HomeMy WebLinkAbout2019-06-20 Leeward Exh A (SPP 17-195) LEEWARD PLANNING COMMISSION
COUNTY OF HAWAII
HEARING TRANSCRIPT
JUNE 20, 2019
A regularly advertised hearing on the application of LIVING STONES CHURCH
(SPP 17-000195) was called to order at 9:33 a.m. in the West Hawaii Civic Center, Community
Center, Building G, 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, with Chairman
Keith F. Unger presiding.
COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Keith F. Unger, Nancy Carr Smith, Scott Church,
Perry Kealoha, Sonny Shimaoka and Michael Vitousek
ABSENT AND EXCUSED: Faith "Faye" Yates
ALSO PRESENT: Mafia Hall, Esq. (Counsel for the Commission), Duane Kanuha(Deputy
Planning Director), Jeff Darrow (Planning Program Manager), Maija Jackson (Planner),
Christian Kay (Planner) and Noriko Sauer (Commission Secretary)
And approximately 45 people from the public in attendance.
APPLICANT: LIVING STONES CHURCH (SPP 17-000195)
Application for a Special Permit to allow the establishment of a church and related facilities on an
approximately 7+-acre portion of 29.389 acres of land situated in the State Land Use Agricultural
District. The subject properties are located directly east (mauka) of Queen Ka`ahumanu Highway
and immediately north of the Pualani Estates Subdivision, Kahului 2nd, North Kona, Hawaii
TMK: (3) 7-5-017:040 (por) & 041 (por).
UNGER: Agenda Item No. 2, Applicant Living Stones Church, SPP 17-000195, application for
a Special Permit to allow the establishment of a church and related facilities on an approximately
seven-plus-acre portion of 29.389 acres of land situated in the State Land Use Agricultural
District. The subject properties are located directly east, or mauka, of Queen Ka`ahumanu
Highway and immediately north of Pualani Estates Subdivision, Kahului 2nd, North Kona,
Hawaii. TMK: (3) 7-5-017: [portion of] Parcel 040 and portion of Parcel 041.
Staff, would you like to make your presentation at this time?
KAY: Yes, thank you. Good morning, Mr. Chair, Members of the Leeward Planning
Commission. If I can turn your attention to the screen. As the Chair stated, this is an application
for a Special Permit.
The applicant is requesting a Special Permit to allow the development of a church and related
facilities on an approximately seven-acre portion of 29.389 acres of land in the State Land Use
Agricultural District. Proposed improvements include: A new 19,000-plus/minus-square foot,
single-story church structure including a 600-seat chapel, prayer rooms, offices and restrooms; a
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new 4,000-plus/minus-square foot, single-story Sunday school consisting of space for a Sunday
school, preschool, nursery, kitchen and restrooms —the height of all structures will not exceed 35
feet, which is the requirement in the Single-Family Residential zone and is also lower than the 45
feet that's allowed in the Agricultural zoning district; the applicant is also proposing a 160-lot
paved parking area and landscaping. It should be noted that although the parking area is
proposed at 160 lots,per our Zoning Code and based on the size of the proposed structures, it's
going to be closer to 388 lots required, pardon me, parking stalls required. So, as the church is
kind of, the plan is kind of conceptual at this point; what will be required to be installed will be
based on what the Zoning Code indicates.
In addition, primary access to the project site will be secured via a 24-foot wide paved access
easement over Parcel 041 from the Ho`omama Street extension consisting of approximately
13,000 square feet. Parcel 040 is also accessed via a gravel driveway within a 15-foot wide flag
pole access from Hualalai Road.
Church operations will occur primarily on Sunday with proposed services to be held at 7:30,
9:00, 10:30 a.m. and 6:00 p.m. Weekday and evening classes and activities will be intermittent
and will take place indoors, and are proposed to cease at 10:00 p.m. with no overnight activities.
The proposed project is anticipated to cost approximately 1.1 million dollars and construction is
expected to be completed by the end of 2020.
Here is a map of the location of the subject parcels. The parcels are situated in the North Kona
District of Hawaii Island, more specifically in the Kahului area. For reference we've got—
pardon me, my pointer is not working—Queen Ka`ahumanu Highway running generally
north-south through the slide, and the subject parcels are indicated, or outlined, in black and
indicated as Parcel 040 closer to the highway and Parcel 041 more mauka. Directly to the south
of these subject parcels is the Pualani Estates Subdivision.
The zoning for the subject parcels is Agricultural-5 acres. To the south, again, consisting with
the Pualani Estates Subdivision, is Single-Family Residential zoning. To the immediate east of
the Parcel 041 is a parcel that was rezoned into Residential, Single-Family Residential zoning
back in 2010. Across the highway to the west is the site of the Kona Distilling Special Permit
that was granted back in April, to give you some ideas, and that's also similarly agriculturally
zoned. There are other Single-Family and some Multiple-Family and some Commercial zonings
in the area.
The State Land Use designation for the subject parcels is Agricultural as indicated in green. It is
surrounded to the south and east and some to the west across the highway as Urban as indicated
in red.
The General Plan designation for the subject parcels and much of the surrounding area is Urban
Expansion as indicated by the black-and-white thatched area.
And, relative to the Kona CDP, the subject parcels are located within the Kona Urban Area and
partially within the Kahului-Puapua`a Village Neighborhood TOD area.
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Here is an aerial photograph of the subject parcels. Again, for reference on the left hand side of
the slide—[The pointer malfunctioned.]there we are—we've got Queen Ka`ahumanu Highway
running generally north-south. Here is the Puapua`anui Street coming into Pualani Estates
Subdivision, and then Ho`omama Street is located here and this is where the main access is
going to be taken off of through Parcel 041 into Parcel 040. Also, from Hualalai Street there is,
again, the secondary access through the flag pole.
Here is the applicant's proposed site plan. Again for reference, in this case, Queen Ka`ahumanu
Highway is running at the bottom of the slide, east-west, Puapua`anui Road is running on the
right hand side of the slide, and, again, the subject parcel will pull its access off of Ho`omama
Street, which is on the upper right hand side of the slide. The access is indicated in the purple
color. Right now, the proposed church and Sunday school building is going to be situated on the
bottom left hand side of the slide on Parcel 040. The orange area indicated there is a set-aside
for a cave system that includes three burials. There was a burial treatment plan that was
completed and adopted by State Historic Preservation Division, which designates the area for
preservation of place of the burials, and then the dash line around that that you see is a ten-foot
no-build buffer around the entire cave complex. The blue section that you see running through
the slide is the Wai`aha floodway, and it is showing the flood zone for that area is AE and AEF.
The structures are being proposed right now to be built out of the floodway; however, a portion
of the driveway and a portion of the proposed parking area would be built within the floodway,
as is presently designed.
