recommendation to the County Council on the request.
The draft bill is attached for your favorable consideration. We have also enclosed a copy of the Planning
Director's Background and Recommendation, as well as a transcript of the hearing for your information.
Sincerely,
Zendo Kern, Chairman
Windward Planning Commission
Lpdinitiated-amendLUPAGMap 15Pahoa
Enclosures
cc: Amy Self, Esq.
Planning Department-Kona
Hawai`i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer
;MSY Oi h..._••
• 'gym.--J. •
County of Hawaii
LEEWARD PLANNING COMMISSION
Aupuni Center • 101 Pauahi Street,Suite 3 • Hilo,Hawai i 96720
Phone(808)961-8288 • Fax(808)961-8742
1'APR `1 1 2012
The Honorable Dominic Yagong, Chairman
and Members of the County Council
County of Hawai`i
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo,HI 96720
Dear Chairman Yagong and Council Members:
Initiator: Planning Director
Amendment to Map 15 of the Land Use Pattern Allocation Guide(LUPAG) Map
Of the County of Hawai`i General Plan
The Leeward Planning Commission, at its duly held public hearing on March 15, 2012, considered the
Planning Director's request for an amendment to Map 15 of the Land Use Pattern Allocation Guide
(LUPAG)Map of the County of Hawai`i General Plan(adopted by Ordinance No. 05 25, amended by
Ordinance No. 06 153) by changing the land use designation for Pahoa Village and the immediately
surrounding areas, Pahoa, Puna, Hawai`i.
The Commission voted to forward a favorable recommendation to the County Council on the request.
The draft bill is attached for your favorable consideration. We have also enclosed a copy of the Planning
Director's Background and Recommendation,as well as a transcript of the hearing for your information.
Sincerely,
/1)„.c.i„ocu„,, ,
Geraldine Giffin, Chai an
Leeward Planning Commission
Lpdinitiated-amendLUPAGMap 15Pahoalpc
Enclosures
cc: Amy Self, Esq.
Planning Department-Kona
Hawai`i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer
BPDInit-PahoaLUPAG-GPAmend.mjc-2/1 3/1 2
COUNTY OF HAWAII PLANNING DEPARTMENT
BACKGROUND AND RECOMMENDATION
INITIATOR: PLANNING DIRECTOR
AMENDMENT TO MAP 15 OF THE LAND USE PATTERN ALLOCATION GUIDE
(LUPAG) MAP OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII GENERAL PLAN (2005 EDITION,
AS AMENDED)
The Planning Director is initiating an amendment to Map 15 of the Land Use Pattern
Allocation Guide(LUPAG) Map of the County of Hawai`i General Plan(adopted by Ordinance
No. 05 25, amended by Ordinance No. 06 153)by changing the land use designation for Pahoa
Village and the immediately surrounding areas, Pahoa, Puna,Hawai`i.
PROPOSED AMENDMENT
The Planning Director is initiating an amendment to Map 15 of the County of Hawai`i
General Plan LUPAG Map as shown in Planning Department Exhibit 1, by changing the land
use designation for Pahoa Village and the immediately surrounding areas as follows:
• A-1: Urban Expansion to Extensive Agriculture along the northeast side(makai)
of the Kea`au-Pahoa Road, Pahoa Bypass Road, and along the east side of Pahoa-
Kalapana Road.
• A-2: Urban Expansion to Medium Density Urban in the vicinity of Malama
Market and along Kahakai Boulevard between Pahoa Village Road and Pahoa
Bypass Road.
• A-3: Urban Expansion to Low Density Urban along the northwest side(mauka)of
Pahoa Bypass Road and along the south side of town along Ka`ohe Homestead
Road.
• A-4: Low Density Urban to Medium Density Urban along both sides of Pahoa
Village Road from Kahakai Boulevard to Pahoa Village.
• A-5: Low Density Urban to Urban Expansion southwest of Pahoa Village Road
along Apaa Street.
BACKGROUND
The General Plan is the policy document for the long-range comprehensive development
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Comm. 670
Bill 230
of the island of Hawai`i. The LUPAG Map is a component of the General Plan land use element.
The land use element seeks to accommodate growth without congestion; to designate and
preserve the lands needed for residential use, commercial and visitor services,industry,
agriculture, and open space; and coordinate these uses with the County's service and circulation
systems. The land use pattern is a broad, flexible design intended to guide the direction and
quality of future developments in a coordinated and rational manner.
The LUPAG Map is a broad-brush graphic depiction of the general location of land uses
in relation to each other and is not parcel specific. The methodology used to develop the land use
pattern reflects estimates of future population based on economic and employment evaluations,
existing land uses and zoned areas, determination of community facility needs, and transportation
demands for the entire island. Topography and other physical features and economic and social
characteristics of an area are also considered.
The General Plan may be amended by changing its goals,policies, standards, zoning
acreage allocations, LUPAG map, and other applicable sections thereof, when the conditions or
premises upon which the General Plan is based have changed and when such an amendment
would assure the coordinated development of the County of Hawaii and the general welfare and
prosperity of its people.
