2011-11-08 Kailua Village Design Commission Minutes

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businesses and customers, and also said that the fence had been an eyesore, and that there had seemed to be a power play with a selfish reason and no public interest. Zack Gibson, who owns Kapa Bar in the Coconut Grove, also spoke against the proposal. He was concerned that the proposed fence would be unsightly and would limit customer access to his business. He mentioned that he had experienced less business traffic when a fence had been put up in the past. He said that the applicant should not block off the walkway and should instead consider a railing on the existing rock wall and better lighting. Teri Leicher, who owns Jacks Diving Locker and the building where the business is located with her husband, said that it was unfortunate that the applicant felt that he had to block off the area, and that while she understood the applicants property rights and his concerns, the negative impact of the proposed fence might put people out of business. Jeff Leicher, the previous speakers husband, said that they used solar lights on their property, which could be an alternative to light up the subject rock wall area. He also spoke about an accident that had happened years ago, followed by a lawsuit, at the Aloha Stadium involving a gate that had been put up to alter the exit route, causing people to climb the gate to exit because the new route was less convenient. He said people would unquestionably climb the proposed four-foot high fence, mentioning their experience with people climbing over their four-foot fence to get into their pool at night. He concluded by saying that he opposed having a fence as proposed, but if there had to be a divider, a rock wall would look best from a design standpoint. Ray Kudo from ABC Store in the Coconut Grove said that the proposal would affect their customer traffic flow, as well as their delivery people who use the pathway that would be blocked by the proposed fence. He said that it would also affect the efficiency of some businesses, as they would lose easy access to the trash bin located in the back area. Jason Braswell, who owns Big Island Running Company in the Coconut Grove with his wife, also opposed the proposal, saying that it was obvious to him that the fence would disrupt the customer traffic flow and make the existing walkways useless and tourist-unfriendly. He said that it did not make sense for the applicant to fence the area while saying he would reopen the volleyball court for public use. In response to Commissioner Stanbros question, he said that he had not attended the BLNR hearing in Honolulu but had sent in a comment letter. Lesley Barley representing volleyball players thanked the applicant for allowing them to use the volleyball court. She said that it would be better to take down the rock wall, grade it down to the volleyball court level and open up the whole area, if safety was a concern and the fence were to be only temporary. Greg Ogin from Clark Commercial Group, the property manager for the Coconut Grove, said that he had worked with the applicant in the inception of the Coconut Grove, and said that the applicants vision at that time had been to create a resort community with a volleyball court as a central focus and open space. He said that the volleyball court area had not been pledged to the bank and was not part of the overall lien; however, it had always been a part of the overall development at the County level, mentioning that it had been designed to drain excess water to the volleyball court, and that a lot of the tenants bought into the vision that the applicant had. He opined that the fence would really affect the tenants. He said that the current Coconut Grove owner was looking at alternatives, such as redesigning the existing walkways, if the applicant were to be allowed to put up a fence. He also said that they had been directed to turn off the lights for the volleyball court by the applicant when he had 3