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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2006-01-06 TGARDNER PLANNING COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAII HEARING TRANSCRIPT JANUARY 6, 2005 A regularly advertised hearing on the application of TIMOTHY LYNN GARDNER was called to order at 10:35 a.m. in the County Building, (SLU 05-006/REZ 05-020) Councilroom - Room 201, 25 Aupuni Street, Hilo, Hawaii, with Chairman C. Kimo Alameda presiding. PRESENT:C. Kimo AlamedaABSENT & EXCUSED: Jeffrey McCall Fred GaldonesAllen Salavea Bill GrahamHannah Springer Andrew Iwashita Rodney Watanabe Rene€ Siracusa Ivan Torigoe, Deputy Corporation Counsel Christopher J. Yuen, Planning Director NormanHayashi,PlanningProgramManager Phyllis Fujimoto, Staff Planner Jeff Darrow, Staff Planner And approximately 12 people from the public in attendance. APPLICANT: TIMOTHY LYNN GARDNER (SLU 05-006/REZ 05-020) a.State Land Use boundary amendment for 3.319 acres of land from the Agricultural to the Urban district. b.Change of Zone for 3.319 acres of land from an Agricultural 1-acre (A-1a) to an Industrial-Commercial Mixed 1-acre (MCX-1a) district. The property is located along the northeast side of the Keaau ƒ Pahoa Road (Highway 130), approximately 1,500 feet north of the Pahoa Village Market complex, Keonepoko Homesteads, Puna, Hawaii, TMK: 1-5-7:53. ALAMEDA:What we have before us is Timothy Lynn Gardner (SLU 05-006 and REZ 05-020). This is a State Land Use boundary amendment for 3.319 acres of land from the Agricultural to the Urban district; also a Change of Zone for 3.319 acres of land from an Agricultural 1-acre (A-1a) to an Industrial-Commercial Mixed 1-acre (MCX-1a) district. The property is located along the northeast side of the Keaau ƒ Pahoa Road, approximately 1,500 feet north of the Pahoa Village Market complex, Keonepoko Homesteads, Puna, Hawaii. Staff? HAYASHI:Thank you, Mr. Chair, Members of the Commission. The subject property is indicated by this blue dot. It is a 3.3 acre property. It is situated along the northeast side of the Keaau-Pahoa Road or also referred to as Highway 130. This is the Keaau-Pahoa going towards Keaau; and this would be in the Kapoho direction. This would be the Pahoa Bypass Road. The Highway 130 - Pahoa Village Road intersection is at this particular location. The Pahoa Village EXHIBIT B Market Place is located in this location indicated by this blue shaded area; and it€sapproximately 1500 to 1600 feet from the subject property. We also have some neighborhood commercial zoned properties at the corner of the Highway 130-Pahoa Village Road intersection. This is the property that was previously owned and rezoned by Kaneshiro and Sons back in 1991. And the property is currently owned by Paul Ogasawara; and Mr. Ogasawara intends to construct a gas station, in the first increment construct a gas station as well as a convenience store. And plans have been reviewed for plan approval by our Planning Department. Also at this particular property a rezoning request, another small portion at the Kahakai Extension and Pahoa Village Road corner is a commercially zoned property that was zoned back in approximately 1997 to Sadamu Tsubota; and that particular property is used for an auto supply shop. I believe it€s called Napa. SIRACUSA:It€s not Napa, it€s Pahoa Auto Supply. HAYASHI:Okay,PahoaAutoSupply,I€msorry.Istandcorrected.Andthat€s located at this particular location. The Planning Commission recently reviewed a special permit application for a fire station site,and that is located adjacent and to the southeast of the subject property; and that would be this particular property here. Now going to the site plan provided by the applicant, the applicant intends to construct a self storage facility on the property. The proposal is to construct these buildings, well, self storage buildings, consisting of approximately 56,000 square feet in total size. We also have a proposed office for the self storage facility. The facility will be maintained by one full-time employee and one part-time employee. The hours of operation for the storage would be 6:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. daily; and the office would be from 8 a.m. till 4:30 p.m. The development cost of the project would be approximately $2.5 to $3 million dollars. If you look at this proposed site plan, the access to the property off of Highway 130 would be at the southeast portion of the property; and that would be in this particular location. Commissioners will also recall the fire station site that was reviewed by the Planning Commission; and the access for the fire station site would be approximately 120 feet from the applicant€s property. The General Plan for this area is Urban Expansion. And if you look at your exhibit, I believe it was Exhibit B, the General Plan designations are noted on that exhibit. The shaded areas is the Pahoa Village core; and that would be this particular location. Around the village core on the General Plan map, there are white shaded areas; and those are the areas that are designated low density on the General Plan. The urban expansion area extends approximately 2 miles from this particular location north of the subject property to and including the Pahoa School as well as slightly beyond that location. We had received letters in opposition from the Main Street Pahoa Association; and that€s identified as your Exhibit L that was provided to you. We also received a letter dated th January 6, and that€s today, and that was circulated to all of you this morning; and that was fromMr.andMrs.WilfredNahooikaika.Theyareadjacentpropertyownerstothenorthand reside on that property, and they also submitted that letter in opposition to the request. 2EXHIBIT B The Planning Director after reviewing the application is recommending denial of both the State Land Use Boundary Amendment from Agriculture to Urban, as well as the rezoning application fromAgricultural 1-acre to industrial commercial zoning. And basically the recommendation indicated that we would not like to see higher density commercial type uses or industrial uses on the makai side of the Highway 130; and that should be concentrated in this particular area, as well as the Pahoa Village Center. We also indicated that although the applicant is requesting the rezoning for a self storage facility, the MCX zoning also allows varied uses that ranges from higher density type of commercial as well as industrial uses. We also indicated that from a traffic standpoint a rezoning of this particular property along the makai side may create an increase in cross-high movement from mauka and makai commercial activities. And, finally, as far as the MCX zoning, because of the distance of the urban expansion area, we felt that by rezoning this particular area for industrial-commercial zoning then it will create these types of activities along both sides of the Keaau-Pahoa Highway or Highway 130 and it could also extend for a distance of over two miles. So on that basis we are recommending approval (sic) of both applications. ALAMEDA:Thankyou,Norman.CommissionerSiracusa,question? SIRACUSA:Yes.ThereisabusinessonthesamesideoftheHighwayastheapplicant called Athena€s Barbeque Chicken, something like that, and it used to be an anthurium packing place, Likeke€s I believe, which would have