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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2020-02-20 Leeward Exh A (REZ 19-236) LEEWARD PLANNING COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAII HEARING TRANSCRIPT FEBRUARY 20, 2020 A regularly advertised hearing on the application of JEAN K. CAMPBELL TRUST AND JEFFREY S. CLAPP TRUST (REZ 19-000236) was called to order at 9:31 a.m. in the West Hawaii Civic Center, Community Center, Building G, 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, with Chairperson Nancy Carr Smith presiding. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Nancy Carr Smith, Perry Kealoha, Max Newberg, Keith F. Unger, Mark Van Pernis and Michael Vitousek ABSENT AND EXCUSED: Faith "Faye" Yates ALSO PRESENT: Malia Hall, Esq. (Counsel for the Commission), Michael Yee (Planning Director), Jeff Darrow (Planning Program Manager), Christian Kay (Planner), Alex Roy (Planner), Jessica Andrews (Planner) and Noriko Sauer (Commission Secretary) And approximately 26 people from the public in attendance. APPLICANT: JEAN K. CAMPBELL TRUST AND JEFFREY S. CLAPP TRUST (REZ 19-000236) Application for a Change of Zone from an Agricultural-20 acres (A-20a) to Agricultural-5 acres (A-5a) zoning district for 21.296 acres of land. The subject property is located at 73-1915 Kaloko Drive, about 700 feet north of the most mauka intersection of Ha`o Street and Kaloko Drive, Kaloko Mauka Subdivision, North Kona, Hawaii, TMK: (3) 7-3-025:002. CARR SMITH: The first agenda item, Applicant Jean K. Campbell Trust and Jeffery S. Clapp Trust, REZ 19-000236. This is an application for a Change of Zone from an Agricultural-20 acres to Agricultural-5 acres zoning district for 21.296 acres of land. The subject property is located at 73-1915 Kaloko Drive, about 700 feet north of the most mauka intersection of Ha`o Street and Kaloko Drive in the Kaloko Mauka Subdivision, North Kona, Hawaii. TMK is (3)7-3-025:002. We can proceed with a summary from the Planning Department,please. KAY: Thank you, Madam Chair. Good morning, Members of the Leeward Planning Commission. Before I get started on that, I just wanted to take a moment to thank you once again for your patience. I know we've got a lot of our materials to you within the last week. It's been kind of a perfect storm with sicknesses and a lot of different issues coming up. We will strive in the future to get things to you much earlier. So again, thank you for that. With that, I'll turn your attention to the screen. As the Chair stated,this is a Change of Zone application for Jean Campbell and Jeffrey Clapp Trusts. I'm just going to go over the location map here again. It's in the North Kona District of Hawaii Island, more specifically, in the Kaloko Mauka area in the Kaloko Mauka Subdivision. The subject property is outlined here in 1 EXHIBIT A red. The Change of Zone is from Agricultural-20 to Agricultural-5 acres. If it's granted, the applicant intends to subdivide the property into four five-acre parcels, five-plus-acre parcels. We went through the presentation last time. We had a good discussion last time. One of the major issues that came up was around Condition K of the ordinance, and that read, "Prior to issuance of Final Subdivision Approval, the applicant shall complete an archaeological reconnaissance survey of the property and receive approval of the survey by the State Historic Preservation Division. The applicant shall implement mitigation measures required by the State Historic Preservation Division, if resources are found on the property." We continued the hearing based on representations from the applicant that they would go ahead and have an archaeologist conduct that reconnaissance survey. They did, and by a letter dated February 5, 2020, the archaeologist submitted their findings, which essentially said they didn't find any historic or cultural features on the property. With that,the Director is still going with his favorable recommendation. And if you agree with it, what we would do is just delete that condition and re-letter the remaining conditions. Happy to answer any questions the Commission may have. CARR SMITH: Questions? Go ahead. VAN PERNIS: Yes HALL: use the microphone. VAN PERNIS: [Inaudible.] CARR SMITH: Mark, can you use the microphone, please? VAN PERNIS: Sorry. HALL: It's on. VAN PERNIS: This is Commissioner Mark Van Pernis. I understand that there is a public trail, or a trail used by hundreds of people, on the property. And it's not mentioned as a resource in the County report or in the applicant's report. I'm wondering whether the County is aware of that trail and whether it has any position on it of whether the trail should be investigated. I'm also interested, when the applicants appear, whether they are going to cut off access to that trail by the hundreds of public who use it. KAY: Okay, I think I'm going to let the applicant address that, but on Page 2 of the archaeological reconnaissance survey does mention a hiking trail located in the southwest corner of the project area that is well maintained and connects Ha`o Street to Honua`ula State Forest Reserve. So I think maybe I'll have the applicant address that. CARR SMITH: Okay. Any other questions? [None.] All right, thank you very much. Can the applicant or representative come forward? Raise your right hand, please. