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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0762.015 2004-2006 Pete Hoffmann V OF. Phone No.: (808) 887-2043 Council A9ernber cP•' Fax No.: (808) 887-2072 District 9 - ;North and South Kohola E-Mail: phoffmann@co.hawaii.hims aj4ps'oa N'~4`` HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL County of Hawai `i llolomua Center 64-1067 A9amalahoa Highway. Suite C-5 Kamuela. Hawaii 96743 June 16, 2006 TO: Stacy Higa, Chair Hawaii County Council FROM: Pete Hoffmann Qf +1 Council Member y SUBJECT: Bill 246, Draft 5 - Amendment to Certain Sectio of Chapter 23 (Subdivision Code) Hawaii County Code 1983 (2005 Edition) Attached is Bill 246, Draft 5, originally transmitted via Communication No. 762.67 from Planning Director Chris Yuen, dated June 1, 2006. The Council voted to adopt the changes proposed in Mr. Yuen's Draft 5 of Bill 246 at its June 5, 2006 meeting. Bill 246, Draft 5 incorporates the changes proposed in Draft 3 and Draft 4, by deleting the Planning Department's proposed amendments to section 23-50 of the Subdivision Code relating to "grades and curves" in its entirety. As a result, section 23-50 of the Subdivision Code relating to "grades and curves" will remain unchanged. Draft 3 and Draft 4 were filed by the Council at its June 5, 2006 meeting. Amendment of section 23-50 is not relevant to other amendments proposed by the Planning Director in Bill No. 246, which amendments are intended to correct discrepancies between current provisions in the Subdivision Code and current practice in the processing of subdivision applications by the Planning Department. Draft 5 deletes amendments to section 23- 50 of the Subdivision Code, since the proposed amendments to grades and curves did not directly address issues raised by the Leslie vs. Board of Appeals court decision. Draft 5 also addresses substantial concerns expressed by the public about Bill 246, which contended that the public is not being adequately informed about pending or approved subdivisions in the County. Bill 246, Draft 5 requires that the Planning Department publish a semi-monthly list of the subdivision applications it receives. Public notice of pending Comm. No Vol. 1 Ref. To: _,b Ct Ref. Date EN ?nnR Hawai `i County Is An Equal Opportunity Provider And Employer subdivision applications is not required under current law, so this amendment should increase public awareness of pending applications. Bill 246, Draft 5 also clarifies that although a tentative subdivision approval is valid despite the absence of certain information on the preliminary plat, the subdivision must still conform to the substantive requirements of the code, including requirements governing road construction, water supply, drainage, lot sizes, and so forth. Bill 246, Draft 5 further clarifies that if the Planning Director opts to waive or defer the submittal of certain information with the subdivision application, this does not affect the requirements of tentative subdivision approval, including requirements governing roads, water supply, drainage, sewage, and so forth. Bill 246, Draft 5 proposes to: 1. Delete Section 2 of Bill 246, Draft 2 in its entirety: [SECTION !ctithapt 2~ i4iele ~ s, division 4~c.^ccro~n do 2-" cn u : r „t rr3~ ia-rrcru-- Code 1983 (2005 Editie ndea) ; n left to read as folio s: "Seetien 23 5,0 1. and euFves. (a) A grade of a street shall be a Feasonable minimum but in no case be less than one half of per-eent and shall not exeeed seven oreent on fna;__ -l- It-k No gfade shall be less thai:i one half of one percent at the gutter-. Vei4ieal and henzantal eur-ves shall be so designed as to give nonpassing distanee-~~ .F with the F llewin r „ts. Veftie 1 uar-izontal Classification Clrwe r-auf r'oc fob pr__' -,+e-i^1 cnn f et 500 Sew ; rt~ial CM - et cnn few ac'rstri.it~ te~n c.. o feet, et cnn ~icsr". "ICrlleeter street 300 feet 300 Minor- street 300 feet X00 few Cul de sae 108 feet 200 Tee /h\ Nlari"tions f the 1ed . "'a`les o be p fmitted by the dir-eetof _ettfves the di Shall eonfefm to accepted- ffaetice as b, 2. Renumber Section "3" to Section "2". As a result, section 23-50 of the Subdivision Code will remain unchanged and read as follows: "Section 23-50. Grades and curves. (a) A grade of a street shall be a reasonable minimum but in no case be less than one-half of one percent and shall not exceed seven percent on major arterials, eight percent on secondary arterials, ten percent on collector streets, or twelve percent on any other street. No grade shall be less than one-half of one percent at the gutter. Vertical and horizontal curves shall be so designed as to give nonpassing distance visibility in conformance with the following minimum requirements: Vertical Horizontal Classification Curve Curve Primary arterial 500 feet 500 feet Secondary arterial 500 feet 500 feet Business or industrial street 500 feet 500 feet Collector street 300 feet 300 feet Minor street 300 feet 300 feet Cul-de-sac 100 feet 200 feet (b) Variations from the required grades or curves may be permitted by the director and the director of public works where advisable to meet unusual conditions and the director of public works may specify additional standards accordingly." 