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HomeMy WebLinkAboutREP PC 009 02/06/2001 2000-2002 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON PLANNING DATE Febrttarv 6, 2001 Re C-619Bi11 No 195 PLACE Counctlroom T[ME 139 p m Chav and Members Hawaii County Council Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Your Committee on Planning, to which was referred Bill No 195, transmitted by Mayor Stephen K Yamashiro per Communication No 619, dated January 7, 2000, regarding the Change of Zone request by W. H. Shipman, Ltd., at Kea`au, Puna, Hawaii, TMK I-6-03 Portion of 7, reports as follows Bill No 195 amends Section 25-8-22 (Puna D~stnct Lone Map), Article 8, Chapter 25 (Zoning Code) of the Hawaii County Code, by changing the distract classification for approximately 32 028 acres of lend of a 1.344+ acre parcel from an Agricultural (A-20a) to an Industnal-Commercial Mixed Use (MCX-20) zoned distract Oraginally agendized on February I, 2000, this measure was deferred until a site visit and a public hearing a~uld be scheduled Your Committee wanted to get input from Senator David Matsuura, Representative Enc Hamakawa, the State Department of Transportation, and members of the Puna community before any decisions were made Testimony at the February 1, 2000, meeting was basically in favor of the development, but against the increase in traffic at the Kea`auNolcano intersection, and concern over the development at the intersection of the bypass road On March 22, 2000, a site v~srt was scheduled at 4 30 p m followed by a public hearing at 6 00 p m Approximately 23 people attended the site visit (Bobby Jean Leithead-Todd, Aaron Chung, Leningrad Elanonoff, AI Smith, Nancy Pisicchio, Dominic Yagong, James Arakaki, Curtis Tyler, Alice Kawaha, Bill Moore, Bob Saunders, Donald Okahara, Bill Eger, Leslie Tyler, William Ing, Jason Armstrong, Diane Gentry, Crystal Perreira, couple of members from the public whose names were not obtained, and three staff members) The public hearing, held at the Kea'au Community Center, drew a crowd of approximately 125 people with the matoraty in support of the development but concerned about the increased traffic Carl Okuyama, CEO of Sure Save Supermarket, supported the development, however, recommended that the protect should be developed next to the soccer field across from the existing Kea'au Shopping Center After the public testimony, State Department of Transportation staffers Pencles Manthos and Stanley Tamura responded to questions posed by Your Committee and stated that the Department of Transportation would provide their comments and recommendations regarding the proposed change of zone request to the Council Your Committee further deferred action on this measure until the Department of Transportation provided its comments and recommendations, and until the General Election was held so the new Council member, Garv Safarak, could vote on this measure PC-9 PC-9 Page 2 February 6, 2001 At the January 23, 2001, Planning Committee meeting, the matonty of the speakers testified m favor of the development Wntten testimony from Garv Leah Barfield opposed the protect because of the ~mpendmg traffic problems, and the need to support the existing shopping center by enlarging and modernizing it instead of bwldmg another one Carl Okuyama testified that he has a petition with over 1,700 names supporting the Gateway Shopping Center and recommending that the County Council approve the requested zoning contingent upon the proposed development be located in the Kea'au Town or an area adtacent to Kea`au ballpark The petition also cited that the "Puna residents need more retail variety, and services from businesses, professionals, and government" This measure was again deferred because Bill No 195, Draft 2, was circulated, and Committee Member Curtis Tyler felt there was not ample time to digest the changes The irregular shaped subtect property, owned in fee by the applicant, is located adtacent (on the Kea`au Town side) of the Shipman Business Park and to the west of the Volcano Highway-Kea'au Bypass intersection The applicant ~s proposing to develop approximately 16 acres into a shopping center with up to 118,000 square feet of retail floor area on the northern half of the subtect area The balance of the protect area is proposed to be developed as a mixed-use commercial/light industrial area with approximately 100,000 to 12,000 square feet of floor area Approximately two (2) acres of the protect area will also be developed into a road that would extend the Kea`au Bypass through the protect area, and would be dedicated to the County upon completion Plans provide for approximately 1.000 parking spaces for the shopping center development, whereas the Zoning Code requirement is one stall per 300 square feet of retail area Parking for the proposed mixed-use commercial/indusirial section of the property has not been determined at this time A Traffic Impact Analysis Report (TZAR) for the protect area w•as prepared by Randall Okaneku, P.E , of The Traffic Management Consultant, dated April 5, 1999 The Volcano Highway and Kea`au Bypass intersection is presently m the process of being signalized The applicant is coordinating with the State Department of Transportation the proposed improvements and agrees to pay for the additional design and construction costs According to the report, the exrstmg Volcano Highway and Kea`eu Bypass intersections are expected to operate at near capacity with or without the protect The Department of Transportation prepared a "Island of Hawaii Long Range Land Transportation Plan", which