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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0486.000 2006-2008 ~+<r w N~~ ~:'~c Harry Kim ~ ~ Christopher J. Yuen Mayor Director yF %'ei+' Brad Kurokawa ASLA LEEK AP CnQixxt#g O{ ~at£UZtiT Deputy Director PLANNING DEPARTMENT 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3 Hilo, Hawaii 96720-3043 (808) 961-8288 FAX (808)961-8742 June 19, 2007 Mr. Glen T. Koyama Project Planner Belt Collins Hawaii LTD. 2153 North King Street, Suite 200 Honolulu, HI 96819-4554 , o Dear Mr. Koyama: ' Change of Zone Ordinance No. 02-131, as amended (REZ 470) Applicant: Kona Vistas, LLC (formerly Gamrex, Inc.) Subject: Request for Time Extension Tax Man Key: 7-6-21:4, 9 - 13, 15, & 17 This is to acknowledge receipt of your letter dated June 11, 2007 requesting a time extension to comply with Condition I of Change of Zone Ordinance No. 02-131. An initial administrative time extension for this change of zone was granted in 1989. Any additional time extension needs to go to the Planning Commission and the Hawaii Colmty Council for appropriate action, as evidenced by the past six time extension amendment requests. You will need to submit your request, with reasons, along with 20 copies of that request to the Planning Department with a $250 filing fee. The request will be transmitted to the Planning Commission and the Hawaii County Council for appropriate action. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact Jeff Darrow at 961-8288, ext 259. Sincerely, v CHR PH R J. YUEN Planning Director JWD:smn P:\public\wpwin60Veft\Letters\Time ExtV.Koyama-TER-REZA70.doc cc w/copy of letter: ~-Iawaii County Council Planning Commission Comm. No.~__.__.. Kona Planning Department Ref. To: Ref. Dote hiN~ 20~= Hawaii County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer. ~ .r BeltCollins > ~ yam. June 11, 2007 ,r.~ ~ 2007-33-0300 / 07P-214 Mr. Christopher J. Yuen, Director Planning Department County of Hawaii 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3 Hilo, Hawaii 96720-3043 Dear Mr. Yuen: Time Extension Request Zoning Ordinance 02-131 Kona Vistas, LLC Kailua-Kona. Hawaii On behalf of Kona Vistas, LLC, we are requesting a time extension on Condition I Honolulu of Zoning Ordinance 02-131. Approved on November 27, 2002, Condition I states that Guam Hong Kong "plans for the development within the first increment of the [3M zoned area shall be Philippines submitted to the Planning Department and final plan approval secured within five years 9aattla from the effective date of this sixth amendment. Construction shall commence within one Singapore year from the date of receipt of final plan approval and be completed within three years Thailand thereafter." Kona Vistas, LLC is the new owner of the Kona Vistas Subdivision and, as such, is assuming all of the obligations and responsibilities of the previous owner, Gamrex, Inc., for fulfilling and meeting the conditions of zoning approval for the project. One of the conditions of zoning approval has been intricately complex and time- consuming for the project. The previous owner initially received a State land use district boundary amendment approval (Docket No. 83-549) in 1993 from the State Land Use Commission (LUC). The Findings of Fact, Conclusions of Law, and Decision and Order for the LUC Approval stated that, after the completion of the project's drainage system, the County of Hawaii will permit the construction of the infrastructure improvements for the multi-family residential portion of the property. Plans for the drainage system were initiated but involved a number of factors affecting their implementation. The County of Hawaii indicated that prior to the development of the multi-family residential site, the project owner would need to study the drainage condition makai of the property and consider improvements. Accordingly, Bell Collins Hawaii Ltd. (1 ~ ~ e. 8 2153 North King Street, Suite 200 . Honolulu, Hawaii 96819 USA JJ 7/808521 5361 . F/8085387819. honolulu@beltcoilins.com . www.belicollins.com Ball Collins Nawaii is an Epuel Ooportunity Employer r.$r. Christopher J. Yuen June 11, 2007 2007-33-0300 / 07P-214 ' Page 2 drainage studies were done and subsequently filed with the County. A Conditional Letter of Map Revision (CLOMR) application was also filed with the Federal Emergency Management Agency (FEMA) in 1994 and later approved by that agency. Notably, in June 1989, Gamrex, [nc. acquired a 12-acre site makai of its property with the intent to satisfy Condition A of the LUC Approval relating to affordable housing. In December 1992, Gamrex entered into an agreement with the County Office of Housing and Community Development (OHCD) to dedicate the newly-acquired site to the OHCD for the provision of affordable housing. Prior to turning the land over to the County, however, the owner is required to complete the drainage improvements to the property. This would involve a number of preliminary steps even before any improvements on the drainage system can be undertaken. In 2002, Gamrex filed a Special Management Area (SMA) Use Permit Application for the makai portion (below Kuakini Highway) of Kona Vistas' flood control or drainage improvement project. A drainage easement over privately owned CPR property within the Kalani Makai subdivision was required in order for the SMA Application to be processed. Gamrex, with the assistance from the County Planning Department (PD), completed the agreement with the owners of the CPR property. This agreement required the consolidation and resubdivision of several lots and the creation of an easement for the drainage. It also provided the final boundaries for the 12-acre affordable housing site. The OHCD was kept apprised of all changes to the configuration of the 12-acre site during this process. Finally, the 12-acre site, easement, and land exchange were approved by the OHCD, and the SMA Use Permit was approved in May 2003. Final subdivision approval for the affordable housing site and drainage easement was granted in 2004. In February 2004, Gamrex commissioned preliminary engineering studies for the multi-family residential site and began working with the County PD on a future road connection with a subdivision to the north of the Kona Vistas Subdivision. A topographic survey was also completed at that time, and information was compiled for the preparation of a National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System (NPDES) Permit application. In December 2004, Gamrex submitted plans for the upper portion (above Kuakini Highway) of the flood control system to the County Public Works Department (PWD) for preliminary review, and in January 2005, submitted plans for the lower portion. Presently, the plans are approximately 80 percent complete. Then, in January of 2006, Gamrex transferred ownership of the property to the present owner, Kona Vistas, LLC. The new owner has been working up to recently on completing the pending required approvals for the single-family residential lots. Kona Vistas, LLC is now focused on the multi-family portion of the property, which has a November 2007 deadline to obtain Final Plan Approval for the first increment. I ~ 1_~r. Christopher J_ ~lus~? June 11, 2007 2007-33-0300 / 07P-214 Page 3 Kona Vistas, LLC has been engaging a consultant to finish the drainage plans, which were prepared for the previous owner, and to resume review and approval of those plans by the County PWD. We estimate this would take approximately 6 to 8 months to complete. Once the plans are approved, the bidding, awarding of contract, and construction of the drainage improvements would take approximately 27 to 30 months or over two years to complete. At that time, development on the multi-family site would be able to proceed. Although Kona Vistas, LLC would like to expedite this process, it would be impractical considering the potential delays in owner/agency reviews and the possible unexpected delays in construction. As provided in Condition U of Ordinance 02-131, an initial time extension may be granted by the Planning Director for a period not to exceed the period originally granted for performance of the subject condition. This is Kona Vistas' initial request for a time extension under this zoning ordinance and, hence, it is requesting a time extension of Condition I to the year 2012. We look forward to your favorable consideration of our request. If there are any questions regarding this request, please do not hesitate to contact us. Sincerely yours, BELT COLLI/NS HAWAII LTD. Glen T. Koyama GTKaf cc: Sherrie Stuart, Kona Vistas, LLC