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HomeMy WebLinkAboutREP PC 027 2019/07/23 2018-2020 REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON PLANNING DATE: July 23, 2019 Re: Comm. No. 352/Bill No. 87 PLACE: Council Chambers Kailua-Kona, Hawaii TIME: 1:02 p.m. Council Chair and Members Hawaii County Council Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Your Committee on Planning, to which was referred Bill No. 87, reports as follows: Bill No. 87, transmitted by Mayor Harry Kim via Communication No. 352, dated July 2, 2019, a Planning Director Initiated Amendment of the Kona Community Development Plan(CDP). The Leeward Planning Commission, at its duly noticed meeting on June 20, 2019, forwarded to Your Committee a favorable recommendation of the amendments to the Kona CDP. As noted in the Planning Department's Background and Recommendation report, Article 3 and 6 of Hawaii County Charter, Section 15.1 of the General Plan, and Ordinance No. 08-131,the Planning Director is the initiator of amendments to the Kona CDP. The purpose of the Kona CDP Amendment Package was to align language within the document so that it would not conflict with the Hawaii County Code and Administrative Rules, eliminate commitments for projects where there was no capacity for follow through, and remove mandated policies and actions beyond its scope and authority. As a result of the Missler Case (No. CAAP-13-0002347), which found that the Kona CDP has the force of law as an ordinance,the Amendment Package was developed to aid the Kona CDP's successful implementation and protect the County from possible legal action due to the binding language around mandatory obligations. Appearing before Your Committee from the Planning Department was Director Michael Yee and Planner Kamuela Plunkett. Mr. Plunkett gave a brief presentation to provide some background information on amendments to the Kona CDP and the implications of the Missler Case. He noted that various groups such as the Department of Public Works, Corporation Counsel, and the Kona CDP Action Committee provided input over a two-year period, based on initial edits from the Mayor's Office in 2017. When the Planning Department reviewed the approved Kona CDP to determine implementation and obligations, a new scope of work was established to review the document's contents against Hawaii Revised Statutes, Hawaii County Code, and Administrative Rules in order to address conflicts, issues of concurrency, and potential liabilities. Mr. Plunkett, who specializes in long-range planning, explained that the Planning Department worked diligently to clean up language,taking into consideration every group's perspective and reasoning, without altering the overall intention of the Kona CDP. Director Yee added that amendments to the Kona CDP were developed within a system where new thoughts and ideas amongst many groups were integrated, and the body of work, would serve as a sufficient stop-gap in the PC Report No.27 I I; PC-27 Page 2 July 23,2019 interim until the County's updated General Plan is approved by the County Council in 2020. After the General Plan review is complete, the Planning Department would launch the comprehensive review process to determine CDP updates. Council Member Herbert M. "Tim"Richards III stated that the Kona CDP was a"living document"that can, will, and should change over time. Council Member Karen Eoff also provided an overview of the CDP, as she had been involved in its development from onset in 2008,pointing out that it was an award winning plan with national recognition. She acknowledged that CDP development should now be more cautionary as a result of the Missler Case, and wanted to assure the community that the Amendment Package as presented maintained the integrity of the CDP, and that"it was not being gutted." Both Director Yee and Mr. Plunkett acknowledged that cultural and environmentalprotection mechanisms were not being removed, but that language had been adopted which only enhanced them. Council Member Eoff added she respected the actions of the Action Committee and all of the work that had been put into the amendments. E; Council Member Valerie T. Poindexter stated that she would support the Kona-side Council Members decision, given that the CDP was more relevant to them, and clarified that if there were a conflict between the CDP and the General Plan, the General Plan would prevail. She questioned if the passing of f Bill No. 87 was being rushed or necessary, given that the General Plan was under review and would be deliberated on by the Council in 2020. Director Yee pointed out that Bill No. 87 was a proactive measure and wanted to memorialize the work that had been put into the amendments over the years. Council Member Maile David noted her appreciation of the CDP including Native Hawaiian perspective and asked a clarifying question regarding the two land use policies and one environmental policy i referenced in the Missler Case. Mr. Plunkett noted that the policies remained intact,though one policy had a change in process. r c Planning Committee Vice Chair Lee Loy expressed her desire to have a land use policy working in present time and was in favor of the Amendment Package. She said that the desire had been to develop an actionable plan 10 years ago and that Bill No. 87 would finally achieve this. She also believed that the edits presented only served to strengthen the document. Planning Committee Chair Ashley L. Kierkiewicz acknowledged having read all of the amendments and agreed that the preservation of natural and cultural resources were strengthened. She said that community had been involved every step of the way to develop the amendments and that she trusted the work product set forth. The vote was taken on the motion to move this measure to Council with a positive recommendation and passed with eight"ayes." i< PC Report No.27 l PC-27 Page 3 July 23,2019 Your Committee on Planning is in accord with the purpose and intent of Bill No. 87, and recommends its passage on first reading. ck AYES NOES ABS EX Respectfully submitted, CHUNG X DAVID x COMMITTEE ON PLANNING EOFF X KIERKIEWICZ X KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER X LEE LOY X POINDEXTER x A HLEY L. KIERKIEWICZ, CHAIR RICHARDS X PC REPORT NO.: 27 VILLEGAS X ADOPTED: AUG 0 7 2019