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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0378.003 2004-2006 MICHAEL J. MATSUKAWA ATTORNEY AT LAW TERRITORIAL CENTRE, SUITE 201 75-5751 KUAKINI HIGHWAY KAILUA-KO NA, HI 96740 TELEPHONE NO. 16061 329-1385 FAX NO. 16061 329-0512 July 28, 2005 Ms. Patricia O'Toole, Esq. Deputy Corporation Counsel 101 Aupuni Street, Suite 325 Hilo, HI 96720 Mr. Robert H. Thomas, Esq. - Damon Key Leong Kupchak Hastert Pauahi Tower, Suite 1600 1001 Bishop Street Honolulu, HI 96813 Deputy Attorney General Land Transportation Division 465 S. King Street, Room 300 Honolulu, HI 96813 RE: CONSOLIDATED ACTIONS 99-008K (AGENCY APPEAL) AND 00-1-0049K (DECLARATORY JUDGMENT) SoBAY HAWAII AND "HONES" BEACH AT WAIAHA, NORTH KONA Dear Counsel: I am writing to you to update you on the status of these consolidated cases. Status Civil 99-008K (Agency Appeal). The Court entered a "judgment" that remanded the case to the Planning Commission (re: "public body" participation). The Planning Commission held a hearing, rendered its decision, reaffirmed the SMA Permit previously issued, but did not file the requisite report with the Court. In my view, there is still no "final judgment" on record and the Court is awaiting the Planning Commission's report after remand. Civil 00-1-0049k (Declaratory Judgment). The action proceeded to a motion for partial summary judgment. Thereafter, the action was left in abeyance following a pretrial ordered hearing and remains pending. ~ 7 p.• Comm. No. O fdtatf, Uate_________~ MICHAEL J. MATSUKAWA ATTORNEY AT LAW Re: Consolidated Actions 99-008K and 00-1-0049K July 28, 2005 Page 2 Proposed Dismissal of Actions. The County of Hawaii County Council recently appropriated $3.1 million to acquire the property owned by SoBay Hawaii, Inc. The current landowner and permit holder, SoBay Hawaii, Inc., signed a DROA with one Edward Rapoza, who, in turn, assigned the buyer's rights to the County of Hawaii. At closing, SoBay Hawaii, Inc. will convey its rights to the County of Hawaii. As a result of this action, the issues raised in the consolidated actions will be moot. The County of Hawaii, as the new owner of the SoBay parcel, will not need the SMA permit for a 3-story condominium building (the subject of Civil 99-008K. If the inland parcel is owned by the County of Hawaii, which is a public entity, the location of the shoreline is no longer significant. As a result, my clients (Appellants in Civil 99-008K; Plaintiff in Civil 00-1-0049K) wish to dismiss the consolidated actions. The dismissal will be contingent upon the closing of the DROA, the County of Hawaii's acquisition of the SoBay parcel and the execution of a dismissal and release instrument by the parties. Please let me know if you have any questions concerning this matter. I assume that you have no objections to the proposed dismissal. Thank you. Yours truly, vl Michael~~tsukawa MJM : j f f\ a- sobay\couns . l t 1 Enc.: News Article xc: Walter Aniban West Hawaii Surfing Association, Inc. Kona Reef Association of Apartment Owners, Inc. Kevin Seiter, Esq. Michael Varney Angel Pilago Virginia Isbell M acy Higa vv wr uawa„ i vuaY ~ ~,,~ca, . age , v, ~ r,- a:_ HOME - ~ Local News puatani Honl's approved - ' Local Features ~ Obituaries Archives ~ _ ,ut.<, Special Reports by Tiffany Edwards Local Sports Wes! Hawaii Today Big Fish List [edwards~we_sthawaijtoday.com 3 ~a Letters -Your Voice F> ~ Editorial HILO West Hawaii residents will have a new public beach - ~ ~^i- Columns park, a neighborhood shopping center, a 350-unit residential Submit Letter to the project and a school site after Hawaii County Counal action The County Council On Editor Friday. Friday Approved The Submit your Ad The County Council unanimously approved on final reading Acquisition Of Honl's Big Island Wheels Bill 116 calling for $3.1 million to be added to this year's Surf Spot, Above, To Announcements ppital budget to buy the 29,000 square-foot Honl's beach Be Converted To A Automobiles property, or Waiaha