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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0307.001 2006-2008 Pete Hoffmann ~t~ o. Phone No. Hilo: (808) 961-8027 Council Chair dl~'~~'~~~~!, Phone No. Waimea: (808) 887-2043 District 9 -North and South Koho;a Fax No.: (808) 887-2072 E-Mail: phoffrnann@co.hawaii.hi.us 'ti °t+p~ ~'Oi'M. HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL County of Hawai `i Hawai `i County Buidding Ho[omua Center 25Aupuni Street 64-1067 Mamalahoa Highway, Suite C-5 Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Waimea, Hawaii 96743 April 11, 2007 TO: Council Members Hawaii County Council FROM: Pete Hoffmann Council Chairperson SUBJECT: Proposed Amendment to Planning Director's Proposed Modifications to Bill 318: An Ordinance Amending Chapter 25, Article 2, Division 4, Hawaii County Code 1983 (2005 Edition) by Adding a New Section Relating to Concurrency Conditions. Attached for consideration at the April 18, 2007 Council meeting is a proposed amendment to the Planning Director's proposed modifications to Bi11318 transmitted under Communication No. 307 dated Apri13, 2007. The attached proposed amendment: 1. Eliminates language which would allow exceptions to the applicability of the bill, so that concurrency requirements will apply to all new rezonings and time extension requests. 2. Adds new definitions to clarify terms not explicitly defined. 3. Includes non-substantive amendments to clarify ambiguous wording. 4. Replaces references to specific road types with a more general term, "transportation facilities." 5. Amends Traffic Impact Analysis Report (TIAR) requirements to require that the TIAR be prepared within six months prior to the submittal of a rezoning application, rather than within twelve months prior to the application submittal. It also amends the trip count trigger from 100 to 50 peak hour trips, and requires the TIAR to be certified by an engineer licensed in the State of Hawaii. It also states that the TIAR shall include assessment of impacts over a 20-year time frame, as well as an assessment, including financial estimates, of alternative plans to mitigate traffic impacts. 3 D?. Comm. rlo.~~,_ Ref. To,~~~_ Ref. Uate tP'tRc 11 t_,~8 Lei cu Serving the Interests of the People of Our Island Hawaii County /s An Equal Opportunity Provider And Employer 6. Requires the planning director to present the pros and cons of alternative means of mitigating traffic impacts of the project, when such alternatives exist. 7. Exempts projects which earn three times, as opposed to two times, the number of affordable housing credits otherwise required by Chapter 11, County affordable housing policy. 8. Eliminates exemptions for rezonings which conform to community development plans and for public service projects, and requires all such projects to meet minimum concurrency standards. Also attached is a red-lined version showing differences between the Planning Director's proposed modifications to Bi11318 and the proposed amendment outlined above. New language is highlighted, and deleted material is bracketed and stricken. Att. PH/Ic PROPOSED AMENDMENT AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 25, ARTICLE 2, DIVISION 4, HAWAII COUNTY CODE 1983 (2005 EDITION, AS AMENDED) BY ADDING A NEW SECTION RELATED TO CONCURRENCY CONDITIONS. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII: SECTION 1. Purpose and findings. The council finds that because of road congestion in Hawaii County, it is necessary to assess the traffic impacts of major developments, and if they will add traffic to roads that are now congested, or will foreseeably be congested in the future, that the rezoning should not take effect unless improvements to the traffic situation occur before the occupancy of the project. At the same time, the council recognizes that the lack of affordable housing near employment centers is one of the factors that creates traffic problems, by forcing workers to commute long distances, and does not want to inhibit the supply of affordable housing. In addition, there are situations where commercial or light industrial rezoning may be desirable to reduce traffic. For cxample, thousands of homes are being built in rural subdivisions approved in the 1950's and 1960's, mostly in Puna and Ka'u. These generally have no areas zoned for commercial and light industrial uses, and development of these necessary services has not kept pace with the movement of population to these areas. The council also finds that it is desirable to have standard expectations for water supply for new rezonings. In some rural areas, however, there is no reasonable prospect of a public water system, but the county may wish to allow some commercial and possibly light industrial rezoning to serve the growing rural population. The water supply necessary for sanitation and firefighting, in these circumstances, can be handled by requiring adequate storage