Here is the Applicant's proposed floor plan. The lower structure outlined in yellow is the
600-seat church building, with some associated offices, and then above that in pink is the Sunday
school building.
Here is a view of the general location of the proposed church looking mauka from Queen
Ka`ahumanu Highway in that area along the corner of the parcel is generally where the church is
being proposed at this point.
And then here is a view of Ho`omama Street within Pualani Estates Subdivision and the
Puapua`anui Street intersection looking northwest. At the end of the street here on the right hand
side of the slide is the stub-out and that's where the main driveway would be taken from.
You should have received yesterday via email a request from the applicant to amend a portion of
Condition No. 5. This is our standard condition that speaks to Plan Approval and what types of
information needs to be submitted within Plan Approval. The distinction here is they are asking
to add in paved and unpaved parking stalls, and then the addition at the bottom, "Further, any
unpaved parking stalls shall be constructed of a material that will eliminate or minimize erosion,
mud, and standing water." This is language that comes directly out of our Zoning Code, which
provides some allowance for unpaved parking within the State Land, pardon me, within the
Agricultural zoning district. We are, we have talked about it and the Director is proposing just
some additional language and it's here outlined in yellow, and essentially it says, "paved and
unpaved parking stalls as approved by the director." And the reason for that is just to make it
clear that the Director has final say. In speaking with our Administrative Permits Division who
kind of approves the Plan Approvals, or processes the Plan Approvals, it was indicated that they
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wouldn't likely approve unpaved parking stalls, but we wanted to provide some flexibility,
should there be some mitigating circumstance that required it in terms of design within the flood
zone and everything like that. So, the Director is okay with kind of this modification to the
applicant's requested amendment.
And, with that, the Director is recommending approval of the request with conditions.
I'll be happy to answer any questions that the Commission may have at this point.
LINGER: Thank you. Commissioners, any questions?
CARR SMITH: I have two.
KAY: Yes.
CARR SMITH: I wondered where the additional parking is going to be on the site map.
KAY: So, pardon me, yes, so, again, these are kind of conceptual plans at this point, so there are
possibilities to maybe, maybe shift the parking down closer to Puapua`anui Street on the right
hand side outside of the, outside of the, pardon me, the archeological preserve. There may be
possibilities to expand it further within the drainage way and that would have to comply with the
requirements of Department of Public Works for building within the drainage way. The
applicant has represented that for the areas that are within the drainage way they'd ask for a
CLOMR, which would then kind of reroute the drainage way, if approved; so, if that were the
case then, they theoretically could be building all within Flood Zone X. But there are some
possibilities to put in other places on the property. Again, that's why you would be approving
not necessarily this concept, but you would be approving a church and related facilities, and as
long as it stayed within generally the same square footage, there is some flexibility to put parking
and facilities in other places on property.
CARR SMITH: The other thing I wondered, I assume that the reason they cannot come off the
highway is because of the flood zone and the limited space? I don't know whether there is actual
drainage that
KAY: Yeah, that's a possibility. I maybe have the applicant address that.
CARR SMITH: Sure.
KAY: Yeah.
CARR SMITH: Thank you.
LINGER: Commissioners, any other questions? [None.] Great, thanks.
KAY: Thank you.
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UNGER: At this time I'd like to call the applicants forward. Please raise your right hand. Do
you swear or affirm to tell the truth before the Planning Commission?
FUKE: I do.
COOK: I do.
UNGER: Please state your name and area of residence.
FUKE: Good morning. Good morning, Mr. Chairman, Members of the Commission. My name
is Sidney Fuke. I'm a planning consultant assisting the applicant, Living Stones Church. My
business address is 100 Pauahi Street in Hilo, Hawaii.
COOK: Good morning. My name is Brian Cook. I'm representing Living Stones Church. I
live here in Kailua-Kona.
UNGER: Great, thank you. Before you begin your presentation, have you read and do you
agree with the proposed conditions or the findings of the Planning Department, as well as their
proposed language to the addition?
FUKE: Yes, we've shared the staff's background report and then the proposed recommendation,
as well as the amendment, with Mr. Brian Cook and the applicant themselves, and they both are
in concurrence with that, especially on the amended condition, and we appreciate the Director's
consideration of that.
There is just one technical correction to the background report. I think the background report
noted that the sewer line, you know, within Ho`omama Street has not been dedicated to the
County, but, and at that time when the Department of Environmental Management made the
comment back in 2017, the lines and the roadway system were not dedicated, but at this point in
time they have been dedicated by the developer.
Having said that, I'd like to just kind of—the staff's background report, you know, as always, is
very comprehensive and on point—I'd like to just provide general background as far as the
nature of the application and how we arrived it where we are today. Living Stones Church
currently has like two operations: One along Alii Drive and then the other one is in the Pines
commercial area. So over the last few years they've been looking for a particular site to kind of
consolidate their operations and find a place that was a little bit more central, you know, to all of
its membership. They've conferred with Mr. Cook over here on my right, and over time they
said Mr. Cook and his business partner, they owned the properties, you know, which the access
is going to go through, as well as the subject property, and they've made their properties
available at significant cost to the church, and so the church said, you know, let's consider
something along these lines.
And so, the application was filed in October of 2017. We were scheduled for a hearing in
December of 2017; however, in November of that year SHPD came in with a comment and
recommended that although there was an approved archeological inventory survey, SHPD
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recommended that the application be kind of suspended until a burial treatment plan was
prepared and approved. And so, the applicant then asked that the item be set aside, tabled, you
know, and during interim the burial treatment plan was prepared, was reviewed and approved by
the Hawaii Island Burial Council and also SHPD in March of 2019. During the course of the
initial submittal, notices were sent to surrounding property owners, and, understandably, there
were some comments raised by neighbors, as well as the Pualani Community Association. So,
during that time I think it gave, you know, between November of 2017 to where we are, it gave
the applicant the opportunity to try to come up with some ways to address or modify any of the
concerns that were raised by neighbors and the community, and some of these concerns have
been addressed as conditions of approval.
One of them relates, you know, specifically to the traffic issue, as it was originally proposed to
be, all of the traffic was going to be routed on Ho`omama Street to Pualani Subdivision. And, to
answer your question, Ms. Carr Smith, there is a no-permitted access on the State highway and
that's the reason why there cannot be any direct access; that would be ideal, however. So, there
was that concern, so as a result what Mr. Cook and his people, they went back to the drawing
board and said you know what, we will have dual accesses to the property, one coming in from
Hualalai Road and the other one from Ho`omama Street, and to kind of like, because there is a
lot of their membership, the church membership, coming from the mauka Kona and use Hualalai,
and that would kind of eliminate the need to make the roundabout circle into the facility. The
other one dealt with the issue of construction traffic, and that's totally understandable. So what
Mr. Cook did was to negotiate with the adjoining property owner to the north side, I mean
fronting Hualalai Road, so the condition that's reflected in the staff s condition, reflects that all
construction activity be taken from that road and not going through Ho`omama Street. The dual
access into the, to service the project once it's operational, both coming in from Hualalai and
Ho`omama Street are also reflected as conditions of approval.
