2010-12-14 exhibit_a - Laserfiche WebLink

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WINDWARD PLANNING COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I HEARING TRANSCRIPT December 14, 2010 A regularly advertised hearing on the COUNTY COUNCIL’SAMENDMENT TO THE ZONING CODE RELATING TO TSUNAMI SIRENS was called to order at 9:17 a.m. in the County of Hawai‘i, Aupuni Center Conference Room, 101 Pauahi Street, Hilo, Hawai‘i, with Chairman Rell Woodward presiding. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Rell Woodward, Dean Au, Wallace Ishibashi, and Zendo Kern. STAFF PRESENT: Brandon Gonzalez (Deputy Corporation Counsel), Daryn Arai (Planning Program Manager), and Jeff Darrow (Staff Planner). And one person from the public in attendance. ABSENT AND EXCUSED: Takashi Domingo and Stephen Ono. INITIATOR: COUNTY COUNCIL Amendment to Chapter 25 (Zoning), Article 4, of the Hawai‘i County Code 1983 (2005 Edition, as amended), by adding a new division relating to Tsunami Sirens. WOODWARD: The next item on the agenda, and the final business item on the agenda, is County Council initiated Amendment to Chapter 25 of the Zoning Code, Article 4, adding a new division relating to Tsunami Sirens. Mr. Arai. ARAI: Good morning, Mr. Chairman, Commissioners. The Hawaii County Council forwarded to the Planning Commission a draft, Bill No. 291, Draft 2. What this bill attempts to do is to amend a section of the Zoning Code by requiring that certain residential or commercial projects situated within the tsunami evacuation zone require the installation of a tsunami siren, if such a siren does not exist within a one mile radius of the affected building site. They plan to accomplish that through our plan approval review process, which is an administrative review process within the Planning Department. The Plan Approval process really is to check to make sure that when someone builds something it meets the basic requirements of the Zoning Code --things that are site specific like the height of a structure, whether there’s enough parking, whether your setbacks are okay, whether you have enough landscaping, whether you have enough accessible stalls--very site specific and project specific improvements. What this bill is attempting to do, and it’s something that we do not support, is to address what is considered a regional infrastructural deficiency and using our administrative review process to accomplish that; and we think that that is improper. As articulated at length within the background and recommendation report, we attempted to cite the various reasons and circumstances by which it could lead to more complications if you try to implement, address an infrastructural deficiency through an administrative review process, like the plan approval. So, you know, I won’t go and elaborate all of the points that are clearly written in your report. But for those reasons as articulated,we ask that the Planning Commission forward an unfavorable recommendation of this bill to the Hawai‘i County Council. With that I stand ready to answer any questions that you may have. 1