been an allowable use under the State Land Use; and then now recently somebody is doing something else there. It€s a very sort of danger -. I€ve Never gone down into that property, simply because the thought of negotiating that blind driveway is rather scary to me. I€m wondering where on the map that would be in relation to this. HAYASHI:Okay, that would be -. First of all, I stand corrected, we are recommending denial, not approval of this particular request, on both requests. The property you had indicated or the facility you had indicated is situated approximately three lots away from the subject property. And that previously used to be owned by the Taira€s; and they had their roadside flower shop to sell for those agricultural products that were grown on the premises. So I€ll just stop at that. SIRACUSA:Yes, yes. And I remember that. So, okay. And now I understand that there€s a post office in the planning somewhere in the future. Could you show us where that parcel is? HAYASHI:Sure. The post office is situated adjacent to the Pahoa Village Market Place; and that would be this particular property mauka of the Keaau-Pahoa Road. SIRACUSA:And would the entrance be from the highway? HAYASHI:Well, it seems that the only access would be from the highway. SIRACUSA:And not from the Malama Market Place? HAYASHI:Unless they have an easement through that particular property. 3EXHIBIT B SIRACUSA:Okay. So I€m trying to see how much we€re looking at in terms ofaction ontothe highway, which is a high-speed highway. State Department of Transportation has refused to put in a traffic light there. We were discussing it at the meetings about the Fire Department and the Police Station and, because there are a lot of accidents that happen right at the intersection of Kahakai with the Bypass. Would you point to that, please. Thank you. Right there. And now some of the traffic going into Malama Market and out of it is pretty hellacious; and it€s only because people are being really careful that nothing has happened there yet. So I€m very concerned about putting something else -. I have, on page 1 of the background report, Norman, No. 2, reasons for the request, it says According to the applicant, there are no existing self storage facilities serving Pahoa with the nearest facilities in Keaau and Hilo operating at capacity.‚ Was this written prior to the approval of J&J€s? HAYASHI:No. This was written after, the application came in after the self storage facilitywas,thefirstphaseoftheselfstoragefacilitywasestablished.Sotheselfstoragefacility was in place when this application came in. Just to let you -. SIRACUSA:Okay, so this is not an accurate statement? HAYASHI:Well, yeah, this is what the applicant had provided to us. SIRACUSA:Right. So the Commissioners should be aware that that is not an accurate statement because not only was there the first increment of J&J Self Storage facility in Paradise Park, but we have recently approved an additional increment of that self storage facility. So -. And I have another question here; and we€ve never seen something like this, not since I€ve been on the Commission. The applicant, under proposed development, No. 1, second bullet on page 1, just above the boldface type of that Exhibit A, it says, The applicant states that he will contribute the property to a new LLC to be formed (tentatively Pahoa Storage Partners, Limited Liablity Company)€, of which the applicant will be a part owner.‚ I€ve never, it€s interesting to me, you know, like contribute a profit-making business or -. I€m wondering, for a while there was a sign on that property that said Blue Rock Storage,‚ and I€m wondering if this is the same thing, if these are the same people involved -. Who are these people going to be or, I mean, who will these other part owners be? HAYASHI:May I defer that question to the applicant€s representative when he appears? SIRACUSA:You may indeed. Thank you, Norman. ALAMEDA:There€s no further questions for -? Commissioner Graham, go ahead. GRAHAM:I have one further question for Norman. This is in regard to Exhibit L from the Pahoa Main Street. And the next to the last paragraph where Mr. Tucker indicates, The County of Hawaii at the time the bypasses were planned and developed provided 4EXHIBIT B assurances to the Pahoa and Keaau business communities that commercial development would not be allowed on the Highway 130.‚ I€m just wondering if you can verify this or give me some idea of what kind of assurances he€s referring to. HAYASH:Well, I don€t know if there were any kind of written assurance, but there may have been discussions back in the past when the bypass road was being proposed. The intent of a bypass road at that time was to -. Well, we do have the commercialcore in the village, so I think the intent was to, you know, because of the congestion in this area and the narrowness of the road, the intent was to create this bypass road. And normally what you don€t want to do is create commercial, from a planning standpoint, commercial activities along a road that you created so you can alleviate some of the problems within the existing commercial core. I think that€s the simplest stated. GRAHAM:Right. And the only kind of fine point to that that strikes me is always that thispropertyisnotonthebypassroad,right?It€sonthemainroadgoingto-? HAYASHI:Yeah.Butwe€rebasicallylookingatthe,Iguess,thewholeKeaau/Pahoa corridor. GRAHAM:Okay. Thank you. ALAMEDA:Thank you, Commissioner Graham, for pointing that out. Commissioner Siracusa. SIRACUSA:Well, I just wanted to mention to Mr. Graham that I remember when those assurances were made to the Pahoa community; and it came from the previous Planning Director. ALAMEDA:So noted. Other questions, Commissioners? Will the applicant, thank you, Norman. Will the applicant please come forward, or its representative. Aloha. NISHIMURA:Good morning. ALAMEDA:Could you please raise your right hand. Do you affirm or swear to tell the truth now before the Hawaii County Planning Commission? NISHIMURA:I do. ALAMEDA:Could you please state your name and address for the record, and you may proceed. NISHIMURA:Brian Nishimura, 1174 Awiki Place in Hilo. ALAMEDA:Okay, did you get a chance to look at the Department€s recommendation and the feedback? NISHIMURA:Yes, I did. 5EXHIBIT B ALAMEDA:Do you have any comments? NISHIMURA:Yes, I do. And before I get to my comments, I€ll try to address Commissioner Siracusa€s question. That sign that you referred to, Blue Rock Construction and, Blue Rock Self Storage, I believe -. SIRACUSA:Yes. NISHIMURA:Is on the same property that the chicken sale thing is on. It€s not this particular property. SIRACUSA:Okay. So that means that the people who put up that sign are not the same people who are involved in this new LLC? NISHIMURA:That€s correct. And the people that will manage the storage facility is A- AmericanSelfStorageManagementCompany,‚whichdoesmanageotherselfstoragefacilities, 2 on the Big Island, over 100 self storage facilities on the mainland. SIRACUSA:So then the Pahoa Storage Partners will consist of Mr. Gardner and A-American Self Storage Management Company? NISHIMURA:That€s correct. SIRACUSA:Thank you. So, I just -? ALAMEDA:Commissioner Siracusa. SIRACUSA:I just want to follow up for ultimate clarification. So Mr. Paul Billings who was the person whose phone number on the