HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN PC 2022/10/05 2020-2022 Committee on Planning
31st Session
Hawaii County Building
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, Hawai i
October 5, 2022
CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Planning was called to order at
ORDER: 10:30 a.m., in the Council Chambers, Hilo, by Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Chair.
ROLL CALL:
Present: Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Chair
Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Vice Chair
Mr. Aaron S. Y. Chung, Member
Ms. Maile Medeiros David, Member
Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Member
Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Member
Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Member
Ms. Susan L. K. Lee Loy, Member
Absent& Excused: Mr. Herbert M. "Tim" Richards, III, Member
STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business,
FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items.
PUBLIC ON
AGENDA ITEMS: The following individuals registered to speak and came forward when
called by the Chair:
Dwight Vicente: Bill 207 (Comm. 973), comment.
Sarah Anderson: Bill 207 (Comm. 973), comment.
David Anderson: Bill 207 (Comm. 973), comment.
Richard Bidleman: Bill 207 (Comm. 973), comment.
CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Mr. Clerk, if we could please start with the top of the
agenda, Bills for Ordinances?
PC-31 October 5,2022
BILLS FOR The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business,
ORDINANCES: Bills for Ordinances.
Bill 207: AMENDS SECTION 25-8-15 (HAMAKUA DISTRICT ZONE MAP),
ARTICLE 8, CHAPTER 25 (ZONING) OF THE HAWAII COUNTY CODE
1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), BY CHANGING THE DISTRICT
CLASSIFICATION FROM SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL— 10,000 SQUARE
FEET (RS-10) TO SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL— 15,000 SQUARE FEET
(RS-15) AT HONOKA`A, HAMAKUA, HAWAII, COVERED BY
TAX MAP KEYS: 4-5-010:136 and 4-5-024:010
(Applicant: Lehua Village Partners, LLC) (Area: Approx. 14.322 acres)
The Windward Planning Commission forwards its favorable recommendation for
this change of zone request, which would allow the applicant to downzone the
property to develop a Planned Unit Development by reducing the number of lots
in the Lehua Villages from 60 to 40 lots. Lehua Village 1 would consist of 20 lots
to be sold at rates pursuant to affordable housing guidelines, and Lehua Village 2
would consist of 20 lots to be sold at market rates. The properties straddle the east
and west sides of Lehua Street, north(makai) of the Hawaii Belt Road and south
(mauka) of the Honoka`a Park complex, portion of Papa`anui and Haina in Hamakua.
Reference: Comm. 973
Intr. by: Ms. Kierkiewicz (B/R)
and
Comm. 973.1 From Planning Director Zendo Kern, dated August 26, 2022,transmitting the
transcripts from the Windward Planning Commission's August 4, 2022, meeting.
; and
Comm. 973.2 From Planning Director Zendo Kern, dated August 30, 2022,transmitting the
Windward Planning Commission's letter to the applicant, dated August 17, 2022,
approving the PUD (Planned Unit Development)permit with listed conditions.
Motion to Approve: Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder moved to recommend passage
of Bill 207 on first reading. Seconded by Ms. David.
CHR KIERKIEWICZ: If I could just note for the record who is here
representing the applicant. We have the applicants, Roger and Terri Meeker;
Jack Larsen, and their representatives, Sidney Fuke and Daryn Arai. Folks, please
come forward. And also noting that we have the Planning Director Zendo Kern
here, should my colleagues have any questions. Sid, if you could just introduce
yourself for the record and provide my colleagues with an overview of the request
we are reviewing today, thank you.
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(Note: At this time, Planning Consultant Sidney Fuke and Applicants
Roger and Terri Meeker came forward to address the members of the
Committee.)
MR. FUKE: Good morning, Madam Chair and members of this Committee. My
name is Sidney Fuke, Planning Consultant assisting the applicant on this project.
This is going to be a team presentation, so I'm going to kind of introduce all. My
role is essentially to provide some historical context of why they're doing this
project. And then Mr. Meeker and his wife Terrilee Keli`i Meeker will be talking
about why they're doing the project.
And the other hard part of the equation that's going to be addressed is going to be
Daryn Arai. He's going to answer all of the questions that you may have, as well
as maybe the comments that have been made, you know, on this application to
date.
Mr. Meeker's other partner is sitting in the back, Jack Larsen, but I don't know if
he's going to come up. But anyway, that's the so-called, you know, the
presentation show.
So in terms of like, I thought it'd best to provide some historical contest in terms
of why they're doing this project. For those of you who remember and probably
none of you do. In 1971, was the announced closing of Kohala Sugar, and that
really spelt the beginning of the end of the sugar industry, the plantation way of
life. Kohala Sugar was owned by Castle and Cooke, single owner.
Then the strategy was, maybe among, you know, some of the other plantations,
"Maybe we ought to consolidate our operations. And in so doing, we can achieve
economies of scale." So then you had like, you know, a lot of the plantation
along the Hamakua Coast. You know, basically, Honomu, Hakalau, Pepe'ekeo,
Wainaku. They eventually formed Maunakea, and that's in 1973.
And then, you look at Ka`u. They consolidated Hutchingson, which was in
Honu`apo and Pahala. And they formed like Ka`u. And they were all single
owner. They were owned by Brewer. Likewise with lot of the properties over in
the North Hilo area. They were owned by Brewer as well.
Amfac owned the Kea`au Puna Sugar Company, but they were kind of like the
last man standing in terms of the single-owner/single-operator. And finally, they
shuttered their doors, and I believe it was 1991.
Now you have like Honoka`a, Hamakua Sugar. It's owned also by Davies, one of
those Big Five. The only Big Five that we didn't have like on this island was
Alexander and Baldwin. So the remaining four Big Fives, they were all over
here. They all had sugar activities.
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So there you have like in Honoka`a, owned by Theo Davies. They were single
operator but they were supported a lot by private growers in that area. So how
else you're going to achieve the so-called the desired economies of scale? But to
do something, too. If the sugar industry was going to die, to kind of perpetuate
them and assure that the lands were still going to be made available for sugar,
they've got to be able to get assurance from these large private landowners to say,
like, "Okay, I'll keep my land and sugar." But many of them elected not to do so.
