Laserfiche WebLink
Mr. Sakaguchi said that the Planning Department is focused on how the land is used and <br />does not look at social or public safety issues. Mr. Yuen said those issues are tied in. However, <br />the only tools in their toolkit are land use tools. The levers his Department gets to pull are <br />approving or denying rezoning and special permit applications. People can be encouraged to do <br />certain things, but the real powers his Department has are in land use control. They do have to <br />keep in mind how the quality of life, crime, and parks, etc., will be affected by their decisions, as <br />these are all consequences of land use decisions. <br />Mr. Joseph asked how the Planning Commission interacts with the Planning Department. <br />Mr. Yuen explained that the Commission is an independent group that makes certain land use <br />decisions and recommendations on certain issues for the County Council. The Commission has <br />the final say on some types of permits, such as non - agri cultural use of agricultural land, and they <br />make recommendations to the Council on rezoning. The Department will do all the work -up on a <br />permit and make a recommendation to the Commission. The Department will study the road <br />system, the water, and archeological sites, put the information together in a package, and make a <br />recommendation to the Commission. The Commission is independent and can support or not <br />support the Department's recommendation. <br />Mr. Joseph asked if he could assume that the Commission is the voice of the public. Mr. <br />Yuen said the Commission is comprised of nine lay people from the different island districts, and <br />they are appointed by the Mayor. They are selected to bring the independent judgment of a <br />group of solid citizens to the land use applications and issues. So although they represent the <br />public, the commissioners are not simply to be swayed by public opinion. The commissioners <br />have varied backgrounds, and the workload can get quite heavy. They meet twice per month and <br />usually take the full day. They also have to read a lot of materials beforehand. <br />The Chair asked how involved the Planning Department is with State Highways Division. <br />Mr. Yuen said the State's function is to come up with a state -wide traffic improvement program, <br />and to have a funding list years in advance of projects for federal funding. His Department has a <br />liaison into that, but there are a lot of other players. <br />The Chair asked whether overpasses on the Big Island would be more efficient or too <br />costly. Mr. Yuen said at one time they were considered for the Queen Kaahumanu Highway, but <br />he does not believe it is in the plans for any time in the near future. <br />The Chair asked whether an overpass coming down the three intersections in Kona would <br />meet with the Planning Department's approval, or whether the County would play a part. Mr. <br />Yuen said it would probably be a State issue. If the State wanted to build a new road in a Special <br />Management Area along the shoreline, it would need to get a Special Management Area permit. <br />If it just wanted to resurface a road, no permit would be needed. If an area is not in the Special <br />Management Area, then a road is generally a permitted use under land use regulations, and the <br />State could build and widen a road without the County's involvement. If the State wants to make <br />a road through undeveloped property, the County would routinely approve it. Because the Henry <br />Street intersection is outside of the Special Management Area, the State could do the project <br />without the Planning Department getting involved. <br />The Chair asked about the different levels of approval in the building permit process. <br />Mr. Yuen used a home building permit application as an example. The Planning Department <br />looks at it first and checks to see that the area is zoned for a home. Then the height and setback <br />31 <br />