facilities. SECTION 2. Chapter 25, article 2, division 4, Hawaii County Code 1983 (2005 Edition, as amended), is amended by adding a new section 25-2-46 to read as follows: "Section 25-2-46. Concurrence requirements. ~ Purpose. In addition to requirements otherwise imposed, this section creates concurrency standazds for roads and water supply in change of zone actions. (bl Applicability. This section applies to any application for rezoning, or for an extension of time to perform a condition of zoning, received by the Planning Depaztrnent after the effective date of this ordinance. (c) Definitions. As used in this section: `Acceptable level of service' means that the level of service of a transportation facility at the AM and PM peak hour is "D" or better. improved development' means development for which zoning has been granted by the count `Critical road area' means a geographical area where any of the transportation facilities serving the area have been determined by the council to be worse than the acceptable level of service. `Immediate vicinity of a proiect means the area in which transportation facilities will be required to mitigate impacts caused primarily by the project. `Level of service, or LOS' means a qualitative measure describing operational conditions within a traffic stream, and shall be determined using the procedures in the latest edition of the Highway Capacity Manual, Transportation Reseazch Board. `Mitigation' means specific actions to reduce traffic congestion. Mitigation is of two types: `local mitigation' which consists of improvements to roads and intersections that are in the immediate vicinity of a proiect, including ohannelization of intersections, turn lanes into a proiect and similar improvements. `Area mitigation' consists of improvements which increase the capacity of an arterial or other major road, such as additional lanes, in the general region containing the proiect, or construction of a new arterial or collector road in the general area containing the project, or improvements to public transportation such as buses or park and ride facilities, sufficient to offset the traffic demand generated by the proiect. `Occupancy' means (1) the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for a commercial, multifamily, industrial building, hotel or other structure requiring a certificate of occupancy; (2) the issuance of a buildingpermit for residential buildings that do not require a certificate of occupancy; or (3) final subdivision approval for subdivisions where dwellings aze allowed, but dwellings are not being constructed before sale of any lot. `Proj_ect area' means the azea in which the proiect is expected to have an impact on the level of service of transportation facilities. `Reasonable assumptions' means the percentage of full build-out that is expected to occur during the twenty-year period after the date of the application, as determined by the planning director. `Transportation facilities' means State and County highways, roads, and public transportation facilities. `Worse than the acceptable level of service' means that the level of service at the AM or PM peak is "E" or "F". (d) Traffic Impact Analysis Report Required. (1) A traffic impact analysis report (TIAR~prepazed or updated within six months before the submission of the application, shall be included with the application for any change of zone that can generate 50 or more peak hour trips. The determination of peak hour trips shall be based on the Institute of Transportation Engineers, "Trip Generation Handbook", or any other nationally recognized source. When the number of trips depends upon the exact future uses of the site, and those are unknown at the time of rezoning_(for example, the types of commercial uses), the determination shall be based upon a typical mix of uses found in that zoning t e in 2 the community. The TIAR shall be certified as having been conducted in accordance with best practices by a professional engineer licensed in the State of Hawai' i. (2) The TIAR shall assess impacts to transportation facilities in the immediate vicinity and general azea of the project, and to the transportation facilities serving the proiect azea. (3) The TIAR shall include projections for future growth in traffic, for a minimum of five, ten, and twent~yeazs, and shall include other approved or proposed development that is expected to impact the proiect azea, with reasonable assumptions about the build-out of such development. (4) The TIAR shall present an assessment of the impacts of the project on LOS and an evaluation of alternative plans for mitigating those impacts. The evaluation shall include budeetarv cost estimates for the capital and o ep rating costs of promising alternative plans. (e) Mitigation Required. (1) If the LOS for any transportation facility_in the project azea is (1) currently worse than the acceptable level of service, or (2) projected to become worse than the