2019-03-07 Hearing Transcript - Wailani Development, LLC Amend REZ 10-117

Home

Let's see here. The Planning Director is also recommending deleting Condition S which relates to providing connectivity, vehicular connectivity between the Wailani Project District and the adjacent subdivisions to the north. The subdivisions are currently served by County roadways. They're not private roadways. So, in order to enhance connectivity in the area, we would like to delete that condition. Condition S currently limits access between Wailani and the adjacent subdivisions to emergency access only. The reason for wanting to remove this condition is because it is counter to the standard planning practice of providing connectivityI already mentioned that. Particularly, since the roads within the subdivisions to the north are County roadways. I'm repeating myself. They can be widened to accommodate additional traffic. The Subdivision Code allows for relief from connecting local streets if there are topographical constraints, and there are some topographic constraints around Pu`u Honu. As I mentioned, it needs to be preserved, so any roadways, existing roadways, near the Pu`u would not be connected through to Wailani. Connecting multiple roadways would also help disperse traffic through the subdivisions rather than loading all the traffic onto one roadway. So, these are the Director's recommendations for, reasons for his unfavorable recommendation for Condition P, and just as a reminder, Condition P was to modify some of the roadway improvements for Pohahawai Street Extension. It was to remove the curb, gutter, and sidewalk requirement on that roadway. So, the primary purpose of the project district zoning is to provide a comprehensive transportation network to serve the development and surrounding area. The Director is not supportive of deferring construction of sections of the street extension by individual developers. When the project district zoning was originally granted in 2010, the basis for supporting that zoning was that it would facilitate the completion of the Ponahawai Street Extension. The Director is concerned that after the initial phase of development, after the initial phase associated with the 200 water units, then the project may stall for several years until additional water and wastewater capacity is increased. This could mean that the street extension may not be built for several years or decades. And, then the Director also does not agree that requiring the Applicant to construct the extension with curb, gutters, and sidewalks is in excess of the impacts of the development. This is a 172 - acre property where—we're talking about 700 housing units potentially and hundreds of thousands of square feet of commercial development. A few more reasons. The extension is identified as a proposed roadway in the General Plan as a secondary arterial, which requires 80 -foot right-of-way minimum to provide connectivity between the Kaumana community and Downtown Hilo. So, as a compromise, in the goldenrod Recommendation that the Director provided to you, Public Works agreed to this compromise as well. Basically, it would require the developer to construct the Ponahawai Street Extension out with pavement to 80 -feet to the full extent of the right-of-way that would allow travel lanes, paved swales and shoulders so people could walk along there, similar to the Mohouli Street Extension. EXHIBIT C 6