So Davies had this plan, and at that time, this guy named Francis "Frannie"
Morgan. Bless his soul, a great man, he passed away. So, he was an executive of
Davies, and also the General Manager of Hamakua Sugar Company. So came up
with this plan to say like, "Maybe we ought to set aside some lands and provide
some land exchange." We'll provide lands that are within the core of the
Honoka`a area. And that way they would relinquish properties in areas like
Mauka Pa`auilo and all those places. And so, they said, "Fine, you know, we'll
do that."
So in 1978, this is Davies, they applied for a zone change and then they secured
the zoning of 114 acres of land. And the land essentially stretches from where
Tex's Drive In is, both mauka and makai of the property, and extends all the way
north towards Plumeria Street. If you just draw a line up, you know, mauka of
Plumeria Street and also below near where the hospital currently is. So that was
about 114 acres.
So, then Davies decided to pull out. Frannie Morgan did whatever he did, so he
acquired the plantation. And to his, you know,to the benefit of a lot of the people
living in the Hamakua area, he was able to keep the operation active until 1994.
So them and Hilo Coast Processing were really like the two last persons standing
in terms of the sugar industry. After 1994, they were all done.
So, along the way since 1978, you know, you had this land exchange. Parcels
were sold to different people. Mr. Texeira, for example, bought that area where
we all know as Tex's Drive In. That was all part of the zone change area. You
had Hagiwara develop a number of subdivisions on the mauka side; you also have
properties adjacent to Plumeria Street. You know, and so, you can see a whole lot
of activities over there. Then, there was only a few parcels that remained
undeveloped.
I'm sorry, one important fact. So in conjunction with the zoning, they also had an
affordable housing requirement. So what Davies and Hamakua Sugar did at that
time was dedicate 14 or 15 acres of land near the hospital to the Hawaii Public
Housing Authority, and that satisfied their affordable housing obligation for the
entire area, including the properties that you're currently considering right now.
So that kind of provides the historical background, you know, to this whole
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application. So now I've got to turn it over to Roger, because now you have like,
you know, essentially 14 acres of land. Two parcels that they own. They own
another parcel, but two parcels of land near Tex's Drive, near the school, near the
hospital, and the question is like, what do they want to do with the property?
Obviously, based on the existing RS-10 (Single-Family Residential) zoning, the
property could yield, you know, 60 lots. But the question, however, is like
whether that's what they wanted to do.
Before turning it over to Roger, I had this note and I completely forgot it. I got so
involved in this historical stuff. But, I forgot to acknowledge that, like Council
Member Kimball, she did a lot in terms of organizing meetings between the
applicant and the community side. I'd like to express our appreciation. So having
said that now, let me turn it over to Mr. Meeker, and then he can describe to you
why they're doing what they're doing. Okay, Rog.
MR. MEEKER: Madam Chair and Committee Members, thank you for
considering our application. I first want to this is my wife, Terri, and she just
wanted to speak for a moment or two and kind of—it's self-explanatory.
MS. MEEKER: Aloha kakou. Thank you, I'm thrilled to be here today. My
name is Terrilee Kahealani Keli`i Meeker. I was born and raised in Hilo. I am
proud to be a Native Hawaiian. The reason why I'm speaking today is, I bought
my first home in Waimea through the Affordable Housing Act that you folks had.
There were 17 homes that were built there, and I was fortunate enough to get one
of them and raise my daughter there in Waimea. And then I met Roger and
several years later, my sister was able to do self-help housing where on the
weekends they built their home across from the egg farm and Lalamilo Farm Lots.
I truly believe in this project. I hope you folks open your hearts and help us get
there, because there's a lot of people, local and new people coming, that really
need affordable housing or some way to own their own home. I was thrilled to be
a first-time homeowner. You know, raise my daughter in that home, and I'm so
proud of Roger and Jack for having this project. Thank you.
MR. MEEKER: Thanks Terri. Yeah, everybody in this room knows that Issue
Number One in Hawaii is housing, and housing that is affordable in particular.
My background is, I've been in Hawaii pretty much since I got out of college.
I've been on the Big Island for over 30 years. My partner Jack moved here in the
80's. He's a full-time realtor and has been very active in that market for, you
know, three decades or more. So we know the area really well. We're very
aware of the housing issues and the lack of product. Honoka`a in particular, has
been constrained since the 90's because there's been a water moratorium in place
there. So really nothing has been added to the inventory.
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So, our particular project as you've seen, I'm sure you have the map in front of
you. You know, it's classic infill, it's right in the heart of town, walking distance
to the school and hospitals. It's consistent with the land use objectives of the
General Plan and the Community Development Plan. It has appropriate
infrastructure.
We actually deeded another one-acre site to the Water Department so that they
could put a reservoir site. They wanted a reservoir site at that particular elevation
because that would be able to expand and probably double, give-or-take, the water
availability in Honoka`a. They've already dug the well up the top of H61ualoa.
They've built a transmission line down to the highway, down to where our
property is. And so, as soon as that reservoir gets built by the Board of Water
Supply, that will be a real game-changer for Honoka`a. But we do have water
commitments.
As mentioned, our project is 40 units. Twenty units on each of two seven-acre
parcels. We're downzoning it actually from RS-10 to RS-15. So lower the
density and make sure that the density stays lower. One of the reasons for that too
is makes it—you could actually put 31 units on each of these with the allowable
zoning, but the infrastructure costs and with some topography challenges, that
would make it harder to make these more affordable. So, it made more sense to
scale it back down.
We are dedicating half of the units to comply with the affordable housing pricing
guidelines. So as Sid mentioned, the property's already satisfied its affordable
housing component, but we think we can do this and we'd really like to. There's
a need and we'd like to address it.
After assuming that we get our approvals, we'll enter into agreement with the
Office of Housing. That will lay out all the details and that sort of thing. I think,
Daryn is probably going to get into it somewhat. We've designed this as a
Planned-Unit Development(PUD), because it gives, as you guys are well aware,
it gives you a little more flexibility in design and layout and you can work with
the topography. Private roads maintained by the association, things like this.
So, we think these will be nice little individual communities. Part of what we've
done is, you may see in there, because I know issues have been raised about
pedestrians on Lehua. We have incorporated two pedestrian pathways within
each of the two villages that would take people, kids especially, directly to the
Honoka`a Park. You know, on a very short direct path, as opposed to having to
walk out and around in a circular route around Lehua Street. So that would, you
know, it's not just kids, it could be anybody. But so we tried to incorporate that
into the design. When we open to questions obviously, I'm sure you'll have
some, so I'll defer to Daryn.