Blue Rock storage sign is not involved with this? NISHIMURA:Not at all. SIRACUSA:Thank you. ALAMEDA:Thank you, Commissioner Siracusa. You may proceed. NISHIMURA:I€d like to begin by indicating that you know, we believe that there is a tremendous need in the lower Puna District for industrial zoned property. That Pahoa area is dramatically underserved. There is only one parcel zoned with any kind of industrial zoning in the Pahoa area, which is the location of the Pahoa Market Place; and that is an 8-acre site. Based on the population figures for the lower Puna District which numbered in the neighborhood of 10,000 people, there should be approximately 67 acres of industrial lands servicing that amount of population. And, as I indicated, there are no other industrial zoned properties other than the Pahoa Market Place. And the owner and the people from A-American Self Storage has seen a 6EXHIBIT B need for this type of facility serving Pahoa, have looked for property in the area, and, you know, has identified this particular location as something that they feel suits their needs. The Planning Department has indicated that the, you know, the property is not situated adjacent to urban designated lands, but in reality with the development of the adjacent 19-acre site by the County, initially as a fire station but also planned are a major recreational complex as well as a police substation, you know, the character of that particular area is going to change. The recreational facility will include ball fields, as well as, a gymnasium has been mention as one of the potential uses. So there will be an urban character introduced into the area by the development of the adjacent property. So although the present State Land Use Designation is agriculture, our contention is that the character of the area is about to change and will change quickly. The Department has also indicated concerns regarding traffic problems. We want to indicate that although the MCX zoningisbeingrequested,youknow,thespecificusebeingproposedisaselfstoragefacility which is one of the lowest traffic impact uses of any type of industrial activity. Surveys done nationally for this type of use have indicated that a facility of this size would generate approximately 20 vehicles per day. And if you were to look at the potential alternative uses for this property, in its present zoning designation which is Ag-1, the owner could subdivide the property into three lots with three dwellings, well, with one dwelling on each lot, generating traffic that I believe would be comparable if not exceed the 20 vehicles per day. It was mentioned that, in the Planning Department€s recommendation, that there are other existing self storage facilities, particularly in the Shipman Industrial Park and potentially at Milo Street which are in the Keaau area and at least ten miles away from the subject property. SIRACUSA:If I may -? ALAMEDA:Sure, Commissioner Siracusa. th SIRACUSA:Intervene. Paradise Park, 13 Street. NISHIMURA:That may be correct; however, if you were to drive to that location, it€s approximately 7 miles from this particular location, deep within the Paradise Park Subdivision. And if I€m not mistaken, the original intent of that development was to serve the immediate area only, and so it was developed as a small-scale facility. I think that if you look at, you know, the alternatives or options available to people looking for self storage facilities, they€re basically looking at Keaau as the primary alternative. And, again, regardless of whether it happens here or some place else, you know, there is, additional industrial zoned land will have to be provided for servicing the lower Puna district. There really isn€t any other options available right now. I want to emphasize that, you know, the comments from the Main Street organization really relate to a commercial type of facility that -. I agree that commercial enterprises should be concentrated in the village core area of Pahoa. But industrial types of uses like the self storage facilitiesaretraditionallylocatedonthefringeofurbanareas.Ifyoulookattheselfstorage facility serving the Waimea area, it€s located right across of the Waimea Airport, it€s on the outskirtsofWaimeatownorKamuela;andtherearenourbandesignatedareassurroundingthat 7EXHIBIT B facility. I mean, the urban designation I believe is a 50-acre location intended for an industrial park. But, again, it was specifically cited on the fringeofthe Kamuela urban area. So, like I said, traditionally, I believe these types of urban industrial uses are not located within a core commercial area but rather on the fringe areas of urban development. I think that€s basically what we have. ALAMEDA:Thank you, Mr. Nishimura. This is an opportunity for us as Commissioners to ask questions and try to refrain from making statements. We€ll have time for that too. So any questions for our applicant€s representative? Commissioner Siracusa. SIRACUSA:Yes. Mr. Nishimura, you and I met at some community meetings where you were representing the Fire and Police proposals to move those facilities to the outskirts of Pahoa town. NISHIMURA:Yes. SIRACUSA:Andtherewerealotofpeoplethereandweweretalking,includingpeople from the Fire Department as you will recall, and the Police Department, and we were talking about traffic problems. NISHIMURA:Yes. SIRACUSA:And you will recall that there was some mention of the high accident rate at the intersection of the bypass and Kahakai and questions about will the Fire and Police have a, will State Department of Transportation put a traffic light at that area where everything is coming together, the Fire and Police on one side, the Malama Market on the other side. Do you recall that? NISHIMURA:Yes. SIRACUSA:You informed us, or maybe it was the Fire Department that said that they wouldn€t need a light there. They had a thing where they could, within their vehicles change the light, if there was a light, so that they could get out rapidly and not have to wait for a light to change. Do you remember who it was who was telling us about that? NISHIMURA:Well, the plan, and I believe what was indicated at that meeting, was that in constructing the fire station they had planned to install flashing lights on signs that would be placed, I believe, approximately 300 feet on either side of the fire station which would be activated as needed when the fire engine would be leaving, or returning, to the facility to make the motorists on the highway aware that, you know, the fire truck is leaving the facility. And that was their, I guess, response to try to address the safety issue with regard to the fire station itself. I believe in terms of the traffic signal, we felt that that was a matter that the State Department of Transportation would have to address and, you know, we didn€t feel like the Fire Department would be, you know, have any control over whether or not a traffic signal was placed there or not. You know, if there is an on-going, or a need for that, I believe that as the community grows, as the population grows, you know, the traffic situation will not remain the same and additional traffic improvements will have to be made. I believe that right now the area 8EXHIBIT B perhaps should be downgraded to a 45 mile-an-hour speed limit rather than 55 asyou approach that intersection, just because, you