The LUPAG map for Pahoa has not been updated since the Puna Community
Development Plan(CDP)was adopted in 2008 and amended in 2010. This LUPAG Map
amendment would support the Puna CDP concept of developing Pahoa as a regional town center
by providing land area for higher-density urban uses in the town center and directing commercial
and industrial uses away from the Pahoa Bypass. According to the U.S. Census,the population
of the Puna District has grown by 44.6%to 45,326 between 2000 and 2010. Amending the
LUPAG Map designations will facilitate rezoning of appropriate properties in Pahoa town so that
businesses can be established that provide additional goods and services to the surrounding
population.
To achieve this goal, this amendment reduces the area of land designated Urban
Expansion and Low Density Urban and expands the area of land designated Medium Density
Urban. Specifically,the Medium Density Urban designation will be expanded north along Pahoa
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Village Road to include Malama Market and Woodland Center, which will allow the growth of
businesses and multiple-family residences along Pahoa's main road and in close proximity to
other infrastructure such as County water(see A-2,A-4 of Exhibit 1). In order to maintain the
function of the Pahoa Bypass as a State roadway intended to carry high volumes of vehicles at
relatively high speeds around Pahoa Village, direct access to the Bypass for commercial and
industrial land uses should be limited. Therefore,the Urban Expansion Area designation along
the Bypass will be changed to Extensive Agriculture and Low Density Urban (see A-1,A-3 of
Exhibit 1). Lastly, every community requires areas for industrial uses such as auto and truck
storage facilities, contractor's yards and warehousing. Urban Expansion designated areas will be
provided southwest of town along Apaa Street to accommodate these uses (see A-5 of Exhibit 1).
This is consistent with Section 5.2.4 of the CDP, which indicates the area generally mauka of
Malama Market should be developed with industrial uses.
A description of each LUPAG Map designation and corresponding zoning districts that
are typically found within these designations follows:
> The Low Density Urban designation includes residential uses (with a density of up
to 6 units per acre)with ancillary community and public uses, and neighborhood
convenience-type commercial uses. [RS, RD, 0, limited CN or CV]
> The Medium Density Urban designation includes village and neighborhood
commercial, single family and multiple family residential(with a density of up to
35 units per acre), and related functions. [RS, RD,RM, RCX, CV, CN, O]
> The Urban Expansion Area designation allows for a mix of high density,medium
density, low density, industrial, industrial-commercial and/or open designations in
areas where new settlements may be desirable,but where the specific settlement
pattern and mix of uses have not yet been determined. [RS, RD,RM, RCX,CN,
CV,MCX, ML, MG,PD, 0]
➢ The Extensive Agriculture designation includes lands that are not classified as
Important Agricultural Land, and that are not capable of producing sustained,high
agricultural yields without the intensive application of modern farming methods
and technologies due to certain physical constraints such as soil composition,
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slope,machine tillability and climate. Other less intensive agricultural uses such
as grazing and pasture may be included in the Extensive Agriculture category. [A,
FA, IA, 0]
CURRENT LAND USE DESIGNATIONS
1. P.D.Exhibit 2: Current County General Plan LUPAG Map.
2. P.D. Exhibit 3: State Land Use District Map.
3. P.D.Exhibit 4: County Zoning Map.
4. P.D. Exhibit 5: Map showing the Preliminary Village Center Boundary for PAhoa
from the Puna Community Development Plan.
AGENCIES' COMMENTS
5. Department of Health: P.D. Exhibits 6 and 7—January 25, 2012 memo and
February 2,2012 letter
AGENCIES -NO COMMENTS OR CONCERNS
6. Fire Department, Police Department, Department of Environmental Management.
AGENCIES -NO RESPONSE
7. Department of Land and Natural Resources,Department of Transportation, Department
of Agriculture, Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, State Office of Planning,
Department of Parks and Recreation, Office of Housing and Community Development,
Department of Public Works,Department of Water Supply.
PUBLIC COMMENTS
8. None as of the date of this writing.
RECOMMENDATION
Based on the information cited above and consideration of public comments,the Planning
Director recommends that the Leeward and Windward Planning Commissions send a favorable
recommendation to the County Council for the amendment to Map 15 of the Land Use Pattern
Allocation Guide (LUPAG) Map of the County of Hawaii General Plan. The accompanying
draft bill is provided for your favorable consideration.
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Print Date: December 9,2011
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Planning Dept, Pahoa Village-GP Amendment(Draft)
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Exhibit 5
NEIL ABERRCROMBIE <4 o LORETTA J.FUDDY,A.C.S.W.,M.P.H.
