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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0701.003 1996-1998 t i Ntr w a~ Virginia Goldstein w OCrecmr Stephen K. Famashiro In;Q, Mayer Russell Kokubun Deputy Director ~r ~ n_ v. Q~ Oi•Nr~' (i~IIixnfg of ~.ttf~ttii PLANNING DEPARTMENT 25 Aupuni Street, Room 109 • Hilo, Hawaii 96720.4252 (808) 961.8288 • Fax (808) 961.6742 April 14, 1998 Honorable James Arakaki, Chairman and Members of the Hawaii County Council Hawaii County Council 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, HI 96720 Dear Chairman Arakaki and Members of the County Council: 1998 COUNTY OF HAWAII GENERAL PLAN REVISION PROGRAM We have recently commenced the program with informal public workshops which were held throughout the County during the months of Febnlary and early March 1998. The next step is to introduce our program to all affected Federal, State, and County agencies starting in April 1998. We would like to invite you and your staff to participate in our 1998 General Plan Revision Program. Enclosed is a brief discussion of the scope of the revision program and the goals we wish to achieve, and a schedule. Vested with you is the final authority to adopt any proposed revisions to the Hawaii County General Plan which will guide the physical development of the County till the year 2020. We would appreciate your designation of staff with whom we may work with for the duration of the revision program. • r;, APR 1 c, 1998 , Honorable James Arakaki, Chairman and Members of the Hawaii County Council Page 2 April 14, 1998 Thank you in advance for your cooperation. Should you have any questions, comments or suggestions to offer regarding the revision program, please contact me, Norman Hayashi or Daryn Arai of my staff at 961-8288. Sincerely, ~1 VIR~ O STEIN Planning Director DSA:jkg f: \wp60\genplxn\98revpgm\agencies\MAgncy03.dsn Enclosure (GP Revision Program Summary) c: Mr. Norman Hayashi Mr. Daryn Arai COUNTY OF HAWAII GENERAL PLAN REVISION PROGRAM COUNTY OF HAWAII PLANNING DEPARTMENT 25 AUPUNI STREET HILO, HI 96720 (808) 961-8288 (808) 961-8742 - Faz January 29, 1998 HAWAII COUNTY GENERAL PLAN REVISION PROGRAM Overview: The General Plan is a policy document for the long-range comprehensive development of the island of Hawaii. The General Plan provides the direction for the future growth of the County. It brings into focus the relationship between residents and their pursuits and institutions, offering policy statements which embody the expressed goals for present and future generations. As a policy document, the General Plan provides the legal basis for all subdivision, zoning and related ordinances. It also provides the legal basis for the initiation and authorization for all public improvements and projects. The General Plan should be thoroughly reviewed at intervals of not more than ten years. Land use acreage allocation should be reviewed at intervals of not more than five years. All review processes shall be a joint effort of the communities, residents, and the County government. County Charter Provisions: • Section 3-15: 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, standards and principles with respect to the most desirable use of land within the county for residential, recreational, agricultural, commercial, industrial and other purposes which shall be consistent with proper conservation of natural resources and the preservation of our natural beauty and historical sites; the most desirable density of population in the several parts of the county; a system of principal thoroughfares, highways, streets, public access to the shorelines, and other open spaces; the general locations, relocations and improvement of public buildings, the general location and extent of public utilities and terminals, whether publicly or privately owned, for water, sewers, light, power, transit, and other purposes; the extent and location of public housing projects; adequate drainage facilities and control; air pollution; and such other matters 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. z • Section 5-4.2(b): The Planning Director shall: Prepare a general plan and amendments thereof to guide the development of the county, district or districts. History of the General Plan: General plan studies in the County of Hawaii were initiated in the late 1950's on a regional basis. The first of these studies, A Plan for Kona, was completed in 1960 and encompassed the districts of North and South Kona. A Plan for the Metro olitan Area of Hilo was completed in 1961 for the districts of South Hilo and Puna. The Kohala-HamakLa Region General p.1~n was completed in 1963 and covered part of the district of North Kona and the districts of North and South Kohala, Hamakua, and North Hilo. These plans were adopted by Ordinance No. 317 in July 1965, as the General Plan for the County. The district of Ka'u was the only area in the County not covered by this plan. On December 15, 1971, the County adopted its first comprehensive General Plan which included all districts. This General Plan reflected a departure from previous plans which were done for various regions of the island with little island- 3 wide integrative efforts. The previous plans were also land use or physically oriented with no firm policy statements or guidelines. The 1971 General Plan, however, set forth the policy for the comprehensive development of the entire island. It also reflected an awareness of the social, physical, and economic environments and their relationship to one another. The plan consisted of twelve major elements ranging from economic activities to historic sites to land use which were further broken down into sub-elements. Goals, policies, standards, and courses of action were set forth for each element of the General Plan. The goals are general expressions of the desired long-range direction and situation for the island. Policies state the method or strategy which should be undertaken in order to attain the goals. The