know, people are going to be slowing down to make those turns. And this property is within a quarter mile of that intersection; and I believe it would be appropriate to have a reduced speed fronting that area. SIRACUSA:Thank you. I agree with you on that. I also agree with you on the fact that we do need industrial zoning. I€m just not sure that this is the place to put it. However, I did want to address the access. The Fire Department would be accessing from that parcel right onto the highway. And I believe the Police Department as well when they put their, for the same reasons? NISHIMURA:Well -. SIRACUSA:Would they be using the same access road? NISHIMURA:Initially that is what was anticipated, that the Police Department would havetheirownseparateaccesspoint.However,Icannotspeakforthematthistime;anditmay be that with the development of the recreational facilities the whole access for the park as well as the police substation may be combined or may be altered in some way. At this point I don€t believe the plans have progressed to the point where a definitive answer can be given. SIRACUSA:It€s my understanding that the police development would precede any development from Parks and Recreation, which might possibly decide instead of going right to the highway to ease up some of the traffic there by going from the back road. But I€m still, you know, I look at that, I drive that practically every day and it€s already a nightmare. If we have to wait for State Department of Transportation to make improvements, then I€m really concerned because we€ve been waiting, since the bypass was built we€ve been waiting for more than six years to get a stupid little school crossing sign on the road from DOT. And that doesn€t give me a great amount of faith. ALAMEDA:Any other questions for our applicant? Commissioner Siracusa? SIRACUSA:I was asking him questions. ALAMEDA:You have any additional? SIRACUSA:Not right now. ALAMEDA:Okay. Other Commissioners, any questions? Okay. Any other comments before I ask you to sit down? NISHIMURA:I guess I should address the letter that was submitted by the Nahooikaikas. And, you know, one of their concerns was to have people coming to the property and being able to see their property and, I guess, invade their privacy. It is the intent of the developer to completely fence and landscape the perimeter boundaries of the property so that as best as they can screen their use from the adjoining properties; and, again, this is a very low impact type of use. There is not, it€s not a high volume or high traffic generator. People store their belongings 9EXHIBIT B for long periods of time and do not make frequent visits to the facility, and so it is not anticipated to have a high volume of people coming and going on a daily basis. ALAMEDA:Thank you, Mr. Nishimura. Did that trigger any questions for our Commissioners? Okay, thank you. You may be seated. There is public testimony on this matter. We have three individuals. Could I ask Mr. Rob Tucker and Mr. Wilfred Nahooikaika and Mrs. Clara Nahooikaikai to please come forward. I believe there€s enough chairs for all of you. I€m going to swear all of you in at once, if you don€t mind. Could you all please raise your right hand. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth now before the Hawaii County Planning Commission? TESTIFIERS:I do. ALAMEDA:Okay. Could we please start with my left; and please state your name and addressfortherecord,andthenyoumayproceedwithyourtestimony. TUCKER:RobertTucker,mymailingaddressisPOBox6097,Hilo. ALAMEDA:Okay,youcanproceed. TUCKER:Okay. I am Vice-President of Main Street Pahoa Association; and I€m the author of the letter which I believe is your Exhibit L. Our interests in this application are kind of both specific and general. And I€d like to address the general issues, first of all, and to the degree that Commissioner Iwashita has mentioned, the need for developed zoning in our communities. We feel very strongly that this is also so. And I also want to express our gratitude for the, what we€ve seen to be consistent efforts by the Planning Department and the Commission to attend to these issues along our area and corridor rather effectively. SIRACUSA:Excuse me, could you just push that (microphone) closer to you. Thank you. TUCKER:A little closer to me, okay, okay, what we feel as rather effectively addressing these issue. Main Street Pahoa Association is Nonprofit 504(c)(6) which is a business nonprofit. Our mission statement is for the social and economic well being of Pahoa. With a little broader viewpoint, we look to lower Puna as our area that we live in and enjoy and we care about. The history of the creation of the bypass may have or may not have documented written assurances that were provided about to the business communities of Pahoa and Keaau with their bypass creations. But from what I have received from the business community, these assurances were made at some point by someone and they may or may not be binding. However, we are in a point of times, such as the applicant mentions, when things are changing. And the view we need to take on these changes as they€re applied for on a spot basis is a long-term view, what are going to be the effects of this. We recognize, Main Street recognizes that there could be a very real and sincere need for self storage facilities such as this applicant represents and other things 10EXHIBIT B in the area. And that need will be driving our desire to participate with the County to further develop the commercial zoning to, you know, address these needs as the future grows. We also feel that at this moment in time, a very interesting moment in time, 2006 as we enter it, the forces for development that are occurring along this corridor from Keaau to Pahoa are very similar to the forces of development that guided the development of places such as the San Fernando Valley. And we see this application, in a general way, as the opportunity for a precedent to allow commercial development along our corridor from Keaau to Hilo and that that precedent once granted would enhance other applications to the development 10, 20, 30 years from now of what would be, could be, I couldn€t say would be, but could be, you know, a sea of strip malls, you know, and flashing lights, you know, running up and down the highways. We€ve seen this before in other places. I have been fortunate in my life personally to live in places that had very long-term strategic planning in place, in Europe, for example; and the differences can be really startling. Nowwehaveanagriculturaldistrictwhichbydecisionsmadedecadesagohaveendoweditwith a lot of lots which will be developed. And the concerns of traffic and the commercial needs, how to create appropriate commercial development are all issues that we all have to pay attention to, and Main Street is going to be paying attention to. We think that some of the commercial development we€ve seen in the areas such as Orchidland taking place off of the highway is very appropriate. And we€re not here to oppose development for opposition sake. With the applicant, which we don€t know personally at all, indicating a 2 to 3 million dollar commitment for a self storage facility, we think that that€s a very high level of commitment to a business which we suspect will be very successful; and we think that that