HomeMy WebLinkAbout2021-11-16.HCDP.Minutes.Draft
Mitchell D. Roth Zendo Kern
Mayor Director
Lee E. Lord Jeffrey W. Darrow
Managing Director Deputy Director
County of Hawai‘i
PLANNING DEPARTMENT
H ĀMĀKUA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ACTION COMMITTEE
Aupuni Center • 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3 • Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720
Phone (808) 961 - 8288 • Fax (808) 961 - 8742
1 Tuesday , November 16 , 2021
2 DRAFT Meeting Minutes
3 CALL TO ORDER
4 Chair Kurokawa called the Hāmākua Community Development Plan ( H CDP) Action Committee
5 (AC) to order at 5:06 P.M. Due to restrictions related to the COVID - 19 pandemic, this meeting
6 was held via the Zoom interactive video platform.
7 ROLL CALL
8 AC Members Present: Nicolette Hubbard, Tawn Keeney, Crystal Kua, Brad Kurokawa (Chair), Jeff
9 McKnight (Vice - Chair), Robert Nishimoto, Rh onda Pollard
10 AC Members Absent - Excused: Carol Ignacio
11 County Staff: Planners – Heather Bartlett and Alexis Ching
12 C ounty Officials: Council Member Heather Kimball [came in at 5:24 P.M.]
13 4 members of the public attended the meeting via Zoom. The meeting wa s also available for
14 synchronous viewing via the COH Planning Department YouTube Livestream . The livestream is
15 available at Hāmākua CDP Action Committee Meeting , November 16, 2021 - YouTube .
16 PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS: One (1) member of the public provided oral testimony.
17 Oral Testimony :
18 Cory Hardin, representing herself, testified on the Additions to the Agenda item. Ms. Hardin
19 requested that the AC add a discussion of the H āmākua Institue to the agenda , or invite
20 Executive Director Dennis Flemming to the next AC meeting to respond to the concerns she
21 raised about funding sources for his organization . In her previous discussion with Mr.
22 Flemming, she expressed additional concern regarding biofuels and inquired about H u
23 Honua .
24 Chair Kurokawa responded that the AC is not an appropriate body to vet concerns about
25 other organizations and that such matters do not impact AC business. He also shared that he
26 had spoken to Mr. Flemming and that he would be invited to a future meeting to address
27 those concerns at his discretion .
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28 ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA: None
29 ANNOUNCEMENTS:
30 1. General Plan Update :
31 Ms. Bartlett shared that the administration has been working to launch and implement the new
32 Electronic Processing & Information Center (EPIC) permit system. As EPIC is now up and running,
33 more time will shift to the priority of reviewing and evaluating the General Plan Comprehensive
34 Review. This will include an updated timeline, addition al public input, and an outline of the
35 adoption process. The website will be updated and Action Committees will be notified when
36 information is available.
37 2. Community First Health Health Care Initiative:
38 Ms. Bartlett shared that Community First is conducting a health care assessment and are
39 reaching out for help in distributing their survey across Hawa i ʻ i Island. Community First and its
40 partners are serving Hawa i ʻ i Island residents during the month of Nove mber to better
41 understand what communities need to improve their health. The survey is a part of Access to
42 Care, a collaborative that’s working to transform health care on Hawa i ʻ i Island. Information
43 regarding this and a link to their survey will be sent t o AC members via email.
44 APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
45 Committee Member Kua made a motion to approve the September 15, 2021 meeting minutes ,
46 then withdrew her motion as Committee Member Keeney requested clarification on the minutes.
47 For reference see t he September 15, 2021 HCDP Meeting Minutes Draft
48 Committ ee Member Keeney requested the following regarding business i tem 3 :
49 That the number of lots stated in the minutes be corrected from 10 to 40 for t he
50 proposed subdivision in Honok a ʻ a
51 Clarification on whether this housing development project would go before the County
52 Council or if they were plannin g to apply for a change of zone
53 Ms. Ching clarified that the housing development project would work with the zoning code and
54 not within the housing section that would require the 201H application. She believed that they
55 would apply for a change of zone, but no a pplication had been received yet by the Planning
56 D epartment. Chair Kurokawa further explained that per the presentation, the project would go
57 through the PUD process , go before the Planning Commission , and then on to the County
