REP PC 008 2019/02/19 2018-2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

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REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON PLANNING DATE: February 19, 2019 Re: Comm. No. 64/Bill No. 16 PLACE: Council Chambers Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i TIME: 10:16 a.m. Council Chair and Members Hawai`i County Council Hilo, Hawai`i 96720 Your Committee on Planning, to which was referred Bill No. 16, reports as follows: Bill No. 16, transmitted by Mayor Harry Kim via Communication No. 64, dated January 4, 2019, amends Ordinance No. 92-122, which reclassified lands from Resort-Hotel, Safety (V-S-.75)to Limited Industrial (ML-20) at Waiakea, South Hilo, Hawai`i, covered by Tax Map Keys: 2-2-033:011, 012, 019, and 020 (Applicant: Piilani Partners, LLC) (Area: approx. 2.5712 acres). The property is located at 525 Pi`ilani Street, at the northeastern corner of Pi`ilani Street-Mililani Street intersection. Mayor Kim forwarded the Windward Planning Commission's favorable recommendation from the public hearing held on December 6, 2018, for an amendment to Change of Zone Ordinance No. 92 122 by requesting a 5-year time extension to comply with Condition C (Final Plan Approval) and Condition D (Complete Construction). Planning Consultant Sidney Fuke appeared before the Council and provided a brief history about the project. He explained that the State of Hawai`i and the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands owned most of the industrial zones on the island, so in the early 1990s the Hilo Community Development Plan wanted to target approximately 175,000 acres of private land for industrial zoning as well. It was during this time that landowner Matsuno Enterprise acquired the property and submitted a General Plan amendment as well as a rezone request from Resort-Hotel to Limited Industrial in order to build a fish processing plant, which ultimately never materialized. Mr. Fuke went on to explain that while the landowner remains the same,the applicant for the rezone time extension is Piilani Partners, LLC, which hopes to utilize the ground water from the property in order to build a water bottling facility. At this time, they are currently involved in the Special Management Area(SMA)permitting process with the Windward Planning Commission(WPC) and well permit request from the State Commission on Water Resource Management(SCWRM)to determine whether or not the water bottling project is achievable. If the SMA and well permits are granted, Piilani Partners, LLC would then purchase the property from Matsuno Enterprises. Mr. Fuke wanted to make clear that should the Piilani Partners' SMA permit be denied, the rezoning issue before the Council would still need to be addressed so that the landowner could engage in any of the uses permitted under Limited Industrial zoning. He added that the Phase 1 Environmental Assessment Survey (EAS) had concluded no environmental impacts thus far. Planning Committee PC Report No.: 8