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HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES 285 Draft 01 2006-2008 w~ ~~1., ,4 COUNTY OF HAWAII STATE OF HAWAII •,•3.O,.N'~ RESOLUTION NO. 285 RESOLUTION TO DELAY COUNCIL ACTION ON UPZONING IN THE DISTRICT OF PUNA UNTIL THE PUNA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN IS ADOPTED BY ORDINANCE, OR UNTIL SEPTEMBER 1, 2008, WHICHEVER SHALL OCCUR FIRST. WHEREAS, the Hawaii State Constitution, Article IX, Section 6, Management of Population Growth, states: "The State and its political subdivisions, as provided by general law, shall plan and manage the growth of the population to protect and preserve the public health and welfare; except that each political subdivision, as provided by general law, may plan and manage the growth of its population in a more restrictive manner than the State"; and WHEREAS, the Hawaii County Charter, section 3-15, from which the General Plan emerged as a major policy document, states, in part: "The County Council shall adopt by ordinance a General Plan which shall set forth the council's policy for long-range comprehensive physical development of the county. It shall contain a statement of development objectives, standazds and principles with respect to the most desirable use of land within the county for residential, recreational, agricultural, commercial, industrial and other purposes and such other matter as may, in the council's judgment, be beneficial to the social, economic, and governmental conditions and trends and shall be designed to assure the coordinated development of the county and to promote the general welfare and prosperity of its people... No public improvement or project, or subdivision or zoning ordinance, shall be initiated or adopted unless the same conforms to and implements the General Plan"; and WHEREAS, the Hawaii County General Plan, Section 15.1. Community Development Plans, states, in part: "The Community Development Plans are intended to be the forum for community input into managing growth and coordinating the delivery of government services to the community. The Community Development Plans will translate the broad General Plan statements to specific actions as they apply to specific geographical areas"; and WHEREAS, pursuant to the provisions of the General Plan to ensure responsible growth and preserve the public health and welfare, the planning director has selected the District of Puna as most suitable and in need of a Community Development Plan; and WHEREAS, starting in 1946 with Mauna Loa Estates, rampant unplanned subdivision of large tracts of native forest have left the District of Puna with an extensive legacy of over 50,000 house lots, many still vacant, beazing a layout and zonings that impair logical community planning, economic development and quality of life; and WHEREAS, residents have repeatedly expressed their frustration with the lack of infrastructure in the form of roads and the resulting traffic congestion, the loss of open space and agriculture, and the perception that rapid urbanization and previous subdivisions' build-out will lead to a loss of community, culture, and place in the District of Puna; and WHEREAS, the Hawaii County General Plan seeks to address responsible growth and redevelopment within a community through a Community Development Plan process that is designed to determine the specific needs of a community and to ensure that adequate public services and infrastructure aze available to preserve the public health and welfare; and WHEREAS, a delay on new upzonings in the District of Puna will allow the community, through a legitimate and deliberate Community Development Planning process, to define how best to solve existing problems, to redress past land use mistakes and to allocate space for new growth; and WHEREAS, the District of Puna comprised the second community selected by the planning director for implementation of a Community Development Plan, and an 11-member Steering Committee appointed by the Mayor was confirmed by the Council on June 21, 2006; and WHEREAS, the Puna Community Development Plan process has created an effective outreach program to gather public input through numerous facilitated community meetings and several major fact-finding public workshops in order to define a community vision and to determine a methodology for well-planned future growth and community direction in the District of Puna; and WHEREAS, the Puna Community Development Plan Steering Committee has requested that any upzoning in the District of Puna be delayed until the Community Development Plan is adopted by ordinance or until September 1, 2008, whichever shall occur first; and WHEREAS, the Mayor, the Planning Department, the County Council, and the Puna community are committed to the Community Development Plan process as a guiding principle for responsible smart-growth planning and community direction in the District of Puna; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII, that Council action on upzoning legislation occurring in the District of Puna be delayed until the Puna Community Development Plan is adopted by ordinance, or until September 1, 2008, whichever shall occur first; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that delay of Council action shall not affect or apply to any and all Federal, State, and County community-based and/or self-help housing projects involving agencies and programs including, but not limited to, the following: 2 - The State Depaztment of Hawaiian Home Lands housing projects in accordance with its December, 30, 2002 "Memorandum of Agreement Between the County of Hawaii and the Depaztment of Hawaiian Home Lands"; - The Hawaii Public Housing Authority (HPHA) program, formerly the State Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii; -Public projects involving schools, water and sewer systems, and any other projects that specifically benefit the public's health, safety and welfaze; and - The Habitat for Humanities program, elderly housing projects, and homeless shelters; and BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that any applications for upzoning submitted prior to the effective date of this resolution shall not be impacted by this resolution; and BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that the County Clerk shall forwazd copies of this resolution to the Puna Community Development Plan Steering Committee, Mayor Harry Kim, the Planning Department, the Planning Commission, the Department of Public Works, and the Department of Finance. Dated at -Kona , Hawaii, this 6th day of September , 2007. INTRODUCED BY~: ~ ~j ~ X/ ~ L~~~'r~Ui COUNCI EMBER, COUNTY OF HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL ROLL CALL VOTE County of Hawaii AYES NOES ABS EX Hilo, Hawaii FORD x HIGA g I hereby certify that the foregoing RESOLUTION was by HOFFMANN the vote indicated to the right hereof adopted by the COUNCIL of the IKEDA CounTyofHawai`ion September 6, 2007 JACOBSON X NAEOLE X ATTEST: PILAGO X YAGONG X YOSHIMOTO x 6 2 1 0 Reference: C-568/PC-44 COUNTY CLERK CHAIRMA OFFICER RESOLUTION NO. 2+SS 3