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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-05-20 Leeward Exh C (Public Testimony re SLU 21-056 REZ 21-246) LEEWARD PLANNING COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAII TESTIMONY TRANSCRIPT MAY 20, 2021 Public testimony regarding the applications of TIMOTHY JOSEPH WARD & KAY LYNN WARD (SLU 21-000056/REZ 21-000246) was called to order at 11:15 a.m. via live stream online meeting, with Chairman Michael Vitousek presiding. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Michael Vitousek, Nancy Carr Smith, Barbara DeFranco, Max Newberg, Mark Van Pernis, and Faith "Faye"Yates ABSENT AND EXCUSED: Clement"CJ" Kanuha III ALSO IN ATTENDANCE: Dalilah Schlueter, Esq. (Counsel for the Commission), Jean Campbell, Esq. (Counsel for the Planning Department), Jeffrey Darrow (Deputy Planning Director), Maija Jackson (Planning Program Manager), Christian Kay (Planner), Alex Roy (Planner), Tracie-Lee Camero (Planner), and Noriko Sauer(Leeward Planning Commission Secretary) APPLICANTS: TIMOTHY JOSEPH WARD & KAY LYNN WARD (SLU 21-000056) Application for a State Land Use Boundary Amendment from Agricultural to Urban for 3.992 acres of land. The subject property is located at 73-4350 Hawaii Belt Road, approximately 300 feet south of its intersection with Kaiminani Drive, Kalaoa 4th, O`oma 1st, North Kona, Hawaii, TMK: (3) 7-3-005:015. APPLICANTS: TIMOTHY JOSEPH WARD & KAY LYNN WARD (REZ 21-000246) Application for a Change of Zone from an Agricultural-5 acre (A-5a) and Agricultural 1-acre Lako St, H61ualoa, HI 96740 (A-la)to a Single-Family Residential 22,000 square feet(RS-22) zoned district for 3.992 acres of land. The subject property is located at 73-4350 Hawaii Belt Road, approximately 300 feet south of its intersection with Kaiminani Drive, Kalaoa 4th, O`oma 1st, North Kona, Hawaii, TMK: (3) 7-3-005:015. VITOUSEK: Okay, we'll reconvene, and we'll just take it from the top on the public testimony for the Ward application. Number one, Jamie Funakoshi, please state your name and town that you live in. J. FUNAKOSHL My name is Jamie Funakoshi and I live in Kailua-Kona, Hawaii. Chair Vitousek and Leeward Planning Commission, thank you so much for the opportunity to testify on Item Number 3 and 4 on the agenda. First, I would like to say that I understand the Urban designation of the area and would love to see Ag land remain as Ag land. I do, however, understand the possibility of development. That being said, I have two main concerns regarding this rezoning. 1 EXHIBIT C The first is the preservation of the archaeological sites on the property. These sites are pre- contact and very important for cultural and historic reasons. There is already a preservation plan in place, as well as a letter from the SHPD from April 2017 that confirms the acceptance of the plan and its stipulations. I also believe the first three requirements of the preservation plan have been violated. It also says the landowner, current and future, is responsible for the preservation measures. It is the desire of our community to see that these archaeological sites are preserved properly and in perpetuity. The second concern that I have is for the safety of our community. The exit of the proposed subdivision lets out into a cul-de-sac ten feet away,parallel to, and down a hill to an existing road that services multiple houses. They're very close, the roads are, and there's a blind spot at the end where it meets Ihumoe Street. We, as a community, would like conditions put in place for a fence between the roads on the southern boundary of the property, as well as a stop sign and convex mirror where their subdivision road meets Ihumoe Street. The Wards have agreed to the safety measures referenced by the email on May 12; however, I received a call from John Pipan and was told that we would have the traffic safety measures if, and only if, I agreed to pull my testimony and support their project. I sent him an email afterward that the Commission has a copy of and received a response stating, "I was simply asking for your support."I'd like to be clear, when someone says, "we will only do this if and only you do this,"namely, pulling my testimony in support of their, and supporting their project, I felt that it was bullying, and I felt threatened. That was not pono, and not, "simply asking for support."I won't compromise my morals for either my