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MR. FUKE: But anyway, so I think he provided a brief overview as far as what
they want to do. And Daryn (Arai) was going to specifically address issues
relating to the PUD (Planned-Unit Development) and the road condition; water
and so on and so forth. But, in as much as he's already touched upon that, you
know, we'd be more than happy to respond to questions. And Mr. Arai, you can
come to the chair.
(Note: At this time, Planning Consultant Daryn Arai came forward to
address the members of the Committee.)
MR. ARAI: Good morning, Chair Kierkiewicz and Members of the Committee,
my name is Daryn Arai, assisting Roger and Jack. And I reside in Hilo.
Throughout this process that started with the Planning Department, then went to
the Windward Planning Commission and now resides before you. Concerns were
raised and you heard some of them today.
First is the adequacy of Lehua Street to accommodate the proposed project in a
safe manner, and we believe that it does. Lehua Street itself is a County-owned
and maintained roadway. You know, it can accommodate traffic generated by the
proposed project as well as provide even emergency vehicles can, you know,
transit along that roadway. Nothing about it has really been highlighted as being
unsafe from a vehicular standpoint. And that is founded by both Police
Department and the Department of Public Works, not highlighting any potential
safety concerns created by this proposed project, should it be approved.
The one-lane bridge located just mauka of this proposed subdivision, it by and of
itself cannot be, in our opinion, be deemed as unsafe. You have similar type of
one-lane bridges in Hilo at Kilauea as well as on Akolea Road in upper Kaumana,
as well as throughout Hamakua as well. You can view those one-lane bridges as
also a traffic-calming measure, when you really think about it. There's a lot more
vehicular movement through these existing one-lane bridges in Hilo and
throughout Hamakua. But then they by and of itself is not deemed unsafe.
It's kind of ironic when you think about it that, you know, Lehua Street has the
minimum pavement width that meets code as far as the travel lanes. You can
make it straight. You can make it wide, which occurs with a lot of roads
throughout Hilo in the more urban areas. But it's kind of ironic that when you do
so then all of a sudden you start seeing speed humps being installed, right? So
again, we just wanted to emphasize that the one-lane bride by and of itself does
not necessarily make Lehua Street unsafe and incapable of supporting the
proposed development.
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Should this change of zone request be approved, and as you well know, fair share
contributions must be made by the developer. And that would equate to
approximately $134,000 that can be used to provide road improvements to area
roadways. And we hope that such improvements can occur in Lehua, as the
Department of Public Works sees fit.
And finally, Condition E within the proposed ordinance, does require that the
subdivision roadway access onto Lehua Street must meet all of their requirements,
including the provision of adequate site distance.
Another concern that was raised during the proceedings, was drainage. And there
was one testimony that highlighted a floodway. There is no FEMA (Federal
Emergency Management Agency) designated floodway that affects this property.
There is a drainage-way off to the west side of the project site, but it is a
drainage-way, not a FEMA floodway. And as you well know, during the
subdivision process, the applicant is obligated to comply with the Department of
Public Works requirements regarding erosion and sedimentation control. It won't
have a dilatory effect, is what I'm trying to say, upon the drainage-way located
adjacent to the project site.
Another concern that was brought up was view planes or the protection of view
planes. The Planned Unit Development permit that was approved by the
Windward Planning Commission in just this past August does include a specific
condition obligating Lehua Villages to incorporate those view plane
considerations, or the protection of view plane considerations within the CC&R's
(Covenants, Conditions, and Restrictions) that will be developed as part of this
subdivision. So, we hope to address those view plane concerns by incorporating
those mitigation measures within the CC&R's.
So, that was basically touching upon some of the concerns that were addressed
and how this project can ameliorate those concerns as well as not contribute
additional impacts to those concerns. I wanted to touch very briefly upon the
PUD, the Planned Unit Development permit that was issued by the Windward
Planning Commission in August. It is tied to this change of zone request,
meaning that if the change of zone request is approved, then the PUD goes into
effect. If it's denied, the PUD goes away.
Zoning by and of itself is a one-size-fits-all regulatory device. And as you know,
not all properties throughout the County is square and not all of it is flat. This
property has very unique topographical and dimensional constraints, which is why
it took so many months of Roger and Jack working with their designer to really
optimize the design of this subdivision in a way that best accommodates the
landform as it currently sits.
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The PUD addresses those things that are not really exciting in the world of
land-use planning. It deals with things like setbacks, height, lot configuration,
roadway design, your corner radiuses. All of those things, and that's what the
PUD, as approved, provides. It provides certain limited exceptions to these
regulations in order to optimize the design of the proposed subdivision.
One thing I should note,that Roger and Jack never made an ask for an exception
for things like height. They're going to comply with the maximum height
requirements in the Zoning Code. So that should provide some reassurance that
view planes also will be managed well during the development of this project. So
hopefully, I stand ready to answer, and the rest of the team stands ready to answer
any questions that you may have.
CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thanks folks, really appreciate the overview and the
details. Going to open it up to my colleagues for questions or comments. Council
Member Kimball.
MS. KIMBALL: I'll start since it's in my district, and I know my colleagues
often like to hear from the Council Member for the district. I first want to
acknowledge that the applicant and the representatives did go above and beyond
what is required for public communication. So,this isn't like a 201H where a
public meeting is required, but they did, on my advice, meet with the Action
Committee for Hamakua and present the project to them. And then they also held
an open community meeting at the Honoka`a People's Theatre.
And just want to really appreciate that you took that extra step and you were
willing to do that, because I think it yielded some modifications to the design, like
the walking path that was mentioned. You know, the concerns that have been
brought up by some of the testifiers and some of the letters that were received,
you know, they're legitimate concerns about the you know, we have 40 more
lots; two cars per lot, you know, you're going to have more traffic concerns about
pedestrian safety. It's certainly important, so you know, the accommodation by
putting a walking path through the development so that the kids can get safely to
school and things like that, I really appreciate.
