2007-12-12 Planning Commission Minutes

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Allen Salavea from the Planning Department, who is the project manager for the North Kohala Community Development Plan (NKCDP) and the South Kohala Community Development Plan (SKCDP), gave an update regarding the process (SEE EXHIBIT F). He mentioned that the project began in June 2007, and the progress is on track toward the completion date of November 2008. He said that two Steering Committees were separately formed for the NKCDP and SKCDP, and they have been meeting regularly since July and prioritized community issues. He added that the SKCDP chose to break down the task by geographical location, and separately prioritized issues for Waimea, Waikoloa, Puako and Kawaihae. He mentioned that Focus Groups have been formed around each of those issues, such as affordable housing, growth management, mountain/ocean access and infrastructure in the case of the NKCDP, and that their primary goal is to gather knowledgeable individuals in the community, work with technical experts and develop a plan on how to address those certain issues. In response to Commissioner Siracusa’s question about community turnouts for meetings, Mr. Salavea said that there are between 8 and 15 people in Focus Group meetings and between15 and 30 people in Steering Committee meetings; and also approximately between 60 and 80 people attended the first large community meetings held in August in North Kohala, Waimea and Waikoloa. Mr. Salavea said working papers outlining what have come out of the Focus Groups, which will be the foundation for creating the Community Development Plans (CDP), should be ready by the end of December; and in late January or early February the first draft CDP will go out to the communities for input. He said, however, all the information is available to the general public, without having to wait for the drafts, through a website and newspapers. He said that they will appear before the County Council in February to present the working papers, the draft CDP and the results from the next community meetings, which are scheduled in January and February. As an example of first products by the Focus Groups, Mr. Salavea presented a conceptual map of Waimea (SEE EXHIBIT G); he said that they are in process of putting this type of information into a written format. In response to Commissioner Alameda’s inquiry about the degree of the CDP’s applicability to the Commission’s decision making, Mr. Salavea said that it depends on what type of application is before the Commission, but they want to make sure the document is useful to decision makers who ultimately use it to guide their decisions. He mentioned, as an example, one of the strategies for Waimea is to promote infill development rather than stretch out and expand the community by rezoning Ag lands. In response to Commissioner Domingo’s inquiries, Mr. Salavea said that the Steering Committee feels that the 2020 Plan for Waimea leaves out some of the areas the community is interested in and doesn’t provide development strategies for an overall community plan. Commissioner Domingo asked whether the community has ever expressed their desire to get their plan adopted as an ordinance; Mr. Salavea said that they are beginning to understand the difference between a resolution and an ordinance, and that a lot of education and learning is happening along the process. In response to Commissioner Domingo’s question about the type of attendance, Mr. Salavea said that it is a good cross section of the community, and that they are also trying to outreach the population who are mostly working parents and unable to attend meetings by utilizing schools and PTAs.He mentioned that the information also goes out in some community-based newsletters such as Kohala Mountain News. 5