2022-07-21 Leeward Exh H (Items 5&6 Hawaii One1 PL-REZ-2022-000014 & PL-SMA-2022-000012)

Home

since the applicant's acquisition of the property in 2013, that absolutely nothing was done; a lot was accomplished in that particular time period, including completion of archaeological studies and subsequent mitigation plans, designed and secured approvals of the various subdivision infrastructure plans,prepared an environmental assessment, and did some preliminary design work for the three-acre neighborhood park in La`aloa. The applicant has demonstrated over the years that it is committed toward completing this project where it could have simply flipped the property many years ago and not done anything. But I think we've demonstrated quite well that a lot of resources what had been committed by the applicant to try to get this subdivision designed, constructed, and approved. The only failure I could say of the applicant is they simply did not meet the February 9, 2019, deadline. Every other condition of approval, both within the SMA permit and the Change of Zone ordinance, was complied with. So, with that, we hope that the single failure should not result in what we feel as an excessively punitive action upon the applicant. So with that being said, you know, we hope for your favorable consideration of the amendment request. VITOUSEK: Mahalo. Any questions from Commissioners? KANUHA: I have two. First one is regarding, you know, Mr. Haun here. How come no lineal descendants that come from that area were contacted in the very beginning? And also, two, what was the excuse and how come the, you know, the applicant isn't here in the process? Because of that SMA, like you said, in 2019 moving forward, for anyone, say, one of us have what, we want to do a building project, our permit expires, we have to reapply; we just don't, we can't change and get existing condition and say, oh, we are going to get another time extension on there. There's ways of doing it. But I just want to know what, what held them back. It would be accomplished every single thing on that checklist, besides coming back in 2019. I'm just curious what, what was the excuse? VAN BERGEN: When you say coming back in 2019 KANUHA: You know, obviously, the SMA was coming up. How come an extension wasn't filed previously to it just being kind of expired? It's been a few years now. Obviously, we had COVID, that was going on, but I'm just curious, you know, that was, you just, Mr. Arai just brought it up on his last statement that he made. What, why did the applicant not pursue that in the very beginning, if he did everything else in the checklist? VAN BERGEN: Up until February of 2019, we thought this project was a go. I mean there was a, there was an enormous amount of work, working extremely closely with Jeff at the Planning Department and Public Works, and Wastewater, all the agencies involved. We had our final plans, construction plans signed off in the fall, and the only criteria was the housing requirement, and that gust up with the current Housing Director at the time—and I think, Malia, you might have been, were you counseled them, for Housing? Yeah. And there was a delay. And unfortunately, timing-wise, the funds that were committed had a deadline as well, and we just missed it by a matter of weeks. So up until the very end, we thought the project was going to go up because the approvals were there, but we just couldn't quite get over the finish line. Since then, yeah, COVID hit, so a lot of people took a step back and re-evaluate, you know, other projects that the client has. But then he hired Mr. Arai and Mr. Fuke to jumpstart this. That was 11 EXHIBIT G