So generally speaking, in support of the project, there is a need for affordable
housing in the area. It is infill. It matches the CDP, the Community Development
Plan, and the land-use boundaries. It is also a down-zone, which is, they're going
to be able to put in fewer lots. And part of that is because, I don't know, Sid
made it clear in his history of Hawaii—thank you, Sid, that this particular parcel
is under an ordinance from 1978 that applied to all the parcels in the area. And
so,there are conditions that apply to all of the parcels in the area that makes sense
to all of the parcels in the area. But not necessarily when you're just talking about
this one here, and they're one of the last ones to get subdivided.
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So, you know, it's going to be a tricky property. You know, some of the concerns
that were raised were about drainage and the potential erosion and stuff like that.
A lot of that is going to actually be on the homeowners or the builders ultimately
when they go in for building permits. They're going to have to ameliorate some
of those potential problems. I think some of these lots are going to be very
difficult to sell just because of the topography is really weird, and I do hope you
folks, if you're up that way just drive down Lehua and you can see. It's going to
be a beautiful area, but there are going to be some tricky parcels.
I was looking through here. I thought we had a letter from Chief Todd regarding
the cul-de-sacs, because that is another concern that was raised by some of the
testimony—is it missing in there? I do think we have some comment on that from
the Fire Department. That was another concern that was raised.
The final point that I want to share with you folks and have you consider with
respect to this, is you know, with this subdivision there was made mention of a
parcel that, I believe the affordable housing parcel, is it under State and County?
Do we own it jointly? HHA (Hawai`i Housing Authority), yeah. So there is this
affordable housing parcel that hopefully at some point, will also get developed.
We do have the school there, the hospital. Lehua unlike some of the other
subdivision roads in the area does go through from Tex's Drive-Inn area all the
way to Plumeria. So there's probably some mitigation that we as a County are
going to have to do at some point on the road.
So you know, it's going to take a little while for this project to be built out, but
you know, I think what needs to be considered is, who bears the responsibility for
that infrastructure development. Mr. Bidleman mentioned that that's critical to
moving forward, as did some of our on-line testifiers that do support the project.
But, we have a roadway that is probably going to require some work. There are
parts of it that's very steep; there are parts of it that have a little gulch. So, we're
not going to be able to do curb-gutter-sidewalk like a typical roadway, but I think
there's possibility for some additional walking paths to continue to ensure that
safety and usage.
So I'm happy to answer any questions about my statements here, but again,
generally supportive of the project. Just, we're going to have to come back to this
and provide some funding for infrastructure, I think at some point. Thank you, I
yield.
CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Ms. Kimball. Council Member Lee Loy.
MS. LEE LOY: Thank you, Chair. I'm glad the representative from the district
went first, because I think, you know, we tend to give courtesies to the
representative from the district. And so, like her, supportive of the project.
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But I also wanted to reflect on Roger's wife's testimony about her first home,
right, and what she truly touched upon was this idea of generational wealth.
We're really facing a crisis. It's not an affordable housing crisis. It is a
generational wealth issue. The pandemic has set our families so far back, whether
it's earning income or education. And the ability to own an asset like a home will
become a great equalizer,just like education. And so, when we start looking at
projects, I know some of the thought process that I'm providing now is how much
of that can really begin to equalize not just local housing, but closing the gap on
generational wealth. And it's around that premise that I can support this project.
I also appreciated the work that the community provided. Actually, it's rare
where we get communities saying, "Yes, in my back yard." And that's what I
heard today. However, we will need to address Lehua Street, and it's going to be
collective, right? I'm looking at the maps and some of the other zoning that's
going on in the area along with that affordable housing project that's, you know,
going to come online. I think it's going to take a collective of all the property
owners in that area to contribute in some form, which we know is being done
through our fair share contributions.
I do like the walkable paths. I think that is a trend, and maybe some of the
mitigative measures that can be realized for Lehua Street is some of our mass
transit and connecting some of that walking paths to areas in which we can locate
or co-locate some of these mass transit and other services that takes so much of
that individual cars off of Lehua Street into areas where everyone can either walk
or find other ways to a single location for mass transit.
That's where I stand with this. I'll listen to the rest of my colleagues, but I think
this body really needs to start looking at not affordable housing, but what we're
doing for our community to close that generational wealth gap that comes in just
very minimal options. It's education and housing. So with that,thank you
gentlemen for being here.
I've got to take a minute to reflect on the history of this, and say that although,
you know, a lot of this started long before many of us were born. I really
appreciated the stories, because actually my uncle worked for Puna Sugar Amfac.
And actually at that time, that was the thought process of our sugar companies
that knew that they were going to be transitioning out of an economic opportunity.
And they began to set aside lands for their sugar workers.
And so for those of us who know of Kea`au Ag Lots right across Kamehameha
Schools. That was a set aside from Amfac. And that's how so many of the
workers who were losing their jobs in the sugar plantation stayed wealthy,
because they were assigned those lots to continue to provide for their family. So,
I really did appreciate that story behind some of the method to this madness, but
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also the realization that some of that takes 40, 50, and even 60 years for us to
realize. So, Chair, I yield.
CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Ms. Lee Loy. Anyone else? Council
Member Chung.
MR. CHUNG: You know, I wanted to thank Ms. Kimball for her thoughts, being
the representative, very instructive for me; also, appreciate the comments by
Ms. Lee Loy. Particularly appreciate the history lesson by Mr. Fuke. Very
interesting, yeah, because many of us weren't, you know, old enough to know
about those things. You know, if you guys have a chance, I would really urge you
guys to try to pick Sidney's brain about other historical things. Particularly as
they relate to the Puna area where you didn't have sugar, and the reasons why you
have the subdivisions, you know, that are now well, have changed the
complexion of our Big Island.
And it's only what is written like in land and power in Hawaii kind of stuff, but
it's like a different perspective as to why, you know, there were different things
going on, nationwide at that time. And very interesting, but thank you, Sid. You
and Daryn make a wonderful team, I've got to say that. So much information,
and Roger, you too. All you guys provided, you know, as a team provided so
much information for me. It answered all my questions. So, thank you. I just
wanted to make that comment.
CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Mr. Chung. Anyone else? Mr. Kaneali`i-
Kleinfelder.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Chair. Thank you for the
comments so far, Council Members, and for being here today representing the
project. I'm looking over the ordinance, and I'm looking at the Planning
Commission notes as well as, you know,the project presentation. This is
referenced as a PUD, a Planned-Unit Development, correct?
MR. ARAI: Yes.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And the first one ever done since
implemented, says 2015?