commitment should and would appropriately be best placed with more of a commitment to a better location. So our opposition is actually general to the whole corridor of Keaau-Pahoa. We think that the bypass when it was created redefined the nature of Pahoa Village which we now look at as from bypass point to the high school, rather than just a narrow little section of the old town. And we think that with the proper energies put forth for zoning within that loop of the town for light industrial or urban, commercial growth, that the Village of Pahoa would be enhanced. Now the traffic issues we€re very concerned about as well as the applicant is on a curve. We€re also concerned about the adjacent property which we feel is a nonconforming illegal use and is representing hazards that should not be allowed to continue. We€re not here to address that here at this application. And that would basically be my statement. ALAMEDA:Thank you. And this is, just to make note that we cannot backtrack on testimonies, so if you have anything else to say now is the time, unless our Commissioners have questions later on. TUCKER:I€m finished with mine. Thank you. ALAMEDA:Okay. Any questions for our testifier? Commissioner Galdones. 11EXHIBIT B GALDONES:Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Tucker, I support the interests of the Main Street PahoaAssociation to try to develop the community as they want it to and situate the businesses where they believe is in the best interest of the community. In this particular case, is there any other area that this venture may be properly located that would be acceptable by Main Street? TUCKER:Well, the simplest answer to that would probably be yes. I am not a realtor sufficiently knowledgeable about all real estate opportunities in the area to identify one th for them at this moment. However, with the example of J&J Self storage on 13 Street in Paradise Park, it maybe that under some similar type of use permission, a similar development could be placed in some other subdivision off Highway -. I do see the potential for a self storage facility to be relatively low impact for an area. If it was deemed to be appropriate off of Kaloli and 23th Street, who knows, it might be deemed to be appropriate in some other location that I couldn€t identify right now. I could also see that there€s potential in my mind for properties of developments of this sort within the area of the Pahoa Loop. Now the Pahoa is now encompassed by a bypass which encompasses, if I could get up and point -. ALAMEDA:Sure, go ahead. Use the mike, please. TUCKER:This bypass that was created, and well created, thank you very much, incorporates a number of agriculturally zoned properties which I would suggest in the future of the next 20 to 30 years is going to be reducing in its agricultural impact and is very prime for rezoning it to commercial or residential uses through these areas here; and that would be maintaining our commercial corridor through town. Now I€m not here to discourage agricultural usesintheseareas,butIthinkthatthetimelineofthesespecificproperties,andtherearea number of them, is on a short timeline for an agricultural future and would be appropriate for rezonings. I don€t own them, I wish I did. ALAMEDA:Thank you. Commissioner Galdones, any follow up to that? GALDONES:Yes, Mr. Chair, thank you. ALAMEDA:Sure. GALDONES:Mr. Tucker, you had mentioned some other places that it might be suitable, like you mentioned Kaloli. Are those also residential areas? TUCKER:Well, Kaloli to the best of my knowledge is agriculturally zoned for 1 acre; and it has some type of a zoning approval, which I€m not aware of, that allowed a self storage facility to be applied. GALDONES:Are there other businesses within that area on Kaloli? TUCKER:Not to my personal knowledge. 12EXHIBIT B GALDONES:Mostly a lot of homes, they have residential -? TUCKER:Yes. But the question you ask is a good one because as I tried to answer it looking at J&J Self storage on Kaloli, what I€m grappling with is a precedent. Now a precedent has been made in an agriculturally zoned largely residential area where a self storage facility was permitted. And it€s with that same viewpoint that I€m looking at the potentials for a precedent of commercial development on 130. Because 2 or 3 years from now we won€t be looking at just one or two more applications, there will be many for such, you know, conversions. GALDONES:So is it the Main Street€s objection is you don€t want anything on Highway 130, any businesses being developed along 130, Highway 130? TUCKER:Commercial businesses, that would be basically our flat position. We would probably support well-thought public uses, such as Fire Department and Police. We understandthatthere€stalkaboutanewpostofficealongthatroute,too;andwehavetotakea look at that, its plans and intentions. We believe that the town areas or village areas of Keaau and the village areas of Pahoa are approximate enough to be able to reach half way toward each other and provide commercial opportunity without creating massive more traffic into Hilo every day for every little thing. So we think it would be logical and practical for the County to look at Keaau Village and Pahoa Village for its primary development of commercial and light industrial uses; and we need the jobs and we need, you know, we need the business. But we just don€t need it spread, you know, from edge to edge, which is what we think this would open the door to. GALDONES:How active is this Main Street Pahoa Association? TUCKER:Well, it meets actively once a month. It has annual meetings. We have a membership of approximately 80 plus on the town. We have just promoted and put on the Pahoa Christmas Parade, for example. It was just held last month. We have some other activities we€re involved with. We€ve been involved highly in the past couple years on the acquisition of the 56- acre parcel for Pahoa district park use; and that was a ten-year effort on Main Street€s part. And so we have the ability to function over a long period of time on these views; and we€re taking the long view here. This is the long view. GALDONES:And the Association has taken this subject matter that€s before us right now and has established the position that you had articulated in your letter? TUCKER:Yes, sir. Approximately 18 months ago we were approached by a private developer from Bakersville, California who was interested in acquiring some agricultural land and was looking for our support for an application, and he was a little discouraged. Unfortunately, for him, it wasn€t personal, but when we examined the issue and we looked at it, we had to just write a letter of lack of support for his project. And it wasn€t personal. And, in fact, at the same time 18 months ago we felt that the town could probably use a self storage facility in the area. But for the same issues I€ve enumerated here, we took a vote on that; and when we took the vote on that issue, we took it rather broadly that we weren€t just opposing that project and that development. In that sense we were taking the opposition in a more general sense, which is what I€m expressing here at this moment. 