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Leeward Planning Commission? 2 EXHIBIT A KERN: I do. CARR SMITH: Thank you. KERN: Good morning, Madam Chair, Members of the Planning Commission. Thanks for having us back. CARR SMITH: Please state your name and KERN: I'm Zendo Kern CARR SMITH: the area where you reside and whom you are representing. KERN: I reside on the east side. Zendo Kern, planning consultant, representing the applicant. Yeah, so there is the trail, but we didn't really get into too much discussion about that. Jean is very much open to making things pretty easy for the neighbors and the public. That's why she has been agreeable to all the conditions of this rezoning, with keeping a majority of it forest. To my knowledge, she has no intention to close that down. VAN PERNIS: You said you are open to that. Are you willing to commit to a condition that the trail will remain available to the public? KERN: I would not be willing to make that condition right now because I have to speak to her and have her do that. We can certainly continue that conversation in the Council. VAN PERNIS: Well, there are certainly ways that the liability could be eliminated, by for instance an easement to a public organization. So, saying that you are open to it means nothing, because it's not required. I think it's safe to say you are open to it. So we would like to, I would like to see whether the applicant is agreeable to leaving that public trail available to the public. KERN: I can talk with her, and we can definitely address it during Council. I think we've been through here, we did a good discussion about the project, we went back and got the arch recon done, so it would be our choice to continue moving forward. And again, we'll have, mark my word, we'll have that, I can have that discussion with her. VAN PERNIS: Are you willing to have that assurance all before this proceeding is completed? KERN: When you say, "this proceeding," are you referring to this, this proceeding or VAN PERNIS: Yes KERN: the entire rezoning? Prefer not to, prefer to keep it moving forward. As I said, we did postpone it to, as a request. 3 EXHIBIT A VAN PERNIS: Then you are basically saying that you are not going to address this issue at this time. KERN: I'm not in a place to make a commitment to this issue at this time, as the applicant isn't here. She did come last time. She was here, she was here to talk and discuss the project. The only issue that we had was the archaeological, which we did resolve. VAN PERNIS: Could we postpone this issue until the applicant indicates whether she is willing or not to accept a condition that the public trail be reserved to the public's use or grant an easement for the public trail to an appropriate entity? CARR SMITH: Mr. Van Pernis, I think we hear your concern. I'd like to see if there is any other questions from any other Commissioners. VAN PERNIS: Could Mr. Kern answer the question, please? KERN: You are asking if I'm willing to postpone it at this point in time? VAN PERNIS: Yeah. KERN: I would prefer not to postpone it at this point in time, as we've already done that. CARR SMITH: Any other questions? VITOUSEK: I guess just, you know,the location of the trail was new information that came in with the archaeological field inspection, and I'm just wondering if you could show us on the map where the trail passes through the property. KAY: We didn't adjust our presentation relative to the reports. I can kind of look at the image and see if I can get a general location. It shows a hiking trail roughly coming onto the property from this other property and skirting this portion of the property through, to the top of the property into the forest reserve. VITOUSEK: So it passes through the parcel makai of the subject parcel KAY: Correct. VITOUSEK: —into the current parcel, and then into the State forest reserve? KAY: There is one intervening parcel that it goes through, and then into the State forests reserve, yes. VITOUSEK: Is that the only access into the forest reserve? Or is there access off of that road up above there, the dead-end there? KAY: I don't have the answer to that question. I have to do more research. 