58 Council.
59 Committee Member Kua made a m otion to approve the September 15, 2021 meeting minutes
60 with the changes suggested by Committee Member Keeney. Motion seconded by Vice - Chair
61 McKnight. Motion passed with 6 votes aye, 0 votes na y .
62 BUSINESS:
63 Comm ittee Member Hubbard made a motion to re - order the agenda to move item 2 to item 1.
64 Motion seconded by Committee Member Keeney. Motion passed with 6 votes aye, 0 votes nay.
65 1. Hawai ʻi Farm Trails Presenta?on : Kalisi Mausio, Founder and Chief Executive Farmer , shared a
66 presentation on Hawai ʻi Farm Trails ’ mission to mindfully connect visitor consumers to
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67 producers through their online platform . Hawai ʻi Farm Trails is a social enterprise platform
68 that connects the public to Hawai ʻi ’s farms. The online platform offers a directory to visitor
69 experiences, a marketplace to shop for farm products, and a food planting project.
70 For reference see the Hawai ʻ i Farm Trails website
71 Ms. Mausio shared that she and her sister spent the last three years collecting information
72 on farms that had experiences and connected with farmers, first from Hawai ʻi County, then
73 statewide. They saw that there was a gap in information for visitors to find farms to v isit i n
74 one place. Ms. Mausio created the interactive online platform and her sister conducted the
75 agritourism baseline study for Hawai ʻi C ounty. The experience side of the platform showed a
76 directory of farms, markets , and events that were agriculture related. She informed that they
77 were able to acquire grants and funding to expand the application state wide.
78 Ms. Mausio informed that she took over Low Store, located on the scenic route in Onomea
79 Bay. As the online platform grew to be statewide and significant to t heir agricultural
80 community, Ms. Mausio felt that the store would allow them to hold and sell farmer’ s
81 products locally as well as offer employment opportunities for the community.
82 Ms. Mausio shared their two main goals , which were to address limited farmer capacity to
83 leverage agritourism and to create points of purchase to sustain their social enterprise and
84 bring the consumers directly to the farmers . She planned to conduct a feas ibility study with
85 the help of the H āmākua Institute to look into ways to create farm trails throughout
86 H āmākua that would showcase their farms and agricultural history in the area. Through the
87 baseline study, they saw that despite agritourism being seen a s a sustainable or alternative
88 approach to the conventional tourism model, many of the farms engaged with tourism were
89 farms that had a lot of capacity and did not directly contribute to food security in terms of
90 providing fresh food. Ms. Mausio wanted to address this through the feasibility study and
91 look at ways to build farmer capacity through engagement and training on how to become
92 legitimate agritourism operations. She would help farmers understand their challenges and
93 develop innovative ways to grow food while still being able to engage in tourism. She
94 informed that the farm trail system would be a way to engage with the farms and allow them
95 to incorporate their food tree planting project. They would provide visitors with positive
96 experiences like tr ee planting and help them to understand and connect with Hawa i ʻi on a
97 meaningful level.
98 Chair Kurokawa asked if the farm trail system would be a series of trails that connect the
99 farms , or if there would be van tours.
100 Ms. Mausio informed that that would be a part of the feasibility study to help figure out
101 whether the trail system would be one type or several types. She shared that on the
102 minimum level, there would be a curated itinerary on a downloadable PDF with a suggested
103 experience for the day. She suggested the possibility of themed experiences such as trails to
104 a certain type of farm or waterfall, driving tour s with GPS instructions, or working with tour
105 companies to run the different tours with their p rovided suggestions. She shared that their
106 highest level of effort would be for Hawa i ʻi Farm Trails to provide the touring experiences by
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107 taking visitors through the trails with various stops at farms, farmers markets, and significant
108 landmarks or historic al places.
109 Committee Member Kua questioned if there was a plan to outreach and acquire buy - in from
110 the individual farms to make that farm trail connection.
111 Ms. Mausio felt that she had been establishing relationships with the farmers in the
112 H āmākua area ov er the last three years. She shared that these farmers know who she is, they
113 know Hawai ʻ i Farm Trails is a social enterprise and they trust her process. She informed that
114 she would also provide marketing services to help promote those farms further. She fe lt that
115 they had already been working on the buy - in and are now at the stage of collecting feedback,
116 concerns, and suggestions, and applying it to their process.