13EXHIBIT B GALDONES:Thank you. TUCKER:Sure. ALAMEDA:Commissioner Siracusa. SIRACUSA:For Mr. Galdones€s information, Main Street Pahoa Association is also a signatory member to the Pahoa Weed and Seed program which has its own economic development committee. And they€re on the same page regarding that kind of development on the Highway. Would you consider, Mr. Tucker, a parcel, say, inthe area of the Pahoa Transfer Station as being an appropriate location for a facility such as being proposed today? TUCKER:Well, I appreciate the question. It€s kind of just directed to me personally. Youknow,I€mnotonthePlanningCommission;andIdon€twanttobethepersonwhowantsto give these investors and these business people advice on how to run their lives and make their business decisions. My position would be that there are other properties that could be well worth considering in that area. SIRACUSA:I was just trying to follow up on Mr. Galdones€s, Commissioner Galdones€s question about if there are any appropriate parcels in the area. ALAMEDA:Any other questions for our testifier before we proceed? Commissioner Graham. GRAHAM:I€d just like to thank you for taking the energy and the effort to come before us today and be forthright and answer all our questions. It seems like it€s all volunteered time and I feel like it€s very valuable what you€re doing, so thank you. TUCKER:You€re very welcomed. Thank you, sir. ALAMEDA:Thank you. Seeing no more question, we can proceed to our next testifier, Ms. Clara Nohooikaika. If you can state your name, full name, and address for the record; and then you may proceed. C. NAHOOIKAIKA:Good morning. My name is Clara Nahooikaika. I€m a resident of 15-2591, Keaau-Pahoa Highway. ALAMEDA:Thank you. We did receive your letter. And are there any highlights from that letter you€d like to share with us or -? C. NAHOOIKAIKA:I actually want to read it because then I can really illustrate my emotion ad passion about my opposition to this, if you don€t mind. ALAMEDA:Sure. 14EXHIBIT B C. NAHOOIKAIKA:Okay. We, Wilfred, is my husband, and myself, we relocated to the Big Island in September of 2001. It was a major transition for us, for me from Oahu. But home was Kailua and I thought, wow, I found a new home that I could really grow to love, which I did, which we both did. We looked at over 50 properties when we first came over here, most of them in Hilo, before settling on 15-2591 Keaau-Pahoa Highway. We were attracted to this green, lush environment. It was set away from, you know, it didn€t have neighbors immediately next to me like we did on Oahu. So it was spacious, it had privacy, it was country living. It was affordable, it was on county water, and it had lots of character and not exceedingly remote to put this city girl, you know, a little bit out of place. Our appeal today to the Commission is to deny this application for a zone change. When we purchased our property it was going to be our life-long home for our children and grandchildren to enjoy. If we wanted to live in an industrious area we would have stayed on Oahu. I mean, can youunderstandthat?WewouldhavestayedonOahu.There€scertainlyenoughplacesonOahu and a good share of them in Kona and in Hilo. There are needs in every community; and there may be a need for a storage facility. I just don€t believe that it needs to be here. We chose this property and we don€t want to see zoning changes. Mr. Gardner never resided here, like we have. So he doesn€t really have an appreciation of the locale as we€ve developed. It€s a business opportunity, that€s his choice. The property, Mr. Gardner€s property changed ownership three times in the short period of time that we were there. When we first got there, the first owner sold it without us even knowing it was being sold. The second owner sold it again, and we still didn€t know it was being sold. The sellers probably profited, and that€s okay. That€s not expected, I mean, that€s not unexpected. But let€s try to keep it residential. When we learned that Mr. Gardner had purchased this property my husband contacted him, informing him that we were interested in acquiring it. We were genuinely serious about trying to preserve our home and our neighborhood and the appeal that it offers. There are just not enough places in Hawaii or anywhere else that has this, that I€ve come to appreciate about Pahoa. Keaau-Pahoa Highway has exceeded its capacity, we all agree on that. Puna€s growth and the new Pahoa Market Place make it an extremely busy stretch of road. To allow more cars to enter and exit this busy road is irresponsible in my opinion. But I€ve listened to some of the testimony this morning and I understand the survey being where the volume would only increase about 20 cars per day. That may be. That€s 20 cars. I know because often when I have to exit our property it€s a lengthy wait in order to do it safely. It is difficult to turn into our property, that would be a left turn coming from Hilo, because cars come so fast on that road, or they try to pass on the shoulders. So it presents some pretty serious hazards, potential hazards. I can speak first hand because I had a very close call one day trying to come out of my driveway where the people across the street had their blinker to make a left turn, they were facing Hilo and I was well inside the approach of my driveway, when a truck overtook this car on the right and nearly creamed me. He was going fast and blasting his horn as if I was doing something wrong. But it happens. There are just too many impatient and inconsiderate and reckless drivers out there. It€s scary to think of the potential hazards that a zoning change could bring. 15EXHIBIT B One may ask why then didn€t we object when the County announced plans for emergency servicefacilities on the south side of our property, of Mr. Gardner€s property. We believe and we support these facilities in every community. Pahoa is growing, we do need to have the proper safety and emergency services. They€re essential. A self storage facility or any other commercial entity in this area is not. My husband retired from Honolulu Fire Department, and we had a lot of good discussion when Mr. Nishimura€s letter arrived. The proposed location for the new emergency services we agreed made sense, it was suitable. It afforded accessibility and a much quicker response time for all who need them. I hear the sirens from our house; and what bothers me is did they get out there soon enough. They€re coming from Pahoa Village, you know, and it€s not very accessible. The Highway would be a suitable place. And I know that for a park the planners will take into account, they would plan accordingly in order to avoid the cars coming onto the highway or entering the park from the highway. In my mind I€m thinking only the emergency equipment needtoexittheirquartersfromthemainroad.Wecanmakealternativesfortheotherstuff,you know. We have lots of concerns, and I do not want to ramble, or take too much of your time. We just want to ask that you seriously consider the existing traffic conditions and the timeline, if any, that the County or the State has for road improvements to meet the great demands of growth in this area. I believe that our family, we both believe, would be the most impacted if this is approved. I€m very familiar with the Blue Rock Self storage sign that hung in front of the property north of ours, it was right next to us. I saw that one day and I went, oh, my gosh,‚ you know. And I hadn€t heard anything until I saw this big sign; and