community's safety or our history and culture. I don't think anyone should have to. You can't hold one hostage for the other. They are two separate issues. That being said, I'd like to thank the Commission for hearing my testimony and those of our community. Mahalo so much for your time, and your patience, and your consideration. VITOUSEK: Mahalo. J. FUNAKOSHL Mahalo. VITOUSEK: Commissioners, are there, are there any questions of Ms. Funakoshi? [None.] Okay, seeing none, moving on to Erik Funakoshi. E. FUNAKOSHL Hi, how's it going? VITOUSEK: Aloha. Please state your name and town that you live in. E. FUNAKOSHL Hello, I'm Erik Funakoshi, I live in Kailua-Kona, and I oppose the rezoning of the Ward property from Ag to Residential, items 3 and 4. I'm a firefighter and I live on the bordering property. The access to this lot is through Kona Acres subdivision and is in line with it from mauka to makai, which have been Ag lots for more than 40 years. These Ag lots allot for smaller scale farms and diversified crops. There was a statement that the soil on this lot is of poor quality not suited for agriculture. Please come by, take a look at our yard, you can take a look and tell me that agriculture can't be performed here. 2 EXHIBIT C According to the archaeological site on the Ward property, Hawaiian's used this area for agriculture hundreds of years ago. We have sold our fruits to markets in the past. One of our neighbors below has an orchard, one of our neighbors above readily sell their avocados to restaurants. The Federal Agricultural Census data from 2017 shows that most Hawaii farms are on small patches of land from one to nine acres, much like this one. There were 2,621 listed small farms on Hawaii Island in 2017. The agricultural footprint has dramatically decreased in the past century, according to the Statewide Agriculture Use Baseline, 2015. The climate change, the pandemic, and other global events are highlighting the importance of local food production and sustainability. We are lucky that supply and import have improved since the peak of the COVID outbreaks. Do you remember going to the grocery store and the shelves are empty? Who would we have turned to if they didn't get better? We would have turned to the local farmers and food producers. That's why we need to start to take the necessary steps to ultimately reach our goal of food self-sustainability. This area is viable agricultural land. We need to work to protect it. I'm sure there are ag lands that aren't viable for agriculture, but this isn't one of them. We have to look at agriculture land and local food production like the police or fire department. You might not need the police or fire department today or tomorrow, but you're grateful they're around when you do. Many people talk about making Hawaii more self-sustainable, I feel this is my chance to make a difference and all of yours too. We need to think about Hawaii and the culture we are leaving for the keiki and future generations. Please keep this piece of land and the area around here as Ag land. Mahalo for your time and consideration. VITOUSEK: Mahalo. Movingoh, are there any questions? [None.] Seeing none, moving on to Sandra Akaka. Is Sandra available? Sandra, are you there? AKAKA: Can you hear me? Can you hear me? VITOUSEK: Yes. Yes, we can. AKAKA: I don't see my picture. VITOUSEK: There you are. AKAKA: Oh, okay, thanks. VITOUSEK: Okay, thank you. Please state your name and the town that you live in. AKAKA: I'm Sandy Komohana Akaka. I live in Kailua-Kona, right bordering the, the Ward's lot is surrounding my property, and I oppose the rezoning of their lot from Agriculture to Residential. I'm also opposed to the data recovery and destruction of the Hawaiian archaeological site there, which is previously designated a preservation site. 3 EXHIBIT C I testified at the last DLNR hearing, which was after the previous owner, Richard M. Stewart illegally bulldozed the lot and was fined $10,000, and it was also the cave site was supposed to be preserved after that meeting. And at that meeting I was upset because his bulldozing destroyed the habitat of two endangered and protected Native Hawaiian bats, and every evening at sunset, they flew up to my yard and darted through the air-catching gnats and flying insects. The sun shone through their translucent wings. The larger was about six or seven inches in wingspan, and the smaller was about four inches. When