3. Add new Section "3", which includes a new section 23-58B regarding "Publication of notices." "SECTION 3. Chapter 23, article 4, division 1, Hawaii County Code, is amended by adding a new section 23-58B to read as follows: Section 23-58B. Publication of notices. The director shall publish, on a semi-monthly basis, a list of all applications accepted under this section in at least two newspapers of general circulation in the County. The list shall include the name of the property owner, the tax map key number(s) of the property, the land area, the number of lots proposed, and any other information deemed useful by the director." This is a new requirement which was added to ensure that the public is notified of pending subdivisions in the County. 4. Renumber Sections "3" to "9" to Sections "4" to "10". 5. Amend Section "5", by adding the following language to section 23-62(e), shown in italics below. "(e) The director's deferral of a subdivision for further review under subsection (aa) constitutes an acceptance of the contents of the preliminM plat as submitted, and the director's issuance of tentative and final subdivision approval is valid despite the failure of the preliminary plat to include all of the information specified in sections 23-63 to 23- 66, provided that there has been actual compliance with the substantive requirements of this chapter and chapter 25, zoning code. The director may require the subdivider to submit supplementary information prior to tentative or final approval and may condition tentative or final approval on the submission of such information and on the performance of conditions attached to the tentative approval." The new language clarifies that the applicant must still comply with the substantive requirements of the subdivision and zoning codes, in cases when the Planning Director waives or defers some requirements at the time of preliminary subdivision approval. The new language also makes clear that, prior to being granted final subdivision approval, the applicant must still submit any substantive information that the Director requires and comply with all of the conditions of tentative subdivision approval. 6. Amend Section "6", by adding the following language to section 23- 64(5). "(5) Zoning on and adjacent to the tract, provided that if the information required by subsection (3) is not shown, it shall be made a condition of tentative approval, and tentative approval shall also require drainage improvements pursuant to section 23-92 or their equivalent." The new language clarifies that if any of the requirements of the preliminary plat are waived by the Planning Director, these requirements will become conditions of tentative subdivision approval and not simply be ignored. Drainage improvements pursuant to section 23-92 shall also be required for tentative subdivision approval. 7. Amend Section "6", by adding the following language to section 23- 66(5). "[{6-}](5) Parcels of land proposed to be dedicated to public use, and the conditions of such dedication, provided that if the information required in subsections (3) and (4) is not shown, water supply, sewage disposal, and drainage shall be determined by conditions of tentative approval. [-ate" The new language clarifies that if requirements regarding water supply, sewage disposal, and drainage are waived at the time of preliminary plat approval, these requirements will become conditions of tentative subdivision approval and not simply be ignored. 8. Amend Section "7", by making the following amendment to section 23-73, shown in italics below. "Section 23-73. Technical review. Within [five] thirty days after receipt of the final plat and other data, the director shall submit copies of the final plat and other data to the director of public works, manager, [ *eef] State department of health and district engineer when the subdivision involves state highways for review of the final plat with the director. The final plat shall be examined as to whether it is substantially similar to the approved preliminary plat and whether it is technically correct. The information on the final plat shall also be verified by entering upon the respective subdivision where deemed necessary by the director. If there is a variance, the subdivider shall be advised by the director of the changes or additions that must be made and given an opportunity to make corrections. The director's submission of copies of the final plat to other reviewers constitutes acceptance of the contents of the final plat, provided that the director may request supplementary information and may require the subdivider to correct errors prior to the issuance of f nal subdivision yMroval, and after final approval pursuant to section 23-74(c). fa-esd4,4&7The director's issuance of final subdivision approval shall be valid despite the absence of technical information as required by section 23-69(1) and (3), or the absence of similar technical but non-substantive information required by sections 23-69 and 70." The new language allows the Planning Director to request corrections to the final plat prior to, or after final subdivision approval, pursuant to section 23-74(c). Please accept the attached Draft 5 of Bill No. 246, which passed second and final reading at the June 5, 2006 Council meeting. If you have any questions regarding Draft 5, please do not hesitate to contact me. Att. PH/lc