it stayed up there for a few months. And then all of a sudden the sign was gone. If the Commission were to approve this application that€s presently on the table, my concern is the precedent, like Mr. Tucker said, that it will set; and my family, the result would be a storage facility on one side and possibly another storage facility on the other side. That€s not what we moved to Puna for. A 2 ž to 3 million dollar complex is very significant. I€m thinking big buildings. You know, I€m just thinking big. I am concerned about that. I believe that there is going to be loss of our privacy and my sense of safety in my own home. Strangers will be coming through the property adjacent to me. There are strangers that will go to the park, too. But, you know, I€m thinking people coming very close to my property and being able to see into my garage and my coming and going, and my cars. And it€s uncomfortable, I think, even if it€s 20 people, to be sitting on a lanai or having a family barbeque with storage warehouses and a bunch of strangers in such close proximity. I just want to thank you for your time. My husband would like to say some things. So, I guess, if anyone has any questions for me first and -. ALAMEDA:Sure. Questions? Commissioner Siracusa? SIRACUSA:Yes. Clara, are you still post-mistress at Pahoa? 16EXHIBIT B C. NAHOOIKAIKA:I am. SIRACUSA:Do you have any indication about when they plan to put in the new office? C. NAHOOIKAIKA:I can€t wait for them towrite something in blood, but they don€t. I understand that there€s a, you know, we had a public meeting at Pahoa High School and the representative that came from the Postal Service said that it could go into planning as early as 2007; but I couldn€t say for sure when that will really happen. SIRACUSA:Yeah. At this point, the Pahoa Post Office, would you say that it is over- exceeding its capacity? C. NAHOOIKAIKA:Yes, Ma€am. SIRACUSA:Andhowabouttheparkinglot? C.NAHOOIKAIKA:Yes,Ma€am. SIRACUSA:Iagreewithyou.Itwouldcreatealotoftrafficonceit€soutinthenew location because of the growing -. C. NAHOOIKAIKA: Yes, I figured that. SIRACUSA:And so we have to consider not only the existing traffic now in that area but how much additional traffic there would be once the post office is there, once the recreation is there, once the police department is there, etc., and take that into consideration. C. NAHOOIKAIKA: Yes. SIRACUSA:Do you have any thoughts on that matter you€d like to elaborate for us? C. NAHOOIKAIKA:I do. At the public meeting that we had with the US Postal Service Representative from the Pacific area, that was one of my biggest things; and others expressed about the parking situation and, you know, the accessibility going into the post office and leaving it. I asked him who was going to look at this because I know that that area is very congested and safety was paramount in my eyes. I saw how Malama had become so busy. I understand the Postal Service purchased this property about 15 years ago and, you know, still they haven€t built; and we definitely need a new postal facility. But I don€t know how the traffic patterns would be. That was one of my questions to the representative from Facilities at the area. SIRACUSA:Could you give us a sort of a, just a stab in the dark as to how many cars pull into the current post office in a day, just so we can get a feeling for amount of traffic? I mean the storage facility is talking about 20 cars in a day. Let€s look at cumulative impacts is why I€m asking you. C. NAHOOIKAIKA: Probably, I mean, just a stab in the dark, we have 17 marked stalls. There are periods in the day that they are all full, other times not so. Easily, I would think, no less than 17EXHIBIT B 100. They also park on the street and next to the building. So though you€ve kind of sparked a thought in my mind, I should perform a survey and see -. I know how many transactions come through the window in an hour, but I don€t know how many cars are coming through. SIRACUSA:Yeah, some people walk to the post office -. C. NAHOOIKAIKA:Yeah. SIRACUSA:So you can€t separate that. I€m just looking at cumulative impacts and wondering, you know, down the line, what are we looking at in terms of traffic exiting onto the highway. Thank you, Mrs. Nahooikaika. C. NAHOOIKAIKA: You€re welcome. ALAMEDA:Iappreciatethequestion,CommissionerSiracusa.Asyouknow, Mrs. Nahooikaika, this is your chance. Do you have any other statements to make regarding this particular application before we proceed? C. NAHOOIKAIKA: No. ALAMEDA:Okay. Any other questions? SIRACUSA:Can I ask for a five-minute recess? ALAMEDA:I€m wondering if it would be best to do it after our final testifier. I would like to proceed since Mr. Nahooikaika is patiently waiting; and then we could probably take a break after that. W. NAHOOIKAIKA:My name is Wilfred Nahooikaika, and I also reside at 15-2591 Keaau- Pahoa Highway. Clara and I, we moved here September, like she said, about 5 years ago. And when we bought our property it was country, it was agricultural homestead lots, and we thought about farming also. So it took us a while, but the Christmas weekend I had two acres of my property excavated; and the purpose for this was I have intentions of growing puakinikini trees. So I really feel that we did the right thing by buying this property because this is what we wanted; and being in the country, this is also what we wanted. When I found out that we missed purchasing Mr. Gardener€s property two times, I called Mr. Gardner and asked him that if he had any intentions of selling his property would he consider selling it to me at a fair market price. So he said, oh, sure. So several two to three years passed and he called me to tell me that he wanted to rezone his property because he didn€t think he was going to reside there being that his property next to him, south of his property, were being developed for emergency facilities, which is the Fire Department, and Police, and recreational facilities also. So he decided that he didn€t want to live there so he intended to change his property into urban/commercial for this self storage facility. Anyway, I don€t want to repeat what Clara had already said but I feel strongly about the vandalism that€s been happening in Pahoa. And I feel uncomfortable all the time knowing this in the back of my mind that maybe one day I will be the subject of some very fortunate thieves. But we have valuable household 18EXHIBIT B goods, personal properties that we really care about. So I think by having this self storage facility, it€s just opening the door to vandalism and robberies. Cause theseguys that do this, they are good, they are good at what they do. So I€m kind of concerned about that issue. And I want to thank you for your time. ALAMEDA:Thank you very much, Mr. Nahooikaika. Any questions for Wilfred? Commissioner Iwashita. IWASHITA:Mr. Nahooikaika, when you talked to Mr. Gardner about, when he told you that he wanted to do this rezoning, did you tell him now what you€re telling us, that you didn€t think it was good idea or not? W. NAHOOIKAIKA:He asked me and at the time I thought, well, I have no problem, you know. ButIreallydidn€tgiveitsomeseriousconsideration.ButthenIstartedtothinkaboutoh,my, you know, then -. Sometimes my judgments and ideas are not very quick to it, you know. But I gave it some reconsideration and