G n r ...air, Director of Health
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STATE OF HAWAII
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
P.O.BOX 916
HILO,HAWAII 96721-0916
MEMORANDUM
DATE: January 25, 2012
TO: Bobby Jean Leithead Todd
Planning Director, County of Hawaii
FROM: Newton Inouye
Acting District Environmental Health Program Chief
SUBJECT: Planning Director Initiated
Interim General Plan Amendment
LUPAG Map—Pahoa
The submittals for the subject development have been transmitted to our Environmental
Management programs for their coordinated review and comments. Upon receipt of their reply,
their comments will be forwarded to your office.
WORD:GeneralPlanAmendment-Map 15.my
SCANNED
Planning P .De t -nrd �? zot2
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Exhibit Sy.i F'i 6 .� —
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NEIL ABERCROMBIE g1 ASt\{.Av
GOVERNOR OF HAWAn �s �R>t Kl ` ;'! LORETTA J.FUDDY,HEALTH .,M.P.H.
DIRECTOR OF HEALTH
ZC .? fl is• Ali t: t 9
STATE OF HAWAII
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH Inrepty,please refer to:
Fde
P.0,BOX 3378
HONOLULU,-II 96801-3378
February 2, 2012
BJ Leithead Todd
Planning Director
Planning Department
County of Hawai'i
West Hawai'i Office
74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy
Kailua-Kona, Hawai'I 96740
Dear Bobby,
SUBJECT: Planning Director Initiated Interim General Plan Amendment LUPAG Map
- Pahoa
Thank you for allowing us to review and comment on the subject document. We have no
comments at this time, but reserve the right to future comments. We strongly recommend that
you review all of the Standard Comments on our website:
www.hawaii.gov/health/environmental/env-planning/landuse/landuse.html. Any comments
specifically applicable to this application should be adhered to.
The same website also features a Healthy Community Design Smart Growth Checklist
(Checklist). The Hawaii State Department of Health, Built Environment Working Group,
recommends that State and county planning departments, developers, planners, engineers and
other interested parties apply the healthy built environment principles in the Checklist whenever
they plan or review new developments or redevelopments projects. We also ask you to share this
list with others to increase community awareness on healthy community design.
If there are any questions about these comments please contact the Environmental Planning
Office at 586-4337.
Sincerely,
Laura McIntyre AICP
Manager
[SCANNED
Environmental Planning Office
aZ � Planning Dept.
y, k; 7 Exhibit, 7
• • • • •
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COUNTY OF HAWAII STATE OF HAWAII
�Oi M►'
BILL NO.
ORDINANCE NO.
(Planning Dept)
AN ORDINANCE AMENDING THE COUNTY OF HAWAII GENERAL PLAN AS
ADOPTED BY ORDINANCE NO. 05 25 AND AMENDED BY ORDINANCE NO. 06 153 BY
AMENDING MAP 15 OF THE LAND USE PATTERN ALLOCATION GUIDE MAP BY
CHANGING THE LAND USE DESIGNATION FROM URBAN EXPANSION TO
EXTENSIVE AGRICULTURE, LOW DENSITY URBAN, MEDIUM DENSITY URBAN
AND FROM LOW DENSITY URBAN TO MEDIUM DENSITY URBAN AND URBAN
EXPANSION FOR PAHOA VILLAGE AND THE IMMEDIATELY SURROUNDING
AREAS, PAHOA, PUNA, ISLAND OF HAWAII.
BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII:
SECTION I. Purpose. The purpose of this ordinance is to amend Map 15 of the County
of Hawai`i General Plan Land Use Pattern Allocation Guide (LUPAG) Map in accordance with
Section 3-15, Hawai`i County Charter, and Section 16.2 Interim Amendments, Hawai`i County
General Plan adopted by Ordinance No. 05 25 and amended by Ordinance No. 06 153.
SECTION 2. The County of Hawaii General Plan Land Use Pattern Allocation Guide
(LUPAG) Map is hereby amended to designate the area in the vicinity of Pahoa Village and
immediately surrounding areas, Palma, Puna, Island of Hawai`i, from "Urban Expansion"to
"Extensive Agriculture", "Low Density Urban", "Medium Density Urban" and from"Low
Density Urban"to "Medium Density Urban"and "Urban Expansion"all as shown on the map
attached hereto,marked Exhibit"A"and by reference made a part hereof.
SECTION 3. In the event that any portion of this ordinance is declared invalid, such
invalidity shall not affect other provisions of this ordinance.
SECTION 4. This ordinance shall take effect upon its approval.
INTRODUCED BY:
COUNCIL MEMBER, COUNTY OF HAWAII
Hilo, Hawai`i
Date of Introduction:
Date of 1St Reading:
Date of 2nd Reading:
Effective Date:
. ..•, . . • •
Print Date: December 9,2011
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Pahoa Village-GP Amendment(Draft)
Exhibit A
PLANNING COMMISSION
COUNTY OF HAWAII
HEARING TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 1, 2012
A regularly advertised hearing on the PLANNING DIRECTOR INITIATED AMENDMENT TO MAP 15 OF
THE LUPAG MAP OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII GENERAL ON THE LAND USE DESIGNATION
FOR PAHOA VILLAGE AND THE IMMEDIATELY SURROUNDING AREAS, was called to order at 9:24
a.m. in the County of Hawai`i,Aupuni Center Conference Room, 101 Pauahi Street, Hilo, Hawai`i,with
Chairman Zendo Kern presiding.