recommended that the Volcano Highway be widened from four to six lanes between Kea'au and Makalika Street and widened from two to four lanes behveen Kea'au Town and Mountain View Shipman is proposing the following traffic improvements I Provide an exclusive tight turn lane on southbound Volcano Highway to the proposed Road A 2 Provide an exclusive left firm lane on the northbound Volcano Highway to the proposed Road A 3 Provide athrough-only lane to Road A from Kea`au Bypass 4 Provide a separate left turn, through, and tight turn lanes on Road A at Volcano Highway intersection 5 Propose tight-in only and tight-in/tight-out tummg movements to the Volcano Highway from Lots A and B. subtect to approval of the Department of Transportation PC-9 PC-9 Page 3 February 6, 2001 The traffic study concluded that traffic generated by proposed Increment I is not expected to affect the overall Level of Service for the Volcano Htghway/Kea'au Bypass tntetsectton The subtect property was a portion of approximately 660 acres that was reclassified from Agricultural to Urban by the State Land Use Commtsston for the Office of State Planning on July 18, 1994 The LUPAG Map designates the protect area as Urban Expansion, which allows for a mix of high density, medtum density, and low density urban development, tndustrtal and/or open designations to areas where new settlements may be desirable, but where the specific settlement pattern and mix of uses have not yet been determined High Density allows uses relating to commercial, multiple restdenttal and related services Medium Density allows uses relating to village and neighborhood commercial and residential and related functions Low Denstn• allows single faintly residential, ancillary community and public uses, and convenience type commercial uses According to the Agricultural Lands of Importance to the State of Hawaii (ALISH) System, the subtect area is primarily "Unclassified" and only a small portton (less than 5 percent) is classtfied as "Other Important Agricultural Land " The remaining portion of the property is also designated "Unclassified" and "Other Important Agricultural Land " Soils within the protect area are classtfied as "D" or Poor The remammg portion of the property are classified "D; "`C" or Good, and "E" or Very Poor Soils m the protect are classtfied as Keaukaha and Oia'a along the Volcano Htghway, and Panaewa the remammg portton Sods m the protect area are classtfied as Keaukaha and Ola`a along the Volcano Htghway, and Panaewa for the remaining portton Keaukaha sods, used for pasture, constst ofwell-drained, thin organic sods overlying pahoehce lava bedrock, ~vtth rapid permeability, medtum runoff and sltght eroston The Ola`a sods, used for sugarcane, constst of well-drained silty clay loam formed m volcanic ash, with rapid permeabdtty, slow runoff and sltght eroston Panaew•a sods, used for sugarcane, pasture and woodland, constst of shallow, moderately well-drained silty clay loam formed m volcanic ash, with rapid permeabdtty, slow runoff, and slight eroston The protect area as well as the remammg property is located wnhm Zone X, an area determined to be outside the 500-year flood plain A drainage study for the Kea`au Bypass tmprovements, prepared by the State Department of Transportation, identified a drainage way wnhm the protect area Drainage tmprovements are being provided as part of the Kea`au Bypass protect to accommodate that drainage way A "Flora and Fauna Report -Shtpman Master Plan" was prepared by Grant Gerrtsh, PhD , to July 1992 noting that the subtect propem had been extensively disturbed by sugar culttvatton No rare or endangered plants or animals were found The Hawaiian Hawk or "I'o" is the only endangered species likely to be encountered at the propem A matortty of the 30-acre protect area was formally to sugar cane culttvatton with a small remnant of native forest area No additional archaeological work is necessary Surrounding lands to the north are zoned General Industrial (MG-20) and includes the existing 488-acre Shtpman Business Park with contractors, baseyards, wholesale and distribution operations, and other industrial uses Lands to the east are zoned Single Faintly Residential (RS-10) and constst of single faintly PC-9 PC-9 Page 4 February 6, 2001 residences, and Agricultural (A-Sa and A-20a) To the southwest is the Kea`au Village commercial area which is zoned Village Commercial (CV-10) with venous commercial and financial institution uses To the south, approximately 3,000 feet from the protect area are the Hawai' i National Guard Armory and the 12-acre Herbert C Shipman Park To the west are primarily fallow sugarcane lands Access to the subtect area will be from the proposed Road A, which will intersect with the Volcano Highway across the proposed Kea`au Bypass intersection Shipman is also working with the State Department of Transportation to allow dnvew•ay accesses within the proposed Lots B and C, which will allow for right-in and right-out movements only and allow customers and deliveries to utilize the interior roadway network Shipman has also agreed to install intersection improvements with minimal disruption and at no additional cost to the State in its construction of the Kea'au Bypass intersection Water can be made available from existing 16-inch water lines within the Volcano Highway and Kipimana Street, in the Shipman Business Par6 Should the Kipimana Sheet waterline be used, an easement through an existing lot would have to be secured by Shipman 4n on-site sewage treatment facility will be constructed on-site meeting with the requirements