2016-07-21 Leeward Exh B (Amend SMA 05-007)

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SHIMAOKA: I’ve got one. I just have a concern because I’ve lived here for several years and understand the traffic on Ali‘i Drive, and probably this is going to be to our Director here. Has there any study been made as far as just kind of like periodically checking the traffic and just the hazards or the amount of traffic that is going to cause time constrains or safety? Is the County involved in any kind of ongoing, because, I know because of the parkway not being built, I mean, I agree with the, it would be good to have a four-lane so that we can at least have more safe conditions on Ali‘i Drive. Because driving, especially during Ironman, yeah, I remember that, I was a police officer, that was really a nightmare, yeah, Ali‘i Drive, so. BRILHANTE: Thank you, Commissioner Shimaoka. I think I’m going to allow the Director to give information as it relates to there’s been any updated traffic studies, but again, I just want to reiterate this is a 19-unit project, you know, that the project was fully vetted in 2006 when the application first came forward. This is an SMA application. The basis of SMA application is the impacts of the project as it relates to the ocean and the coastline and the shoreline. The items with, related to a TIAR or traffic study would be more analogous to under requirements for Environmental Assessment or Impact Statement, and those items were vetted, you know, upon the submission of the original application as well. But, you know, that being said, I’ll allow the Director to provide any additional information as to whether or not there are any update reports to those traffic analysis. KANUHA: Thank you, Members of the Commission. Duane Kanuha, Planning Director. Over the years there have been projects that have been entitled for zoning changes, and in this area primarily most of the properties that are entitled for future development also happen to be situated within the Special Management Area, okay, this SMA area. The particular focus of the Special Management Area is to take a look at development as it relates to coastal impacts, impacts to the shoreline area, impacts to the coastal area. Special Management Area, it’s a component of the State Coastal Zone Management Act. That being said, every project, most projects that come in, particularly for entitlements for rezonings, are either required to or voluntarily participating doing what they call a Traffic Impact Analysis Report, TIAR. That report assesses the traffic impacts of that particular project on a local basis, okay, how the turning movements into and out of the project affect major roadways in the vicinity, okay. So on a case-by-case basis, the analysis for those traffic impact, analysis reports, is actually done by the Department of Public Works, Engineering Division, okay. So we depend on their review of those reports on a case-by-case basis and hopefully an accumulative basis, to give us some gauge of what the impacts are on the surrounding areas. In this particular section of Kona between Kailua and Keauhou much of the planning that has been done in that area and as it relates to traffic impacts, have been contingent upon the completion of the Ali‘i Drive realignment project. That’s been the case for maybe 35, 40, 50 years, all right? However, in the past as various County administrations have moved to implement that particular project, what it’s come down to is that there is enough significant archaeological features, cultural features, within the right-of-way that to my knowledge they have not been able to find a way to mitigate those or to adjust the realignment to account for that. That’s been the reason that the project has been stalled. In anticipation of that being the case, many projects who were entitled to the zoning process, were also required, whose properties bisected the right-of-way, were also required to donate that portion of their property to the 9 EXHIBIT B