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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-09-14 Kailua Village Design Commission Minutes KAILUA VILLAGE DESIGN COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAII MINUTES Meeting Date: September 14, 2021 Time: 5:22 p.m. Location: Online CALL TO ORDER Commissioners Present: Shaun Roth, Bryant Ching, Jasmine Crusat, Zon Sullenberger, and Arne Werchick Absent and Excused: Michaela Ikeuchi, Ann Kern, and Riley Smith Department of Public Works: Neal Tanaka(Deputy Building Chief) Planning Department: Rosalind Newlon (Planner), Deanne Bugado (Planner), and Noriko Sauer(Commission Secretary) Applicants/Representatives: Raini Castro (New Business Items 1 and 2) Based on the government proclamations and rules regarding COVID-19, this meeting was held online, with live streaming video for the public to observe the meeting. A quorum was present. Chairman Roth called the meeting to order. He explained the meeting procedure and introduced the Commissioners. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes of the Meeting of August 24, 2021 Chairman Roth asked if there were any corrections to the minutes. No corrections were offered, and the minutes were approved as circulated. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS Upon inquiry by Chairman Roth, Ms. Newlon confirmed that there was no public testimony on either of the agenda items. NEW BUSINESS 1. The applicant, Mr. David Jones, SCP and Division Manager of Central Pacific Bank, has submitted a sign application for two wall signs to read "CENTRAL PACIFIC BANK", on two sides of an existing commercial building. One wall sign would front Henry Street, and the other wall sign would front Malulani Road. The wall sign height would be 108 inches or 9 feet, and the sign areas are 16 inches by 120 inches, for a total of 13.44 square feet. The maximum letter heights proposed are 9 inches. The proposal 1 includes a sign made of aluminum/vinyl canvas (panaflex faces) material and the sign would be LED illuminated. The proposed colors of the letters are white with the background color as Pantone 7546 C-11, Midnight Blue. No other changes to the building are proposed. Landowner: Central Pacific Bank TMK: (3) 7-5-004:060 Location: 75-1010 Henry Street, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740 Ms. Newlon gave a PowerPoint presentation on the sign application. She said that the proposed signs, if approved, would replace existing signs, which had been installed prior to the subject parcel becoming incorporated into the Kailua Village Special District("KVSD") under a Zoning Code amendment in 1999. She described the locations and specifications of the proposed signs and noted that the applicant had submitted two versions, with the only difference appearing to be the depth of the display board, i.e. 8.5 inches versus 6.125 inches. Ms. Raini Castro representing the applicant clarified that the applicant had modified the plan so that the proposed design now was 0.75-inch-thic raised lettering on the 6.125-inch board instead of the 8.5-inch flat surface sign. Ms. Newlon went over the applicable sections of the Sign Code and noted that the sign specifications met the code requirements. Upon inquiry by Chairman Roth, Ms. Newlon confirmed that no variance from the code was requested or required. She said that she had reviewed the application with Department of Public Works ("DPW") staff, and that they determined that the proposal was in compliance with the Sign Code. Chairman Roth called upon the applicant's representative. Ms. Castro expressed her agreement with Ms. Newlon's presentation and offered to answer questions from the Commission. In response to Chairman Roth's questions, she confirmed that the two new signs would replace two existing signs; therefore, the total number of signs would not change. No other questions were asked by the commissioners. Chairman Roth commented that it appeared to be a straightforward proposal of replacing the existing signs with new ones. It was moved by Commissioner Sullenberger and seconded by Commissioner Crusat that the Commission forward to the Director of DPW its approval of the signs as submitted. There being no discussion on the motion, a roll call vote was taken, and the motion carried with five ayes (Sullenberger, Crusat, Ching, Werchick, and Roth), no noes, and three absent and excused (Ikeuchi, Kern, and Smith). 2. The applicant, Ms. Raini Castro of John Allen Sign Company, has submitted a sign application for a ground sign and a wall sign for Kona Brewing Company, an existing commercial building. The ground sign would be wood sign measuring 72 inches by 36 inches for a total of 18 square feet and have a height of 6 feet and installed 5 feet from the property line. It would read: Kona Pub Gift Shop—Tours—Parking,with an arrow reading "the beers this way". The wall sign would be of PVC material and front Pawai Street and have a wall sign area of 62 inches by 89.38 inches or 39.48 square feet and be installed 90 feet from the property line on an existing commercial building,with 2 Kailua Village Design Commission September 14,2021,Meeting Minutes an elevation of 21 feet 8.75 inches. The maximum letter height/logo height proposed is 11.6 inches for the ground sign. The maximum logo height for the wall sign is 62 inches and the letter height is 7.4 inches. The