CHR KIERKIEWICZ: There was a code change in 2015 that took the discretion
to make that approval from the Planning Director and gave that kuleana to the
Planning Commission.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Correct, but in the notes, this is the first
PUD that'll be heard by the Planning Commission since the code change in 2015,
right? Okay. Try explaining Planned Unit Development?
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MR. ARAI: As I mentioned, it is a series of exceptions that the Planning
Commissions can consider, as long at those exceptions do remain true to the
intent and purpose of things like the General Plan, the Community Development
Plans, the Zoning Code regulations, and the Subdivision Code regulations.
Throughout those plans you have policy statements and courses of action.
Throughout the Code you have things like purpose statements. So that isit does
allow for exceptions, but basically, the Director cannot go outside of that
sandbox.
I think it was mentioned, the Fire access at the end of the cul-de-sac. The
Director can provide exceptions as long as—because the Code is pretty,
sometimes one-dimensional; it's hard-fast, it has to be this. If the applicant can
demonstrate alternative standards, then the Director and in this case, the
Windward Planning Commission has the opportunity to consider those
exceptions.
And I should note, in direct response to your questions, about Fire, that there is a
condition in the PUD that requires the plans to be submitted to the Fire
Department, and they have that opportunity to review, to make sure that the
configuration will work for them.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And have they? I think there was a question
that Ms. Kimball alluded to, but hasn't been submitted. Have you submitted it to
the Fire Department?
MR. ARAI: The conceptual plans were submitted, but because these are
conceptual, it hasn't dived down to the real, real specifics. There was a concept
included in the PUD as an exhibit, but when they do the actual subdivision design,
it'll take into consider all the other things that when you take that deep dive,
which includes the topographical characteristics of the area.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay.
MR. FUKE: I can kind of amplify just a little bit to be specific. For example, on
the PUD, if the Subdivision Code would say your residential road rights-of-way
would have to be 50-feet wide, and maybe of topographic consideration, it's
found that like 40 feet would be sufficient. So that would be one of those. So you
would get like a relief from the minimum right-of-way width.
If the code requires for an RS-15 zoned property, as been proposed, all lots be
15,000 square feet, but to topographic or other reasons, you still keep the density,
but your lots could go down perhaps like 10,000 or 12,000 square feet as opposed
to, you know, 15,000 square feet.
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You have your minimum width of maybe 90 feet. Say for example, you know,
now your lots are going down to maybe 10,000 square feet. Then you need to get
relief from the minimum width requirement from 90 maybe perhaps down to 80
or 75. But all the while, you cannot compromise on the health and safety aspects
like Water requirements and Fire Access Code, so on and so forth.
So a lot of it is more like a design thing. So if you want to, for example, you
know, implement what is called the concept of Skinny Streets, then the route is
the PUD route. The regular Subdivision Code would not be able to address that.
So, you know,just to further amplify on the change, the transition from the
Planning Director to the Planning Commission on the PUD. I think all of you are
familiar with what generated that, and that was the Missler Decision. There was a
PUD granted by the Planning Director, and there was some issues, and ultimately
went up to court. And the court basically said, "No Planning Director, you're
wrong, you have to comply with the CDP," so on and so forth.
So after that,then there was a move to trying to change that authority from the
Planning Director to the Planning Commission and along the way, enable a
greater public participation process. Because normally if you have an
Administrative decision, then there's no public participation. So,just kind of
background.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you. Okay, now I'm looking over the
ordinance, are the exceptions that are being asked for in your project, in your
applicant request, are those still on the table?
MR. FUKE: No,the exceptions were all considered. Design exceptions were all
considered in conjunction with the PUD application by the Windward Planning
Commission.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And the Windward Planning Commission
was favorable to the recommendations?
MR. FUKE: Correct, yes.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: So all the exceptions that were asked for are
being granted by the Planning Commission?
MR. FUKE: Correct, yes.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: This is inclusive within us, if this ordinance
were to pass, all the exceptions that are being asked for would go along with the
ordinance?
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MR. FUKE: That's correct.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. I yield for now, Chair.
CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Anyone else? Council Member Inaba.
MR. INABA: Thank you. Just clarification on affordable housing, you said that
the requirement was already met. Is that correct?
MR. FUKE: Yes, through the dedication of 14 or 15 acres of land to the Hawaii
Housing Authority at that time, the affordable housing obligation for this property
and the balance of the 114-acre zoned area was fulfilled.
MR. INABA: Okay.
MR. FUKE: It's over and beyond that, that's why you'll notice like Condition M.
So over and beyond that, what the applicant has agreed to do is to provide
50 percent of the total 40 lots to be set aside for affordable housing.
MR. INABA: Okay, and do we know what AMI (Area Median Income)
percentage we're going to be selling those lots at? Is it lots or homes?
MR. FUKE: Lots.
MR. MEEKER: The affordable component of 20 lots will be what the code calls
finished lots.
MR. INABA: Perfect.
MR. MEEKER: All infrastructure installed. Ready to build.
MR. INABA: Okay. And we're going to be selling finished lots at—do we know
how we're going to be selling that, Sidney?
MR. FUKE: So for the project to qualify as an affordable housing unit, then one
credit, you would have to sell it at 80 percent of AMI. If he sells at 100 percent of
AMI, then he'll sell for only half-credit.
MR. MEEKER: These will all be at 80 or less.
MR. INABA: Eighty or less. Okay, thank you very much.
CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, anyone else? Council Member Kaneali`i-
Kleinfelder.
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MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you, Chair. Gentlemen,just run
through the exceptions that you're requesting. And I would preface this on the
comment at the very end of the request, that a lot of these requests, both the
down-zoning from RS-10 to RS-15 and the PUD will allow the applicant to
defray infrastructure costs associated with the typical subdivision build to ensure
that the lots will be offered at affordable housing rates, yeah? This is from your
paperwork. So give us some of the major exceptions that you're requesting.
MR. ARAI: One of the exceptions is the minimum lot size. The request is to
downzone to 15,000 square feet from its current 10,000 square feet minimum
size, but in order to address the site characteristics, the PUD will allow lots to be
as small as 10,000 square feet. And I think the largest lot is about 33,000 square
feet. So,that's one of the exceptions.
The other is that there's a code requirement that says, "A lot must have 50 percent
of its entire frontage along a street." But as you can see, due to the curves in the
road, there are times when it cannot achieve that 50-foot frontage. So that's an
exception where they can go below. And I think in this case it went down to
38 feet.