quality and quantity by which we can measure or evaluate conditions are the standards of the elements. Courses of action are more precise or detailed discussions of alternative solutions for community concerns and problems. In 1978, a review of the General Plan's Land Use Pattern Allocation Guide (LUPAG) map was conducted, and a comprehensive review of the entire General Plan commenced during the latter part of the 1980's. The plan was subsequently amended on November 14, 1989 as Ordinance No. 89 12. According to the General Plan, a comprehensive review should commence every ten years. Since the General Plan was amended in November of 1989, a comprehensive review should commence no later than November 14, 1999. Rather than wait a until November of 1999, the Planning Department has decided to commence with the comprehensive review of the General Plan now. The entire process will take approximately two years before the proposed amendments to the General Plan are adopted. Intent of the General Plan: The General Plan is intended to achieve the following basic purposes: • To improve the physical environment of the County as a setting for human activities - to make it more functional, beautiful, healthful, interesting and efficient. • To promote and safeguard the public interest, and the interest of the County as a whole. • To facilitate the democratic determination of community policies concerning the utilization of its natural, man-made and human resources. • To effect political and technical coordination in community improvement and development. • To inject long-range considerations into the determination of short-range actions and implementation. 5 • To provide an objective and flexible framework within which consistent legislative and administrative decisions can be effected. Study Elements: The study elements of the existing General Plan are: • Economic Activities: Describes the human, capital and natural resources used to produce goods and services for consumption in local and overseas markets. • Energy: Describes the energy situation for the County and explains the incentive for promoting energy conservation and the development of indigenous energy resources including solar, hydrologic and geothermal. • Environmental Quality: Identifies the factors affecting the island's envirorunental quality and describes the precautions and safeguards necessary to maintain and improve the quality of the environment for the physical, psychological and social well-being of residents and visitors. 6 • Flood Control and Drainage: Pertains to the conservation and protection of life, improvements and natural resources from excess runoff due to either man- made improvements, natural causes or inundation from tsunamis and heavy seas. • Historic Sites: Identifies artifacts and sites of historical and cultural importance. • Natural Beauty: Identifies areas of unique natural beauty which are a principle asset of the island, and which require programs for their conservation, preservation, and integration with other elements. • Natural Resources and Shoreline: Describes the valuable and often irreplaceable natural assets of the island which require programs for their protection and wise use. • Housing: Addresses the requirements for and the quantity, quality, and distribution of housing units in the County. It also addresses critical housing problems of the County. • Public Facilities: Pertains to the location and distribution of facilities for education and public safety and for social, custodial and health services. • Public Utilities: Describes the distribution of power, light, and water, the collection and disposition of waste, sewage, and the provision of communication facilities which are essential to the efficient functioning of a modern community. • Recreation: Examines the requirements of the County for active and passive outdoor activities, cultural events and pastimes, as well as attendant facilities and areas. • Transportation: Describes the requirements for air and water transport terminal facilities linking the County with the rest of the State and overseas areas, and the island's network of streets, highways and roads. • Land Use: Studies the relationship of human activities to the uses of land and the location, spatial relationship, and topography of land uses. This element is subdivided according to uses into the following designations: • Agricultural: Encompasses all types of agricultural endeavors, specified industrial uses, residential and ancillary community and public uses. • Commercial: Comprised of industries in the retail trade and service categories and certain non-noxious enterprises from other industrial classifications. s Y • Industrial: Includes uses which may not be compatible with commercial areas (such as manufacturing and processing, wholesaling, large storage and transportation facilities, power plants, and government base yards) as well as other industrial, manufacturing or wholesaling uses. • Multiple Residential: Includes duplexes, apartments, town houses; all types of residential structures and ancillary community and public uses. • Open: Includes conservation lands, forest and water reserves, natural and scientific preserves and potential natural hazard areas. • Public: Includes Federal, State, County and University owned lands. • Resort: Consists primarily of areas with basic amenities and attributes which attract developments of visitor accommodations and related facilities. • Single-family Residential: Consists of single-family detached houses and ancillary community and public uses. 9 r Each study element includes the following sections: • Introduction and Analysis: Describes the element and summarizes findings, County-wide characteristics and features, trends, changes, and problems, as well as the outlook and opportunities for the immediate and distant future. The analysis also involves interrelationships with other elements. • Goals: Indicates the desired long-range direction and situation which