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HomeMy WebLinkAboutREP PC 041 07/07/1999 1998-2000 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON PLANNING DATE: July 7, 1999 Re: C-346/Bill No. 98 PLACE: Councilroom TIME: 2:40 p.m. Chair and Members Hawaii County Council Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Your Committee on Planning, to which was referred Bill No. 98, transmitted by Mayor Stephen K. Yamashiro per Communication No. 346, dated June 21, 1999, regarding the change of zone request by Queen Liliuokalani Trust, at Keahuolu, North Kona, Hawaii, TMK: 7-4-08:63, reports as follows: Bill No. 98 amends Section 25-8-3 (North Kona Zone Map), Article 8, Chapter 25 (Zoning Code) of the Hawaii County Code, by changing the district classification for approximately l 1.95 acres of land from an Agricultural (A-la) and (A-Sa) to a General Commercial (CG-10) zoned district. The irregular shaped lot, owned in fee by the applicant, is located along the south side of Palani Road at the southwest comer of the Palani Road-Henry Street intersection and adjacent and north of the Crossroads project site at Keahuolu. On June 22, 1998, the State Land Use Commission approved with conditions approximately 432.91 of the 955.78 acres of land that the County petitioned for a State Land Use Boundary Amendment from Agricultural to Urban District. This subject parcel 63 and a portion of parcel 1, consisting of 60 acres are a portion of the reclassified Urban district. Conditions 4 and 6, prior to the County's change of zone approval, state the County must receive in writing a verification that a Traffic Impact Analysis Report (TIAR) is approved by the State Department of Transportation, and the archaeological inventory survey report, significance evaluations and the mitigation commitments are acceptable by the State Department of Land and Natural Resources, Historic Preservation Division. The Trust is requesting this rezoning based on the recent LUC decision and to secure entitlements to position itself for future commercial opportunities. On the basis of the County's General Plan and the State's recent land use decision, the Trust recognizes that its proposal is consistent with the on-term public policies for the area. The commercial zoning would allow the landowner to begin site and area wide planning to be integrated with Liliuokalani Trust's overall master plan, infrastructure planning and traffic planning. PC-41 PC-41 Page 2 July 7, 1999 The conceptual development plan is to divide the parcel into two development areas due to the applicant's proposal to preserve the historic Kuakini Wall. The mauka area is the smaller section at 0.9 acres which will provide a 3,500 square foot commercial pad, while the makai area is the larger section at 11.0 acres which will provide approximately 100,800 square feet of commercial floor area. The anticipated completion date is the year 2020 and the estimated cost is $20 million, which is based on current construction standards in current dollar terms. The State Land Use Commission designation is Urban. The General Plan Land Use Pattern Allocation Guide (LUPAG) Map designation is High Density Urban Development and Urban Expansion. The Kona Regional Plan designates the area for General Commercial uses. The property is outside the study area of the Keahole to Kailua Development Plan, however the plan identifies the property for Urban Expansion. The property is not within the Special Management Area. Surrounding properties are zoned CG-20, CG-10, A-Sa and A-la. The existing Crossroads and the proposed Hawaiian Development Corporation commercial developments are situated to the south. To the east of the subject property is a single family dwelling and baseyard; to the north and northwest are other Queen Liliuokalani Trust lands including the Makalapua Center, and further to the southwest is the Lanihau Shopping Center and Kona Coast Shopping Center. The property is situated within Zone X, an azea determined to be outside the 500 yeaz flood plain. The ALISH system designates the property as "Unclassified". The USDA Soil Survey Report, shows there are two types of soils on the subject property. The Pahoehoe Lava Flows which has a billowy, glassy surface that is relatively smooth, has no soil covering and is typically bare of vegetation except for mosses and lichens. The other is Punaluu Extremely rocky peat, which consists ofwell-drained thin organic soils over pahoehoe lava bedrock, is medium acid, and the peat is rapidly permeable although water moves rapidly through the cracks. The Land Study Bureau's overall master productivity rating is Class "E" or Poor. The existing vegetation is dominated by introduced or alien plant species such as koa haole, guinea grass, air plant, kiawe and Lantana. Sixty-one of the sixty-nine species of plants inventoried on the site, are introduced species. The majority of bird and mammal life impacted were found to be exotic species. The applicant's Environmental Report states the property is located within the Kona Field System. The Kuakini Wall is located within the property and is on the Hawaii State Register of Historic Places. Eight sites were identified for evaluation, two additional sites had been destroyed during the construction of Henry Street and were not included within the survey's evaluation. Mitigative actions include the preservation of the Kuakini Wall, data recovery for two sites, and no further work for the remaining five sites. Four of the sites were historically PC-41 PC-41 Page 3 July 7, 1999 used for livestock control, three of the sites were used for temporary habitation, and one site was used as a historical dump complex. The only permanent habitation in the area dates to the historic period and no burial or potential burial features were found in the project area. Access to the proposed development would be from three locations along Palani Road, which are based on prior approved subdivision plans for widening of Palani Road. Access to the .09 acre parcel will be from Henry Street. A Traffic Impact Analysis Study was completed for the proposed project and submitted to the Department of Public Works for review and comment. In 1997, the applicant dedicated to the County a 1.0 million gallon per day potable water well and 1.0 million gallon storage reservoir in Keauhou above Mamalahoa Highway. Based on this contribution, water and storage are available for the development. Six-inch diameter distribution lines will be constructed to connect to the 16-inch diameter line on Palani Road. The applicant proposes to tie into the County's Kealakehe Wastewater Treatment Facility. All other utilities and services are or will be made available to the property. Your Committee recommended to insert the words "if required" into Condition H regarding the Drainage Study in the event that one needs to be done. In response to a question posed by Your Committee, Mr. Jim Bell of Belt Collins explained that there are no plans to develop this area at this time, and that the Trust would find a developer for the property. Your Committee concurs with the Planning Commission and the Planning Director for recommending a favorable consideration to the change of zone request. Your Committee on Planning is in accord with the intent and purpose of Bill No 98, as amended to Draft 2, and recommends it pass first reading. AYES NOES A & E Ex Respectfully submitted, LEITHEAD-TODD x COMMITTEE ON PL IN TYLER X CHUNG x ELARIONOFF X iACOSSON x B AN LEITHEAD-TODD, CHAI wslccmo x PC REPORT NO. 41 SMITH X vncoNC x ADOPTED: JUL ~ 8 1999 ARAKAKI E.O.M.