PD Background Report PL-SLU-2022-008 & PL-REZ-2022-039

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left-turn lane on eastbound Mdmalahoa Highway at Keaka Kea Place should be restriped to extend the two-way, left-turn lane from Earl's Pa`auilo Store Driveway to the beginning of the left-turn lane at Keaka Kea Place; 2) Minimum 100-foot spacings should be provided between the intersections on Mdmalahoa Highway at Waikelehua Place, the west and center driveways, and Earl's Pa`auilo Store Driveway/Ishihara Farm Road; 3) The site frontage road should be set back a minimum of 25 feet from the future right-of- way of Mdmalahoa Highway; and 4) The west and/or the center driveway should be designed to accommodate the truck turning movements to/from Mdmalahoa Highway. According to State Department of Transportation (HDOT) comments dated January 5, 2023, the applicant shall consult with HDOT-Highways Division, Hawaii District Office, to confirm acceptability of the TIAR recommendations, as well as to determine who is responsible for implementing the traffic improvements. According to the applicant's March 13, 2023 letter to the Planning Director, the applicant forwarded the draft TIAR,project site plan and previous HDOT comments to the HDOT Highways Division Hawaii District Office. In a response to the applicant dated February 28, 2023, HDOT's District Office stated that the TIAR was not acceptable, that the application does not provide rationale for the two additional accesses from Mdmalahoa Highway instead of a single consolidated access from the existing Ishihara Farm Road, and questioned whether there was sufficient outreach regarding traffic impacts on surrounding residents and businesses. In a March 9, 2023 response to the HDOT's District Office, the applicant's traffic consultant stated that the TIAR would be revised to respond to HDOT's concerns and explained their rationale for providing two commercial driveways in addition to the single residential driveway. In a March 23, 2023 response, the HDOT's District Office stated that the proposed development contradicts current easement restrictions on the property and requested that the applicant process a new consolidation and subdivision before proceeding with the current land entitlement requests. Additionally, HDOT reiterated that the TIAR's mitigation measures still do not justify or provide a rationale for having more than one vehicular access nor does it adequately justify the proposal of a two-way, left-turn lane. In a second letter to the Planning Director, dated May 17, 2023, the applicant referenced an April 6, 2023 meeting with HDOT District Engineers, in which the applicant addressed their concerns with timing of -9-