HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-05-21.PCDP.ACMinutes.DRAFTHarry Kim
Mayor
County of Hawaii
PLANNING DEPARTMENT
PUNA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ACTION COMMITTEE
Aupuni Center • 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3 • Hilo, Hawaii 96720
Phone (808) 961-8288 • Fax (808) 961-8742
Tuesday, May 21, 2019
Draft Meeting Minutes
CALL TO ORDER
Michael Yee
Director
Duane Kanuha
Deputy Director
The meeting opened at 5:11 p.m. and Chair Larry Brown called the Puna Community Development
Plan (PCDP) Action Committee (AC) to order at 6:15 p.m. when quorum was met at the Pahoa
Neighborhood Facility, Pahoa HI.
ROLL CALL
Action Committee Members Present: Larry Brown (Chair), Frances Brewer (Vice), Leila Kealoha, Brent
Norris, Yumi Kawano
Action Committee Members Absent -Excused: Dan Domizio, Susan Osborne, Mark Hinshaw
Staff: CoH Planners — Keiko Mercado and Heather Bartlett, Kilauea Eruption Recovery Community
Engagement Manager, Bob Agres; Deputy Director of Research and Development, Ron Whitmore
Members of the public: 28
ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA: NONE
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
1. Chair Brown encouraged community members to apply for the Puna Action Committee.
PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS: 8 Members of the public provided testimony.
1. Mr. Jon Olsen, representing himself, provided testimony on business item #1. Mr. Olsen stated
that he sees park planning as a priority and emphasized the need to get recreational facilities
back up and running. He expressed his desire to see the Pohoiki boat ramp replaced and
stressed the importance of restoring roads and increasing connectivity in Puna.
Mr. Olsen additionally submitted written testimony which can be reviewed here:
http://records.hawaiicounty.gov/Weblink/1/doc/100344/Pagel.aspx
2. Ms. Susan Kim, representing Vacationland, provided testimony on business item #1. Ms. Kim
expressed her gratitude to the Action Committee for the letter the committee wrote to Mayor
Harry Kim to support the reopening of inundated roads. She stated she would like to see a
timeline for the reopening of HWY 137 to be announced to the public. Ms. Kim also suggested
that SMA designations and flood zoning should be updated to reflect the new topography post
Hawai `i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer Page I
eruption. Additionally, she stated she would like to allow for commercial zoning in lower Puna
to allow for economic growth.
3. Ms. Tiffany E. Hunt, representing herself, provided testimony on business item #1. Ms. E. Hunt
stated she lost her home in Vacationland and moved to Hawaiian Acres and she did not find it
pleasant. She shared her concern that a gate had been but up between Hawaiian Acres and
Fern Acres. She asked what happens when the PCDP is violated by a community association
referring to the inter -subdivision connectivity as prescribed by the Puna Community
Development Plan. Ms. E. Hunt shared that frequently abandoned vehicles are left in the area
of the gate between Hawaiian Acres and Fern Acres. She stated that locked gates are
dangerous because the Police and Fire Dept. cannot readily access areas that are blocked by a
private gate.
4. Ms. Hannah Hedrick, representing the Upper Puna Emergency Response and Preparedness
Team, provided testimony on business item #1. Ms. Hedrick shared that she would like to see
further implementation of the Puna Community Development Plan as well as the other
Community Development Plans. She stated that connectivity is also a big issue in her
community of Fern Forest not only for Police and emergency services, but also for the
residents. Ms. Hedrick shared that she is putting together a community organization called the
Puna Informal Network and urged members of the public to join as points of contact for
communication in emergency situations for their respective subdivisions.
5. Ms. Catherine Inslee, representing herself, provided testimony on business item #1. Ms. Inslee
shared that she had discovered an alleged megalithic navigational compass in Pahoa. She
stated that this megalith site could attract the scientific community as well as tourists to the
island. Ms. Inslee shared her thoughts that the alleged site would have potential to increase
tourism revenue for Hawaii Island.
Ms. Inslee additionally submitted written testimony which can be reviewed here:
http://records.hawaiicounty.gov/Weblink/1/doc/100343/Pagel.aspx
6. Ms. Braja Tarletz, representing Pu`u`a Community Road Association, provided testimony on
business item #1. Ms. Tarletz shared her concerns regarding road connectivity. She shared that
there had been a fire on Cinder Road and if the Fire Department had not extinguished the fire,
her and other residents would have been trapped with no way to get out. She expressed her
desire to have Railroad Avenue opened to allow access to lower Puna.