117 2. Hawai ʻi Secure Foods, LLC Presenta?on: Chad and Stephanie Buck , owners of Hawai ʻ i
118 Foodservice Alliance (HFA) were in attendance to present and discuss their plans to operate
119 an artisanal grass - fed dairy on the site for merly owned by Big Island Dairy in ʻ ō Ō ʻ kala.
120 Mr. Buck shared some history and background information regarding HFA, to shed light on
121 who they are, what they have been involved in, an d what they have done in the local
122 community and across the state. He shared that H FA is the largest local sup p lier of perishable
123 foods and logistics in the State of Hawai ʻi. They are the o nly FSMA compliant single source
124 solution for dry, chill, frozen – ocean, air , and land distribution in the state . H F A serves every
125 grocer, retailer, commissary , and club on all islands each day. They are a transition facility for
126 the Department of Agricul ture, all of their facilities are third party audited each year , and
127 they are a distribution platform for thirty - nine local producers. Their w ritten software, web
128 applications, logistics intelligence, procurement analytics, and promotional relevance are al l
129 done in house. HFA not only provides distribution services, but offers a variety of other
130 services to their customers as well, such as leadership training, coaching and tailored
131 education, and financial wellness programs.
132 Mr. Buck shared that they served all islands through the COVID - 19 pandemic. They moved
133 farmer’s crops across the state , a ssisted with free pet food distribution, assisted with the
134 distribution of personal protective equipment to hospitals, and worked with the Department
135 of Education to d istribute food to the children in nee d due to school closures caused by the
136 pandemic. Mr. Buck shared that they are heavily involved in disaster preparedness and are
137 working with counties and the State to develop a real disaster preparedness plan.
138 M r. Buck explained that HFA’s goal is to help move agriculture forward and work toward
139 replacing imports to help reconnect Hawai ʻ i to a sustainable and secure food system. Their
140 priority is to provide their established platform and food safety systems and p rotocols to
141 local agriculture and manufacturing programs. HFA would empower and enable local farms
142 and food producers to reach the economy of scale necessary to achieve a sustainable and
143 secure future.
144 Mrs. B uck explained their plans to operate a small art isan dairy, with grass fed cattle, to
145 produce milk, yogurt, cheese, butter, ice - cream , and other beverages . She expressed that
146 HFA was not interested in a large industrial dairy or using free stalls for confined animals.
147 They felt that the free stalls on the site needed to be repurposed and used for the benefit of
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148 H awai ʻi. Mrs. Buck informed that HFA hoped to work with Symbrosia, who have been doing
149 innovative work like producing natural feed solution s wi th seaweed , which reduces methane
150 and improves productivity and health outcomes. She noted that Symbrosia’s seaweed feed is
151 grown and sourced locally and utilizing the ir emerging technology would be a good way to
152 showcase sustainable innovation at the ʻ ō Ō ʻ kala site. HFA also hoped to partner with Hui
153 H o ʻ o lako who provides farmers and ranchers with sustainable feed, made from invasive
154 species that are pulled from Hawaiian Home Land s on the slopes of Mauna Kea .
155 Mrs. Buck informed that they have received suppo rt from many organization s as well as
156 various government groups and leader s within the agriculture space. She expressed that all
157 of their supporters were excited and eager to see what can happen by working with HFA as
158 they saw HFA as a group that is in con nection with the community. Mrs. Buck felt that many
159 of the HCDP’s goals were aligned with their s , especially with regards to encouraging the
160 increase and diversity of employment and living options for residents. Through the artisanal
161 dairy, HFA hoped t o accomplish this goal. Mrs. Buck advised the AC to refer people with dairy
162 experience to them. HFA would engage and reinvigorate the dairy industry on Hawa i ʻi Island .
163 She informed that they would like to provide an apprenticeship program and training to l ocal
164 residents who are interested in scaling up to a career in the industry.