There was some concerns about noise, and so what Mr. Cook and his people said, you know, we
will abide by whatever the residential noise standards are during the day and also during the
night hours. They would restrict night time activities to no more than ten o'clock, and all the
while adhering to the Department of Health's noise control standards for residential activity.
Finally, on the issue of the unpaved or the paved area, I think that, you know, we all know that,
well, maybe may not know, but the parking code is, sometimes it can be, it is designed to address
the worst case in the worst case situation. In this particular situation rules say that, well, that's
the code, the code requires as such, because the code requires one stall for every 45 square feet
of land, I mean not land but of your building area. And so that, as staff noted, kind of like
translates to approximately 600. But the way that they have their programs and the church
services scheduled, like on Sunday they would have three services, so, you know, you don't have
like at any point in time the need necessarily of like 600 vehicles. There may be on very rare
situations, you are going to need to have an overflow parking, and that's the reason why we are
asking for some consideration in having those areas possibly unpaved. But then again, it's
subject to the Planning Director's review and approval through the Plan Approval, and the
applicant is willing to accept that.
So, with that, Mr. Chairman, are there any questions of Mr. Cook or myself?
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UNGER: Great, thank you. Commissioners, any questions of the applicant?
CARR SMITH: I just had one. The off-the-road, the little, small parking area by the
archaeological sites, is that provided as access to the archaeological sites?
FUKE: Thank you very much for pointing it out. So, when the burial treatment plan was
prepared, one of the things that was called for not only physical preservation but also buffer, and
that stub-out, as you pointed out, was intended to provide access to lineal descendants.
CARR SMITH: Very good. Thank you.
CHURCH: What's going to happen to the existing Living Stones church, I mean, does that mean
that all the services get moved over here? I know there's some significant traffic that's caused
currently from that church. What's going to happen to it?
COOK: Well, our current Living Stones church on Alii Drive, we were able to lease a parcel of
land on the mauka side of the roadway there by Royal Poinciana from Kamehameha Schools.
They own that parcel. And we were able to create a church parking lot. In 2007 we negotiated a
five-year lease for that space, and then 2012 we were able to get annual extensions for the
parking lot for the church. And then a couple of years ago, they now have us down to basically a
month-to-month lease, and so we have been looking for a new permanent location for our Living
Stones church. And these sites are centrally located, as Mr. Fuke said, and the intent now is to
continue our Living Stones church where it is now. As far as evening services on Sunday nights
and a lot of the programs that we have would be down at that location, whereas a new church and
the parking lot basically we would be in an enclose building. And so the concern that people had
about traffic and everything, we feel like we won't be there so much. Our church where Living
Stones is right now, we have, we have residents just to the north of us and just across the street
mauka of us. Our church at Pine Trees we have an enclosed church there. We have, next to us is
a Subway, and we have church service and music going on and it doesn't conflict with things, so
we felt like, you know, that that would not be a problem.
UNGER: Can you clarify the original intent of that access road through Pualani Estates, was to
access your property? The stub-out right there, it dead-ends right into your property. Was that
the original intent of that stub-out?
COOK: That was basically a proposed mid-level road that the County set years ago to mauka of
the highway to have a mid-level road going along the full length. I developed a project called
Malulani Gardens back in the 90's and that was right by where Lowe's is now, a 120-unit
project, and when we developed it, it was a long narrow parcel and we had to allow for a 60-foot
right-of-way for this future mid-level road back in those days, and so there is a 60-foot wide
right-of-way going between our second and third phase through Malulani Gardens that will
eventually go to Palani Road. And so, where we are at, there at Pualani Estates, is the same road
and it would be going through the lot that my company owns, Lot 041, toward Hualalai Road
and then through the Bolton property to Hualalai Road and eventually going further north.
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FUKE: So,just to add to that, that's why your, one of the conditions that your staff is proposing
is that, you know, what you see over there conceptually is almost like a driveway access to the
property; however, if and when that property is developed to enable a connector road, then the
Living Stones would be obligated to relocate its access to make it commensurate with the new
driveway, the new roadway.
UNGER: Thank you. Question?
CARR SMITH: Are there any issues on Hualalai—I know that's a tricky road—for the access
going in and out there?
FUKE: Yes, so, the condition also requires that that access point be approved by the Department
of Public Works. At this point in time what the applicant's intent is to primarily allow for
outbound movements, you know, like if you are exiting the church and you go to Hualalai Road,
the idea is to allow for right-turn movements only, and if you are, and to also allow for, as you
are traveling makai from Hualalai Road, to allow for that left-turn in, to hopefully kind of
minimize, you know, further impact at the intersection of Hualalai and Kuakini, or Mamalahoa
Highway. But the design and looking at its sight distance requirement, they all have to be
consistent with what DPW requires.
KEALOHA: So, I understand that the Director reserves the right for approval with the parking
spaces and future plans, but what's your intended mitigation of Wai`aha Stream and water flow?
COOK: We will be going in for a CLOMR of that area. We did this about back in 2005 —when
we saw the area that was designated as floodplain, it ran more through Lot 041, my lot, and it
was going down to where there is a gunite channel there at the entry going into Pualani Estates,
and the old flood map they had showed that it was going, the floodplain running through Lot 041
and into the gunite channel—we had a CLOMR done back in 2005 and [200]6 that showed that
that was not the way the floodplain ran, that the floodplain, we went way mauka, or north, of
Hualalai Road into two-foot contours, and then we mapped the topography and then found the
flood map shows that it runs more through Lot 040, our lower lot, across the State highway.
And, at that time when we had proposed a 100-lot subdivision on those two parcels, and that we
were going to get the floodwater as it entered from the north of the two blocks to a channel to
take the water to the exiting gunite channel. We had gone in for that with the, for the subdivision
approval at that time. And so, what we are proposing now is to go back and do a new CLOMR
again, and propose to build—there is two split flows across Hualalai Road, Split Flow One and
then off of that Split Flow Two. Split Flow One is on Dan Bolton's property and he's doing a
120-foot wide channel to take it through the box culverts that go under the main highway. Split
Flow Two would come into our properties and we propose putting in a channel that would take it
to the existing gunite channel where it should go. So that's what our plan is to try to do. And at
that point we would completely eliminate the floodplain within Lot 040 where the church is
located.
