HomeMy WebLinkAboutREP PC 007 01/23/2001 2000-2002 REPORT OF THE
COMMITTEE ON PLANNING
DATE. January 23, 2001 RE C-59/Bill No 16
PLACE Councilroom
TIME 1.37 p m
Chair and Members
Hawat`i County Council
Hilo, Hawaii 96720
Your Committee on Planning, to which was referred Bill No. 16, transmitted by Mayor
Hang Kim per Communication No. 59, dated January 10, 2001, regarding the Change of Zone
request by Trees of Kukuihaele, LLC (Tom Heers), at Waikcekoe and Kanahonua, Hamakua,
Hawaii, TMK 4-8-6.3, 13 and Portion of 44, reports as follows.
Bill No 16 amends Seaton 25-8-15 (Hamakua District Zone Map), Article 8, Chapter 25
(Zoning Code) of the Hawaii County Code, by changing the distract classification for
approximately 31 ] 14 acres of land from a Single Family Residential (RS-15) and Resort-Hotel
(V-43) to a Resort-Hotel (V-25) zoned district
The irregular-shaped subject property, owned in fee by Tom Heers dba Trees of Kukuihaele.
LLC, is located wit}un the village of Kukuihaele between the Honokaa-Waipio Road (Highway
240) and the Old Government Road
In 1994, Royal Coast Resorts Corporation & Silverlinks Holding Ltd. (Royal Coast) applied for a
Change of Zone from A-40a and RS-15 to V-43, V-18, A-la and RS-7 5; a State Land Use
Boundazy Amendment from Agncultural to Urban and a General Plan Amendment in order to
develop the Aman Resort (TMK 4-8-6.13, 43 and Portions of 9, l 1 and 44) The Planning
Director then determined that a General Plan amendment was not required as the proposed
development is within the Hamakua-Kohala Mountain Forest Reserve, which is identified as a
Retreat Resort Area in accordance with the Hawaii County General Plan.
On June 8, 1994, the County Council approved the state land use boundary and change of zone
amendments, which permitted the development of the Amanhideaway (a 36-tout retreat resort,
the conversion of the existing plantation manager's house into afour-unit inn, and seven one-acre
residential-resort lots and up to 10 units of employee housing units on the site). The total number
of proposed resort units was 47 units with an additional 38-one acre agncultural lots, for a total
density of 85 units on the subtect properties As conditioned by Ordinance No. 94-63, the
applicant was required to convey 4 1 acres of land to the lot owners adtacent to the plantation
manager's house and neaz the forner grade school playground in Tiger Camp. On November 13,
1996, an extension of time to comply with Conditions D and T was granted for eighteen months
until June 7, 1997
Tom Heers acquired the subtect three (3) parcels, two (13 and 44) of which were part of the
Royal Coast protect, in order to develop a 40-unit resort development over a penod of time
Because parcels 13 and 44 were onginally part of the Royal Coast development under Ordinance
No 94-63, the applicant has also sought to amend said ordinance to delete any conditions which
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affect the subtect TMK 4-8-6.3, 13 and 44, in order to remove itself completely from the
previous development The proposed amendments to Ordinance No 94-63, which is still being
processed by the Planning Depaztment, aze as follows
1 Deleting pazcels identified as TMK 4-8-6 13 and 44,
2 Amending Condition B regazdmg incremental development,
3 Amending Condition [ by deleting reference to the plantation manager's house,
4 Amending Condmon R(1) by deleting reference to Plantation Inn, Residential-
Resort;
5 Deleting Condition E regarding construction time requirements,
6 Deleting Condition H regarding the submittal of plans for plantation manager's
house,
7 Deleting Condmon P(1) which provided m perpetuity 11 5 acres for recreation,
8 Deleting Condition T which deeded 4 1 acres to adtacent lot owners,
9 Deleting Condition V which granted a lifetime residence, and
10 Renumbering remaining Condmons
Should the proposed amendment to Ordinance No 94-63 be approved, the remaining conditions
within the said ordinance would affect only TMK 4-8-6 9, 11, and 43
The applicant would like to construct at least 20 units and the office building immediately upon
receipt of all approvals Construction is anticipated to occur in Spring 2001, with facilities
available to guests by the end of 2001 and a full build out within aten-yeaz period Estimated
cost for the first phase is $3-5 million and the entire protect is estimated to cost over $8 million
The applicant is working with the community m regards to using the existing social hall located
on TMK 4-8-6 3 and at possibly conveying the area immediately mauka of Tiger Camp
(TMK 4-8-6 Portion of 44) to the Tiger Camp residents
Access to the subtect parcel would be from the Honokaa-Waipio Road The applicant wishes to
discourage the use of automobiles on the premise, therefore, a system of golf carts or similar type
vehicles will be used on the grounds Although not proposed for the subtect development, a
future road reserve is shown on the plans, and located at the western end of the property to allow
for a possible connection between the main Highway and the Old Government Road.