acceptable level of service during the five year period of the TIAR, any rezoninG of the property, if approved, shall contain conditions that require mitigation of adverse traffic effects before occupancy of the proiect is permitted, or that occupancy be delayed until the level of service has reached the acceptable level and is no longer projected to be worse than the acceptable level. (2) Where the LOS deficiency is due to roadway or intersection deficiencies in the immediate vicinity of the proiect, the conditions of zoninG shall require local mitigation. Where the deficiency is LOS due to insufficient capacity in the transportation facilities servinG the proiect area, the conditions of zoninG shall require area mitigation. (3) If there is more than one way to mitigate an adverse effect, the director shall present to the council the pros and cons of the alternatives. (fl Mitigation requirements will be deemed satisfied when: (1) a public agency has committed funds for area mitigation that will remove the LOS deficiency. In the case of the State, commitment of funds means that the governor has released funds to complete the improvement. In the case of the County, commitment of funds means that the council has appropriated funds to complete the improvement; or (2) the private developer's commitment to implement mitigation has been secured by bond or equivalent security, or mandatory participation in an improvement district, community facilities district, or other equivalent means of Guaranteeing performance. (g) A developer's azea mitigation expenses shall be credited a Gig 'nst any fair shaze or similaz fee requirement for roads. A developer's local mitigation expenses shall be credited against any fair share or similaz fee requirement for roads if the council determines that the mitigation 3 substantially benefits the general Rublic and was not necessaryprimarily for the benefit of the project. In general, roads that are necessarv for access within a development or turn lanes for a private protect shall not qualify for fair share credit. (h) The following types of rezoning applications are not required to perform area miti atg ion: (1) Residential or other rezonings where the applicant commits, and the conditions of zoning require, that the Rroject earn at least three times the number of affordable housin credits otherwise required under Chapter 11, County affordable housing_policv. (2) Rezoning to CV, CN, MCX, PD, or ML where the council determines that the proiect will reduce regional traffic congestion by providing necessarv commercial or light industrial opportunities to serve an area where there is a shortage of available space zoned for such uses, and substantial residential development has already been approved, provided that conditions of zoning shall ensure that any commercial development be of a scale consistent with the standards of a "neighborhood center" as described in the General Plan. (i) The restrictions on occupancy shall no! apply to the construction of infrastructure such as water tanks, roads, sewage treatment plants, or other proiect elements that do not generate substantial traffic. (i) The council may designate critical road areas by ordinance. (k) In a critical road area, all rezonings shall be subject to local and area mitigation, except as stated in subsection (h). (1) In order to determine whether a rezoning application meets the TIAR threshold of 50 or more peak hour trips, and to prevent applicants from going below the TIAR threshold by dividing_a proiect into segments, the director shall review all development proposed on the same or adjacent properties, and shall include traffic that may be generated by any development application approved after the effective date of this ordinance, or by any other pending develoRment application, if it is on a portion of the same lot or tax map keyparcel, or an adjoining lot or tax map key parcel, or in the immediate vicinity of the development. (m) A change of zone application shall not be granted unless: (1) the department of water supply has determined that it can meet the water requirements of the proiect and issue water commitments using its existing system; or (2Zspecific improvements to the existing public water system, or a private water system equivalent to the requirements of the department of water supply will be provided by the developer to meet the water needs of the proiect and conditions of zoning delay occupancy until the necessarv improvements are actually constructed. (n) To facilitate the development of village centers in rural areas that are not currently served by a public water system, the council may waive the water supply requirements for rezonings for commercial or light industrial uses in areas that do not currentlyhave a public water system, and where the department of water supply has no plans to build a public water stem, and which are (1) designated as an "urban and rural center" or "industrial area" on Table 14-5 of the General 4 Plan and (21 designated for urban use on the Land Use Pattern Allocation Guide Map of the General Plan; provided that conditions of zoning shall require water supply consistent with public health and safetyneeds such as sanitation and fire-fightine. (o) Nothing in this section shall limit the ability of the council to impose reasonable roadway or water improvement requirements on changes of zone or to deny change of zone applications to the extent otherwise allowed by law'" SECTION 3. Severability. If any provision of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end, the provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable. SECTION 4. Material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New material is underscored. In printing this ordinance, the brackets, bracketed material, and underscoring need not be included. SECTION 5. This ordinance shall take effect upon approval. 5 RED-LINED VERSION SHOWING DIFFERENCES BETWEEN DIRECTOR'S MODIFICATION AND PROPOSED AMENDMENT AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 25, ARTICLE 2, DIVISION 4, HAWAII COUNTY CODE 1983 (2005 EDITION, AS AMENDED) BY ADDING A NEW SECTION RELATED TO CONCURRENCY CONDITIONS. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI'L• SECTION 1. Purpose and findings. The council finds that because of road congestion in Hawaii County, it is necessary to assess the traffic impacts of major developments, and if they will add traffic to roads that aze now [tee] congested, or will foreseeable be [tes] congested in the future, that the rezoning should not take effect unless improvements to the traffic situation occur [at-eF] before the occupancy of the project. At the same time, the council recognizes that the lack of affordable housing neaz employment centers is one of the factors that creates traffic problems, by forcing workers to commute long distances, and does not want to inhibit the supply of affordable housing. In addition, there are situations where commercial or light industrial rezoning may be desirable to reduce traffic. For example, thousands of homes aze being built in rural subdivisions approved in the 1950's and 1960's, mostly in Puna and Ka'u. These generally have no azeas zoned for commercial and light industrial uses, and development of these necessary services has not kept pace with the movement of population to these areas. The council also finds that it is desirable to have standard expectations for water supply for new rezonings. In some rural azeas, however, there is no reasonable prospect of a public water system, but the county may wish to allow some commercial and possibly light industrial rezoning to serve the growing rural population. The water supply necessary for sanitation and firefighting, in these circumstances, can be handled by requiring adequate storage facilities. SECTION 2. Chapter 25, article 2, division 4, Hawaii County Code 1983 (2005 Edition, as amended), is amended by adding a new section 25-2-46 to read as follows: "Section 25-2-46. Concurrence requirements. (a) Purpose. In addition to reauirements otherwise imposed, this section creates concurrency standards for roads and water supple in change of zone actions. (b) Applicability. This section applies to any application for rezoning, or for an extension of time to perform a conditionfsl of zoning, received by the Planning Department after the effective date of this ordinancef, «a:4:~«.. v :Q. ~.d nl...« : n 41... n .«h ~F 1. (cl Definitions. As used in this section: `Acceptable level of service' means that the level of service of a [~ixigr~"rn"cnsrer-iirt°c:$°c2tie=rT transaortation facility at the AM lerl and PM peak hour is "D" or better. `Aaaroved develoament' means develoament for which zonine has been Eranted by the coun `Critical road area' means a geoeraphical area where any of the ~ transportation facilities serving the area have been determined by the council to be worse than the acceptable level of service(,''°°°'' `Immediate vicinity of a proiect' means the area in which transportation facilities will be required to miti¢ate imaacts caused primarily by the aroiect. `Level of service, or LOS' means a qualitative measure describine operational conditions within a traffic stream, and shall be determined using the procedures in the latest edition of the Highway Capacity Manual, Transportation Reseazch Boazd. `Mitigation' means specific actions to reduce traffic congestion. Mitigation is of two types: `local mitigation' which consists of improvements to roads and intersections that are in the immediate vicinity of a project, includin¢ channelization of intersections, turn lanes into a proiect and similar improvements[~ndl. `[regienel] Area miti atg ion' [~vhiehl consists of improvements which increase the capacity of an arterial or other major road, such as additional lanes, in the general region containing the project, or construction of a