FUKE: So, there is basically, you know, as the map indicates —that's the existing flood
insurance rate map —so, these are, that's a constraint. There is a way that the so-called purple
colored area can be modified and readjusted, but you have to go through a process. And—
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CLOMR is, it's an acronym for conditional letter of map revision, or something along these lines
—so if they're unsuccessful in having and convincing both the County Public Works and U.S.
Corp of Engineers that the so-called designations can be relocated, then their only option is to
kind of build as is. And if they build as is, as the site plan shows, the primary structures would
be outside of any floodway; your non-structural area, your parking area, portion of your parking
area, would be within that area. So, when you have those non-structural area, you still need to
have, even if you are going to build within the flood, but you can build it, but it would be subject
to the requirements of Department of Public Works and CLOMR requirements. And so, if it
needs like having to create additional drywell to accommodate any impervious surface that's
going to be created, well, so be it, that they have to do that.
UNGER: Thank you. Seeing no further questions from the Commissioners, you may be seated.
At this time I'd like to open up the hearing to public testimony. We have twelve people signed
up. I'll call the first six up to begin with: Ken Van Bergen, Erin Beasley, Ryan Burns, Melissa
Bumgardner, Kumu Vasconcellos and Daniel Shannon. Please raise your right hand. Do you
swear or affirm to tell the truth before the Planning Commission?
TESTIFIERS: Yes.
UNGER: Thank you. You can begin your testimony here. When you begin your testimony,
please speak into the mic, and to begin your testimony, if you could state your name and place of
residence, thank you.
VAN BERGEN: My name is Ken Van Bergen. I live in Kailua-Kona. I'm here representing
myself as a member of the church. I've been an active member of Living Stones for many years.
It's a great body of believers, and we've had good fortune of growing quite a bit over the last
couple of decades, I guess. And, I can just say this property is a perfect fit for us in what we are
doing in the community and for our church family. It's also a perfect fit for how the Code is
written, you know, Chapter 25 in the Ag section of Zoning Code; the reason we have Special
Permit area is for situation just like this. I was very encouraged to see that the Planning Director
recommended approval with conditions. The church is more than just Sunday services; we do a
lot things in the community such as feeding the homeless, outreaches to Miloli`i and QLT to
keiki camps and so forth. And, the expansion of our church having a facility like this is going to
help us even do more, not just for ourselves but for the community. I think, yeah, so we are just
here to, hopefully you give us affirmation that we are looking for, and appreciate your time and
the opportunity to speak. Thanks.
BEASLEY: My name is Erin Beasley. I live in Kailua-Kona as well. And I am a medical
provider up at West Hawaii Community Health Center. I've had countless patient testimonies
of life-changing encounters at Living Stones Church, everything from family counseling and
reunification, the foster family training and support, to drug and alcohol addiction, recovery;
lives turned around. Living Stones has alleviated a lot of social burden in this community, and I
can give firsthand testimony to that from the Community Health Center.
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I've also grown up in the church since I was twelve years old. And I can, I can vouch for just the
heart of the leadership for this community. But they are here for the long haul. This isn't a
flash-in-the-pan kind of a church; this is a church that has roots here and plans to be here and to
see lasting change in this community. It's going to have benefits for the immediately
surrounding community but also much farther reaching ramifications, we believe, over the west
side of the island, but, but as well as the entire island.
M. BUMGARDNER: My name is Melissa Bumgardner and I live in Pualani Estates, and I'm a
member of Living Stones Church. So my husband and I and our four kids have been on the
island for, this is our third year, and the one thing that has run true to me since becoming a part
of this island is `ohana. So, for me, the `ohana of my church is the community; there are so
many of us that live there, that attend this church and benefit from the services that are provided
by the church. But the other thing that I've learned in my years of life is that the only thing that
is consistent in life is change. And we've only been here three years and I've already seen our
community grow and change. And that is a piece of property that I can see going to be used for
something in the future. And to my heart and for my community and my `ohana in that
community, this is one of the best options I can think of to utilize that parcel of land to serve the
community in which it's located.
BURNS: Good morning. Thank you for your time. My name is Ryan Burns. I live in Pualani
Estates, and actually live on Ho`omama Street. And first off, I just got back from Uganda; I
want to thank you for all the incredible work you do in making our city function so well and
have the infrastructure that it does. You guys do an amazing job and I'm just very appreciative
of that.
I just want to note off of what Melissa was saying, having seen some other proposed plans for
that piece of property with, you know, multiple houses and things like that, as far as the traffic
concerns, you know, I have one myself just living on that street, but I agree with Melissa that this
is the best use of the property. I do believe the property is going to get developed one way or
another, I'm sure, as we move forward. And as far as the traffic goes, I think it's going to be
quite minimal, as the traffic study shows as well, limited primarily just Sunday mornings. And,
for me, someone that lives on Ho`omama Street, having five children myself, the idea of having
minimal traffic on a Sunday morning versus ongoing traffic increase that perhaps would go into
a whole new development on that parcel, something that I'm very much in favor of as a dad.
I'm also a pastor at Living Stones Church and I have the unique privilege of seeing a lot of
individual lives that are changed just through becoming part of our church family, becoming in
contact with our pastors and counselors and things like that. And one of the things that I love
most of what we get to do is seeing the change in families themselves. Erin spoke a little bit to
about reunification; the marriages that are saved, the foster programs and things we get to come
alongside through programs like CarePortal, which actually helps members of the church
connect directly with people that are in the process of fostering or families that are coming to
reunification, to provide just physical needs, buying cribs, beds, whatever they need to help in
the process of reunification. And it's been such a privilege to serve this community and it's
something that we really desire to see ongoing, and we believe that this piece of property is so
much more than just a meeting place for church. It really is an opportunity—thank you very
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much for my one minute left. You can tell I preach; so I just talk and talk when I get a
microphone in my hand, my apologies. But all I'd like to say, we are excited to see the
possibility of further supporting and blessing our community. Thank you again for your time.
SHANNON: Aloha. My name is Dan Shannon, and, yeah, my wife and our two kids have been
a part of Living Stones Church for the past two years now. We just purchased a home. We are
new homeowners in Pualani Estates. We purchased our home in January. And, you know, to be
honest, we're on both sides with all the traffic and, you know, we're always, not like I'm new to
all this, and I'm thinking like, you know, value of our home and noise and all those things. I just
kind of want to reiterate, when we consider the other options that could go in on this property,
we just feel that this would be a great one, and minimal impact compared to what could be. And,
yeah,just knowing that it would be reduced to Sundays alone, yeah, we just are in favor of that.
And, even just with everything, we, you know, have an ocean view and stuff, we can see that it's
not going to impact with the height and everything. So, we just urge approval of it.
