2006-05-05 THirayama - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

Waiakea Houselots area from Medium and Industrial to Low Density. Then in the mostrecent General Plan Amendment which occurred in 2005 it expanded the Industrial area up to Laukapu Street; and the remaining area which was designated for Low Density back in 1992 was then redesignated to Medium Density. The Interim Amendment that the Planning Director is proposing, I think, you know, all of you are aware of our suggesting some changes also to the Houselots area. One particular change relates to the scaling back of the proposed industrial area along Laukapu Street, you know, pushing it back down to Kalanikoa Street. I kind of recall back about 10 years ago in 1996, 1967, thereabouts, the Big Island Candies was going through their rezoning and General Plan amendment process; and at that time the applicant, and I was involved in that, you know, we did meet with the different communities in that area, kumiai rather. And at that time I understand that there was like what is called a Lower Waiakea Houselots Kumiai and also like an Upper Waiakea Houselots Kumiai. Whether these kumiai actually exist today, I dont know. But in reflectingonthediscussionsthatoccurred,youknow,withthemembersofthekumiaiandtheir officers, the thought was to have more of a mixture of uses in the area of what they called like the Lower Waiakea Houselots Kumiai. And then the dividing line was actually, whats that street, right where Hilo Motors is on -. HAYASHI:Kekuanaoa. FUKE:Kekuanaoa. Yeah, Kekuanaoa was the dividing line between the Lower and Upper Waiakea Houselots Kumiai. The thought was to have in that area on the makai side of the Houselots area, you know, to be more like a mixture of uses; and for that area on the upper side or the Volcano side of Kekuanaoa Street would be primarily a different form of Residential uses. If you look at the whole concept of Medium Density, in my estimation I think the concept of Medium Density is really like its fostering the notion of mixed uses. Historically, you know, when towns or cities used to grow, you have like a mixture of uses. And then came in the early 1900s and after like I guess the Supreme Court confirmed the, you know, the city of Euclid (phonetic) versus this guy who wanted to do this kind of industrial development, and the Supreme Court then kind of confirmed that, yes, government has a right to establish zoning. And since that time then the emphasis has been really more like one of segregated land uses. You know, you dont put industrial uses next to residential, you put commercial uses away from residential, so on and so forth. And it became more like segregated type of uses, as opposed to in years past, you know, you used to have more like a mixture of uses. But more recently, you know, weve all heard the terms like new urbanism, the smart growth and all of that stuff; and its basically trying to talk about how you want to get away from this so-called automobile culture; and you want to bring, have a mixture of neighborhoods that kind of promote walking, cycling, close to places of jobs and employment, you know. And thats kind of like the so- called, what they call, like the smart growth kind of theory. Whether we subscribe to that or not, you know, it remains to be seen. But I think that if you look at the concept of the Medium Density, thats what the Medium Density is really intended to do, trying to provide a mixture of Commercial, Residential, and different forms of residential uses all within a particular area. So I know the Commission has a major task in terms of trying to figure out, well, what kind of uses go where, and all that stuff. 4EXHIBIT B