2016-03-03 Hearing Transcript - Milo Street Ventures SLU 15-045 REZ 15-197

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HEAUKULANI: Will the Applicant or their representative please come forward? Good morning, sir. NISHIMURA: Good morning. HEAUKULANI: Could I get you to raise your right hand, please? Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Planning Commission? NISHIMURA: Yes, I do. HEAUKULANI: Thank you. Please state your name, the area you reside in, and then you can let us know what’s on your mind. NISHIMURA: Brian Nishimura. I reside at 1174 Awiki Place in Hilo. HEAUKULANI: Good morning, sir. NISHIMURA: Good morning. We’d like to thank the Planning Department for their favorable recommendation. We appreciate that very much. The Applicant has reviewed the proposed conditions and is able to comply with all of them except for the proposed Condition G which requires, or it’s a roadway condition requiring paved shoulders and swale improvements consisting but not limited to pavement widening with paved shoulder and swale improvements, drainage improvements, and required utility relocation. We believe that this condition should not be imposed for the following reasons. Number one, this section of Milo Street serving the subject property is in very good condition. Along the subject property’s frontage, the pavement width ranges from 32 feet to 24 feet wide. This pavement width is comparable to pavement widths serving other industrial properties including the Kanoelehua Industrial Area here in Hilo. The Applicant is not proposing any new use at this time. The anthurium packing facility will continue to operate as it has for the past 25 years. When the facility was first opened in 1991, Milo Street was a gravel road, so it has been vastly improved over the years, and as I indicated, is now a minimum of 24-foot wide pavement within a 40-foot right-of-way. The draft ordinance states that the conditions are necessary to fulfill needs directly emanating from the land use proposed and also to prevent circumstances which may be adverse to public health, safety, and welfare. The anthurium packing facility has not caused any public health, safety, or welfare issues during the years of operation. The major asset on the property is a 17,000-square foot warehouse structure. Any new use of the property is likely to have less impact then the existing operation which has 26 employees working six days a week and generating approximately 35 trips per day. The private, paved section of Milo Street is only approximately 2,000 feet long, serving five parcels along Milo Street. There is a gate at the end of the paved section, and that controls 4 EXHIBIT A