2007-06-05 TSUPERSTORES - Laserfiche WebLink

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HAYASHI: Just for your information, as far as both bills, we are proposing or recommending that the Commission continue it again to the Kona meeting and take up action at that time. GRAHAM: All right, thank you. So our next agenda item on our regular agenda is shown as No. 5, the initiator is the County Council; and we have an addendum to our agenda which has a 5a which is a related item initiated by the Planning Director. They are both amendments to Chapter 25 of the Zoning Code in Hawaii County and they both relate to what’s called superstores. Item 5 is an amendment to the Zoning Code whereby superstores would not be permitted in any zoning district. And superstores are defined as a business exceeding 90,000 gross square feet, offering for sale more than 25,000 different stock keeping units, and dedicating more than 20,000 gross square feet of floor area to the sale of groceries. Agenda Item 5a initiated by the Planning Director in response to this would create a new zoning district called the superstore zoning district, which would be the only zoning district where a superstore is allowed. And I believe the Planning Director gave us a rather thoughtful write-up on this explaining his reasons for making this additional 5a item that he initiates; and just paraphrasing briefly I think he’s taking the position that if we are going to remove this superstore capability through the zoning districts on the island it would be appropriate to create a new zoning district such that if the County wished to have superstores somewhere the County Council would have to effectively zone an area specifically for that purpose. And so without the County Council taking that action it would not be allowed. But by doing this he has at least left a legal opportunity for such a zoning district to be created if the County’s representatives in the County Council and the Mayor chose to do that. So does that meet your approval as a representation? YUEN: Yes. SIRACUSA: Question, please. GRAHAM: Yes, Commissioner Siracusa. SIRACUSA: Since No. 5 was brought already before the public in Kona and is coming here now to this side, it seems to me that we can vote on No. 5. However, 5a did not have a public hearing on the Kona side; and so it seems to me that to lump them together when we can vote on one but not on the other until we get to Kona, that may be confusing not only for the Commissioners but for members of the public who are here. So it seems to me that we should be taking 5 first and dealing with that and taking our vote on it; and then take the public hearing on 5a which we will still then have to go back to Kona and have a hearing on that side of the island. GRAHAM: Thank you, Commissioner Siracusa. I’m going to ask Mr. Torigoe in a second here about this. But my understanding is that we did have them both in our possession as Commissioners in Kona, but only the No. 5 was agendized, as you say. And so we got to hear that in two places but we only heard the one in Kona. So that technically now that we’re hearing that one also here in Hilo we could vote on it today. But I think our intention and my intention is that we will not take a vote on 5 today, the one initiated by the Council, but we’ll take the Commission’s vote on the both of them when we return for another Kona hearing. Is that something that we just administratively can do, Mr. Torigoe, or is that a proper way to handle this? EXHIBIT D 2