VASCONCELLOS: Aloha. My name is Kumu Vasconcellos. I live in Pualani Estates,
actually, on Ho`omama Road as well. And I'm not going to speak into that because there is no
sense for reiterating what people have already said. I am the technical director for Living Stone
Church, so I can speak more on the basis of the technologies and the audio systems and some of
the noise concerns that I think some of the community has, myself, you know, being someone
who lives there as well. I can only speak about our reputation of being next to condominiums
and having neighbors in our immediate vicinity, specifically with the Alii Drive location. I'll be
honest and say that it's, it goes without saying that when you live in that close, that you will have
some emails that get to our way that's, you know, it's like, can you guys turn your music down,
or whatever. And it's my job not only to push the technology board for the church but also to
maintain the codes and the legal laws that we abide by as a community member. So, I just want
to just reiterate to some of the concerns that the neighbors have on the noise, like, we, myself,
that's my job is to make sure that we are in compliance and always good community members.
And for as many services as we do every Sunday, we don't get any complaints on Sunday
mornings. The most complaints that we do get are from our big outreach on Christmas Eve, and
that's once a year, you know. And so, as far as a regular ongoing issue with any of the neighbors
that we have regarding Sunday morning services, the audio and anything like that, has not been a
concern. And we are talking about neighbors that are much closer than we are currently
proposing with this property. So, hopefully, that will alleviate any concerns of the noise on a
consistent basis on Sunday mornings.
LINGER: Great, thank you. You may be seated. The next group of testifiers: Travis
Bumgardner, Dr. Andrew West, Ted Frandsen, Cilla Behic, Josue Behic and Manvel Roberto.
Mr. Bumgardner, you can go first; it looks like you have a time frame, so you can go first. First,
I'd like to swear everybody in. Please raise your right hand. Do you swear or affirm to tell the
truth before the Planning Commission?
TESTIFIERS: Yes.
LINGER: Thank you. Please state your name and area of residence before your testimony.
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EXHIBIT A
T. BUMGARDNER: My name is Travis Bumgardner. I also live in Pualani Estates. My wife
spoke. Like she said, we have four children. We've been on the island for a little bit. Grew up
on Oahu. I just want to talk to you, you guys in a lot of ways do what I do; we do a lot of
conflict resolution, right? There's never 100 percent happy people whenever we are in a
situation. So I know there's two sides to everything. And you guys have to look at everything
and kind weigh and make the best decision. And so, being someone who deals with that on a
daily basis, I understand and I thank you for what you do. That being said, before I was a police
officer, I was a real estate appraiser for 18 years of my life, certified appraiser, and, again, I've
seen a lot of change. And when I look at impact and I look at communities, most new
communities actually have places for churches developed in the plans, right, because that's part
of a community, that's part of a neighborhood, that's something that goes in it. When you look
at what could be there, maybe there could be more housing, maybe it could be industrial, maybe
it could be something right along the highway. That's pretty premium land and it will get
developed. And the question is, what's the best use? And you are not going to have 100 percent
consensus either for or against. But, obviously, we think that a church in a neighborhood is a
good fit. And if you look at developments in the mainland, they actually plan for churches in
neighborhoods. So, I appreciate what you guys are doing, again, thank you.
WEST: Hello. Thank you for this, the honor of being able to speak. My name is Andrew West.
I moved to Hawaii in 1981 —so forgive me for the accent. I've been part of the church since
1999. I'm an environment scientist working with U.H., federal and state agencies. We—and
one of the, also, one of the pastors of Living Stones. I've been living in Kailua-Kona for many,
many, many years. I've been part on most of the meetings regarding this land and the building,
and I just have to show you and the public that the public's interest has always been at heart to
us; we've always considered the traffic and how we can minimize, how we can minimize any,
you know, conflicts, as we, as it was stated. One of my, one of my duties as a pastor at the Alii
site—and, by the way, we will be still conducting services at the Alii Drive site. It's been an
amazing site to us. And on the, as community and friends, we have the neighborhood around us,
in fact, the condominium, 20 feet from our property, we've got very good friends there. They
have my phone number, they have all of our pastors' phone numbers; so if anything is wrong,
they call us immediately. And, actually, the relationship has developed. Also with along Royal
Poinciana, they also have my personal phone number; if there is anything that they see, they will
call me. We are friends to the community and we continue, we want to continue to be friends
with the community. That's, that's a big part of what we do —blessing the community, being
part, being good neighbors, essentially. Thank you very much.
FRANDSEN: Hi, my name is Ted Frandsen and I live at Casa de Emdeko on Alii Drive. I've
been a member of the church for approximately eight years. I can't speak on the impact on the
driving and how the cars are going to be there, but I can speak on the impact that's going to be
for the community. It is an amazing place. The opportunity for the people that are living in the
area is going to be wonderful. Lots and lots of activities for families, young people. It's a thing
that we promote really big. And I just can't imagine how it could be anything but wonderful for
the people who live there. Thank you.
C. BEHIC: Cilla Behic of Kealakekua. I'd just like to testify as far as community and social
outreach. And if it weren't for the church, our marriage wouldn't have lasted. We're a family of
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EXHIBIT A
seven and three grandchildren. We'd be broken apart. And, as a couple for several years with
overwhelming support from our leaders at Living Stones Church, we have participated in
outreaches from Miloli`i to Queen Lili`uokalani Subdivision, tutoring underserved children,
teaching them how to read, making sure they pass, you know, get through first, second, third,
reading strong, knowing math, and giving them mentorship, playing kickball, teaching them
what husband and wife, strong husband and wife should look like, modeling family, and
meeting their basic needs as far as school supplies and food for their families. If they have a
single-parent at home and the mom gives birth and the dad's not there, we'll set up meals for a
week. Just meeting basic needs to the community. So—that's all.
J. BEHIC: Hi, good morning. My name is Josue Behic. I'm the wife of Cilla, living in
Kealakekua—oh, husband, excuse me, yes, that makes a big difference. I was born and raised in
Oahu. I moved to the Big Island in '99 because my parents actually lived here. And, you know,
it was a, it was a different way of life back then, and I moved here for the value of raising family
here. Since '99, though, I've seen a lot of change. You know, with, with life comes change,
with the growing community comes change. And I have been a part of the church and I've seen
change. I am also on staff at Living Stones; I'm one of the gentlemen that gets the calls from our
neighbors and we do have a, it's been a great relationship. And no space and no place is perfect,
but if we could actually get our neighbors to testify here, you would see that we do hear our
neighbors and we do address any issues, and it's been a, I would say it's been a great relationship
for our community. Thank you.
