2008-05-08 TPUNAcdp - Laserfiche WebLink

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A group of Keaau residents and community leaders were invited to Join W.H. Shipman and the planning consultant team in a planning process that involved a series of meetings over a 4-month period. After establishing a vision, formulating alternative concepts, and refining these concepts, the effort resulted in the Keaau Town Conceptual Master Plan. This community-based planning effort identified how Keaau Town could grow to achieve the regional town center envisioned for the Puna region. At the gateway to Puna, this plan illustrated the potential to redevelop “Old Town” Keaau and plan for the “New Town”, with all the needed community services and employment centers for the Puna District. With the phased development of the W.H. Shipman Industrial Park underway and the first phase of zoning in place for the Gateway Center plan for a regional commercial center, demographic and market projections were prepared to ensure the planning provided for the long-term needs of the region. We’re here with the Draft Puna CDP. And having reviewed the current draft of the Puna CDP, there are several shortcomings of the process and resultant plan that I feel should be addressed: The first would be the General Plan Consistency. Under the General Plan of 2005 Keaau was targeted or identified as the Regional Town Center for the region. The current draft of the CDP does not clearly address the vision of the General Plan to focus on regional services in Keaau. Although not intended to be a specific limiting criteria, as John Whalen had pointed out, the General Use and Design Criteria (specifically Table 5-1) for a Regional Town Center are significantly underestimated. With a current population of approximately 40,000 and estimated by some projections to double that population in the next 15 to 20 years, the regional town center planned for Keaau would need to be significantly larger to serve the Puna district. As provided for in the 2005 General Plan, Keaau town is the logical location to master plan for the regions urban land uses and “New Downtown”. What is described and illustrated in the Puna CDP for Keaau Regional Town Center should be clearly characterized as only the initial phase of the regional town center. Local commercial and community services should be planned in the Pahoa and Paradise Park communities. But to achieve the type of employment and community services from the Puna district, there should be a much stronger emphasis on planning for an economically viable regional town center in Keaau. The second point that was brought up a little bit earlier was the Land Owner Participation in the Planning Process. As a significant stakeholder as W.H. Shipman is in the Puna district, I do not understand the Planning Department’s logic to not include a representative from W.H. Shipman on the Puna CDP Steering Committee. In my over 30 years of community planning experience in Hawaii, this is the first time I have seen such a significant stakeholder, along with other Keaau community leaders, not included as an integral part of formulating a community development plan. None of the Keaau community leaders that assisted in the formulation of the community-based Keaau Town Conceptual Master Plan were selected to serve on the Steering Committee. 12