new arterial or collector road in the general fre~ien] area containin the project,[°~a -°'-~°w °'-°--m D'°^ €ae-i}ities-niat~l or improvements to public transportation such as buses or park and ride facilities, sufficient to offset the traffic demand venerated bXthe proiect. `Occupancy' means (1) the issuance of a certificate of occupancy for a commercial, multifamily, industrial buildine, hotel or other structure requiring a certificate of occupancy; (2) the issuance of a buildingpermit for residential buildings that do not require a certificate of occupancy; or (3) final subdivision approval for subdivisions where dwellings are allowed, but dwellings aze not being constructed before sale of ft~ke-letsl any lot. `Project area' means the area in which the proiect is expected to have an impact on the level of service of transportation facilities. `Reasonable assumptions' means the percenta¢e of full build-out that is expected to occur durine the twenty-year period after the date of the aaplication, as determined by the planninE director. `Transaortation facilities' means State and Coupty hiehways, roads, and aublic transportation facilities. `Worse than the acceptable level of service' means that the level of service at the AM or PM peak is "E" or "F". 2 (d) ITIA~1Traffic Impact Analysis Report Required. (1) A traffic impact analysis report (TIARI, prepared or updated within ltivebve] six months [eft before the submission of the application, shall be included with the application for anv change of zone that can eenerate 1981 50 or more peak hour tripsl. hy~s!~l. The determination of peak hour trips shall be based on the Institute of Transportation Engineers, "Tri~Generation Handbook", or anv other nationally reco ng_ ized source. When the number of trigs depends upon the exact future uses of the site, and those are unknown at the time of rezonine (for example, the types of commercial uses), the determination shall be based upon a ty~cal mix of uses found in that zoning~e in the community. The TIAR shall be certified as havin¢ been conducted in accordance with best practices by a professional engineer licensed in the State of Hawai i. (2) The TIAR shall assess impacts to 1^"''"" transportation facilities in the immediate vicinity and general area of the protect, and to the 1^°^°~ "°«a°l transportation facilities serving the project area. The TIAR shall include proiections for future growth in traffic, for a minimum of five, ten, and twenty years, and shall include other approved or proposed development finl that is expected to impact the proiect area, with reasonable assumptions about the build-out of such development. /4~ fT« 1:,.....F«°,...:..:«.. R„~ TT A D ° ~ A,° ...,1 t..°FF... 1°.,el ,,.fi°.:.,1 .,t,A L«>_° „ ,..,.°t,i° i,...°i °F..,.....:^° >,°..,.a °.~.,......,.a,.>_i° .....a:°..,1The TIAR shall present an assessment of the impacts of the proiect on LOS and an evaluation of alternative plans for miti¢atin¢ those impacts. The evaluation shall include bud¢etarv cost estimates for the capital and operatin¢ costs of promisins alternative plans. (e) Mitigation Required. (1) If the LOS for any ~ 1 transportation facility in the lstt~yl proiect area is (I) currently worse than the acceptable level of service, or (2) projected to become worse than the acceptable level of service during the five veaz period of the TIAR, any rezoning of the property, if approved, shall contain conditions that require mitigation of adverse traffic effects before occupancy of the project is permitted, or that occupancy be delayed until the level of service has reached the acceptable Level and is no ton er projected to be worse than the acceptable level. (2) Where the LOS deficiency is due to roadway or intersection deficiencies in the immediate vicinity of the proiect, the conditions of zoning shall require local mitigation. Where the deficiency is LOS list due to insufficient capacity in the ~^°a°7 transportation facilities serving the proiect area, the conditions of zoning shall require ~regienall area miti atg ion• 3 {31 If there is more than one way to mitigate an adverse effect, the director shall present to the council the pros and cons of the alternatives. (f) Mitigation requirements will be deemed satisfied when: (1) a public agency has committed funds for [xal] area mitigation that will remove the LOS deficiency. In the case of the State, commitment of funds means that the governor has released funds to complete the improvement. In the case of the County, commitment of funds means that the council has appropriated funds to complete the improvement; or (2) the private developer's commitment to implement mitigation has been secured by bond or equivalent security, or mandatory participation in an improvement district, community facilities district, or other equivalent means of guaranteeingperformance. (g) A developer's fregiexall area mitigation expenses shall be credited against any fair share or