they flew, they danced with each other and were unafraid of me watching them a few feet away. It was really magical to see, and after the bulldozing, I never saw them again. Hawaii is a small, desirable, and vulnerable state, as many have testified already, where mainland investors profit off of our limited resources without contributing anything to our infrastructure and without respect to our residence and our communities. I would like to see, number one, the preservation of the Hawaiian cave site and not allow the data processing and bulldozing of this site. Number two, I would,prior to any approval, that this mainland investor give back to our community by donating a percentage of his profits to the Kona Acres and Kona Palisades Association, to assist them with the maintenance of our, of our subdivisions and infrastructure. And the third, my last wish, is that it be a green project, incorporating solar energy and water catchment to prevent the depleting of our, our failing resources. Thank you all, and also to Holeka Inaba who graciously met with us last Thursday, May 13. Mahalo. VITOUSEK: Thank you so much for your testimony. Are there any questions? [None.] Okay, seeing none, we have Maki Morinoue, again. M. MORINOUE: Hi, Maki. VITOUSEK: Hello Maki [inaudible comment from Chair Vitousek]. M. MORINOUE: Maki Morinoue from Holualoa. Thank you for granting this time. Very well points made by Sandy, Jamie, and Erik. I second those points. I am a farmer in Holualoa. I understand very well the impact my farm creates to the ocean, the land to sea relationship. I have included the University of Manoa's water table for Kona, and I've shown it before here today of how it goes to the ocean very quickly. Looking over the archaeological site, I hope that, and I am strongly here, that we make sure that we advocate for Site 29789 and 29794 now that the information that was accepted by the State Historical [sic] Preservation Division was that there be a 20 feet buffer shall be established around these sites, and a permanent 10 feet buffer shall be established around these sites. I do understand the first-hand impact of what the community's going through. This is, this is all of our back yard. The property here, I have on a map, you can see there are no land here as a farmer that is not fit for agriculture. Here in Kona, we have no clay and a mixture of different types of soil, so when we scrape the land it depletes soil, and it goes into our runoff. That is the landscape of Kona. So, 4 EXHIBIT C if we cover it and plant it, and not poison it, and not leave it barren, we can heal this land very, very quickly here. So, to that I say it's very fruitful and rich. And because it's in a very dense, populated area, it's even more vital that we keep this agricultural place Ag. So, I oppose this property turning, rezoning, being rezoned. It should remain Agricultural for our cultural practices, our water and soil health, and for sustainability. Thank you very much. VITOUSEK: Thank you. Any questions? [None.] Moving on to Simmy McMichael. Simmy, please state your name and area of residence. MCMICHAEL: My name is Simmy McMichael of Kailua-Kona. Mahalo for, mahalo for allowing me to testify to oppose Change of Zone, REZ 21-000246. Approving this would send a wrong message; it's okay to destroy, clear lands with machinery, excavator, archaeological resources, site of importance, then pay a fine, sell the property, and the new owner gets a favorable recommendation. This will only encourage developers to hurry up, bulldoze,pay the fine, green light, go past go. Please stop this now. Mr. Stewart, the original owner, was fined $9,400 for his illegal actions. One in particular was very disturbing, and it was Site Number 29789, habitation, precontact, with a lava tube system with several passages contained burned, all that was left was kukui nuts. This land was owned by the Keanaaina's for 117 years. How is that? Per letter from SHPD Susan Lebo, dated January 25, 2016, to Dr. Alan Haun, looks forward to receiving an Archaeological Recovery Plan that meets HAR 13278-3 for review prior to the approval of any rezoning and/or subdivision application of the commencement of any project-related work. On October 26, 2016, letter to Alan Haun from Susan Lebo, SHPD, requests to receive confirmation of the preservation area on the Final Plat Map prior to the subdivision approval. Letter dated April 19, 