ROBERTO: My name is Manvel Roberto and I live in Pualani Estates. I moved into Pualani
Estates about 13 years ago. At the time it was a nice quiet neighborhood. Then the road opened
up to Hualalai Road. Things have changed tremendously there in terms of traffic and noise. The
Puapua`anui has a speed limit of 25 miles per hour, but it seems like nobody obeys that. At the
present time we have cars coming down the Puapua`anui at 50 miles an hour, and cars going up
usually go 35, 40, because I check all the time; there is some mirror that tells you what the speed
is for the cars going up. Nobody really respects the speed limits there as far as I can see, all of
them, perhaps some of the residents of Puapua`anui of Pualani Estates. It is getting so noisy
there at this point we are even considering about moving because we are at about two houses to
the site of Puapua`anui. It is getting loud. Now, I've gone to, many times, to Living Stones
Church where they have their current location on Alii Drive, and, as you know, they are very
courteous, they are doing a good job there, but it still is that the traffic noise is intense. Now, I
can imagine that on Puapua`anui and having 600 people come in every Sunday for service at
7:30, meaning the cars are going to be coming down probably around 6:30, seven o'clock in the
morning, so, my Sunday mornings are probably gone. You know, that's the fact, you know, it's
going to be increased noise. If there was another way they could access the church through some
other, through Hualalai Road, that would be more advantageous. But, through Ho`omana[sic],
really the traffic is going to be intense and the noise is going to be much higher. And also,just to
go through that light from Puapua`anui to the main highway, that's going to be backed up for,
you know,just for me to just get out of Puapua`anui, I mean from my house just to get to, let's
say, if I want to go downtown or some other place, it's going to take me some time just to get
into the main highway, so that is a consideration. Otherwise, you know, I would be fine with it.
So if the church could find another way to enter into that church through some other way other
than, you know, using Puapua`anui or that area, it would be better. Thank you.
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EXHIBIT A
LINGER: Thank you. You may be seated. Joel Gimpel, Jeffrey Takiue, Josephine Keliipio —
and it looks like one more—and Chantel, Chantel Dechap —yeah, she's here. Is there anybody at
this time who would like to testify that hasn't been called on yet? [None.] Great, thank you.
Please raise your right hand. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth before the Planning
Commission?
TESTIFIERS: I do. Yes.
LINGER: Thank you. You may start. Please state your name and area of residence.
TAKIUE: My name is Jeffrey Takiue. I'm a lifelong resident in Kona. I live up in Kalaoa side.
I'm a former high school teacher. Currently, I'm the principal at Holualoa Elementary School.
And, the benefit that Living Stones Church has upon many of my families at my school—I also
attend Living Stones —the benefit there would be to our community, there are very limited
options in West Hawaii for things for kids to do, so when I look at how our church is able to
support that need, as well as not just for children but also for families, feel us a very valuable
asset to our community. The relocation would allow us to be able to reach more and support
more families out there. And I'm very much in favor of this project going through.
GIMPEL: Good morning. My name is Joel Gimpel. I'm a resident of Pualani Estates and I'm
president of the Pualani Estates Homeowners' Association Board of Directors. The Board did
submit comments last year on the original filing, and our principal concerns focused on the
obvious effects of the proposal and its construction on traffic volume, safety, noise, dirt and light
pollutions.
With respect to the traffic volume issue, we noted that the traffic study that was first cited in the
proposal was completed in January 2010, which was over nine years ago and well before the
completion of more than half of the Pualani Estates Subdivision and several lots in other
subdivisions bordering Puapua`anui Street had been completed. In addition, traffic on
Highway 11 has increased substantially since 2010, due in part to the growth of Innovations
Charter School and other construction projects that are served by that highway. We also note,
noted that the 2010 study didn't account for traffic volume that would certainly result from
massive church attendance at weddings and on Christian holidays that often fall on weekdays
and evenings, for example, Ash Wednesday, Good Friday, Christmas Eve and Christmas Day,
nor did it account for the traffic generated by the County park now in the Pualani Estates area
and the above-cited community growth figures and special church events on Puapua`anui Street,
Ho`omama Street and the Puapua`anui-Highway 11 intersection. We recognize that the 2018
update of that study has occurred but it didn't account for the use of Ho`omama and Puapua`anui
Street for access to this church by most of the traffic, even given the recommendation, the
suggestion that a secondary access would be provided.
Our concern over safety is heightened by the proposal to limit access and egress to the subject
property via Ho`omama Street. We recognize that the second access and egress has been
suggested from Hualalai Road. But, as I said, that is not going to get much traffic on it; most of
the traffic accessing the church would be from Puapua`anui Street through a residential street,
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EXHIBIT A
Ho`omama Street, in Pualani Estates. We therefore urge that you require the applicant to
provide the second access/ingress route from Hualalai Road to serve the property. That second
access should also serve as the required route for construction vehicles in order to avoid undue
traffic, rapid road wear and resultant unsafe conditions on Ho`omama Street and Puapua`anui
Street. The County should note that heavy construction traffic will undoubtedly require repaving
upon completion of the construction.
Clearly, the construction and use of a facility that's capable of hosting 600 churchgoers and
360 cars —the original plan called for only 160 —360 cars for services and special events will
also give rise to significant noise and dirt pollution, all affecting Pualani Estates residents,
especially those residing on Ho`omama Street and other streets north of Puapua`anui Street,
many of whom have already endured and experienced much noise and dirt emanating from the
rock-crushing operation on property immediately north of the applicant's property, and which is
the subject of a pending challenge to the Special Permit for excavation that was granted by the
Planning Department several years ago. Loud music during church services and celebrations
should also be considered, and light and noise pollution will of course arise after evening
functions when up to 360 autos attempt to leave the premises, most of them via Ho`omama
Street, even given another egress route. We therefore recommend that overnight activities,
including but not limited to drug rehab meetings and on-site retreats and/or revivals, not be
permitted; church services only be conducted inside the church building; use of electronic
musical instruments only be allowed when sound reaching the property's perimeter doesn't
exceed 60 decibels; and, during the construction phase, that work be limited to weekdays
between the hours of 9:00 and 4:30 p.m.
Our other concerns focus on the adequacy of the proposed water and septic systems, especially
given the recent restrictions on water use in the North Kona District in general. We also
recommend that additional landscaping be required over that shown on the site plan for the
parking area, and it include adequate screening for the homes to the south.
We urge, therefore, that the Planning Department and Planning Commission seriously consider
these issues and require that they be resolved before a Special Permit is granted. Thank you.