165 Charlene Nishida, Founding Member of Kūpale ōkala, Ō ʻ ʻ the nonprofit that was responsible
166 for working with the Senator for Food Safety and the Clean Water Act l awsuit against Big
167 Island Dairy, LLC, shared her support of the Buck’s and their effort . She felt that it was very
168 important to work in partnership with whoever is managing the site above ʻ ōkala, as what Ō ʻ
169 happens above, affects their community below. Kūpale ōkala Ō ʻ ʻ would b e a part of that
170 community that has voice and experience and would work collaboratively so the practices
171 that occur on the site are sustainable , not only to the organization but to the community and
172 island at large as well. She informed that the Buck ’s had been good at working with them
173 both individually and as a community in their process to familiarize themselves with how
174 critical it is to work collaboratively and in partnership .
175 Vice - Chair McKnight questioned how many head s of cattle are planned t o be kept at the
176 ʻ ōkala site and Ō ʻ if the products being produced would stay in the state of Hawai ʻi or if a
177 per centage of them would be exported. He also asked that they review the community’s
178 concerns and how they were being a ddressed.
179 Mr. Buck informed that the plan presented was to have 200 head of grass fed cattle on site
180 that would be milked twice a day. He shared that one of the benefits that HFA had was being
181 connected with every grocer so they are able to move products across the state. He shared
182 that in some situations, exports make sense, but these products are meant for the local
183 people.
184 Mr. Buck informed that the community was mainly concerned with the lack of
185 communicat ion with Big Island Dairy and the dair y’s production process that resulted in the
186 contamination of their streams. He stressed the importance of HFA educating themselves so
187 the same mistakes would not be made again. HFA would move forward in a way to
188 collaborate as a co mmunity. They felt the need to step in to make a difference in the best
189 way they can.
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190 Chair Kurokawa noted that part of the problem is trying to return to a more sustainable and
191 regenerative type of agriculture from the large industrial scale that it had become over the
192 years. He question ed if HFA had a plan to get or diversify a smaller scale of sustainable
193 agriculture to work into a larger more efficient system to achieve an economy of scale .
194 Mr. Buck noted that there are over 7,300 small farmers in the state of Hawai ʻ i and each is
195 doing their work to make a living, but many do not have that final piece to get to market or
196 have the food safety that is required. He hoped that a h ui system amongst smaller farms
197 would allow them to work together to create those efficiencies.
198 Committee Member Nishimoto shared that he was a coastal biologist. He was very
199 interested in the Symbrosia seaweed that was brought up during the presentation and asked
200 that HFA continue to elevate the concept of Mauka Makai moving forward as what you do on
201 land affects the ocean.
202 Committee Member Kua questioned how they would process their value added products.
203 Mr. Buck informed that the processing for 200 cattle does not require use of all the
204 equipment space currently on the farm . He shared that the facility there already meets food
205 safety requirements and that they were working on getting the equipm ent to produce the
206 value - added products.
207 Mr. Buck shared how his personal background inspired the work that they do. He shared that
208 he saw the high rates of food insecurity in the State . It resonated with him that somet hing
209 was wrong and he felt that he needed to work to create a positive impact. He shared that he
210 was grateful for his previous life e xperiences because they inspired him to pursue the ir work .
211 3. Implementation Updates from Action Committee Members:
212 a. Public Access & Trails : Council Member Kimball shared that she met with Vice - Chair
213 McKnight , Committee Member Keeney , and Deborah Chang from the Public Open Space
214 Commission (PONC) , to discuss the trails. She provided an update that they were at the
215 point where they planned to reach out to Kamehameha Schools to see if they would be
216 able to get permission to utilize some of their properties as part of the trail network. She
217 expressed her excitement about the Hawai ʻ i Farm Trails project as she s aw an
218 opportunity for intersection there.
219 Committee Member Keeney share d that the owner of the property that the old Pa ʻauhau
220 M ill was on said that she would be willing to sell the property to the commission. He
221 informed that he visited the president of the Pa ʻauhau Community A ssociation , who said
222 he would support creating an acce s s down to that area, but would not want the Pa ʻauhau
223 road to be used for that access. Committee Member Keeney would like to discuss other
224 access options with Council Member Kimball.