similar fee requirement for roads. A developer's local mitigation expenses shall be credited against any fair share or similar fee requirement for roads if the council determines that the mitigation substantially benefits the general public and was not necessaryprimarily for the benefit of the proiect. In general, roads that are necessary for access within a development or turn lanes for a private proiect shall not qualify for fair share credit. (h) The following types of rezoning applications are not recLuired to perform lregiertall area mitigation: (1) Residential or other rezonings where the applicant commits, and the conditions of zoning require, that the proiect earn at least ftwel three times the number of affordable housing credits otherwise required under Chapter 11, County affordable housing_policy. (21 Rezoning to CV, CN, MCX, PD, or ML where the council determines that the project will reduce leveralll regional traffic congestion byproviding necessary commercial or light industrial opportunities to serve an azea where there is a shortage of available space zoned for such uses, and substantial residential development has already been approved, provided that conditions of zoning shall ensure that any commercial development be of a scale consistent with the standards of a "neighborhood center" as described in the General Plan. [(3~-I~Cez~6ixi==gs-tliRr6en~riv-arc-eA~"~n=ty~e~elE~lci • •pmia-uvv~j,•°'¢i,T xc°ix~ « vca===m=.2~~a .:a., ,.n . ~ a .h a t . i "ivv'@A3C13tS-r iaa°cr~. °c cvam:m=r'isr-ac'r'°cxElT~nux~:] c~ixivcisiiic.T] Qi}i) The restrictions on occupancy shall not apply to the construction of ft~ede~hetneser] infrastructure such as water tanks, roads, sewage treatment plants, or other proiect elements that do not,generate substantial traffic. 4 ([lE]j) The council may desienate critical road azeas by ordinance. [T~r «:.:,...t «,...a ..l.nll r lln.., 4w.. ,.,.a..«,, r «.....n~a;., 4T,:.. nl.n 4n« n 41,n .l (lllk) In a critical road azea, all rezonings shall be subiect to local and [reg'eHal] area miti atg ion, except as stated in subsection (hZ[er~t- 1l...\ T.. n «:4:nn1 «nnA n n n TTAD ..l.nil l.n «n «n.l 4n t6o n..Fn.,t nF1....,.1 ...a ,~ttB33.1 (fnlll In order to determine whether a rezoning application meets the TIAR threshold of 50 or more peak hour trips, and to prevent applicants from goin¢ below the TIAR threshold by dividing a proiect into se¢ments, the director shall review [ 1 all development proposed on the same or adjacent properties, and shall include traffic that may be generated by anv freset3itt>al development application approved after the effective date of this ordinance, or by anv other pending lteseaii~l development application, if it is on a portion of the same lot or tax map keypazcel, or an adioining lot or tax man key nazcel, or in the immediate vicinity of the development f ~ 1. (lelm) A change of zone application shall not be granted unless: (1) the department of water supply has determined that it can meet the water requirements of the ~roiect and issue water commitments using its existing system; or (2) specific improvements to the existingpublic water system, or a private water system equivalent to the requirements of the department of water supper will be provided by the developer to meet the water needs of the proiect and conditions of zonine delay occupancy until the necessary improvements are actually constructed. (feln) To facilitate the development of village centers in rural areas that aze not currently served by a public water system, the council may waive the water supply requirements for rezonings for commercial or light industrial uses in areas that do not currently have a public water system, and where the department of water supply has no plans to build a public water system, and which are (1) designated as an "urban and rural center" or "industrial area" on Table 14-5 of the General Plan and (2) designated for urban use on the Land Use Pattern Allocation Guide Map of the General Plan; provided that conditions of zoning shall require water supply consistent with public health and safety needs such as sanitation and fire-fighting_ ([q]o) Nothing in this section shall limit the ability of the council to impose reasonable roadway or water improvement requirements on chanties of zone or to deny change of zone applications to the extent otherwise allowed by law." SECTION 3. Severability. If any provision of this ordinance, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, such invalidity shall not affect other provisions or applications of the ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end, the provisions of this ordinance are declared to be severable. 5 SECTION 4. Material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New material is underscored. In printing this ordinance, the brackets, bracketed material, and underscoring need not be included. SECTION 5. This ordinance shall take effect upon approval. 6