DECHAP: Aloha. My name is Chantal Dechap. I live in Pualani Estates. I first lived on
Ho`omama Street, across the street from Ryan, had the opportunity to watch his family grow,
been to his church, admire the work that they do for the community. However, I do not approve
of the building of the church on that particular property, and primarily for the concern of traffic
flow. And as it has been indicated before, we are seeing problems now, it continues to be a
problem as far as traffic flows. Things like even construction trucks, though they are not
supposed to be using the Puapua`anui—my understanding is they are supposed to go by way of
Hualalai—they do come down our Puapua, they go up by our Puapua, and the road does not
support that, and I think it's just a matter of time we see damage to Puapua`anui. The other
thing, too, that hasn't had given a whole lot of mention is the park there; there's a lot of
community activities there at the park. You add the church and ongoing traffic problem, it just
escalates the problem. We already have issues just getting in and out of our subdivision as it is,
just going onto Puapua`anui, and people speeding down the road, and as indicated, as much as
50 miles per hour, if not more. We had an incident during a night; somebody comes, a truck
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EXHIBIT A
flying down, they got, went down so fast they lost control that they ended up in somebody's
backyard. And I think we are just going to add to the traffic problem by allowing this, and for
any development for that matter, using Ho`omama as access. That is a tiny road there off of
Puapua`anui and that is a main exit point for people in Pualani Estates trying to get in and out of
Pualani Estates. And I just see that as a burden and an added problem to already existing
problem that we have. Mahalo for the opportunity. Thank you.
KELIIPIO: My name is Josephine Keliipio. I've lived in Kailua-Kona for about 30 years. I live
on Royal Poinciana Drive and I am not a member of Living Stones Church. But one of the
things I wanted to address is what she said, because I've used the County park at Pualani Estates
and that, that road that comes out from the park is very dangerous to make a left-hand turn, very
dangerous; that curve, you can't see cars coming up and they fly up, and you really, you all
really should go and drive there and understand what these people are saying. And, that's true
when, when a road is built on a hillside like that, cars are going to fly down, and they do fly
down. The road probably needs to be speed-humped. I mean, but, anyway, that's what I wanted
to say about that. No, you know, no one has brought it up except for her and Joel Gimpel, but
that's a major disaster on that corner.
Another thing I wanted to also point out that, as a resident of Royal Poinciana Drive, we have,
we have experienced a lot of increased traffic due to that church. And I just want to point it out
that thank goodness we have seven speed humps there that keep the traffic controlled, but still,
it's, it's, you know, it's very noticeable when the church has functions at all hours of the day that
our road is very busy, Royal Poinciana Drive. So, churches are, like this size, are major traffic
generators, and you folks need to keep that in mind. Thank you.
UNGER: Thank you. You all may be seated. [Mr. Robert Ripp and Ms. Judy Ripp, who were
in the audience, requested Chairman Unger that although they did not test, their support for
the application be put on record.]
Commissioners, I need a motion to close public testimony.
KEALOHA: So move.
CHURCH: Second.
UNGER: Motion by Commissioner Kealoha, second by Church. All in favor?
COMMISSIONERS: Aye.
UNGER: Opposed? [None.] Motion carries. Public testimony is closed. The applicant, if you
would like an opportunity to respond to some of the comments, this is your opportunity.
FUKE: Thank you very much, Mr. Chairman, Members of the Commission, again. The
applicant really understands the traffic concern, and one of the reasons why, you know, when the
application was submitted in 2017, having the burial treatment plan issue was a good opportunity
for the applicant not only to address that issue but also to have them refresh the traffic impact
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EXHIBIT A
study. And the traffic study, the updated traffic study was done, and that study basically
concluded that the Level of Service at the Puapua`anui intersection and the Ho`omama Street
intersection would still be retained at Level of Service A, you know, with or without the church.
And at the primary intersection at Puapua`anui and the Queen Ka`ahumanu Highway Extension,
the Level of Service would still be retained at B. Part of the reasons is that the activity time,
usually Level of Service is related to the A.M. and P.M. peak hours, like in this situation over
here the primary movements do not occur during the A.M. and P.M. peak hours. There is no
question about it that when you introduce any new activity in this area, you will have cars, you
will have cars. So the question is like whether the volume, you know, compromises the Level of
Service, and from a technical standpoint, it does not. Notwithstanding that the applicant was
very sensitive of the concerns that were raised, and as a result, as mentioned in the initial
presentation, they looked at alternative access and that alternative access would come in from
Hualalai Road, and also, there would be a dedicated construction access from Hualalai Road as
well. And both of those are reflected in the staff's condition based on the representations that we
had advanced to the Planning Department.
On the issue of speeding, we would, we would kind of maintain that, you know, if you are
coming in from Queen Ka`ahumanu Highway and you are making a left turn into Puapua`anui,
it's only a short drag and it's only like, it's the first intersection, so, you know, there is really
very little opportunity to speed; it's one block. Likewise, if you are exiting the church and you
are making a right turn, it's only one block, you know, to the Queen Ka`ahumanu Highway. If
you are going to go on Hualalai Road, you are going to go off on Hualalai Road and the
secondary access, so you are not continuing up and speeding on Puapua`anui Road. So, I think
that while the concern of speeding is there, if, you know, with this project, I don't think you
would be attributable to the operations of the church, as much as people within the community or
people coming in from the Hualalai, you know, mauka section and using Puapua`anui as a
secondary access to Queen Ka`ahumanu Highway. So, thank you very much, Mr. Chair.
CHURCH: A couple questions here. One of my concerns is water. And, I'm, from personal
experience, having a hard time with the Fire Department responding with things that require
sprinklers for instance, and also the Department of Water Supply, and they seem to be really
bogged down. As we know from personal experiences, how many times have these water pumps
that are serving our area been up and down, been replaced? The pumps go in and are hooked up
wrong, and so these things get delayed and delayed. So, I think that the water availability to me
would seem to be a major issue. That would be my first question.
FUKE: Sure. I had discussions with—and it's kind of reflected in staff's report—with the
Department of Water Supply on that, because each of the property currently is allocated like two
water units right now. And I had some question as far as the availability, you know, of water for
our project of this nature. So in discussions with the Water Department, we looked at actual
situation not only of the Living Stones church in Kailua-Kona. The Kailua-Kona situation, the
use of the water is a little higher than normal because they use it for landscaping. So the more
comparable one, primarily for potable purposes, related to the LDS church in Hilo off of
Ponahawai Street and it's a very sizable church with a lot of—I don't think they have 600
parking stalls, but—they do have at least like about 150 or 200, and their average daily water use
was like less than 400 gallons a day. So, based upon that, and, you know, we did the calculation,
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EXHIBIT A
we looked at also like what it translated to on the average daily monthly use, and it still came out
to less than two units of water. And so based upon that, the Water Department basically say that,
well, for a nature of this project, or for a project of this nature, then, fine, you can proceed, but
nevertheless, they would like to see water calculation studies done, and that'll be done, and that's
made as a condition, and then they'll determine like what added mitigation may be needed in
terms of like storage tanks, so on and so forth.