The State Land Use Classification is Urban The General Plan Land Use Pattern Allocation
Gwde (LUPAG) Map designates the area as Low• Density Urban, however, the area was
reclassified to Resort in 1994 The Planning Department interpreted that the retreat resort
designation includes TMK 4-8-6 3, which was not a part of the original Royal Coast
development but is a part of this measure The General Plan lists the Hamakua-Kohala Mountain
Forest Reserve azea as a Retreat Resort area; therefore, the Planning Director, in 1994,
determined the subtect area to be a floating zone for Retreat Resort
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The General Plan provides for a floating zone concept for retreat resort areas to take advantage of
new concepts, trends, economic influences, unique resources and other situations which may
occur that would make a retreat resort a viable option for an area As defined in the General
Plan, a "Retreat Resort Area' is "an area which provides the user with rest, quiet, and isolation
for an envirorvnental experience It shall have sewer, water, roads, employee housing, and
recreational facilities, etc " The maximum hotel amts allowable are up to 100 rooms as
determined by the zoning designation
Ordinance No. 94-63, approved on June 8, 1994, zoned Parcels 13 (14 427 acres) and portion of
44 (8 5 acres) as V-43 Prior to 1994, Parcels 3 and 13 were zoned RS-15, and Pazcel 44 was
zoned A-40a
The property is not situated within the Special Management Area and is located over a mile from
the coastline
The Northwest Hawaii Community Development Plan, adopted as Ordinance No. 445 in 1979,
did not include Zone Guide maps for the Kukwhaele area The Hamakua Regional Plan, adopted
on November 8. 1990, by the County Council recommends the Kukwhaele-Watpio area for
retreat resort (up to 100 units), while preserving the rural character and preserving the cultural
and scenic mtegnty of the rim to VVaipio Valley
Parcels 3 and 44 have frontage on both the Honokaa-Waipio Road and the Old Government
Road There is a dwelling on Parcel 44, however, the majority of the parcel is covered with old
cane The maJority of the hales will be on Parcels 44 and 13. Parcel 3, site of the old social hall,
is partially cleared with a pazking area to the rear of the building, and the remainder of the land is
in cane and forest The applicant would like to refurbish the old social hall into, perhaps, a
restaurant The Old Manager's House and a guest house aze located on Parcel 13, and will be
reserved as the owner's residence and guest house for the manager/owner's guests respectively
The Manager's Estate is on the State Register of Historic Places and will not be a part of the
proposed development
The elevation of the subject property is approximately 840 feet along the Honokaa-Watpio Road
and slopes downward at less than 15% towazds the Old Government Road
The USDA soil classification is Paauhau, which is a silty clay loam with slow runoffand slight
erosion These soils were used mainly for sugarcane cultivation
The Agricultural Lands of Importance to the State of Hawaii (AL[SH) classifies the property as
Pnme Agricultural Lands, while the gulch areas are identified as other important Lands The
Land Study Bureau's Detailed Land Classification System classifies the soil as "C" or Fair
The subJect property is located within Zone "X", an area determined to be outside the 500-year
flood plain
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On the subJect property aze banyan, eucalyptus, macadamia nut, and avocado trees to addition to
other ornamental and tropical flowering plants. Chaz and Associates, botanical consultants for
Hamakua Sugaz Company, conducted field studies of the subJect properties in February and
March 1991, and none of the native plants identified aze either threatened or endangered
A survey of avifauna and feral mammals conducted m 1993 by Reginald David found one
endemic species (1`0 or Hawaiian Hawk), two indigenous seabirds (White-tailed Tropicbirds and
Great Fngatebtrd), and one indigenous migratory bird (Pacific Golden Plover) A broader area
survey conducted by Phillip Bruner found the Hawaman duck, the American coot, the common
amak~hi and short-eared owl
In an azchaeological survey conducted by Paul H Rosendahl, Ph D, Inc ,two sites were
identified on Parcel 3 a habitation terrace significant for information content with further data
collection recommended, and the Plantation Manager's house which is identified as a historic
site
Surrounding lands include the village of Kukuihaele, which consists of approximately 60 homes
with a population of roughly 300 Single family residences are located to the south of the
properties Also located in the vicinity are the old social hall, post office, the Roman Catholu
Church, Kukuihaele Pazk and the Kukuihaele Cemetery The Waipio Valley lookout is located
about a mile away and Honokaa Town is located approximately 6 4 miles away
The applicant has noted that if the development is not approved, the site would remain in its
