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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN LAAC 2025/10/07 (2024-2026)Committee on Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions 15" Session Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii October 7, 2025 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Committee on Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions ORDER: was called to order at 11:00 a.m., in the Council Chambers, Hilo, by Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Chair Mr. Dennis "Fresh" Onishi, Vice Chair Mr. James E. Hustace, Member Ms. Michelle M. Galimba, Member Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Member (came in later) Ms. Jenn Kagiwada, Member Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Member (came in later) Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member Absent & Excused: Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, 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: (There were none.) Change Order As directed by the Chair and with no objection from the Committee Members, of Business: the following items were taken out of order: STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public on Bill 86. PUBLIC ON BILL 86: The following individual registered to speak and came forward when called by the Chair: Keith Kato: Bill 86 (Comm. 507); and (representing Hawaii Island Bill 87 (Comm. 508), comment. Community Development Corporation) LAAC-15 October 7, 2025 Bill 86: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO.25-25, WHICH AMENDED SECTION 25-8-7 (NORTH AND SOUTH KOHALA DISTRICT ZONE MAP), ARTICLE 8, CHAPTER 25 (ZONING) OF THE HAWAI`I COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), BY CHANGING THE DISTRICT CLASSIFICATION FROM AGRICULTURAL —1 ACRE (A -la) TO SINGLE FAMILY RESIDENTIAL—10,000 SQUARE FEET (RS-10) AT `OULI, SOUTH KOHALA, HAWAI`I, COVERED BY TAX MAP KEY: 6-2-001:075 (POR.) (Applicant: Hawaii Island Community Development Corporation) (Area: 14.321 Acres) The Leeward Planning Commission forwards its favorable recommendation for this request to amend Condition M (Affordable Housing) and Condition N (Fair Share Contribution), which would allow the applicant to facilitate their ability to utilize funds from the County's Affordable Housing Production program to develop the `Koai`e' affordable housing subdivision. The property is located at the southwest corner of the intersection of Kawaihae Road and Waiula Drive. Reference: Comm.507 Intr. by: Council Member Kimball (B/R) ;and Comm. 507.1: From Planning Director Jeffrey Darrow, dated September 10, 2025, transmitting a PowerPoint presentation for Bill 86. Motion to Approve: Mr. Hustace moved to recommend passage of Bill 86 on first reading. Seconded by Mr. Onishi. CHR. KIMBALL: As mentioned, the applicant would like to request a postponement to the call of the chair. May I have that motion, please? Vote on Motion Mr. Inaba moved to postpone Bill 86 to the call of the to Postpone: Chair. Seconded by Mr. Onishi and carried by the ,(Approved) following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Kimball — 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Kierkiewicz — 1. Excused: None. Page 2 ATMOF7 October 7, 2025 Bill 87: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 10-101, WHICH RECLASSIFIED LANDS FROM AGRICULTURAL — TWENTY ACRES (A-20a) AND SINGLE- FAMILY RESIDENTIAL — 7,500 SQUARE FEET (RS-7.5) TO SINGLE- FAMILY RESIDENTIAL—15,000 SQUARE FEET (RS-15), SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL—10,000 SQUARE FEET (RS-10), SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL — 7,500 SQUARE FEET (RS-7.5), AND OPEN AT PAHOA, NORTH KOHALA, HAWAI`I, COVERED BY TAX MAP KEYS: 5-5-019:025 AND 027 (PORTIONS) (Applicant: Hawaii Island Community Development Corporation) (Area: 18.38 Acres) The Leeward Planning Commission forwards its favorable recommendation for this request to amend Condition K (Affordable Housing) and Condition I (Fair Share Contribution), which would allow the applicant to utilize funds from the County's Affordable Housing Production program to develop the final phases of the Kumakua Self Help Housing project. The property is located along the makai side of the Akoni Pule Highway approximately 600 feet west of the Kohala High and Elementary School complex. Reference: Comm.508 Intr. by: Council Member Kimball (B/R) ; and Comm. 508.1: From Planning Director Jeffrey Darrow, dated September 10, 2025, transmitting a PowerPoint presentation for Bill 87. Motion to Approve: Mr. Hustace moved to recommend passage of Bill 87 on first reading. Seconded by Mr. Onishi. CHR. KIMBALL: Again, this one is also requesting to be postponed to the call of the chair. Vote on Motion Ms. Villegas moved to postpone Bill 87 to the call of the to Postpone: Chair. Seconded by Mr. Onishi and carried by the (Approved) following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Kimball — 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Kierkiewicz — 1. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: With that, we can return to the top of the agenda, please. Page 3 LAAC-15 October 7, 2025 Return to Order The Chair directed the Committee to return to the order of business. of Business: COMMUNI- The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, CATIONS: Communications. Comm. 359: FORMATION OF AN AD HOC COMMITTEE FOR THE COUNTY WAIWAI GRANTS From Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions Committee Chair Heather L. Kimball, dated June 19, 2025. The ad hoc committee would evaluate and review the 2025-2026 application process, discuss and provide recommendations for improvements to the 2025-2026 application process, and make recommendations on the six-month progress report and review process. Postponed: July 9, 2025 (Note: There is a motion by Council Member Inaba, seconded by Council Member Kagiwada, to close file on Comm. 359.) ; and Comm. 359.1: From Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions Chair Heather L. Kimball, dated September 19, 2025, transmitting a request to report the ad hoc committee's findings and recommendations. CHR. KIMBALL: So before we begin this, it is a report from the ad hoc committee. So today we will just take a motion to close file, and at which point the ad hoc can discuss process but not the content of the report. If the body would like to discuss contents of the report, then a postponement is made to the next hearing where we can have a conversation about the report. Otherwise, we can just continue forward with the close file if folks don't want to discuss the report. So may I have a motion to close file on Communication 359? MR. BROWN: Sorry, Chair. So that motion is on the floor already to close file. CHR. KIMBALL: That's right. MR. BROWN: Yeah. You guys can go right into process. CHR. KIMBALL: Okay. So at this time, we will take any questions related to process and if there's a desire to discuss the contents of the report, I'll take a motion to postpone. Any questions? MS. KAGIWADA: I have a question. If we don't postpone and discuss the contents, where will this information lay; is it available to the public? Page 4 LAAC-15 October 7. 2025 CHR. KIMBALL: The report is a communication that is available to the public, yes. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. I'm just wondering if —I don't want to take extra time if people don't feel the need to discuss it, but I do think there's a few things in here that's important for the public to know about. So I guess I'm looking to see if anybody else thinks that we should postpone so we can discuss the content just so that the public's aware of what's in the report. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member Kagiwada. Council Member Hustace. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you, Chair. I appreciate the recommendations in there and the report on trying to streamline the process and ease both on the applicant's side as well as on the scoring side of things and trying to streamline that. So thank you for that. Yeah, I guess I have one kind of question that verges on both a little bit, but that's okay. I'll refrain from asking that. Thank you, Chair. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you. Council Member Inaba. MR. INABA: Thank you. Just to clarify. We can share, we just can't discuss, right? So I think maybe to address what Council Member Kagiwada is pointing out, at least that we can state it on the record what is contained in the communication. MR. BROWN: To be safe I think I would recommend that if discussion were to happen today it's only about procedural stuff. Anything in the report itself and the findings if you guys want to discuss in open forum, it would have to be postponed. I want to make a comment that if you guys want to act on the recommendations in there you don't have to postpone, you can close file and move forward with those. But in terms of discussing any of the findings itself, we would have to do that, I think, at a later meeting. MR. INABA: Okay. Well, just to be clear I think then on the record, Communication 359.1 contains all of the recommendations, just if anyone needs to review. But there weren't significant changes. Thank you. CHR KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member. Anyone else? Alright. With that, we will proceed with the motion on the floor, which is to close file. I will just comment that, you know, our employee of the year award winning, Jessica Valdez, can do some PR (Public Relations) work around the findings in this report and share that out with our nonprofit community. Alright. With that, all those in favor of closing file, please say "aye." Page 5 LAAC-15 October 7, 2025 Vote on Comm. 359: The motion to close file on Comm. 359 was carried by the Filed following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Kimball — 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Kierkiewicz —1. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: If we can move to Bill 88, please. BILLS FOR The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, ORDINANCES: Bills for Ordinances. (Note: Items in this category were taken up previously, out of order.) Bill 88: AMENDS ORDINANCE NO. 10-32, AS AMENDED, WHICH RECLASSIFIED LANDS FROM SINGLE-FAMILY RESIDENTIAL — 7,500 SQUARE FEET (RS-7.5) AND MULTIPLE -FAMILY RESIDENTIAL —1,000 SQUARE FEET (RM-1) TO MULTIPLE -FAMILY RESIDENTIAL —1,500 SQUARE FEET (RM-1.5) AT KUKUAU 1ST, SOUTH HILO, HAWAI`I, COVERED BY TAX MAP KEYS: 2-4-025:048, 053, AND 080. ,(Applicant: Ikaika Ohana) (Area: 5.05 Acres) The Windward Planning Commission forwards its favorable recommendation for this request to amend Condition D (Complete Construction), which would allow the applicant to start construction no later than January 2026, with an estimated completion timeline of 18-24 months. The property is located at 350 Kapi`olani Street. Reference: Comm.513 Intr. by: Council Member Kimball (B/R) and Comm. 513.1: From Planning Director Jeffrey Darrow, dated September 19, 2025, transmitting a PowerPoint presentation for Bill 88. Motion to Approve: Ms. Kagiwada moved to recommend passage of Bill 88 on first reading. Seconded by Ms. Galimba. CHR. KIMBALL: I will turn it over to Director Darrow for the presentation of the Planning Department. (Note: At this time, Planning Director Jeffrey Darrow came forward and provided a PowerPoint presentation to the members of the Committee. Page 6 LAAC-15 October 7, 2025 For viewing of the subject presentation, see the DVD copy of the meeting proceedings on file in the Clerk's Office, or online at http://hawaiicounty.gov.granicus.com. A copy of the PowerPoint presentation is made a part of the record, see Comm. 513.1.) CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Director. Going to Council Member Inaba. MR. INABA: Thank you. Director, we see that Condition D is the main change here, but Condition E is being removed. Was that improvement for the ten -foot - wide widening strip to Kapi`olani Street already completed? MR. DARROW: That's my understanding. That's the reason for the removal. MR. INABA: Alright. In support. I yield. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you. Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Sorry, thank you. Thank you, Chair. So for Item G, the drainage study, do you know if that's been started or completed? MR. DARROW: The plan approval I believe has been issued, and so the drainage report would've been completed at that point. Let me just confirm. So we did do the consolidation re -subdivision back in 2015. They could be in the process of the plan approval. I thought that they had completed. That map that you see is the map that they submitted. I'm not sure if it was actually approved. But if they would have submitted, that would've been along with that drainage report. It will not be approved until the drainage report is completed. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. Because we do have community concerns around flooding and drainage. MR. DARROW: Flooding. For sure. MS. KAGIWADA: Yeah. Okay. Thank you. So you said that the applicant applied for HHFDC (Hawai`i Housing Finance and Development Corporation) tax credits and funding, and that was supposed to be decided in August. Was that successful, did they get that funding? MR. DARROW: At the Windward Planning Commission, the representative from Ikaika Ohana said that it was very near to being completed and the timeline would not change as far as what they were proposing. Hopefully he's either here in house or online and can answer that specific question. But that question was also asked at the hearing. Page 7 ANTOR October 7, 2025 MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. It looks like he's there. May I ask? CHR. KIMBALL: Yes, go ahead. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. Thank you, Mr. Bigley, for being here. Can you please answer the question about the federal tax credits and funding if you have results from that or where that is? (Note: At this time, Ikaika Ohana Representative Grant Bigley came forward to address the members of the Committee.) MR. BIGLEY: So yes. Sorry about that. When we submitted the application it said August, but we were pushed back to the October board meeting. So we're in the process of preparing those materials. So a couple months delay but we're still on track overall. But I also wanted to mention the drainage report was completed. We had a, you know, with this list of conditions, we essentially completed all of them on that list except for the time extension, which is why we're here. We have everything up until building permit. So we had to hire a third party to actually do those reports, which the drainage was definitely an issue that we had to work through, and it took over a year to get through that. So we can provide all that information afterwards if needed. MS. KAGIWADA: Okay. Thank you so much. Are you able to just maybe, just with a few sentences, just reassure that public that you are prepared to do whatever is necessary to make sure that this area will not be flooding and will have adequate drainage for the area, and not be pushing any runoff that may happen to potential other areas. MR. BIGLEY: Yes. We've done extensive work. Multiple civil engineers, hydrology reports, you know, we've done everything up until building permits and at the site work level to get the necessary approvals. And the drainage will not be an issue. We had to, you know, and we can share some detailed site plans just to give you an idea of how we manage that. It's essential, as you can see, the drainage channel runs right through the middle, so we had to adjust some of the buildings, the parking; we had to create a couple different culverts where the County could access to do some maintenance. So we're definitely comfortable with our plans and we can provide those approvals if needed. MS. KAGIWADA: Terrific. Thank you so much. I do appreciate that. We'll be looking forward and hopefully all in favor, you get those federal credits and funding. Okay. I yield. MR. BIGLEY: Thank you. CHR KIMBALL: Thank you, Council Member. Anyone else? Page 8 LAAC-15 October 7, 2025 MR. DARROW: Chair? CHR. KIMBALL: Yes, go ahead. MR. DARROW: Just to follow up on Council Member Kagiwada's question. The plan approval was issued August 24, 2022. And the property did subdivide out the ten -foot right of way. CHR. KIMBALL: Great. Thank you, Director. Any further questions on this? Seeing none, all those in favor of forwarding Bill 88 to Council with favorable recommendation, please say "aye." Vote on Bill 88: The motion to recommend passage of Bill 88 was carried (Approved) by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Inaba, Kagiwada, Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder, Onishi, Villegas, and Chair Kimball — 8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Kierkiewicz —1. Excused: None. CHR. KIMBALL: Thank you, Mr. Bigley. Thank you, Director. With that, we have no further business on our agenda. ADJOURN- There being no further business, Chair Kimball adjourned the meeting MENT: at 11:26 a.m. Approved: /%M 20 ZS s. Heather L. Kimb 11, Chair (Date) Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions Committee HI/tk Page 9