2017-01-10 Kailua Village Design Commission Minutes

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Mr. Dunlap displayed site photographs to familiarize the Commissioners with the subject property and the current condition of the site, and described the proposal. He noted absence of landscaping, and referred the Commissioners to landscape guidelines and requirements under the Master Plan for Kailua-Kona, the Zoning Code and the Planning Department Rules. He suggested the following two options for the Commissioners’ consideration: 1) Allow the fence at the proposed location, namely, on the property line up against the sidewalk, have it painted black with no slats, and have inside the fence landscaped; or 2) have the fence set back ten feet from the property line, with that strip landscaped. The applicant, Riley Smith, introduced himself as president of Lanihau Properties, LLC (“Lanihau”). He gave the history of the property, and mentioned that Lanihau had expected the property to be returned from the County of Hawai‘i seven years ago, but that that only had happened three months ago. He said that the former County sewage pump station on the subject parcel was currently no use to anybody, including to Lanihau, and that the property had become a place where the homeless congregate and sleep. He said that he had been working with Officer Fontes of the Police Department, who was authorized by Lanihau to evict the homeless from the property, but that unless there was a security guard throughout the night, vagrants would continue to camp there and harass residents and visitors. He explained that placing the fence along the sidewalk would prevent vagrants from using the fence as a lean-to for their tents, and if they still did, that would enable the police to evict them, as they would be on the public right-of-way. He further stated that the proposal was an interim solution to the problem about which he was receiving calls from various entities every day, and that Lanihau’s plan was to eventually demolish the structure and redevelop the property. In response to the Commissioners’ questions, Mr. Smith said that the abandoned structure housed underground pumps and a sewage wet well, and that it had never been broken in. The Commissioners asked about the future use of the property. Mr. Smith stated that the interim period could be anywhere between six months to a few years, and that parking requirements for commercial uses would reduce the usable area of this 2,248-square foot parcel, which would be too small for most businesses. He added that a logical option would be for the adjacent Kamehameha Square Mall to put it to use. In response to Chair Dahlberg’s suggestion to build a police sub-station, Mr. Smith said that that would still require parking and a restroom facility, but that he would be happy to talk to the police chief. Commissioner Andreae, commenting that any so-called temporary features seemed to have the tendency to become permanent, suggested that the property be given to the Kamehameha Square Mall for their use. Mr. Smith responded that the property was still an asset to Lanihau, and that because their plan for the property would be market-driven, he could not say what that was at the moment. With respect to the proposed fence, Mr. Dunlap suggested that instead of green vertical slats the fence be painted black and some landscaping be done inside the fence. Mr. Smith opined that that option, although doable, would be unsightly, and explained that the reason for the proposed design with slats was to match the addition with the existing fence. Commissioner Roth commented that see-through fencing might be beneficial to the police for their patrolling purposes. Messrs. Childs and Dunlap suggested false posts of a different material to soften the chain link fence appearance. Mr. Smith responded that since false posts could not be used for the swinging gates, only a few false posts would not make much of a difference to the overall appearance. Other suggestions from the Commissioners included fence made of other materials, wrought iron fence, shade cloth in lieu of 2