present condirion, and lands would continue to be used for intermittent grazing and a large
residential estate Under the existing RS-15 and V-43 zoning, one parcel could be subdivided
into twenty to twenty-four 15,000 square foot lots, and the V-43 zoning would allow 12 hales
Water is currently serviced by the County Department of Water Supply's Kukuihaele system, but
there is a limited number of water commitments available to the subject property According to
the Department of Water Supply, extensive on and off-site improvements would need to be
constructed
Vb'astewater will be processed through a septic system or a system approved by the Department of
Health
The Waikoekoe stream bisects the w•estem portion of Parcel l3, and residents have reported that
some Flooding has occurred in the azea. For this reason, the applicant proposes to accommodate
on-site generated runoff as well as to protect the site from any potential overflow from the
stream
Electrical and telephone services are available to the property, and police and fire protection are
provided from the Honokaa town
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In the cover letter from the Planning Commission, Your Committee has learned that in addition
to the 40 detached units or hales. the applicant will construct support facilities and amenities
such as a restaurant, office building, swimming pool, tennis courts, parking, landscaping and
related improvements Each hale would have two bedrooms and a main living azea with a small
kitchen The single story• hale would be perched on a structure that resembles a tree,
approximately 14 feet off the ground, and less than 35-feet tall. The trees would have a 60-foot
span with branches no taller than 50 feet All hales and trees would be constructed to building
requirements
Bill No 16, Draft 2, which included the following amendments was circulated and approved by
Your Committee.
I Deletes Conditions B and C, and inserts new language as new Condition B:
"Water for the proposed development shall meet with the approval of the
Department of Water Supply The required water system shall be implemented
prior to receipt of final subdivision approval or occupancy permit for the proposed
units "
2 Renumber remaining conditions
3 Amends new Condition D to read as follows
"Final Subdivision and/or Plan Approval [for the initial phase of development]
shall be secured within five (5) years from the effective date of this change of
zone Plans shall delineate a 50 foot wide future roadway between the Honokaa-
Waipio Hiehw•ay and the old uoveinment road as well as a ] 0-foot wide strip for
no-vehicular access planting screen easement along the property's frontage
bordering the [State highw•ar• and the old government road ] Honokaa-Wainio
Hi¢hw•av, exceat at the auaroved access point(s). a 10-foot future road widening
setback along the properties fronting the old government road shall be shown on
all plans, meeting with the approval of the Department of Public Works Said
area shall be dedicated to the County upon its request "
4 Amends new• Condition E to read as follows
"[Improvements to] The access driveway(s) from the Honokaa-Waipio Road [and
the access driveway(s),] for the project site shall be constructed in a manner
meeting with the approval of the Department of Transportation "
5 Amends new Condition F to read as follows
"No new• access for the subject development shall be allowed from the old
government road "
6 Amends new Condition M to read as follows
"To ensure that the Goals and Policies of the Recreational Element of the General
Plan is implemented the applicant shall work with the community to ensure that
the old social hall (TMK 6-8-6 3) is made available for community use at little or
no cost[ ] , subiect to certain terms and/or restrictions relating to hours of use and
tvoe of beveraee "
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7 Amends new Condition N to read as follows
"To ensure that the Goals and Policies of the Housing Element and the Resort
requirements of the General Plan[,] are implemented, the applicant shall formulate
a Housing Plan meeting with the regwrements of Chapter 11, Article 1, Hawai`~
County Code relating to Affordable Housing Policy This Housing Plan shall also
address Employee Housing needs and shall be submitted to the Office of Housing
and Community Development and the Planning Department and be approved by
the County Housing Agency prior to Final Plan Approval "
8 Amends new• Condition P to read as follows
"As represented by [this] the applicant and in Change of Zone Ordinance No
94-63, lands behind the Tiger Camp (TMK 6-8-06 Portions of 44), shall be
consolidated and resubdivided and deeded to the respective lot owners within two
(2) years from the effective date of this ordinance This requirement shall be
credited against Condmon N "
9. Deletes the existing language and inserts the standard fair shaze language in
Condmon Q
Two of the four people who testified at today's meeting were m favor of the development,