I feel that opposing Mr. Gardner€s idea - it€s inappropriate at this time. IWASHITA:Mrs., I€d like to ask your wife some questions. You folks received a notice about this application, right? Did -? th C. NAHOOIKAIKA:The one that was dated December 19? IWASHITA:Or even before when, the notices that get sent out -. th W. NAHOOIKAIKA:I€ve got the one December 19 and then also the one in August about the Fire Department plans. IWASHITA:Okay. And since receiving that, after you got that, did you have any direct contact with the applicant or the applicant€s representative, Mr. Gardner or Mr. Nishimura? Did you -? C. NAHOOIKAIKA:Only, this morning is the first time we ever seen or met Mr. Gardner or seen Mr. Nishimura. But I called him yesterday because I didn€t know the procedure that was required as far as, you know, could we testify, did I need to register in advance, and so forth. So we did have just a couple of things to clear up yesterday. But prior to that, no. IWASHITA:Okay, thank you. ALAMEDA:Iwanttoacknowledgeourrequestforabreak.Soifthere€snoother questions for our testifiers, I€d like to take five, and then come back and proceed. Are there any objectionstothat? Again,thankyouverymuchforyourpublictestify.Wereallyappreciateit. W.NAHOOIKAIKA:Thankyou,Mr.Chairman. 19EXHIBIT B RECESSEDThe Chair called a short recess at 11:45 a.m. RECONVENEDThe meeting reconvened at 11:51 a.m. ALAMEDA:Okay, will the Hawaii County Planning Commission now come back to order. All right, fellow Commissioners, we€ve just heard testimony. I€d like to invite the applicant back or his representative, to the table. Okay, testimony, do you have any additional comments you€d like to present? NISHIMURA:The only comment I think that I€d like to make is given the location of the facility in relation to other self storage facilities, the operator anticipates that the vast majority of their customers would be coming from the southerly direction to serve the lower Puna area. I believe that those people that reside north of the property, the vast majority of them, would probably choose to go to Keaau for this type of service. And that being the case, we would anticipate that most of the traffic would be coming from the southerly direction making right turns into theproperty. So we just wanted to add that as a clarifying point. ALAMEDA:All right. Fellow Commissioners, are there any other clarifications you need to move to the next level? GALDONES:Mr. Chairman? ALAMEDA:Commissioner Galdones. GALDONES:Thank you, Mr. Chair. Mr. Nishimura, did Main Street have a meeting with your client and did Main Street inform your client of their objection to the location? NISHIMURA:We received the letter that was made part of the record, but we did not have a meeting with them specifically. So we received the letter and we responded to them in writing. GALDONES:During the planning process there was no discussion with Main Street that your client had the intention of building this and asking for the support of Main Street Association? NISHIMURA:No. GALDONES:He was aware that there was an Association? NISHIMURA:Well, we were aware of, like I said, the letter that came in; and so we prepared a response to that letter, yes. GALDONES:Thank you. ALAMEDA:Other questions, Commissioners, you might have before we move into deliberations for our applicant€s representative? I have one for Mr. Hayashi, if you don€t mind, 20EXHIBIT B we have two sort of applications before us, and one has to precede the other. Could you share a little bit how that works? HAYASHI:Yes. You should vote on the State Land Use Boundary Amendment request first, and then depends on what happens to that -. ALAMEDA:Okay. Okay, fellow Commissioners, what€s your pleasure? Commissioner Siracusa. SIRACUSA:I would like to make a motion once the applicant€s representative steps down. ALAMEDA:Okay. No further questions for our applicant? All right, thank you. You may sit down. This recommendation does come with the Department€s actually unfavorable recommendationbeforeus.CommissionerSiracusa? SIRACUSA:ImovethatanunfavorablerecommendationbeforwardedtotheCounty Council on the application for a State Land Use Boundary Amendment, Docket No. SLU 05-006, based on the Planning Director€s recommendation. ALAMEDA:There€s a motion made by Commissioner Siracusa, is there a second? GRAHAM:Second. ALAMEDA:Seconded by Commissioner Graham. Discussion? GALDONES:Mr. Chairman? ALAMEDA:Commissioner Galdones. GALDONES:Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Question of Norman. On the recommendation for the State Land Use Boundary Amendment application, on page 2 it mentions the Hawaii Land Use Commission Rules and mentions that it does not meet the following standards. Could you elaborate on that, the two bullet points. HAYASHI:Well, basically, what it states is, that first bullet states that it should be contiguous to existing urban designated areas. In this particular case, the property is not adjacent to any existing urban designated areas. And the second bullet basically talks about not to have the so-called urban designation all over the place, so, in other words, to spot it from one location to the other, to another location. So basically we felt that in this, at this particular time the reclassification of the property to an urban district would not be consistent with that criteria as established by the State Land Use Law. GALDONES:So it€s just the location that does not meet these two bullet points that you mentioned? 21EXHIBIT B HAYASHI:That is correct, yes. GALDONES:Thank you. HAYASHI:Any additional questions for staff or for each other? This is the time to discuss. Seeing none, staff. Commissioner Siracusa? SIRACUSA:Aye. HAYASHI:Commissioner Graham? GRAHAM:Aye. HAYASHI:Commissioner Iwashita? IWASHITA:Aye. HAYASHI:Commissioner Galdones? GALDONES:Aye. HAYASHI:Chair Alameda? ALAMEDA:Aye. HAYASHI:Mr. Chairman, motion carries to deny the request as recommended by the Planning Director. ALAMEDA:Thank you. Should we invite the applicant back or what€s the protocol? How do we move to the next step? Should we entertain a motion for this? Let me ask our Corp. Counsel, Mr. Torigoe? TORIGOE:Yeah, well, you have two items. You have the Change of Zone Application as well as the State Land Use Boundary Application. I think for the record you should have disposition of both cause this has to go to the County Council. ALAMEDA:Okay, so noted. Commissioner Siracusa? SIRACUSA:I move that an unfavorable recommendation be forwarded to the County Council on the application for Change of Zone Docket Number REZ 05-020 based on the Planning Director€s recommendation. ALAMEDA:Motion was made by Commissioner Siracusa. Is there a second? GRAHAM:Second. 22EXHIBIT B ALAMEDA:Second was made by Commissioner Graham. Discussion? Seeing none, staff. HAYASHI:Thank you. Commissioner Siracusa? SIRACUSA:Aye. HAYASHI:Commissioner Graham? GRAHAM:Aye. HAYASHI:Commissioner Iwashita? IWASHITA:Aye. HAYASHI:Commissioner Galdones? GALDONES:Aye. HAYASHI:Chair Alameda? ALAMEDA:Aye. HAYASHI:Mr. Chairman, motion carries. ALAMEDA:Thank you. The applicant€s representative will be informed in writing of this decision. And thank you again the public for your presence and for your testimony. The discussion ended at 12 noon. Respectfully submitted, Sharon M. Nomura East Hawaii Secretary 23EXHIBIT B