2017, to Michael Yee, Planning Director from Alan Downer of SHPD, the landowner is responsible for completing the following preservation measures prior to selling the property. Subsequent to the AIS acceptance, the landowner agreed to preserve 29789 and 29794 in lieu of conducting additional data recovery work. Number one, metes and bounds of the pres-preserve containing site 29789, the lava tube system, and 29794, habitation precontact, the preserved area shall be incorporated into the property's deed for Lot-5 as a restricted convenance. The landowner, current and future, is responsible for the following measures. SHPD also requested to receive verification of the interim protection measures prior to the subdivision development and/or construction. The landowner is responsible for completing this preservation measure. Reminder, prior to the selling. The new owners purchase this property per County records August 30, 2019, for $530,000. Twenty-twenty taxes due, $4,214.98, and is past due with penalties and interest. JACKSON: Simmy, can you please VITOUSEK: We've passed our JACKSON: --summarize? VITOUSEK: --our three minute. Could you please summarize briefly? 5 EXHIBIT C MCMICHAEL: Okay. Okay. Alright, alright, well that's for two agendas. I really have to read this one. This is really important because this, the family did not get notice. I just called County. It's 180 feet from this property. They have 30 acres, the Keanaaina's. On behalf of my family, and the lineal descendants of this land, we stand in opposition to further development of this land. The continuation of desecration to archaeological and lineal sites that have been documented and surveyed is uncalled for, and furthermore, unlawful. We, the lineal descendants, will stand no more for this kind of disregard from developers and government officials. Enough is enough. Stop. Devin Kahale Alii Keanaaina. Mahalo. VITOUSEK: Thank you very much. Are there any questions from the commissioners? [None.] Okay, seeing none, moving to Ellen Greenbaum. GREENBAUM: Yeah, hi. Can you hear me? VITOUSEK: Yes, we can. Please state your name and town of residence. GREENBAUM: Hi, my name is Ellen Greenbaum, and I'm in Kailua-Kona, and I live in Palisades, and my property directly abuts the Ward property. I know that people have already spoken about the archaeological sites that are remaining, and when I met with one of the Planning Department people, they said that the archaeological sites that are left are going to be catalogued and destroyed. And, I'm not Native Hawaiian, obviously, you can see that, I've been in Hawaii on the Big Island for 33 years, and I don't believe that developing this property as residential is going to benefit local people, myself included. Meaning I'm not rich and can afford multi-million-dollar properties and making this land residential is going to open up the door for these properties to be sold for a lot of money that nobody that is local is going to be able to afford. I realize that we can't un-ring the bell. Mr. Stewart destroyed a rock wall that was precontact that ran the length of this property; it's gone because it was bulldozed. No amount of money that he paid can ever bring that back. I just feel really saddened by the development and how we rush into things. Water impact, the roads, it's going to make more traffic on my street which is already way inundated with traffic from mauka-makai already. I just don't think that having this be rezoned to Residential is going to benefit locals or the Hawa—Big Island and the Kona-side in general. I want to thank the Commission for hearing our testimony, my testimony included. Thank you so much. VITOUSEK: Thank you. Are there any questions? [None.] Okay, seeing none, moving to Kyle Teves. I saw he was on earlier. Okay, we do have written testimony from Kyle. We will move on to Setsuko Morinoue. Setsuko, are you available? JACKSON: I believe Setsuko dropped off. VITOUSEK: Okay. And she's also provided written testimony. That will conclude our public testimony. Can we have a motion to close public testimony? Moved by Commissioner Yates, seconded by Commissioner Carr Smith. All those in favor? [All commissioners raise hands.] Five. Any opposed? [None.] Okay, looks like the motion carries. 6 EXHIBIT C The public testimony ended at 11:36 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Kim Tanaka Secretary to Boards and Commissions 7 EXHIBIT C