although they were against the ongnal Aman protect One person who testified against the
protect clamed that she does not want to have to look up to people m cement trees
The applicant would like to create a development that would maintain the tropical aznbiance of
the subtect properties and maintain the rural character of Kukuihaele, unlike the original Aman
protect Representative for the applicant. Sidney Fuke, explained that the applicant wanted to
create a Mom and Pop type of inn. similar to one which he and his wife have had extensive
experience operating on the mainland He also explained that the applicant purchased the
property in Mav, and "they posted notices at the tw•o general stores in Kukuihaele, they had two
mator meetings w•~th the community association, and then they went door-to-door and tried to do
an extensive reach-out program to see what the community's thoughts were relative to their
proposed plan And then they made some adtustments to that And finally, they contacted" him
m September to prepare and process their rezoning application
Mr Fuke also explained that when the property was purchased, Mr Heers wanted to sepazate
himself from the Aman project and amend the conditions of Ordinance No 94-63 so as not to
have his parcels included m the former ordinance An amendment to Ordinance No 94-63 was
submitted to the Planning Department to remove the condrtwns, which referred to the subtect
parcels to ensure [hat the applicant would not be bound by the conditions of the previous
ordinance At the same time, this measure was introduced w•rth proposed aznendments to
conditions m the 1994 ordinance, which applied specifically to Mr Heers' properties
Unfortunately, the accompanying bill with the amendments to Ordinance No 94-63 was not
processed m time to accompany this measure to the Council level
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Mr Fuke further explained that tw•o-thuds of the subtect property is extensively covered with a
forested area, therefore, the applicant will sculpture the "project azound those landscaping by
constructing these individual units that would look like a tree but they would not be a tree
Structurally, they would meet all of the structural standazds as required by the County Building
Code and..would be somewhat camouflaged so that from far, it would look like a tree but,
obviously, it's not a tree "
Committee Member Curtis Tyler posed a question to Mr Fuke regarding the Department of
Water Supply's comment about "the first increment shall not exceed the number of units of
water, which are available " He wanted to know how many units were available at the moment,
and Mr Fuke responded that there were five Mr Fuke further explained that "the responsibility
for providing County potable water that would meet the requirements for Mr Heers' project,
would be the responsibility of Mr Heers Whatever the Water Department required to provide
service, water service to the subJect property, would be-would fall under the responsibility of
Mr Heers, not the County " He then explained that the reason for the proposed language in
Condition B. m Draft 2, is because "the ewstmg language would limit rt to, definitely, no more
than five units because one unit of water for every proposed hale And one unit of water, as
defined by the Water Department, is 600 gallons per day "
Mr Fuke futher explained that Mr Heers, in his discussions with the Water Department's
engineers, tentatively envisioned the "construction of an on-site well that would be used to fill
the water, potable water, during none peak hours and that combined with a possible on-site well
that would be used for irrigation and fire protective and non-potable purposes"
Mr Tyler also questioned Mr Fuke about new Condition E regarding the language about
improvements to the Honokaa-Waipio Road, and Mr Fuke responded that "the onginal Aman
Resort plan called for all of its access, all of the protect's access, both mauka of the Old
Government Road and makai of the Old Government Road. to be accessed directly from the
main highway But Mr Heers' protect is only' that area that's sandwiched between the main
highway and the Old Government Road It no longer affects the area makai of the highway,
which is also still subtect to further development "
Mr Tyler then posed a question to the Planning Department's staff on whether the annual reports
for the underlying zoning ordinance have been "compliant with the requirements of that
condition of that ordinance", and Ms Alice Kawaha responded that the last Annual Report
received was dated June 1996 She further explained that a time extension w•as granted until
1997 for Conditions D and T, and that correspondence to the Kukuihaele Development Company
was mailed m August 1997, stating "that if they needed further extension they would have to
submit their tiling fee and go through the process of time extension "
Committee Member Gary Safarik asked Mr Fuke about the previous condition for housing for