And another is, the width of the property, RS-15 requires 75 feet of minimum
width. They're asking for that to be reduced to 60. Let's see, what else?
Minimum yards, they're asking for an exception from the minimum 20-foot front
yard setback, reducing that to 15 feet. Part of that request was also to kind of
front-load, have the homes closer to the roadway and more pedestrian oriented
rather than, you know, further back into the lot.
There's a code section that says, "Every lot must have a direct frontage onto a
street." There's at least one lot that I recall, and it's near the very top adjacent to
the highway. They want to accomplish access to that by way of an easement
instead of pushing a whole road all the way up just to service that one lot.
Let's see, as Sidney mentioned, another exception is to reduce the actual
right-of-way from the minimum of 50 feet down to 40. Also, to allow acceptable
turnarounds at the end of the cul-de-sac, the Code requires that a cul-de-sac be at
least—if it's a circular cul-de-sac, it'll be at least 90 feet wide. They're asking for
an exception to maybe another type of turnaround, such as hammerheads.
And the Fire Department has some design consideration, and the applicant is
going to take a look at that and try to see if that could fit within the project as
well.
The code limits a cul-de-sac to no more than 600 feet in length, and servicing no
more than 18 lots. The applicant is asking for an exception to allow for a
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cul-de-sac with a maximum length of 1,000 feet servicing no more than 20 lots.
So, two more lots and 400 more feet in length.
Grades and Curves: the standards require vertical horizontal curves of at least
300 feet. The applicant is requesting that those curves be less than 300 feet.
However, they will meet AASHTO (American Association of State Highway and
Transportation Officials) Standards. And AASHTO Standards is a national
standard. It is prepared by engineers, and they're basically saying, these are some
reasonable exceptions that you can consider. But it is a nationally recognized
standard. And our code doesn't always defer to those standards. So the applicant
is just asking for that consideration.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, what does AASHTO stand for,just
for when they do the notes.
MR. ARAI: I was hoping you wouldn't ask me that.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: They always ask me, or they'll ask Ashley
what AASHTO stands for so they can put it in their notes.
MR. ARAI: I think it was, American Association of Safety and Highway
Transportation Officials, or something like that.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, thank you.
CHR KIERKIEWICZ: That is correct.
MR. ARAI: Oh, okay. I think I'm done for the day.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Good job, Daryn.
MR. ARAI: Right. And the final exceptions are that the applicant wanted to
depart from the standard street light and street signs that normally you see
throughout the island. He wanted something more customized and suitable for
this particular village.
And finally I think is right-of-way improvement. As I mentioned, we're going to
skinny it up from 50 to 40, but it'll also allow for the use of grass shoulders and
swales in lieu of pavement. I think I covered everything.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Thank you for going through those. I mean,
the reason I'm asking is, there's a lot of them.
MR. ARAI: Yes.
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MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. This project, as far as I can tell abuts
to a County park, a beautiful County park. I've been there and played soccer with
my children. But we are asking not to create access ways to and from that park to
the development. Is that true or not true?
MR. ARAI: I'm sorry, could you repeat that again?
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: You're abutting a County park, correct?
MR. ARAI: Correct. But it's across the street, makai of the project site.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: It is, but for the majority of most of the
property abuts County property, right?
MR. ARAI: There is an extension of Lehua Street at the very bottom, makai side
of the property. It is a right-of-way, but it is unimproved. It actually doesn't exist
on the ground. So I think there's an intervening County-owned right-of-way that
separates the project site from the actual park site itself.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay.
MR. FUKE: It's kind of like—if I can direct you to the last page of Bill 207?
That's the proposed zone change. And so, you see Lehua Street. Lehua Street
and the park. The park is, you know, where that says Lot 12, Ag-5a. That's the
park area. The subject parcel you can see. Then Lehua Street where people were
making comment about its adequacy or inadequacy, it's on the makai side. Well,
below the lower side of this map that you're looking at. The big Lehua Street you
see is actually undeveloped.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yeah, I can see that on the map. It's
interesting. Okay. In the road specs for the minor and cul-de-sac streets that's in
your request form, it calls out as part of the exceptions requested from
Subdivision Code, no bike lanes. But that road spec that you provided actually
shows bike lanes. This is on, I don't know what page, it doesn't have a page
number, I'm sorry. It's towards the end of applicant's requests, right before
reason for the request. I think this is showing actually a 50-foot lane. So there is
no bike lane, correct within the community?
MR. ARAI: There will be no bike lane provided.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: How do people walk around this community
then?
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MR. ARAI: Can either be on the grass shouldersI mean, that's the primary
intent. It's not a formal pedestrian pathway, like a paved sidewalk, but it's
walkable.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, so there's going to be a grass area
people can walk on?
MR. ARAI: Um-hmm. Sorry for interjecting, but that was part of the approach.
I mean, of providing this, also as a cul-de-sac. I mean, there is functional reason
behind it. But also a cul-de-sac, you know, it's not a through-road, right, where
you have through traffic. A cul-de-sac a lot of times does provide for, you know,
safer pedestrian accommodations even if it'swhether it's on the shoulders or
even on a portion of the travel-way.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay. Here's my thoughts. We have a
Subdivision Code to ensure that the things that happened in the past don't
continue to happen, and we make better planned communities. I'm looking at this
PUD process and ability to step away from some of those requirements, whether
for topographical reasons or other reasons, or cost reasons, whatever it might be.
But,they're there to make sure we make better communities down the line.
I'm concerned. There's a lot of requests for reducing what's required in
subdivisions to make this more affordable for affordable housing units; more
affordable for the developer, whatever the reasons might be. I'm concerned as we
step away from the Subdivision Code in the middle of asking forI'm sorry, I'm
pointing at the Director back there—going through a Zoning Code change and a
Subdivision Code change that we may be stepping away from the things that
we've learned from in the past. That's my concern.
MR. ARAI: I could share just our philosophy. I mean, the Planned-Unit
Development permit, it's not granted, or at least the exceptions are not granted in
isolation. It is a process. The application and all of the exceptions, as well as all
the exhibits demonstrating what the intentions are, our circulated to various
agencies, including Public Works for example. That is also, and I think the record
will show too,that it is the first PUD that was considered by the Windward
Planning Commission. And that was demonstrated by Docket being 2022-00001,
right?
