2022-10-25 Kailua Village Design Commission Minutes

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trend, and they also want to bring sustainability and install photovoltaic to offset the electricity needs and solar water heating. Chairman Roth opened the floor for comments. Commissioner Ikeuchi expressed her opinion that although the buildings look nice, she does not think that they follow the Master Plan for Kailua-Kona guidelines. She said that it reminds her of the original ultra-modern Kona Brewpub design that the Commission wanted some revisions to make it look more culturally relevant. She also commented that what is going to be developed adjacent to the burial sites is a concern for her, as she might have direct ancestors that are buried on this property. She further said that she maintains a firm opinion, whether or not it is within the purview of this Commission, that the short-term rentals are not needed in this community. She also commented that there are countless studies that artificial turf, which people assume is environmentally better, absolutely destroys the soil underneath it. She concluded her comment by reiterating that she has environmental concerns, design concerns, and cultural concerns. In response to Commissioner Crusat's question regarding the project's compliance with the parking requirements, Mr. Dearinger confirmed that the project is proposing 40 stalls while the requirement is 23 for the residential component plus five for the office space. Commissioner Werchick, commenting that he is not a big fan of short-term rental units being designed for short-term rental, said that it is a fiction to say that they are intended to be permanent residential units; for example, the condominium projects in the area like Kona Pacific and Kona Billfisher are obviously heavily short-term and mid-term vacation rentals. He further said that although he was not fond of the modern design, there is already no consistency between Kona Pacific and Kona Billfisher, and so it is just the reality of the Walua Road neighborhood to look choppy. Chairman Roth commented that in his opinion these units are designed as residential units, and that adding livable units to the Kailua Village is not a bad thing. He said that he appreciates the applicant being upfront about their initial plan to make them available as short-term vacation rental, and that the Commission approves duplexes and quadruplexes in other areas of the Village without knowing how the owners will rent them out. He also opined that a little more modern design according to the trend is a good thing, and that a metal roof has been used in Hawaii for a long time. Making reference to the Kona Brewpub building that Commissioner Ikeuchi mentioned earlier, he said that it is one of the better-looking buildings in town, so that is not a bad direction for the Village to be going. Commissioner Greenwell spoke in agreement with Chairman Roth and said that a lot of the reason why modern buildings look the way they do has to do with heating and coiling efficiency as required under the recently changed building codes. He said that the architectural design may not be what people are used to seeing, but that in his opinion there was a lot of thought put into the site layout and the layout of the units themselves. He opined that as much as they as commissioners may not like the short-term vacation rental scheme, these are ultimately dwelling units, and what the owners decide to do with them is their business, and that if it is important to the community to not have vacation rentals, it is up to the community to enact laws to prevent them from happening. He concluded his comment by saying that it is not up to this Commission 3 Kailua Village Design Commission October 25,2022,Meeting Minutes