CHURCH: Sure. How are you doing with the Fire Department? How's that going?
FUKE: Well, on the Fire Department issue in terms of like, that would have to be addressed,
you know, as the owner, or the applicant, develops the specific
CHURCH: Okay, so you are still working with them.
FUKE: Correct, yeah.
CHURCH: But the question I had, too, is the existing Living Stones church off Alii Drive is
going to continue to be used, that's fine, why is that, why didn't you think of maybe reducing the
size of this facility here and maintaining a limited scope of services on Alii Drive thereby
lessening the impact on Alii Drive and also lessening impact here? Was some dual operation
considered?
FUKE: Can I defer that to Mr. Cook?
UNGER: Sure.
FUKE: Yeah, they relate to church-related operations, so I'm not sure.
CHURCH: My question was, had you considered the split-operation where perhaps half the
operation or thereabouts was continued to be maintained off Alii Drive and the facility here of
lesser proportions was developed for the site thereby lessening the impact of the traffic noise on
the Pualani Estates and surrounding areas and also diminishing somewhat impact currently
experienced on Alii Drive?
COOK: Is Ryan Burns still here? Ryan can come up and explain what they intend to do, if we
are able to move to the new location with a larger church than the existing location right now.
Ryan?
BURNS: Nobody wants to answer this question. I'm happy to. So, as far as the thought of
building a smaller building on the proposed site and limiting the scope of what we do on Alii
Drive, there's been conversation about that, there have been multiple conversations of what's
going to serve the community best. From the demand that we are seeing on Alii Drive, as well
as our Pine Trees location, the Pine Trees Commercial down there, what we are seeing is that
there's more demand than we can meet with those two sites themselves. Part of what our plan is
to do is to limit or lessen the activities at the Alii Drive site, as far as the number of services, to
help a little bit with that, as well as the one thing I just wanted to speak to, there was mention by
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EXHIBIT A
Mr. Gimpel concerns of major holidays, weddings, funerals, things like that, those are going to
continue to take place at our Alii Drive location and not at the proposed site. I've been asked
for, you know, weddings, funerals, things of that nature, we've operated at our Pine Trees
location now for the last five and a half years and have not done a single wedding or funeral
there, primarily because, if you've seen our Alii Drive location, everybody wants to have theirs
there, because of, you know,just how beautiful it is down there. That's the plan moving forward
with Pualani Estates truly our desire and design for that proposed site is limited to church
services on Sundays; there will be small gatherings looking at maybe 20, 25 people, you know,
almost like classroom-type stuff, midweek, but there is no plans to have larger that—does that
answer your question?
CHURCH: Yeah.
BURNS: Okay, thank you, very good question.
UNGER: Great, thank you. You may be seated. Christian, to help us with the motion, can you
put back up on the slide the proposed change to the condition?
KAY: Yeah, thank you.
UNGER: Thank you. So, public testimony is over. Commissioners, I need a motion on the
agenda item.
CARR SMITH: I move that the application for the Special Permit, Docket No. 17-000195, be
approved based on the Planning Director's recommendation, which shall be adopted, with any
revisions that have been discussed.
SHIMAOKA: I second.
UNGER: Great. We have a
HALL: Is it clear enough for you guys?
KAY: Yes.
UNGER: Okay, so, we have a motion by Commissioner Carr Smith, second by Commissioner
Shimaoka. The floor is open for discussion.
CARR SMITH: I was concerned about just a couple of things. In the testimony some people
seemed to think that the activity on the property would be limited to Sunday, and I don't believe
that's the case—I just wanted to mention that. They were also concerned about overnight
activities, which I believe are prohibited. I was wondering about the construction access because
I'm not sure that it's in the conditions that the construction access will be through the Parcel 44.
And then I wondered about construction hours whether that should be noted as well.
UNGER: Okay. Christian
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EXHIBIT A
CARR SMITH: I should, probably should have asked them before.
KAY: Sure, no problem. So, Condition No. 7 addresses construction access and reads, "As
represented by the applicant, all construction traffic shall be routed from Hualalai Road to the
subject parcels via [TMK: 7-5-017:044]"Parcel 44, essentially.
CARR SMITH: There it is. Thank you. What about hours? Is that something that normally
would be included or not?
KAY: So construction hours is, there is no condition related to construction hours. I would have
to maybe defer to the applicant to see, you know, what they would be proposing in terms of
construction hours or if there are standard practices for that. [Mr. Kay had a brief conversation
with Ms. Jackson.] I'm told that it's possible that the Department of Health has standard hours
for construction. I'm not sure what those are, though. But there is a catchall condition that says
the applicant must comply with all State, County, Federal and State requirements. So, if that is
the case, they would be limited to what those requirements are.
CARR SMITH: Good, thank you. I just further wanted to comment that I appreciate all the
testimony and I commend you folks for the good work you are doing at Living Stones, and, best
of luck.
CHURCH: I don't dismiss the adverse impact that this project will have on Pualani Estates and
surrounding owners, but also can't dismiss the huge benefit that I have witnessed on the growth
of this church and what it does for the surrounding communities. So I'll be supporting this.
UNGER: I also will be supporting the motion, as it stands. Hearing both sides, I certainly
understand homeowner concerns with the additional traffic, the construction, etcetera. Again,
weighing both sides, I do support the project and I'll be voting in favor of it.
VITOUSEK: I'd add I believe this will lessen a really difficult traffic situation on Alii Drive by
spreading it out and putting it in a location that's better able to accommodate that amount of
traffic. You know, I definitely understand the concerns from Pualani residents, but I think that
overall it will have a net improvement on traffic in Kona. I will support it.
SHIMAOKA: I'm going to support it, but the concern with some of the residents with the traffic
concerns. I strongly suggest that maybe some of the members of the congregation would get
together and work with some of these concerns, maybe, like maybe putting a speedbump in that
area where there is a short line of sight. But, that would be my encouragement.
UNGER: Seeing no other comment from Commissioners, roll call.
KAY: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Commissioner Carr Smith?
CARR SMITH: Aye.
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EXHIBIT A
KAY: Commissioner Shimaoka?
SHIMAOKA: Aye.
KAY: Commissioner Church?
CHURCH: Aye.
KAY: Commissioner Kealoha?
KEALOHA: Aye.
KAY: Commissioner Vitousek?
VITOUSEK: Aye.
KAY: And Chair Unger?
UNGER: Aye.
KAY: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Motion carries with six votes.
UNGER: Thank you. Applicant, you'll be notified in writing of our, of the Planning
Commission's decision. Thank you.
The discussion ended at 10:52 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Noriko Sauer, Secretary
Leeward Planning Commission
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EXHIBIT A