have been enunciated by community groups, officially expressed in the past or implied in governmental programs. They attempt to provide a cohesive and comprehensive framework within which social and economic programs and governmental effort can be coordinated. • Policies: States the methods or strategy which should be undertaken to attain the goals stated. These are action and program oriented and involve the formulation of standard procedures, program evaluation and review, rules and regulations, ordinances and laws, budgeting, specific projects, etc. • Standards: Concerned with qualitative and quantitative criteria by which situations can be evaluated or benchmark established. Standards are basically "yardsticks" or indicators, minimum conditions or levels of quality necessary for the well-being of the public. io • Districts: Many study elements require a more precise and definitive discussion of community concerns and problems. This section attempts to identify specific localized alternatives on a community, district or regional basis. Land Use Pattern Allocation Guide Map: The General Plan also includes a Land Use Pattern Allocation Guide (LUPAG) Map. The LUPAG Map indicates the general location of various land uses in relation to each other. The land use pattern is a broad, flexible design intended to guide the direction and quality of future developments in a coordinated and rational manner. Land uses are designed generally on the LUPAG Map in reference to the following categories: • High Density Urban: Commercial, multiple, residential and related services (general and office commercial; multiple residential - up to 87 units per acre). • Medium Density Urban: Village and neighborhood commercial and residential and related functions (3-story commercial; residential - up to 35 units per acre). • Low Density Urban: Single family residential in character, ancillary community and public uses, and convenience type commercial uses. ii • Resort Area: These areas include uses such as hotels, condominium-hotels (condominiums developed and/or operated as hotels), and supporting services. • Urban Expansion Area: Allows for a mix of high density, medium density, low density, industrial and/or open designations in areas where new settlements may be desirable, but where the specific settlement pattern and mix of uses have not yet been determined. Within areas designated for development as resorts, portions of the resort area may be included in the urban expansion area. • Industrial Area: These areas include uses such as manufacturing and processing, wholesaling, large storage and transportation facilities, and light industrial uses. • Intensive Agriculture: Sugar, orchard, diversified agriculture, and floriculture. • Extensive Agriculture: Pasturage and range lands. • Orchard: Those agricultural lands which though rocky in character and content may support productive macadamia nuts, papaya, citrus and other similar agricultural products. • University: University and support community services. • Open: Parks and historic sites. 12 • Conservation Area: Forest and water reserves, natural and scientific preserves, open, lands within the State Land Use Conservation District. Facilities Map: Besides the LUPAG Map, the General Plan also includes a Facilities Map. This map delineates the current location of various public facilities (i.e., schools, fire station, hospitals, civic center, etc.), public utilities (i.e., water, sewer, etc.), and transportation facilities and major roadways, both existing and proposed. The Facilities Map also includes geological features (i.e., tsunami inudation and flood hazard areas, rift and fault zones, etc.). Tasks of General Plan Review: • Revisit County and district goals and objectives. • Conduct a detail land use inventory. • Conduct an economic assessment study, which includes population projections and distribution. • Delineate land use patterns including vehicular circulation, public facilities and utilities, community facilities, historical sites, areas for preservation of natural beauty, urban renewal and redevelopment areas, housing, flooding 13 and inundation areas, etc. • Summarize present features of the County and each district, and estimate future requirements to govern location, size, and number of land use components, including public facilities. • Prepare standards of land use and /or development including density, recreation facilities, preservation of historic sites, safeguards for flooding and inundation areas, etc. • Enumerate special County and district problems and recommend alternative solutions relative to the General Plan. • Formulate implementation program. Task and Schedule: • Public Information Meetings (January -February 1998) • Economic Assessment Study (February -August 1998) • Update Land Use Inventory (February -October 1998) is • Data Gathering (February -October 1998) • Meetings: • Community • Special Interest Groups • Agencies • Professional Organizations • Community Attitudes • Research • Statistical Information • Historical, Narrative, etc. • References • Data Classification • Characteristics • Problems & Concerns is t • Existing Goals • Land Use • Data Analysis (February -October 1998) • Profile of various elements, island-wide and districts • Goals • Policies • Standards • Courses of Action • Draft Amendments to text (June 1998 -February 1999) • Draft Amendments to LUPAG Maps (October 1998 - February 1999) • Draft Amendments to Facilities Maps (October 1998 - February 1999) • Public Workshops on Draft Amendments (March - April 1999) 16 • Revision to Draft Amendments (May -July 1999) • Transmit to Planning Commission (August 1999) • Planning Commission \ Public Hearings (September - November 1999) • Planning Commission finalizes recommendations/comments and transmit draft to County Council for adoption (Dec. 1999) • County Council action (Year 2000) • Mayor's approval (Year 2000) • Printing of General Plan (Year 2000) c:\norm\wpwin\genplan\program.gp -12/16/97 17