employees, and Mr Fuke responded that "at this point in time, Mr Heers does not have any
specific plans for employee housing, per se based on his discussions with residents within the
community, he has found, a number of individuals w•ho presently are being employed by resorts
over on the West side that have expressed strong interest in being closer to home "
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[n response to Mr Safarik's question, Mr Heers explained that he is basually tazgeting families,
couples/honeymoon couples, and perhaps two couples traveling together to stay at the hales He
hopes tt will be a family retreat that is a pnvate place where `you don't see your neighbor and it's
a place to get" to be "with your family, not away from them " Mr Heers also explained that he
has done this kind of project before and although he is not clear as to who w711 frequent his
protect, he usually targets "a certain group and that's what usually comes " Mr. Heers also stated
that they "had palace themes for real elegant rooms and" they "had log cabin rooms and then
everything in between " They "had 28 different rooms " "And what we're good at -my wife is
related to Walt Disney What we're good at is making them look real And, making them fun "
He also apologized to the Association m the Waipio Valle}• because he was unaware that there
w•as an Association there
Committee Member Jule Jacobson stated that she is not in agreement with this measure because
"we made mistakes in the past and allowed zoning changes, doesn't mean that this ~s the right
thing or the pono thing to do to this community at this time "
Committee Member James Arakaki w•as concerned about this measure being carved out of
Ordinance No 94-63, and was aiso concerned about the protect being in compliance wrath ADA
standazds, to w•h~ch Mr Fuke responded some units will be ADA compliant
Your Chav stated that the other properties were rezoned under this floating resort concept, and
she beliee•es that ~t was meant for only one resort So she asked Planning Director Chns Yuen to
initiate a downzoning on the rest of the property I~sted m Ordinance No 94-63 to prevent the
construction of tw•o resorts in the area instead of one She then stated that she would like to defer
this measure "m the interest of allowing Mr Heers nine to meet with the Waipio Community
Association and as well as giving Mr Yuen a little bit of time to look at the underlying ordinance
and the related issues with Amara " Mr T}•ler agreed
Committee Member Dominic Yagong then stated that this measure should be moved along
because if tt isn't, the applicant is being penalized He said there still would be enough time for
the applicant to meet with the community members before the first reading at the Council level
Your Char then asked the appLcant if they could meet with the community wnthm the next two
weeks and also asked the Planning Director if tw•o weeks w•as ample time to review the issues.
Since both agreed, she stated that she didn't "have a problem with moving ~t up to Council at this
point "
Committee Member Nancy P~sicch~o was concemed that there were two or three issues going on
and the deferral may betust~fied Mr Heers mentioned that he ~s not a big corporation and he
has a I~m~ted amount of mone}•, but atwo-week delay would allow him to do some important
things that were mentioned at today's meeting, but a long delay would be hazd on him After
further discussion on whether or not to defer, Mr Fuke, after conferring with Mr Heers, stated
that the applicant "would have no problem" with the two week defen•al
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Mr. Tyler then asked the Planning Director if he needed more time to review the situation, and
the Planning Director responded, "Well, it would certainly be helpful to look at these particular
issues. I don't want to suggest that it is impossible to do this. And ...the issues that I was raising,
I think are fairly technical things with—to make sure that if you are going to pass out a bill that
has the effect of splitting this into two projects, that there's a set of conditions that attaches to the
old project as well as a set of conditions that attaches to the new project..." Prior to this
statement, in response to Mr. Tyler's question about a deferral; Mr. Yuen responded, "I'm at your
pleasure on that...."
For informational purposes only, Committee Member Nancy Pisicchio voted"kanalua"the first
time followed by"no". Committee Member Tyler boldly stood up and cast his "NO" vote
against this measure.
Your Committee concurs with the Planning Commission and the Planning Director for
recommending a favorable consideration for the Change of Zone request.
Your Committee on Planning is in accord with the intent and purpose of Bill No. 16, Draft 2, and
recommends it pass first reading.
AYES NOES A&E EX
LEITHEAD-TODD X Respectfully submitted
TYLER X
ARAKAKI X COMMITTEE O_.PLANIIN'G
ELARIONOFF X (e10,/6(-,
JACOBSON X BOBBY JEAN LEITHEAD-TODD, CHAIR
PISICCHIO X
SAFARIK X PC REPORT NO. 7
YAGONG X ADOPTED: FEB 5 2001