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Home My WebLink AboutCOM 0056.004 2006-2008 Tim Gardner P.O. Box 141 Makawao, Hi. 96768 Telephone 808 572-2566 Fax 808 876-1623 Cell 808 283-4721 Email igardner®maui.nef n December 26, 2006 o i~ n-~ Ms. Emily Naeole, Member c- c, Hawaii County Council ~ 25 Aupuni St. Suite 209 Hilo, Hi. 96720 3 Re: Proposed Pahoa Self-Storage Bi11220Bi11221(Draft 2) _ First of all, a big Mahalo to you and your staff for your support of my request. I was very pleased to receive the support of your fellow council members from East Hawaii to bring my bills out of committee with a favorable recommendation. Ithought that it would be helpful to you and the other members of the council to receive a summary of my request for reclassification of my land and zoning to permit aself-storage facility. Back rg ound I first took up residency in the islands in 1961. I consider Hawaii to be my home. My only child was bom on Maui in 1981 and resides in Haiku. My goal is to be able to afford to retire and live out my days in Hawaii. I purchased the property with the intention of retiring to it within a few yeazs. It is the only property that I own. The pazcel consists of 3.3 acres currently zoned Ala and a 3 bedroom single family residence. After I purchased the property, the County announced plans to construct a fire station, police station and major pazk complex on the adjoining property. Due to the anticipated sound and light pollution, I concluded that this property would neither be suitable for habitation by me nor by others. I also Teamed that livestock would also have problems with the sirens. The soil is not suitable for crop cultivation. What is left? Looking over the list of permitted uses for Ala land, I see that I can subdivide the land into 3 parcels, each with a single family residence and possibly an additional farm dwelling. Each parcel would also be entitled to building permits and access over the existing driveway directly to the State highway for a wide variety of "agricultural" uses. County code section 25-5-72 lists Animal hospitals, campgrounds, tennis courts, swimming pools, cemeteries, dwellings, farm dwellings, manure based fertilizer yazds, kennels, group living facilities and livestock production, to name a few. If I were to subdivide this property and put up an animal hospital, a dog kennel and a bird farm on the three pazcels, I am sure you will agree that the impact on the neighborhood and on the traffic on the State highway of these permitted activities would be substantially more than envisioned by my request. What to do? A friend of mine offered to jointly develop aself-storage facility with me on my site if I could obtain the appropriate zoning. The vision is bom! SS Comm. Pres~N~ Ref. To: Ref. Dat Merits of the proiect 1. Satisfies need of the community. Everyone agrees that there is a need for self storage in the Pahoa area. This project will enhance the quality of life for the current residents by providing secure temporary storage of their possessions. This will get personal possessions out of yazds and out of carports. Autos will regain space in the carport removing them from streets and yards. 2. Provides a Buffer. This benign project will provide a needed buffer between the proposed fire station (with its blaring sirens) and the neighbors. The facility by nature is very quiet, generating minimal daily customers. It will also be thoroughly landscaped and fenced. This will provide a visual barrier for the neighbors and also provide security by effectively blocking visual and foot access to the neighbors' property from the facility as well as from the county complex. 3. Ton Oualitv Management. The facility will be managed by A-American Self Storage. A-American is one of the top Sowner-operators in the entire United States. A-American currently has 9 facilities in the State of Hawaii including one in Kona and one in the Shipman Industrial Pazk in Keaau. The owner of A-American, Mr. Ed Olson, is a member of the Self-Storage Hall of Fame. 3. Guazanteed Financing This project will not fail due lack of financing. My partner, Mr. Ed Olson, has agreed to guazantee financing for the project. Mr. Olson is a part-time resident of the Big Island. He spends approximately 2 weeks each month living at his residence near Hilo and managing his extensive Big Island agricultural projects. Mr. Olson is very involved in the Big Island community. He is a major landowner engaged in farming and land conservation. He serves as a member of the Boazd of Directors of the Land of Public Trust for the State of Hawaii. He is a major contributor to the Land of Public Trust for Ka'u and a member of the South Coast panel for Kona and Ka'u. 4. Generate Tax Revenues. The facility is estimated to generate approximately $75,000 per year in real property and general excise taxes for the County of Hawaii. 5. Low Traffic Generator. Based upon national statistics, a facility of this size is expected to have approx. 32 visitors per day. This amount is miniscule compared to the potential traffic from the neighboring public complex or from many of the uses permitted under the present Agricultural Zoning. Assuming that many of the daily visitors would need to go to Keaau or beyond if this facility is not built, it is possible that the facility will actually reduce the traffic on the State Highway. 6. Provide Jobs. Staffing will include one full time manager, one part time manager and maintenance services. 7. Eliminates other activities. A condition attached to Bi11221 restricts development of the pazcel only to self storage. All other potential uses of the parcel aze eliminated, that is all other uses generally permitted in the MX and Ag Zoned pazcels. In essence, the scope of permitted activities is reduced from many busy activities to one quiet activity. 8. Limited Hi wav Access. Applicant is agreeable to giving up his existing direct access to the highway for all agricultural activities in exchange for either a) Restricted direct highway access (right toms only into and out of property) or, b) access over the county's adjoining property. If the county agrees to grant access over its pazcel, then applicant is offering to pay $200,000 to the county for roadway improvements. See condition attached to Bi11221-Draft 2. 9. Donate Residence to Community The existing 3 bedroom home on the property will be donated to the community for its unrestricted use. 10. Reconfigure Improvements Applicant is willing to provide increased front setback to provide for eventual highway widening. We would also be willing to reposition the entrance and office azea to the side facing the county complex which would provide increased buffering and privacy to the neighbors. 11. Countv Road There is some discussion as to the possibility of the creating a county road on the county parcel eventually leading to the Hawaiian Homelands directly behind my pazcel. If this road were aligned along the border with my property, it could provide access to my project, the fire station and to all future parks projects on the county land. Access would also be provided to Hawaiian Homelands. This idea is worthy of consideration and would solve a lot of problems with minimal cost. 12. Public Safetv. The Planning Director and others have expressed concern about the traffic impact of this project. It is important to note that the top two officials responsible for public safety, namely the Police Chief and the Fire Chief, have stated that this project does not pose a risk to the public safety.. They are the experts. Listen to them! 13. Urban Expansion Zone The parcel is located in the Urban Expansion Zone as designated on the LUPAG map. Summary This azea is changing. This pazcel will ultimately be developed, either by me or a successor owner. The community has the opportunity to limit development of this pazcel to the proposed needed, non-polluting, low traffic generating self-storage facility or risk future development of potentially polluting high traffic generating activities which are allowed under the present Ag zoning. The opportunity is now, the choice is yours. For the above reasons, I believe that my project is worthy of your continued support and the support of your fellow council members. If you have any questions, or would like a tour of the site, please do not hesitate to call me. Aloha & Mahalo Tim Gardner f~GL4,Q,vl,e•c_ Applicant Cc: Pete Hoffrnan, Chairman ? Brenda Ford, Member Stacy K. Higa, Member Donald Ikeda, Member Bob Jacobson, Member K. Angel Pilago, Member Dominic Yagong, Member J Yoshimoto, Member