But,they did consult with the Subdivision section within the Planning Department
who has reviewed and processed Director-issued PUD's in the past just to make
sure that the exceptions being requested is comfortable with the Planners who
review subdivisions day in and day out. And they found that the exceptions were
reasonable. And that was then expressed and incorporated within the Director's
favorable recommendation to the commission when this PUD application was
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presented. So none of the reviewing agencies expressed any concerns that the
requested deviations was really compromising public health safety and welfare.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, I'll ask my last question and then I'll
be done. Is it going to be private streets?
MR. ARAI: Private.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Maintained by?
MR. FUKE: The homeowners association.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Homeowners association. In perpetuity?
MR. FUKE: Yes.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, because these would not meet County
specs, correct? Okay.
MR. FUKE: Can I just kind of, I think that you raised a very good point about,
you know, in light of the pending discussion on the revision to the Zoning and the
Subdivision Code. I think that's very healthy.
From my experience, I think that, you know, here you have like the fundamentals
of the Zoning and the Subdivision Code, again going back to history. You know
where it was developed in 1967 and '68. And so, they've been kind of like
piecemeal. It's like the Tax Code. They've been kind of like piecemeal
amendments and all that.
And in the meantime, you know, you have the CDP's and people talking from a
Planning perspective. They say, we've got to talk about Skinny Streets, and you
know, so on and so forth. Well, the code doesn't address that.
So from my perspective, I think that some of these things which, you know,
you're going through the PUD process right now. I would not be surprised,
would be eventually incorporated in an updated Subdivision Code.
You know, for example, the City and County of Honolulu. You know, their
minimum right-of-ways, 38 and 40 feet for residential. Why does ours have to be
50 and 60 feet? I mean, you know, so same thing. You look at all of the water
variances. They routinely have been granting water variances. Pursuant because
the Subdivision Code says you have to meet the Water Department requirements.
And every variance that goes through is being regulated by a rule. Why should it
be regulated by a rule? It should be regulated by the ordinance.
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So, that's why I'm saying, I think it's high time that there is this kind of
discussion in terms of how we're going to update our Zoning and Subdivision
Code. And from my estimation, some of these things that's been proposed and
requested as a waiver to the PUD, I would not be surprised they eventually get
incorporated into the code.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: You did jog my memory there. The
Hamakua CDP was requesting more pedestrian access. Does this ordinance ?
MR. FUKE: This one here does provide like two pedestrian paths within the
project area directly onto Lehua Street.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And then what?
MR. FUKE: Go directly to the park area.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: To the park area to Lehua Street.
MR. FUKE: You know, there's two Lehua Streets. You have the undeveloped
portion, and then you have the developed portion. The roadway access comes in
from the developed portion of Lehua Street. The pedestrian access touches onto
that area adjacent to the park, the undeveloped Lehua Street.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Would people walking from the project to
the park have safe access alongside the roadway?
MR. FUKE: On that undeveloped Lehua Street? Well
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: And that will be my last question. Sorry to
give you guys grief.
MR. MEEKER: That's okay, I appreciate the questions. Can you see on the
layout, the two pedestrian paths? If you're on that path, you'll literally walk
across the street to the park. And same from this village, you'll literally walk
across the street to the park.
I kind of want to respond to what you were talking about with the exceptions.
The term "exceptions"raises to mind, you know, you're getting away with stuff.
You're getting out of things. But exceptions many times, and particularly in our
situation here, what exceptions from the code are providing is flexibility, okay.
In our case, one of the exceptions is minimum lot size, right? So instead of
15,000 square feet, the minimum lot size is 10 (10,000). But because of the
configuration, the topographical thing, the average lot sizes are still going to be
over 15,000 square feet, but some can be smaller and some can be bigger. I think
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as much as what, 30,000. And so it makes for a nice—you kind of get to
customize it based upon, you know,the property that you have.
Daryn mentioned that we have unique topographical and dimensional constraints.
I thought that was a great term. The constraints that we have are not so much in
the property. If you can get onto the property, there's some embankments on one
side and there's a drop off on the other side.
So that presented challenges to us and to our architect,the PUD designer, as to
how do we best provide the right access into each of these two seven-acre tracks
that allows us to put a roadway in that can access these lots, right? So that kind of
dictated where the private access roads would access, right? But once you get up
onto the properties, it's a very gentle slope, easily buildable. Most of the homes
will be single-story. It's not like the thing is like this and is going to be on
three-story stilts. It's a very gentle slope, very buildable.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Most of the homes will be single-story?
MR. MEEKER: Most of the homes will be single-story, and that will be provided
for with CC&R's. The lots that kind of back up to the highway, there's a drop-off
below the highway to where one of the two tracks lies, and the upper part of that
is steeper than the bulk of the acreage. And so those homes might have where
you drive in with your garage downstairs with your main living area above that.
So they'll be a few exceptions for those, but the vast majority of homes will
have the CC&R's will say, you know, one-story, and etcetera, etcetera. You're
not going to see 40, 35-foot tall homes. It's just, we don't want that, you know.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Can we circle back to pedestrian access?
MR. MEEKER: Okay, we created the pedestrian accesses to provide much more
direct access from these two individual communities directly to the park and
school areas.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay.
MR. MEEKER: And those are owned by the community. There'll be little paved
pathways.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: So, let's say I own a lot in the community. I
can walk out my front yard, walk across the grassy swales to a pedestrian access
to Lehua Street, or I can go to the park via this pedestrian access to Lehua Street;
or I can go the park via this pedestrian access?
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MR. MEEKER: If you're in this lot here, you would walk down your little street
up the pathway and right across the street to the park. I think the schools are up
here.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, that's my main thing. If we're talking
about a pedestrian-friendly project, can they get to and from the nearest County
park which is right there.
MR. MEEKER: Without going out on the road, absolutely. That was the whole
purpose of doing this.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, beautiful.
MR. MEEKER: And I want to, you know, thank Heather and stuff, because when
we started reaching out about a year ago to the Hamakua Business Association
and the Action Committee and all this, we had one pathway incorporated after
kind of getting some more feedback, and we gave it a lot more thought, and we
thought it would be good to have a pathway for each of these two. So you know,
kids or whoever from each little community could do that.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: That to me is good planning, thank you.