•
COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Zendo Kern, Dean Au, Takashi Domingo, Wallace Ishibashi, Stephen Ono
and Raylene Moses
STAFF PRESENT: Ivan Torigoe (Deputy Corporation Counsel), B. J. Leithead Todd (Planning Director),
Daryn Arai (Planning Program Manager), Phyllis Fujimoto (Staff Planner), Maija Cottle (Staff Planner), Jeff
Darrow (Staff Planner), and Sharon Nomura (Secretary)
And nine people from the public in attendance.
APPLICANT: PLANNING DIRECTOR INITIATED
Amendment to Map 15 of the Land Use Pattern Allocation Guide(LUPAG)Map of the County of Hawai`i
General Plan(adopted by Ordinance No. 05 25,amended by Ordinance No.06 153)by changing the land use
designation for Pahoa Village and the immediately surrounding areas, Pahoa,Puna,Hawai`i.
KERN: Applicant No. 2, Planning Director initiated amendment to Map 15 of the Land Use Pattern
Allocation Guide(LUPAG)Map of the County of Hawai`i General Plan for Pahoa Village. With that we'll go
into the presentation. Maija.
COTTLE: Good morning-.
KERN: Good morning.
DOMINGO: Good morning.
COTTLE: Mr. Chair and Commissioners. This item is a General Plan Amendment and is being initiated by the
Planning Director. And the reason that the Director is initiating this amendment is because back in 2008 the
Puna Community Development Plan was adopted. And the land use policies and goals in that CDP don't
translate exactly to the General Plan. So this was an effort to bring the General Plan LUPAG Map more in
alignment with those goals and policies of the CDP. One of the main policies of the CDP is to create a village
center specifically for Pahoa. It's supposed to be a regional village center,as well as Kea'au. Those are the two
in the Puna district. So the idea of the village center is to create higher density uses in the town core. And then
as you go out from the town core your densities become lower. So that was one of the goals of this General Plan
Amendment.
The other goal was to limit commercial and industrial development along the Pahoa Bypass. You've probably
seen comments from DOT as you reviewed applications; and their recommendation is usually not to have
commercial driveways along their State roadways. So this is an effort to pull that commercial and industrial
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Bill 230
development away from the highway and to direct it to the more mauka areas,behind like Malama Market and
over towards where the existing transfer station is.
So those were the three goals that we tried to accomplish with this Amendment. You can kind of see that in the
Pahoa Regional Town Center Map. You see that most of the development should be focused within this dotted
area around the existing town center, and then also regional uses like where the existing Malama Market is,and
then the new Woodland Center in this area here. You can see that they did not intend for this area around the
Pahoa Bypass to be developed. So this is the existing LUPAG Map; and, again,you can see the Medium
Density Urban area where the existing town core is. Out from there you see the yellow color which is the Low
Density Urban, extends all the way up towards Malama Market. And then you have the crosshatched area
around that,which is Urban Expansion. And Urban Expansion you can see extends all the way to the east side
of the Pahoa Bypass. So what we are trying to do with the proposed amendment is to first pull the Urban
Expansion area away from the Bypass. So you can see A-1; and it is kind of hard to see so you may want to
follow along in your report,that map is a little bit bigger. You can see the blue crosshatched area on the east
side of the Bypass. We are proposing to change from Urban Expansion to Extensive Agriculture.
And I am just going to read to you what the Urban Expansion designation allows. It allows for a mix of High
Density,Medium Density and Low Density, Industrial,and Industrial Commercial designations in areas where
new development may be desirable but where the specific settlement pattern and mix of uses have not been
determined. So typical zoning districts that are permitted in Urban Expansion areas are all of your Residential
zoning,Commercial zoning, CN, CV,and then you get some Light Industrial zonings, ML, MCX,as well as
Heavy Industrial,MG, as well as Open. So the Urban Expansion area really allows the most types of zoning
districts. And you can see just the idea of allowing like a Heavy Industrial zoning district off of the Bypass or
Neighborhood Commercial would introduce a lot of traffic into that area. So that is why we are proposing to
eliminate the Urban Expansion designation from this area and change it back to Extensive Agriculture.
And the second change would be in this area which is the orange crosshatch. It is in the area of the existing
Malama Market and the Woodland Center, as well as the Pahoa Auto Parts Store. And for that we are proposing
to change from Urban Expansion to Medium Density Urban. So,again,that is pulling the Industrial zoning
away from this area and just having it be more focused on commercial uses.
