2023-03-07 Kailua Village Design Commission Minutes

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When asked by Commissioner Werchick how the proposal compared with the existing signage, Ms. Newlon said that the Kona Seaside Hotel has a ground sign, but that she was not sure of wall signs. Commissioner Kilkuskie noted that a Google Maps image shows an existing sign on the mauka wall one story below the new proposed location. Chairman Roth suggested that the applicant provide clarification during their presentation. Commissioner Greenwell, noting that many signs in the Kailua Village appear to be noncompliant, asked when the Sign Code had been revised. Ms. Bugado responded that other than the more recent procedural update, such as sign variances are now being approved by the Director of Public Works instead of the County Council, the Sign Code itself had last been revised in 2005. When further asked by Commissioner Greenwell if then applying for a sign variance is common, Ms. Bugado said that from her experience in the past twelve years there have not been a lot of variance applications because of the process requirement to go through County Council hearings. Chairman Roth commented in agreement with Commissioner Greenwell that there are many signs in the Kailua Village that are not legal. There being no further questions of staff from the Commissioners, Chairman Roth called upon the applicant's representative. Mr. James Evans from Nine Brains introduced himself, Ms. Katherine Luga from Carlsmith Ball who is the counsel on the process, Mr. Jeffrey Zimmerman who is producing the signage, and Ms. Katharina Findlay who is the general manager at the project site. Mr. Evans clarified that there was a ground sign for the Kona Seaside Hotel in the same rock wall location, and that they are replacing it with a slightly smaller sign. He also confirmed that there was a wood-paneled Kona Seaside Hotel sign on the mauka building wall, which is being replaced with a new Pacific 19 sign with acrylic lettering as part of the facade renovation. Ms. Luga stated that the applicant did not apply for a sign variance because they had not received DPWBD's comments on the specific Sign Code sections, and that they will be processing a variance application once the Commission issues its recommendation, which hopefully would be a generalized approval in concept potentially subject to securing the sign variance. Mr. Evans commented on the reason for the increased lettering size and said that 9-inch lettering on the 45-foot-tall building would be unreadable. Mr. Zimmerman introduced himself as the sign fabricator. He said that Pacific 19's designer created a minimalistic design for signs with clean and simple black letters on a white acrylic background presenting a higher contrast. Regarding the sign on the mauka wall, he confirmed with Mr. Evans that it is proposed to be mounted on the sixth-floor level and said that along with the hotel name there is a component of GPS coordinates in the design, which presents an interesting and artistic way of creating a brand for the village and visitors. He reiterated the reason for the increased lettering height and said that they attempted to create a sign that would be visible from the roadway. The Commissioners had no questions for the applicant's representatives. Upon being asked by Chairman Roth, Ms. Newlon stated that no comments were received from the public regarding this application. Chairman Roth opened the floor for comments. He said 4 Kailua Village Design Commission March 7,2023,Meeting Minutes