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HomeMy WebLinkAboutREP PWMTC 019 2019/12/03 2018-2020 i I I REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORDS AND MASS TRANSIT DATE: December 3, 2019 Re: Comm. No. 642/Res.No. 424-19 PLACE: Council Chambers Hilo, Hawaii TIME: 1:34 p.m. Council Chair and Members Hawaii County Council Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Your Committee on Public Works and Mass Transit, to which was referred Resolution No. 424-19, reports as follows: Resolution No. 424-19, introduced by Committee Chair Sue Lee Loy at the request of the Administration, grants a variance from Chapter 3, Sections 3-5(a), 3-6(b)(3), 3-58(a)(2)(b), 3-58(a)(5)(b), 3-58(c), 3-59(a)(4), and 3-60(a), Hawaii County Code 1983 (2016 Edition, as amended), to allow construction of certain ground and wall signs at the property located at 75-971 Henry Street, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, 96740, Tax Map Key No. (3) 7-5-004:007. Kona Owner LLC is developing the new Niumalu Marketplace commercial complex on a 19.547-acre site to the southeast of the Lanihau Center, and makai of the intersection of the Queen Ka`ahumanu Highway and Henry Street. The applicant believes that the strict application of Chapter 3 of the County Code (the Sign Code) would create an unnecessary hardship, as it would deprive them of the ability to market the Niumalu marketplace due to the existing sign constraints. The Kailua Village Design Commission (KVDC)took up the sign variance request on March 5, 2019, and voted to forward a favorable recommendation to the Director of Public Works. Committee Chair Sue Lee Loy invited Linda Schatz, representing the applicant, and sign designer Richard Vierra to give an overview about the project. Ms. Schatz said the project has been in development since 2017. It is a 19-acre parcel at the intersection of Queen Ka`ahumanu Highway and Henry Street. With approximately 183,000 square feet of retail space, it is anticipated to be the future site of a 63,000 square foot Safeway grocery store, currently under construction, along with a fueling station and other smaller retail businesses. The project is sloped down toward the ocean in order to preserve view planes. Mr. Vierra said the applicant is requesting variances for two ground signs and multiple other building- mounted signs. One ground sign will be at the corner of Queen Ka`ahumanu Highway and Henry Street. The two-sided sign exceeds County Code allowances for size and thickness, and the letter height exceeds the code allowances. The other ground sign is a Safeway Fuel Center gas price sign. This is also a two-sided sign, to face perpendicular to Henry Street, and as with the first ground sign the applicant is seeking similar Sign Code allowances with regard to logo height and thickness of the sign. PWMTC Report No.: 19 f I i PWMTC-19 Page 2 December 3,2019 i Many of the other signs on the development will have limited visibility from the highway and will be mounted on inward-facing buildings. There will be a tower with a small Safeway identification sign, which would be visible from the highway. 3 Other requests for variances for other signs on the property relate to number of signs, letter sizes, height limits, and logo sizes, as summarized in Resolution No. 424-19 and as detailed in Communication No. 642. i Council Member Rebecca Villegas expressed thanks for meeting with her prior to your Committee meeting, and including her in the process. Ms. Villegas had a lot of trust in KVDC and wasgrateful for this addition to the community. She was hopeful it will be a successful location for everyone, Council Member Karen Eoff also thanked the applicant for walking your Committee through the application, and for being sensitive to the community's concerns. i Council Member Tim Richards was similarly appreciative for an early briefing, and sought clarification on a comment concerning the sizing of the sign versus the building. 3 3 Ms. Schatz said one of the conversations that were held with KVDC involved the balance between 3 making sure people could see the signage but not making the signs "too big"that they became the dominating visual force in the landscape. It was a delicate balance that required several rounds of going back and forth in different meetings, she said, until the applicant and KVDC arrived at a"happy medium." Mr. Richards said he was glad a balance was struck, and it was a good message going forward. He was satisfied that the sizing of a sign was based on the sizing of a building as well as regulation to put it all in perspective. I I Committee Chair Sue Lee Loy thanked the applicant for doing an excellent job with the renderings, preserving the view planes to the ocean, and listening and working collaboratively with the Department of Public Works and KVDC. 3 Your Committee on Public Works and Mass Transit is in accord with theP �u ose and intent of Resolution No. 424-19, and recommends its adoption. I S AYES NOES ABS EX Respectfully submitted, CHUNG X DAVID X COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS EOFF X AND MASS TRANSIT KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER X 3 KIERKIEWICZ X j LEE LOY X POINDEXTER x L. K. LEE LOY, C RICHARDS X PWMTC REPORT NO. 19 VILLEGAS X ADOPTED: DEC 1 V2019 3 I 3