And then the third change would be this area just west of the Bypass. There are quite a few residences in this
area here. You can see this is Post Office Road. And then down here,these are both yellow crosshatches. This
is just south of the high school of Pahoa High School. We are proposing to change that from Urban Expansion
to Low Density Urban, again,trying to pull commercial uses and industrial uses away from the Bypass.
The fourth change would be this area from the existing Pahoa Village extending all the way up towards Malama
Market along Pahoa Village Road. Currently,that's Low Density Urban which doesn't really allow a lot of
commercial zoning districts. So we're proposing to change that to Medium Density Urban which would open
the area along the Bypass,I'm sorry,along Village Road to allow more commercial uses.
And then lastly the area with this black crosshatch over the yellow,which is just a little bit north of Apaa Road
and to the south behind town,we're proposing to change that from Low Density Urban to Urban Expansion
which would allow the more Light Industrial uses to be focused on, in this area of town closer to the existing
transfer station here.
And these are the descriptions of the General Plan designations. Again, Low Density allows mainly for
residential,and very limited commercial. Medium Density allows for village commercial and meighborhood
commercial,as well as higher density residential. Urban Expansion allows for quite a mix of uses. And then
Extensive Ag is allowing for mostly agricultural uses.
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So I just want to point out a few letters that we've received since we originally mailed your packages to
you. You should have a letter from the Puna Community Development Plan Action Committee dated
February 14t, it's a two-page letter. And then you should have a letter from the State Office of
Planning dated February l 7`'. They're both letters of support.
Are there any questions?
KERN: Any questions for staff? Commissioner Ono?
ONO: Yes. I'm not quite good with visuals as well -. But my concern is you're mixing up a Light
Industrial area with Residential; and my concern is traffic, I mean pedestrian problems.
COTTLE: So you're talking about this area kind of behind town?
ONO: No, the blue cross -, that very top?
COTTLE: Yes.
ONO: You're saying that you want to convert that Industrial area to Low Density Residential?
COTTLE: No. Actually this currently is Urban Expansion, which would allow some industrial zoning
if a property owner wanted to zone it Industrial. And we're proposing to change that to Extensive
Agriculture.
ONO: Oh, Agriculture.
COTTLE: So it would be mostly Ag, Ag on the east side of the Bypass.
ONO: And the very center of the diagram, you indicated a,right there, you're looking at Light
Industrial, Commercial area?
COTTLE: Mostly Commercial, not Light Industrial.
ONO: Okay. But surrounded by Residential?
COTTLE: Yes.
ONO: Yeah,that's what concerns me in terms of traffic and pedestrian concerns.
COTTLE: So the Lower Density Residential would be out towards Post Office Road here, which there
are already quite a few larger lot residences out in that area. And then it would open up more Low
Density Residential behind the High School.
ONO: Okay.
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COTTLE: And just, the idea was to allow the expansion of commercial uses that are already here in
the Village to extend up just right along Pahoa Village Road towards Malama Market.
ONO: Okay.
COTTLE: So the conflict between pedestrians and residences from the commercial business, it would
still be mainly focusing on keeping the commercial businesses right along Pahoa Village Road fronting
Pahoa Village Road. So eventually, you know, the CDP calls for curbs, gutters and sidewalks for
pedestrians. As the land is developed pedestrians would be able to have those sidewalks.
ONO: Thank you.
KERN: Any other questions for staff? I've got a quick question. If you'll give me an example, using
Hilo for the example, could you give me an area in Hilo that's zoned Medium Density Urban and then
an area zoned High Density Urban?
COTTLE: You're talking about the GP designation, not the zoning?
KERN: Yeah, or just an area that's in Hilo that would be Medium Density that's already built out and
then an area that would be High Density.
COTTLE: Okay, so the area along Kilauea closer to town is High Density Urban; and then as you go
along Kilauea and Kinoole Streets further out towards Puainako, it becomes Medium Density. And
then as you go even further out, it becomes Lower Density.
KERN: Okay. Thank you. Any other questions for staff? Seeing none, Madam Director, do you
want to make any comments to this?
LEITHEAD TODD: The principal concerns that we had in the area was, you know, I think part of it is
like when we had gone through the special use permit for the Charter School off of the Bypass. You
know, they had gone through great lengths to have the students dropped off in Pahoa town and then
taken by bus to the Charter School because of the concern over left turn on the Bypass. And what we
wanted to do was to try and prevent additional development along that Bypass that would then create
more traffic along the Bypass,more turning, and particularly left turns. Cause, you know, this area has
been noted, until the State comes in and does some improvements there, there have been a high
number of accidents in this area. So you want to minimize left turns as much as possible. And so by
taking the Urban Expansion on the Hawaiian Beaches side of the Bypass and taking it to Extensive
Agriculture reduces the potential for those types of conflicts in traffic. And it's also consistent with
community vision in the CDP that tries to concentrate your commercial development along your Old
Pahoa Road, running from Pahoa Village down, to the Malama Market area.
