2014-03-20 Leeward Exh D (Amend GP Comprehensive Review Timeframe)

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is our long range planning document for the County of Hawai‘i, and it’s required by the State law and also by our County Charter. Our presentation is just going to go over the bottom line, the last comprehensive update process that we went through, what the anticipated update process will be, why the proposed amendments are necessary, exactly what the proposed amendment is, and the interim amendment process that we are going forward with today. So the bottom line is the amendment would change the timeframe for initiating the General Plan comprehensive review. So that actually reverted back to what was adopted during the last comprehensive review update in the February 2005 update. The amendment that’s being proposed is that “The Planning Director shall initiate a comprehensive review of the General Plan and prepare a set of recommended amendments for independent review by the Windward and Leeward Planning Commissions and then adoption by the County Council. The comprehensive review shall be initiated not more than ten years after the date of adoption of the previous amendments resulting from a comprehensive review.” And again, that date of adoption was February 2005. Our last comprehensive update process took seven years to go through. And you can see here from this timeline, we took a couple of years to do studies and analysis; this included economic study, land use study and infrastructure study. And then it went to, some draft amendments based on those, to the Planning Commission for review. It took four years before the process could get it to County Council for their review and action, and they took another three years to deliberate on that. So it was a lengthy process. Anticipated Comprehensive Update Process: 4 Years or More – and this is based on just what the requirements for timing are and trying to understand that the things that are needed for this next update. So there are five steps to the next update: Notice and Initial Input – from the public, County Council, and the Action Committees; Planning Department Review and Propose; Workshops and Comment period; Planning Commission review; and County Council Review and Action. Step 1, Notice and Initial Input, and so this will provide for opportunities for the public, the Community Development Plan Action Committees, and also the County Council to provide input on what proposed amendments they would like to see. Step 2 in the process is reviewing the input that’s received, completing an analysis, and this might again include the different studies as last time whether that be land use analysis, population analysis, those types of analysis, and then propose recommendations. Step 3 requires a notice to the public and affected property owners, and a public workshop to review the amendments being proposed, and also a public comment period. And Step 4 will be the Planning Commission review and recommendations. So once the comment period has ended, Planning Director will submit to Planning Commissions for their hearings and also recommendations to County Council. And finally, Step 5 in the process, County Council Review and Action, it will go before the Planning Committee and then to full readings before the Council. So why is the proposed amendment necessary? We’ve had some challenges in our Planning Department. Currently, the four-year comprehensive review process must be completed before February 2015. And that means we would have had to initiate in 2011 to make the deadline. One of the challenges is that the 2015 deadline was established before the Community Development Plans were completed. The Community Development Plans have taken some time. We have adopted four, and we have two more that are pending completion. And the General Plan update really should not be initiated before those Community Development Plans are complete. Another 2 EXHIBIT D