225 Council Member Kimbal l informed that she scheduled a t e ntative mee t ing with the
226 Department of Land and Natural Resources ( DLNR ) to look at maps of existing trails that
227 they have jurisdiction over. They would start the process to see where access could be
228 opened to the public and connect th e trails along the coast.
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229 b. Emergency Preparedness & Hazard Mitigation: Council Member Kimball informed that
230 Hawai āmākua. ʻi Wild Fire had their first mee?ng to promote firewise communi?es in H
231 She advised AC members to reach out to her if they would be interested in joining .
232 Committee Member Keeney expressed concern about biofuel production in Hāmākua. He
233 mentioned a property for sale below Honoka ʻa that may be intended for the production
234 of biofuels. He shared his concern that an agricultural effort for producing biofuels would
235 demand a great deal of infrastructure and acreage.
236 c. Affordable Housing: Committee Member Hubbard and Committee Member Pollard
237 shared that they were working on getting a presentation regarding affordable housing for
238 the AC in the near future .
239 Committee Member Hubbard shared that she had heard some concerns about the Lehua
240 Village Partners presentation at the last meeting. She clarified that the Action Committee
241 is not a deciding body for developments but that such presentations are informatio nal
242 only. The purpose is to learn about what is happening in the community and how those
243 things relate or meet the action items in the HCDP action plan.
244 d. Roadway Networks: Chair Kurokawa reached out to John Cross, formerly of C. Brewer &
245 Co. , and learned there is quite a bit of inf ormation that the plantation has on old
246 roadways. Chair Kurokawa s hare d this w as an island - wide issue and proposed that the
247 Planning Department pursue this information so they can get the data and evaluate the
248 roadway networks and the government roads t hat are on private property. Chair
249 Kurokawa shared that Mr. Cross is open to and knows where the information is for
250 H āmākua and Ka ʻu , but more investigation is needed for the rest of the island.
251 4. Review Current Action Committee Member Terms and Ideate Aroun d 2022 AC Proceedings:
252 Ms. Bartlett presented a spreadsheet outlining the H āmākua AC member’s term durations and
253 timelines. She explained that they would be reaching out to all AC members to set up time for an
254 open and honest conversation to check - in about how they are feeling relative to their terms and
255 discuss strategies for engaging du ring 2022. Discussions were had regarding holdovers and staff
256 assured that Committee M embers could continue as holdovers until such time that new
257 applicants were vetted via the Mayor’s office and the County Council. Ms. Bartlett acknowledged
258 tha t continuity and keeping the man a ʻo from previous Committee Members is important to the
259 success of the AC.
260 Committee Member Keeney shared that he received an email from the County of Hawai ʻ i Boards
261 and Commissions regarding appl icants to fill vacancies on various boards and commissions. He
262 questioned why the CDP s were not listed and why they were not requesting applicants for those
263 positions as well when multiple CDP s do not have enough members to make quorum.
264 Ms. Bartlett expl ained that recruitment of applicants for the CDP s that need quorum is a priority.
265 Part of the discussion in planning for next year would include how the Planning Department can
266 expand its limited capacity to provide support , which includes onboarding new ACs while
267 supporting existing ACs. They are also interested in learning how they can improve on supporting
268 ACs more effectively and efficiently.
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269 Ms. Ching added that those communications for recruitment are most likely coming from the
270 Mayor’s office and the CDP s have been listed before in the past for those who needed quorum.
271 She shared that it could be a communication style coming from the Mayor’s office in their efforts
272 to reach out and recruit at times for the various boards and commissions that need position s
273 filled as well.
274 PROPOSED AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING:
275 1. Update on Planning D irector’s memo regarding Farm Dwellings
276 ADJOURNMENT:
277 Vice - Chair McKnight made a motion to adjourn. Motion seconded by Committee Member Keeney.
278 Motion passed with 6 votes aye, 0 votes na y .
279 The meeting was adjourned at 7:14 P.M .
280 Th ese minutes and all related documents are available in the Planning Department ’ s Hāmākua
281 Community Development Plan Action Committee folder via the County of Hawai ʻi Public
282 Documents Repository . These documents may also be requested from the Planning Department
283 by calling (808) 961 - 8288 or emailing cdp@hawaiicounty.gov .
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