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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0733.000 2002-2004 Allen W. and Sally M. Wooddell y P.O. Box 1119 c' Kamuela, Hawaii 96743 August 1, 2004 Mr. Christopher J. Yuen Planning Director, County of Hawaii 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3 , , Hilo, Hawaii 96720-3043 Re: Planned Unit Development Application Applicant: Reihm Owensby Owner: Kaloko Development, Inc. Request: Proposed 40-Lot Subdivision Tax Map Key: 6-5-004:029,030, and 050 Dear Mr. Yuen, As a follow up to our letter of July 8, 2004 conce[Ttir?g the above referred to Application, we talked by telephone to Mr. William Yamanoha of your Department. We inquired of Mr. Yamanoha of the Planning Department's position on our request that the building density and heights of the proposed PUD be limited to correspond to that of the surrounding community. To our great surprise, Mr. Yamanoha advised us that the Planning Department could not control the building density or height of the PUD. We believe that the clear intent of the PUD ordinance is that in exchange for the reduction in the normal subdivision requirements, the total design of the PUD project can and must be considered by you, and that, if the case is litigated, your failure to consider the total PUD development, including building density and heights, as it affects and integrates into the surrounding community, would be an abuse of discretion by you. While in the realm of Hawaii County developments, the proposed PUD may seem insignificant, we want to emphasize that it represents an approximate 29% increase in development to the surrounding community which is in the very heart of Waimea Town. The development will be obvious to everyone driving through Waimea. We urge consideration of the traffic congestion resulting from the proposed PUD as the additional traffic will exit from L'mdsay Road through the rather unusual and potentially dangerous intersection with Kawaihae Road. Mr. Yamanoha, was seemingly dismissive of our poncerns about storm water flooding as a result of the proposed PUD. Perhaps we failed to be specific enough about our flooding concerns. Comm. No. ~ 33 Ref. Tos ~i Ref. Date I ~ 90t1d Portions of the property which is the subject of the PUD, are lower than the surrounding area and at present store and absorb much of the very large volume of water coming off dte Waimea hillside during large rain storms. While the proposed development does not disclose elevations, the reality is that the elevation of some of the proposed lots must be raised if they are to be built upon. The result will be that the portion of the property proposed for the PUD which acted as a major storm water storage and absorbtion area will no longer exist. The storm water previously stored and absorbed on the proposed PUD property will flow toward Waikoba Stream and into the properties between the proposed PUD property and Waikoloa Stream. Some of these latter properties include Parker School and Paniolo Restaurant, both of which contain building built on concrete slabs only marginally above ground elevation. Paniolo Restaurant suffered flood damage from the overflow of Waikoloa Stream during a large storm this last winter. We consider this letter to be fair notice and warning that damage to properties between the proposed PUD and Waikoloa Stream is likely to occur as a result of the purposed PUD development unless cx?mplete analysis of storm water vohime and drainage (including disclosure by the owner as to its plans for raising the elevation of bw lying land} is made before the PLID is approved. We would like to emphasize that in our opinion, dry wells on the proposed PUD cannot possibly handle the vohjme of storm water that drains onto the proposed PUD property. Finally, we suggest that the Deparment of Parks and Recreation immediately provided won against storm water intrusion into tbe newly comptete skid site at Waimea Park, as pumping water art of the skateboard site and cleaning up soil residue wilt be expensive. The sk~eboard site is presently susceptible to flood water intrusion from Lindsay Road. This will be acerbated by the proposed FUD bevelopment no matter how it is ultimately constituted. A remedial Swale or berm sixniid be quite inexpensive to construct. Very truly yours, Sally M. Wooddell A n . Wooddell Cc. Mayor Hang Kim Councilman Leningrad Eilairnoff Hawaii County Corporation Counsel Hawaii County Department of Parks and Recreation Parker School Paniolo Restaurant 3