Good job Heather. That's all of my questions.
MR. MEEKER: One more thing, if I could? Minimum width, that was one of the
exceptions that you had mentioned, and then Daryn responded to. I think it's
75 feet, is what the code calls for in our zoning district. So we're asking for, not a
variance, an exception from that. That only affects, I don't know, maybe two or
three lots. Most of these lots already meet the standard requirement, but your
exception goes for the whole thing even if it won't end up that way. Am I making
myself clear at all?
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Yeah.
MR. MEEKER: It's the flexibility thing that that's what so good, I think about
Planned-Unit Developments. It gives you the ability to be a little more
neighborhood-friendly little communities. Anyway, thank you for your time.
MR. KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER: Okay, thank you very much gentlemen.
Thank you to you for being here as well. Chair, I yield.
CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Anyone else? Council Member Kimball.
MS. KIMBALL: Thank you, Chair. And you know, before this goes before
Council, I invite anybody who wants to come up. I'll give you a tour. Buy you a
malasada, it's right there. It is a beautiful area. It is reallyI mean, I want you to
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kind of visualize that this is not flat. It's got some really interesting topography,
and it would be really hard to do a HPP (Hawaiian Paradise Park) style, grid, or
anything like this in these lots.
Just for orientation on this map, I think this confused a lot of people when we had
our community meeting. The ocean is actually up here, so this is makai, this is
mauka. And then, you got the park and the school right here. You also have the
mass transit stop right over here. This bit that looks like a road on paper is not a
road in real life, as we have lots of them in Hamakua, which I'm also happy to
give you a tour of. (See Exhibit"A" of Bill 207).
But, I would like to see this, the County develop this out at this point. And having
conversations with DPW (Department of Public Works) and P&R (Parks and
Recreation) on whose kuleana that might be because it's right there next to the
park, you couldn't really put walking paths right here, which is why they ended
up putting them through the development, which makes sense.
This is very steep. There's a culvert on one side; there's a steep cliff on the other
side. There is an opportunity for a walking path right here, which would get us to
Plumeria. Right now, it's a grassy area. So you know, I can see at some point,
this little walking path comes out here. County walking path along all the way to
where the hospital is and the community college and all of that.
So, I am going to come back to you folks at some point for some support for
related infrastructure, not just for this project, but as Sue mentioned, you know,
we have other partners in this area. The affordable housing, the hospital, the
community college, the park, Parks and Rec. I think we can make it a really nice
walkable, multi-modal friendly area. Thank you, I yield.
CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Council Member David.
MS. DAVID: Thank you, Chair. And I'll be very short. I just really appreciate
the applicants' vision for something that will not be your normal type of
subdivision development, given the rural nature of Hamakua. And Sidney, I'm
sorry, in '71, I was 20-some years old. So, I was alive and I kind of remember
when the plantations went down because a lot of our family members were
impacted by that, you know. So yeah, I'm not that young so I understand exactly
what you're talking about
And another thing is, I'm really glad you folks will have CC&R's in your
subdivision, because I think you have an opportunity to design it to the point
where it blends well with the local community. And I love the single-story
concept of that. So, I think you folks did an excellent job. And Ms. Kimball, you
did an excellent job with working with the community. And I will probably take
you up on that, because I haven't had Tex's malasadas in years, and I'll do a site
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visit with you before I leave this Council. So,thank you very much for your
efforts in this application. So I yield, mahalo.
CHR KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Anyone else, final questions or remarks?
No, okay. I just also want to point out to my colleagues, and you guys probably
already know this, but in our boards, we have Communication 973.2; really great
list of all the Conditions related to the Planned-Unit Development, and then a
high-level overview of all the requested exceptions for Chapter 23 and 25. It does
get kind of redundant and a little bit confusing because I think a lot of these
exceptions apply to a particular lot and not necessarily the whole project. So,
thank you gentlemen for walking us through with all of that.
I also want to just appreciate my colleague, Council Member Kimball, for
working so closely with all of you on the community engagement piece. She's
right in that you have gone above and beyond, and I hope that you guys are
setting a model for what other developers really need to do in terms of working in
partnership with community. Because I think it's in that space that dialogue that
they're able to having been residents of that area for a long time, share with you
some issues and concerns. And just appreciate your ability to work with them to
solve for that.
Terri, thank you for,just all of your mana`o and perspective on how important
this project is to you. Somebody that is, you know, born and raised here and had
the ability to achieve that dream of homeownership. We want all of that. We
want all of that for our local people, and I just so appreciate how this project helps
to increase the potential for affordable housing opportunities for our local
families.
Last thing, because it kind of got me thinking when Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder was
talking about these exceptions to the various codes. We have to find ways to like
create communities that we want to live in, that really create that community
connection. So the PUD is one of those tools that takes a look at these codes,
which I think applied across the board don't always make sense for the
characteristics of a particular community. So, I don't see it as skirting around any
systems or rules. I think it's just refining a little bit so that we have this really
great project that can really come to life. So,thank you all for your really hard
and consistent work on these projects. I will be supporting this request today.
Thank you.
Alright, we have a motion on the floor to forward Bill 207 to the Council with a
favorable recommendation. Mr. Clerk, could we do a roll call please?
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PC-31 October 5,2022
Vote on Bill 207: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 207 on first
(Approved) reading was carried by the following roll call vote:
Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kimball, Lee Loy,
Villegas, and Chair Kierkiewicz—7.
Noes: None.
Absent Committee Members Inaba and Richards—2.
Excused: None.
MR. HENRICKS: The motion carries.
CHR. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you. Bill 207 moves forward to Council with a
favorable recommendation. We will see you all in a couple of weeks at first
reading. Thank you May I have a motion to adjourn?
ADJOURN- There being no further business, at 11:52 a.m., Ms. Lee Loy moved to adjourn
MENT: the meeting. Seconded by Ms. David, and carried by the following voice vote.
Ayes: Committee Members Chung, David,
Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Kimball, Lee Loy,
Villegas, and Chair Kierkiewicz—7.
Noes: None.
Absent: Committee Members Inaba and Richards—2.
Excused: None.
CHR. KIERKIEWICZ: Planning Committee is adjourned at 11:52 a.m. Mahalo
Approved:
Ioff2o2L
Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Chair (Date)
Planning Committee
AK/dt
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