Bay, located off Alii Drive immediately Beach Park. -West Employment south of the Kona Reef Condominium. Hawaii Today Instructions Miscellaneous Also during their regular meeting here Friday, councl o x ~ ~-`~~e,~~,` r Real Estate members approved with 8-1 votes Bills 29, 30, 31, and 32 - _ ~ + a f ;'`h~ which make way for Puaa Development of Kailua-Kona and ~ Rentals Suffolk Investment of Denver to develop 95,000 square feet M,~ ,),,t ~ I',#~ Services of commeraal space, 350 residential units - of which 270 I Govt Notices will be rentals affordable to households earning the annual _ ~ median income of $51,000 or less - and a school site. Pik: Advertising Subscription The proposed development, dubbed "Pualani Estates ~"t~ily ~ Newspapers in Makai;' lies off Queen Kaahumanu Highway between the Education Nani Kailua Drive and Lako Street intersections, and below Notice of Completion the Schuler Homes' Pualani Estates subdivision. Privacy Statements Puaa Development and Suffolk Investment has committed to a school site and $600,000 toward t - of the prospective school; affordable housing for up to 20 years; no single business in the shoppir Hawaii Tribune- being more than 45,000 square feet; a park; two roads; the fourth leg of an intersection being built Herald Homes; and no occupancy in the shopping center and residences until all the infrastructure they a Las Vegas.com promising is in place. Hawaii.com While the councl did not discuss the four Pualani Estates Makai-related bills before approving the was a different story for Bill 116. Council members James Arakaki and Donald Ikeda, of Hilo, Fred Holschuh, of Hamakua, and Ga of Puna, expressed a number of concerns relating to apublic-private partnership for beach stewai whether the county was buying a parcel that could be potentially washed out to sea; and the ultim for a lifeguard to be stationed there. Rick Bennett, in offering testimony in support of Bill 116 via teleconferencing from Kona Friday me mentioned the possibility of the Hawaii Island Land Trust (HILT) being the "steward of record" for Ara kaki, Holschuh and Ikeda all questioned whether the county administration had made "a deal" land trust to manage the soon-to-be public property before council members approved the acquisi http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/articles/2005/07/23/local/loca102.txt 7/27/2005 West Hawari 't'oday :Local Page 2 of 2 .~aln Fs;r Referring to Bennett's testimony, Ikeda said, "The word steward really bothered me. It set me bac didn't like the word steward. It would mean they (HILT representatives) would have control over th They could even keep the public out if they wanted to." Council member Angel Pilago, believing his colleagues were pitching an eleventh-hour red herrinc _ - "There is a sincere willingness to help in community. All this talk of video conferencing, people arE reach out. Out of all this positive testimony, you pick one to be critical. I am embarrassed by that. getting caught up in semantics. I'm lecturing us and myself, in particular. Sometimes when the opl lead comes by us, we just drop it." r~. Pilago called up Ed Rapoza of Kona, and Mike Varney of Waimea, two community members who ;y; ~ ~ - ~ spearhead the county's acquisftion of Honl's, to clarify what Bennett and any other community me mentioned stewardship in their testimony had meant. Arakaki later asked Rapoza and Varney if they took offense to him "asking these questions so I c. the positive' and they said no. "We're asking these questions to dear our minds, to make sure we're voting in the best interest of community;' Arakaki said. "I want to vote for this project There is no deal. It can be arranged. It's done later on. Fine. I don't want people to take offense... or my colleagues to take offense." Return to top Ema( this story I 'i PriM ;his story I L'~ Subsc_rbe I Return to Archives Copyright ®West Hawaii Today, 1997 - 2005 Stephens Media Group Privacy Statement http://www.westhawaiitoday.com/articles!2005/07/23/local/loca102.txt 7/27/2005