colors of both signs would be Brew Block maroon, Brew Block orange, and Brew Block brown to match the existing building colors. The sign would not be illuminated. Landowner: Liliuokalani Trust Estate Lessee: Kona Brewery, LLC TMK: (3) 7-4-010:004 Location: 74-5588 Pawai Place, Kailua-Kona, HI 96740 Ms. Newlon gave a PowerPoint presentation on the sign application. With reference to the subject property, she mentioned that the building plan had come before the Commission for design review in 2017, and that she had recently done an inspection for certificate of occupancy. She noted that the signature of Mr. Kelly Wilson of DPW on the application form indicated that the proposed signs complied with the Sign Code. She described the locations and specifications of the two signs; that the ground sign resembling a surfboard would face Pawai Place, five feet in from the property line, that the wall sign would be mounted on a wall facing Kuakini Highway, 90 feet set back from the property line that includes the 50-foot-wide landscape buffer, and that the color scheme would match that of the existing building. She also reviewed the specifications against the applicable sections of the Sign Code. She noted that the subject parcel was within the Kailua Industrial Subdivision, which has a different set of requirements than the rest of the KVSD, and that the signs as proposed complied with that section of the code. Chairman Roth called upon the applicant. Asked by Ms. Newlon, Ms. Castro clarified that the "5 ft"notation below the ground sign on the simulation photograph was to indicate, not the sign base height, but the setback from the property line. Ms. Castro agreed with Ms. Newton's presentation and said in addition that the wooden ground sign was single-faced, and that neither sign would be illuminated. There were no questions from the commissioners. Chairman Roth opened the floor for discussion and said that he was pleased that the signs were following all the rules, and that in his opinion they were good-looking and fit with the building and the area. Commissioner Sullenberger agreed with Chairman Roth and said that not only was the design attractive but also the wall sign was appropriately scaled to the face of the building. It was moved by Commissioner Werchick and seconded by Commissioner Ching that the Commission forward to the Director of DPW its approval of the signs as submitted. There being no discussion on the motion, a roll call vote was taken, and the motion carried with five ayes (Werchick, Ching, Crusat, Sullenberger, and Roth), no noes, and three absent and excused (Ikeuchi, Kern, and Smith). ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS None. 3 Kailua Village Design Commission September 14,2021,Meeting Minutes ANNOUNCEMENTS Next meeting tentatively scheduled for September 28, 2021. Ms. Newlon announced that because there were no applications for the agenda, the meeting tentatively scheduled for September 28, 2021, was cancelled. Mr. Tanaka asked if the Commission could consider relaxing the sign design guidelines of the KVSD to match the standard already provided in the Sign Code so that potential variance action based on the Commission action could be avoided. Ms. Bugado responded that the rules that Commission follows were in the Sign Code, as well as in the Master Plan for Kailua-Kona, which had been adopted by ordinance; therefore, it would take an ordinance to revise the master plan and then another ordinance to change the Sign Code. Chairman Roth commented that it was not within the Commission's authority to initiate the ordinance process, but that the Commission could discuss the topic at a future meeting and make a recommendation. Mr. Tanaka said that in his opinion the Sign Code needed to be updated anyway, and that he stood ready to update the ordinance. He further said that he understood the master plan to be a responsibility of the Planning Department, but that he would like such discussion to be placed on a future agenda to entertain the Commission's recommendation on the matter. He opined that if sign approvals could be streamlined by avoiding further variance processes while maintaining the character of the Kailua Village, that would benefit everyone. Chairman Roth suggested that if the discussion was to be agendized, it be planned ahead and the community be alerted, because the Commission was aware that people have different reasons to support or not support variances. He said that it would be nice to have a discussion where people could express their perspectives on potential changes. Commissioner Crusat commented that her understanding was that the master plan was something that the Commission should be considering as guidelines. Chairman Roth pointed out that the topic had to be on the agenda for the Commission to start discussing. Ms. Newlon requested time for preparation, and it was agreed that the discussion would be placed on a future meeting agenda, with no mention of a specific date. Mr. Tanaka asked to be notified so that DPW could support the Commission in that effort. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Chairman Roth adjourned the meeting at 5:56 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Noriko Sauer, Secretary ATTEST: Shaun Roth, Chairman Kailua Village Design Commission 4 Kailua Village Design Commission September 14,2021,Meeting Minutes