And then we also recognized that as Puna is, in terms of population,probably the rapid, the fastest
growing region in the State, you have a need not just for Commercial but you have a need for Light
Industrial. You're going to have a need for car repair because people don't want to bring it in all the
way into Hilo, you want to be able to drop it off. And you also want to try and create more job
opportunities closer to home so people don't have to commute to jobs in Kea'au or jobs in Hilo. And
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you're surrounded by very large subdivisions which were created back in the seventies. So the vision
is to try and create this commercial center but also provide a range of services and, at the same time,
take a look at the traffic.
You'll notice that some of the Urban Expansion, I think, actually takes Urban Expansion away from
where we have the police and fire. But as government, you know public buildings are allowed in any
district. You can still, it's still consistent that you can have the police and fire in your Extensive
Agriculture. But it limits what else can come up next door to it because you really do want to avoid
left turns as much as possible along that road, unless you either have roundabouts or some of the traffic
calming signals or something to facilitate those left turns. And so that's, that's part of the rationale
behind this, but also to try and make sure that we have enough space for future growth in this area,
given what has happening in Puna.
KERN: Thank you, Madam Director. Any other questions for Director or staff? Seeing none, thank
you, Maija. Okay,there is nobody from the public signed up to testify for this application. So with
that, anyone willing to entertain a motion? Commissioner Au?
AU: Thank you, Mr. Chair. I move to approve and send, excuse me, I move to send a favorable
recommendation to the County Council for the amendment to Map 15 of the LUPAG Map of the
County of Hawai`i General Plan.
KERN: Is there a second?
DOMINGO: Second.
KERN: Very good. Discussion? Commissioner Au.
AU: Thank you, Mr. Chair. You know, I appreciate, Madam Director, and thank you staff for the
presentation. These changes are, to me, coming from my district, these changes are a big effort to try
and make the area safe; and I really appreciate that. And I just want to express my support to the
Commission on these amendments.
KERN: Just for a quick clarification on the motion,that's based on the Planning Director's
recommendation with conditions?
AU: With the conditions set forth.
KERN: Okay, very good. Commissioner Domingo.
DOMINGO: Yes, I'd just like to mention that with all the efforts of those people in the community
who have put in so much time in formulating their regional plan this is, our action would further
support their efforts for their community. And I think this amendment indicates the much-thought and
efforts put into the plan. It reflects what is actually written in the development plan. And, hopefully,
as these changes take place, you know, the community will grow in a more orderly fashion than it has
grown so far. I strongly support this motion.
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KERN: Any other discussion? I'll chime in for a second here. Yeah, as I've said many a times over
the past few years, the General Plan LUPAG Map does generally not serve Puna. And this is a great
step forward, so I want to thank our Planning Director for this. Pahoa needs this, Puna needs this, other
areas in Puna need this. And I strongly support this as well; and thank you staff for doing a great job
on this. That's all for me. Any other discussion? Commissioner Au?
AU: One thing, Mr. Chair, a question for staff. You know, I noticed we have a letter of support from
the Puna Community Development Plan Action Committee. So you said there's a second, there was a
second letter in support. I don't see that second letter; and I just want to know who it's from.
COTTLE: It's from the State Office of Planning. It's a one-page letter.
AU: Oh, okay, I have it. Okay, okay, I've seen this one. Okay, well, you know, I'm just a little bit
disappointed to not see more community out here. You know, I've attended the, I've attended some of
these planning committee meetings and I've seen a lot of people talk about what they want and what
they don't want. And, you know, to me this is the time when they should come out. So, you know,
what happened the last time when we approved, when we sent a favorable recommendation to the
County Council, you know, there was an uproar from the community after that. And I just, you know,
I'm just hoping that the community they did read and do understand these amendments.
KERN: Madam Director?
LEITHEAD TODD: We trotted out the proposal in kind of a draft form first to the Action Committee
all the way back in August, and the meeting was well attended in Pahoa. And then subsequent to that
we did another presentation before the Action Committee and we also held a public hearing in Pahoa,
and these were also well attended. And I think with the exception of one individual who was
concerned that, you know, he wanted to do commercial development right behind the high school, it
was uniformly supported by members of the public. And I think one of the reasons you don't see
anyone here is because they're comfortable with it and they support it. I think if they were unhappy
with it that we would have more attendance here. But I am hoping that there will be some additional
support when it gets to the Council,beyond just the Action Committee.
KERN: Thank you, Madam Director. Commissioner Domingo?
DOMINGO: I just want to know who are the major landowners in this particular area.
LEITHEAD TODD: There are a lot of small lots along Pahoa Road that are private. Some, you know,
a lot of them are old-time families that have, you know,owned the land for a long time. When you get
further out a lot of it is State land. The land closer to the Bypass, a lot of that is State land. The land in
the Urban Expansion area, a lot of that is State land also. But you don't have -. Like this is in an area
where Shipman, you know, has property, so you don't really have large landowners out here. It's more
small lots in those that are in private hands. But the biggest landowner in this area would be State of
Hawaii.