4 EXHIBIT A KEALOHA: First of all, I'm a resident of Kaloko. So, there is an additional access at the street mauka. KERN: As well as from the Makalei side as well. The whole area of that reserve goes from there all the way over to Makalei. UNGER: Is this a historic trail, or is this a trail that has just been generated from public use over the years? KERN: Yeah, to my knowledge, it's just generated through public use and it doesn't, this isn't the sole access, again, as Commissioner Kealoha said, as well as it doesn't purely go through my client's property, right, it cuts through a couple. So it's, it's a make-it-work trail. And according to Glenn Escott, Scientific Consultant Services, there is no, it's not historic at all. There is no historic findings based on the letter whether be trails or any type of arch sites or anything like that, no historic value. VAN PERNIS: I know that the trail has been in use by the public, not necessarily for access to the forest reserve, but as a hiking trail for over 40 years. CARR SMITH: All right. No further questions for the applicant? [None.] Thank you very much. KENR: Thank you very much. CARR SMITH: Are there any testifiers on this agenda item? Seeing none, I look to you, Commissioners, for a motion, please. Motion to close public testimony, please. VITOUSEK: So moved. CARR SMITH: Second? KEALOHA: Second. CARR SMITH: Motion by Mr. Vitousek, second by Kealoha. That is closed, so now I would like to entertain—all in favor? COMMISSIONERS: Aye. CARR SMITH: Anyone opposed? [None.] Thank you. All right, now I would like to entertain a motion, please. NEWBERG: I move that a favorable recommendation be forwarded to the County Council on the application for Change of Zone, Docket No. REZ 19-000236, based on the Planning Director's recommendation, which shall be adopted. VAN PERNIS: May I move for an amendment to the motion? 5 EXHIBIT A HALL: We need a second first. CARR SMITH: Is there a second to that motion? KEALOHA: I'll second. CARR SMITH: Motion by Mr. Newberg and second by Mr. Kealoha. Discussion? VAN PERNIS: Yes, I'd like to move to amend the motion to include a condition that the public trail be, remain available to the public despite the passage of this, of the motion. UNGER: So we have a motion on the table to approve as recommended and a second, so I guess we should discuss that first, and part of that discussion can include Mr. Van Pernis's suggestion? Is that, is that something we can move forward on? CARR SMITH: Yes, thank you. Discussion? UNGER: I'll probably vote in favor of the recommendation as it is, and the record will note that we are talking about the public trail, and I would like to pass this up to the County Council for their final decision. We are a recommending body on this, as we know, and I'm okay with just letting the record show that there is a public trail issue and let them have that discussion at that point. And I'm okay with moving it forward. So I will be voting yea on the motion. CARR SMITH: Thank you. VITOUSEK: Yeah, I feel like it's in an unusual situation where, you know, we, I don't feel like we can make a commitment on this parcel to keep the public trail open over private land when the parcel makai could shut it off at any time for any reason. I think that a more permanent solution needs to happen with access off of the road up above into the forest reserve. And so I would be happy to go along with the motion as recommended. KEALOHA: I support it as well. There is a public access point on the next street above. It actually provides signage from the DLNR. I use both trails to be frank, and, but there is a public access point, so for that reason, I don't know that it would be fair to obligate this owner to serve that purpose. CARR SMITH: I also support the motion, especially based on what Mr. Kealoha just said; very likely the trail may just be a trespassing trail, so. Any other comments? [None.] Can we please vote on the motion? KAY: Yes, thank you, Madam Chair. I just want to clarify; the Director's recommendation is again to delete the condition around the archaeological study and then re-letter. Mr. Newberg, that was your understanding with your motion? NEWBERG: Correct. KAY: Okay, thank you. All right. Commissioner Newberg? 6 EXHIBIT A NEWBERG: Aye. KAY: Commissioner Kealoha? KEALOHA: Aye. KAY: Commissioner Van Pernis? VAN PERNIS: Present. KAY: Okay. Commissioner Vitousek? VITOUSEK: Aye. KAY: Commissioner Unger? UNGER: Aye. KAY: And Commissioner Carr Smith? CARR SMITH: Aye. KAY: Thank you, Madam Chair. Motion carries, five toI apologize, I don't know how to deal with the "present"vote. Malia, is that a no vote or HALL: abstention, I guess. KAY: Okay, so five to zero. CARR SMITH: Very good,thank you. You'll be notified of the Commission's decision in writing. Thank you. The discussion ended at 9:49 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Noriko Sauer, Secretary Leeward Planning Commission 7 EXHIBIT A