7. Ms. Smiley Burrows, representing Imua Lower Puna Group, provided testimony on business
item #1. Ms. Burrows shared that she was proud of the progress that has been made in her
community and expressed her gratitude for the roads being reopened to Kapoho. Ms. Burrows
shared her idea for a destination place project for Kapoho to incorporate youth. She also sated
she would like to create a commercial kitchen for farmers in the Kapoho area, and that she
would need county water restored to accomplish that project. Ms. Burrows expressed her
desire to further restore roads that were inundated by lava during the 2018 eruption.
8. Ms. Eileen O'Hara, representing herself, provided testimony on business item #1. Ms. O'Hara
stated that the Pahoa Village Masterplan still has not been completed as prescribed in the Puna
Community Development Plan, and that she would like to see that project completed. She also
www.hiplanningdept.com puna(dhawaiicounty.-ov Page 2
commented on the denial of the Special Use Permit for the Pahoa Feed and Fertilizer store. She
stated that she would like to see more approaches to small community meetings to gather
input for the recovery planning process. She also stated she was happy that school children are
being asking for their input, but expressed her desire to focus more so on input from adults.
Ms. O'Hara shared her concern regarding SMA designations in Kapoho, stating that she would
like to see the SMA line reconsidered since the shoreline has expanded further into the ocean
due to the lava flow. Additionally, she shared that she would like to see County water to be
connected to lower Puna as a part of the process in restoring Highway 132.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
The minutes of the March 5, 2019 PCDP AC meeting were considered for approval after quorum for
the Action Committee had been reached.
Committee Member Leila Kealoha moved to approve the minutes of the March 5, 2019 meeting as
submitted. Second by Committee Member Brent Norris. The motion to approve the minutes as
submitted passed with 5 votes aye, 0 votes nay.
BUSINESS:
1. Action Committee Recommendations for Priority Recovery Goals: Bob Agres, Manager of
Kilauea Eruption Recovery Community Engagement, provided a presentation to the Action
Committee outlining the recovery process to date, what was learned in phase 1 of the recovery
process, next steps in the recovery process, and the recovery goals and priorities from the
public that arose from phase 1 of recovery community engagement.
Mr. Agres provided an outline for the Action Committee's role moving forward in the recovery
process and presented the Action Committee with the priority recovery goals and objectives as
they fit into the previously established Puna Community Development Plan priority goals of
Village Town Centers, Infrastructure, Natural and Cultural Resource Management, and Health
and Well -Being.
To view Comm. No. 2019-05 Puna CDP Recovery Goals Presentation use the following link:
http://records.hawaiicounty.gov/Weblink/1/doc/100342/Pagel.aspx
The Action Committee was asked to consider the following motion: "The Puna CDP Action
Committee affirms the PCDP priority goals — Village Town Centers, Infrastructure, Natural and
Cultural Resource Management, and Health and Well -Being — that are consistent with its
February 8, 2017 letter to the Planning Director and recommends these goals as priority
recovery goals for the Kilauea eruption recovery planning process.
Committee Member Frances Brewer motioned to affirm the PCDP AC priority goals — Village
Town Centers, Infrastructure, Natural and Cultural Resource Management, and Health and
Well -Being — that are consistent with its February 8, 2017 letter to the Planning Director and
recommends these goals as priority recovery goals for the Kilauea eruption recovery planning
process. The motion was seconded by Committee Member Leila Kealoha. The motion passed
with 5 votes aye and 0 votes nay.
www.hiplanningdept.com puna(&,hawaiicounty.,-ov Page 3
AGENDA SUGGESTIONS FOR NEXT MEETING:
1. Methods of innovation in diversified agriculture and development of the hemp industry as it
relates to the Puna Community Development Plan.
ADJOURNMENT: Chair Brown adjourned the meeting at 6:45 p.m.
All Action Committee information can be viewed and downloaded from our website:
http://www.hawaiicountycdp.info/puna-cdp
1�
J
www.hiplanningdept.com puna(&,hawaiicounty.,-ov Page 4