DOMINGO: I'm glad that you made the comments that you made with regards to the number of
hearings and the community attending those hearings, especially with A-1, Urban Expansion to
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Extensive Agriculture. You know, what we're doing is we're transferring, so to speak, transferring
wealth from one area to another area. And if I had a property there then I think, you know, in the
future what am I planning to do?
LEITHEAD TODD: Actually a number of people who own property in that area that was going from
Urban Expansion to Extensive Agriculture were in support of it,because they were farmers and they
were concerned that if they had more Urban uses next door to them that eventually it would become a
conflict with the farming that they're doing. So because they want to be able to continue doing
agriculture in the area, they were actually supportive.
DOMINGO: More so that's why I support this, this effort.
KERN: Thank you, Commissioner Domingo. Thank you, Madam Director. Any other discussion?
Seeing none, Maija.
COTTLE: Thank you. The motion before you is to send a favorable recommendation to the County
Council for the proposed General Plan Amendment. Commissioner Au?
AU: Aye.
COTTLE: Commissioner Domingo?
DOMINGO: Aye.
COTTLE: Commissioner Ishibashi?
ISHIBASHI: Aye.
COTTLE: Commissioner Moses?
MOSES: Aye.
COTTLE: Commissioner Ono?
ONO: Aye.
COTTLE: And Mr. Chair?
KERN: Aye.
COTTLE: Okay, the motion passes six-zero.
KERN: You'll be notified in writing. Thank you.
The discussion ended at 9:47 a.m.
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Respectfully submitted,
j !� nn. v tit)w,, ,
Sharon M. Nomura, Secretary
Windward Planning Commission
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LEEWARD PLANNING COMMISSION
COUNTY OF HAWAII
HEARING TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 15, 2012
A regularly advertised hearing on the PLANNING DIRECTOR INITIATED AMENDMENT
TO MAP 15 OF THE LAND USE PATTERN ALLOCATION GUIDE MAP was called to
order at 9:42 a.m. in the West Hawai`i Civic Center, Community Center, Building G, 74-5044 Ane
Keohokalole Highway, Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i, with Chair Geraldine Giffin presiding.
COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Geraldine Giffin, Lani Bowman, Richard Nelson and
Thomas Whittemore
ABSENT AND EXCUSED: Brandi Beaudet, Thomas Hickcox and Wayne Iokepa
ALSO PRESENT: Jeff Darrow (Staff Planner), Maija Cottle (Staff Planner) and Noriko Sauer
(Commission Secretary)
And no one from the public in attendance.
PLANNING DIRECTOR INITIATED
Amendment to Map 15 of the Land Use Pattern Allocation Guide(LUPAG) Map of the County of
Hawaii General Plan(adopted by Ordinance No. 05 25, amended by Ordinance No. 06 153)by
changing the land use designation for Pahoa Village and the immediately surrounding areas,Pahoa,
Puna,Hawai`i.
GIFFIN: The first agenda item is an application submitted by the Planning Director. The
application is initiating an amendment to Map 15 of the Land Use Pattern Allocation Guide,
LUPAG, Map of the County of Hawai`i General Plan adopted by Ordinance No. 05 25 and
amended by Ordinance No. 06 153. It will, it is suggesting changing the land use designation for
Pahoa Village and the immediately surrounding areas,Pahoa, Puna, Hawai`i. Maija?
COTTLE: Thank you, Madam Chair. Good morning, everyone.
COMMISSIONERS: Good morning.
COTTLE: So we have, all of the items on the agenda today have been initiated by the Planning
Director. And this first item is an amendment to the General Plan, and the reason that the Leeward
Planning Commission is hearing this item is because any amendment to the General Plan needs to
be heard by both Windward and Leeward Planning Commissions.
The amendment is a change to the General Plan LUPAG Map for the Pahoa Village area. And the
reason that the Director is initiating this change is that the land use designations in that area have
not been changed, or amended, since the Puna Community Development Plan was adopted back in
2008. The Puna Community Development Plan laid out some land use goals and vision for how the
community wants Pahoa to develop. Mainly,they want to see a higher density village center where
there is a mix of different housing choices, multi-family housing, as well as commercial businesses
mainly in the village core of Pahoa. And they also want to limit development along Highway 130
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Bill 230
and the Pahoa Bypass. So the changes that we are suggesting to the LUPAG Map are taking those
goals into consideration.
And this is a land map for Pahoa that is included in the Puna CDP. You can see there is the Kea`au-
Pahoa Road running along the top side of the slide, as well as the Pahoa Bypass, and then you see
Pahoa Village in this area here highlighted in red. MAlama Market, if you are familiar with the area,
Malama Market is right here, and then the new fire station and police station are out on Kea`au-
Pahoa Road. So the CDP wants development to be focused within the town boundary here, which
is shown with the dotted line, and you can see that both of those areas are primarily away from the
Bypass, centered along old Pahoa Village Road.