of the Department of Health Solid waste generated from the proposed development will be taken to the Hilo Landfill or an alternative site as required by the Department of Public Works Electrical and telephone services are or will be made available to the protect area Police and fire services are available in the Kea'au Village Bill No 195, Draft 2, with the following amendments was circulated and approved by your Committee 1 Includes language in Condition J to prepare a future roadway circulation plan of the protect area and surrounding lands between the Kea'au-Pahoa Road Extension and Shipman Business Park 2 Includes language in Condition K to construct Connector Road I between the Shtpman Business Park and the Protect area (Phase 1) in two stages 3 Includes language in Condition L to construct a minimum eight-foot wide pedesttiari/bike path within a minimum twelve-foot wide right-of-w•ay from the underpass on the Volcano Highway to the protect area m general conformance with the alignment shown on Exhibit ..A,. 4 Includes language in Condition M to construct Connector Road 2 between Melekahiwa Street/Road A and the Kea'au-Pahoa Road Extension prior to the County's issuance of the approval of occupancy for any development within the Kea`au Gateway Protect Area Phase II, as shown on Exhibit "A" 5 Includes language in Condition N that states "Should the Counh~ determine that construction of Connector Roads land/or 2 is required prior to the schedule described above, the County may, at its own cost, improve the roadway(s) " 6 Renumbers the remaining conditions Bill 195, Draft 3, which correctly identifies the new map attachment as Exhibit "B" in Conditions K, L, and M, was circulated and approved by Your Committee PC-9 PC-9 Page 5 February 6, 2001 At today's meeting, testimony came from Hank Roberts who is against the development, and Enc Weinert, who is in favor of the protect Mr Weinert stated that the traffic pattern is the problem, but thinks that it is the right intersection to place the shopping center William Moore, representative of the applicant, explained the proposed amendments in Draft 2 and fielded questions from Your Committee He also explained that the protect will be developed in two stages, and the connector road to the Kea'au Pahoa Road from Melekahiwa Street will be constructed prior to the County's issuance of the approval of occupancy for any development within the Kea`au Gateway Protect Area Phase 11 He then explained the new Condition N, which states that if the County determines that the "construction of Connector Roads land/or 2 is required pnor to the" protect's schedule, the County may improve the roadways at its own cost, and the applicant shall dedicate the road right(s)-of--way at no cost to the County upon its request Due to the concerns about traffic congestion and safety hazards at the intersection of the bypass and Volcano Highway, the applicant has agreed to build a connector road between its shopping center and nearby industrial part. This connector road, although less direct, will allow Hdo-bound motorists from the industrial park to go through the shopping center and use the traffic light at the bypass intersection to cross the hvo lanes of highway The applicant will also be constructing a bicycle and pedestrian path connecting Kea'au Town with the shopping center, by utilizing the existing cane-haul tunnel to cross under the highway, then northward along a plateau overlooking the highway Mr Robert Saunders, President of W H Shipman, Ltd ,explained that a retail study conducted on this protect showed that people were unwilling to locate to Kea'au Town, which is w•hy the decision was made to develop property along the highway He further stated that owners of "shopping centers went to be where the customers are, and the customers are in their cars " Mr Moore said no computerized traffic study was done, in response to Committee Member Julie Jacobson's question Then Committee Member Gary Safarik stated that it would be great if the software could tell why some subdivisions are not filled up The response to this was that a traffic study vvas conducted and the Department of Transportation gave its sign of approval that the engineered design would work Committee Member Tyler mentioned that Kona is overwhelmed with developments and traffic lights, so he does not want to see that happen to Hilo Committee Member Jacobson stated that this is "urban sprawl" and we need to do what is right She then stated that it is not right for one developer to turn Kea'au into a 'ghost town" and delay traffic for motorists passing through what will become afour-way intersection at the protect's main entrance She will be voting against this measure because the protect is not needed and is in the wrong place Your Chair then stated that this protect represents "good planning", but voting on this measure would be the toughest decision she has made since taking office She had to seriously consider her personal feelings versus the commumtv's needs and desires For informational purposes only, Committee Member Nancy Pisicchio voted "kanalua" twice and Committee Member Tyler voted "kanalua" once followed by a "no" PC-9 * + A • • PC-9 Page 6 February 6, 2001 Your Committee on Planning is in accord with the intent and purpose of Bill No. 195, Draft 3, and recommends it pass first reading. Respectfully submitted, AYES NOES A&E EX LEITHEAD-TODD x COMMITTEE ON ANNI TYLER X � � d&C1 ARAKAKI X /j ,tf " ��- CHUNG X BOB43Y JEAN LEITHEAD-TODD, CHAIR ELARIONOFF X JACOBSON x PC REPORT NO. 9 PISICCHIO X ADOPTED: FEB 2 2 2001 SAFARIK X YAGONG X