This is the existing LUPAG Map for Pahoa Town. Again, old Pahoa Village is in this orange area,
which is the Medium Density Urban, and then you have Pahoa Village Road running through here.
There are some smaller agricultural lots in this area here, and then you have Malama Market in this
area shown with the crosshatch, which is Urban Expansion. Medium Density Urban allows some
commercial development, as well as single-family residential,multi-family residential. Low
Density, which is the yellow, allows primarily residential, single-family residential development.
And then the Urban Expansion, which is the crosshatch, allows a wide variety of zoning; it can even
include light industrial. So you can see that there is quite a bit of Urban Expansion currently around
the outer area of Pahoa Village, which opens up a lot of the agricultural land on the outskirts of
town to potential light industrial development. So we want to, the Director is suggesting changing
that, and I'll just go through the changes here. The first change which is shown as A-1, which is
this blue crosshatch, is taking Urban Expansion out of the area makai of the Bypass and changing
that back to Extensive Agriculture. There are quite a few larger agricultural lots in this area here.
And the goal of this change is to discourage light-industrial and commercial development along the
Bypass, so that the Bypass can continue to function as a high-speed roadway. The second change is
in this little area here, which is near the new Longs Drugstore in Pahoa, and it's changing this area
here along Kahakai Boulevard from Urban Expansion to Medium Density Urban, which would still
allow some commercial development in this area. And then the third change again is removing the
Urban Expansion on the mauka side of the Pahoa Bypass and changing that to Low Density Urban,
which would allow some single-family residential development, and then just south of the high
school—the high school is located here—changing this area also from Urban Expansion to Low
Density Urban. The fourth change would be right along the Pahoa Village Road; it would be
extending the Medium Density Urban all the way up towards Malama Market, so that commercial
development and higher density residential development could occur along Pahoa Village Road.
And then the last change is in this area out mauka of town along Apaa Street. And I should just
note here that the new transfer station is located in this area here. So we want it to change this from
Low Density Urban to Urban Expansion, so that more of the light industrial uses for Pahoa can be
focused closer to the transfer station and away from the residential and commercial development in
the town center.
These are just descriptions of the LUPAG designations. Again, Low Density allows some single-
family residential or duplex housing. Medium Density Urban allows some higher density housing;
you can do multi-family apartments. Also, you can do a little bit of commercial development as
well in Medium Density Urban. And then the Urban Expansion designation opens the area up to
light industrial zoning and actually heavy industrial zoning as well.
And with that, that concludes the presentation. Obviously, since the Director initiated, she is
recommending a favorable recommendation. Are there-.
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GIFFIN: Commissioners, any questions of Maija? Lani.
BOWMAN: You know, the Low Density Urban along the Bypass, I'm not familiar with the access
if it's a federally funded,but if it did get developed, would the access to the lots be from the old
Pahoa Road or would it be from the Bypass?
COTTLE: Are you talking about this Low Density here?
BOWMAN: Yeah.
COTTLE: There is actually a road that goes from Pahoa Village Road out to the Bypass, called
Post Office Road.
BOWMAN: Okay.
COTTLE: And there is access off of Post Office Road. These lots on the corner here are actually
pretty large lots, so they would be getting their access from Post Office Road. DOT may allow
some, you know, single-family residential driveways onto the Bypass,but from what we usually
hear from DOT is they discourage commercial driveways onto the Bypass.
BOWMAN: Okay, thank you.
GIFFIN: Any other questions of Maija, Commissioners? Okay, no questions. Do I hear a motion?
COTTLE: Madam Chair?
GIFFIN: Maija.
COTTLE: I just want to add one more thing.
GIFFIN: Sure.
COTTLE: The Windward Commission heard this amendment at their last meeting and they voted
to send a favorable recommendation to the Council.
GIFFIN: Thank you. So on that new information, do we have a motion?
BOWMAN: I move that we send a favorable recommendation to the Council for the amendment to
Map 15 of the Land Use Allocation Guide Map of the County of Hawai`i General Plan, as amended.
GIFFIN: Do I hear a second to Lani's motion?
NELSON: Second.
GIFFIN: It's been seconded by Dickie Nelson. It's been moved by Lani Bowman and seconded by
Dickie Nelson that we send a favorable recommendation to the County Council for the amendments
to Map 15 of the LUPAG Map of the County of Hawai`i General Plan. Any discussion? Hearing
none, Maija, we are ready for a vote.
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COTTLE: Okay, thank you. Commissioner Bowman?
BOWMAN: Aye.
COTTLE: Commissioner Nelson?
NELSON: Aye.
COTTLE: Commissioner Whittemore?
NELSON: Aye.
COTTLE: And Chair Giffin?
GIFFIN: Aye.
COTTLE: Okay, the motion passes, four-zero.
GIFFIN: Thank you very much.
The discussion ended at 9:54 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
57 NO u e�
Noriko Sauer, Secretary
Leeward Planning Commission
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