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Home My WebLink About2022-01-19 Final Puna CDP MinutesMitchell D. Roth Mayor Lee E. Lord Managing Director Zendo Kern Director Jeffrey W. Darrow Deputy Director County of Hawaiʻi PLANNING DEPARTMENT PUNA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ACTION COMMITTEE Aupuni Center • 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3 • Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720 Phone (808) 961-8288 • Fax (808) 961-8742 Hawai‘i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer Page 1 Wednesday, January 19, 2022 1 Meeting Minutes 2 CALL TO ORDER 3 This meeting was attended by members of all Community Development Plan (CDP) Action 4 Committees (AC) in the County of Hawaiʻi. Long-Range Planner, Keiko Mercado serving as a non-5 voting Chairperson for the island-wide convening of CDP ACs, called the Puna Community 6 Development Plan (CDP) Action Committee (AC) meeting to order at 5:11 P.M. Due to 7 restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic, this meeting was held via the Zoom interactive 8 video platform. 9 Kona AC Chair Charles Young shared an ʻŌlelo Noʻeau: 10 E kanu mea ʻai o nana keiki i ka haʻi 11 Plant edible food plants lest your children look with longing at someone else’s. 12 ROLL CALL 13 Action Committee Members Present: Franny Brewer (Vice-Chair), Kanoe Wilson, Leilani DeMello, 14 Leila Kealoha, Susan Osborne. 15 Planning Department Staff: Zendo Kern (Planning Director); Grant Nagata (Admin Services 16 Officer); Keiko Mercado, Heather Bartlett, and Jaslyn Nathaniel (Long Range Div. Planners); 17 Courtney Costa (Long Range Div. Staff). 18 Members of the public: 9 members of the public attended the meeting via Zoom. Members of 19 the public also observed the meeting via the Livestream on YouTube. The Livestream is available 20 at https://youtu.be/eEv32s28l4g 21 STATE SUNSHINE LAW UPDATE BY CORPORATION COUNSEL 22 Deputy Corporation Counsel Jean Campbell presented the basic tenents of the State Sunshine 23 Law and its new changes. 24 Click here for the presentation slides (Communication No 2022-01): 25 http://records.hawaiicounty.gov/Weblink/1/doc/113992/Page1.aspx 26 Hāmākua Committee Member Keeney asked for clarification from Ms. Campbell on Sunshine 27 Law restrictions for contacting members of other Action Committees. Ms. Campbell responded 28 that discussing business with members of your own Action Committee is a breach of Sunshine 29 www.planning.hawaiicounty.gov/ CDP@hawaiicounty.gov Page 2 Law and that caution should be taken when discussing business with other AC members, 30 especially if there is potential for applicability across multiple Action Committees. 31 Kona Committee Chair Young questioned amending an agenda and whether rearranging items 32 would be applicable. Ms. Campbell clarified that agenda items may be re-ordered or postponed. 33 She added that boards are generally discouraged from adding agenda items during a meeting as 34 it does not give the public advanced notice. 35 Hāmākua Committee Member Kua asked if there were any plans to switch to in-person meetings 36 and, if so, how much notice would the Planning Department provide. Ms. Campbell responded 37 that the Governor’s current Emergency Proclamation lifts the requirement of in-person meetings 38 until the end of February and that the proclamation could be extended/canceled depending on 39 the COVID-19 emergency. Remote meetings may resume after the proclamation is lifted but will 40 require at least one in-person site (usually at a County facility). 41 Hāmākua Committee Member Keeney inquired further on communication with other members 42 through email on recommendations for agenda items. Ms. Campbell responded with a 43 suggestion that communications outside of meetings should generally be discouraged and 44 recommended that Action Committee members share their agenda item suggestions with staff. 45 Ms. Mercado reminded Committee Member Keeney that staff contacts AC members about three 46 weeks before each meeting to request input for the upcoming agenda. She requested that any 47 additional questions and/or feedback be included in the post-meeting feedback form. 48 PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS: 49 Two (2) members of the public and one (1) Action Committee member (representing 50 themselves) provided testimony. 51 1. Community member Cory Harden provided testimony on the Planning Director’s message 52 and on item (3) 2022 RoadMap. She contended that the North Kohala Action Committee “fell 53 apart” a while back due to what the Kohala Mountain News quoted as “Tight rules [that] 54 made it impossible to respond to issues in a timely manner and to allow discussions on items 55 that are not in the agenda.” Ms. Harden expressed concern with the AC meetings moving 56 from once a month to once every three months. She also described long delays in filling 57 vacant Action Committee and Kailua Village Design Commission seats. She mentioned that 58 the multi-meeting process for taking action combined with the limited number of meetings 59 severely slows progress. She also conveyed frustration with Planning Staff that an agenda 60 item request to discuss a large 201H housing development on agricultural land, was not 61 honored. Ms. Harden shared her concern that Action Committees were changing from being 62 place-based to issue-based. Lastly, she expressed concern that the draft General Plan is 63 formatted so differently from previous General Plans that it is too difficult to differentiate the 64 changes. 65 2. South Kohala Committee Chair Smith, representing herself, testified on the Planning 66 Director’s message. She read her written testimony to Director Kern regarding incoming 67 Federal infrastructure funding. She asked the Director to advocate for the CDP 68 Infrastructure/ Emergency preparedness priorities. Ms. Smith expressed that each Action 69 www.planning.hawaiicounty.gov/ CDP@hawaiicounty.gov Page 3 Committee has worked thoroughly, investing time to research and find the infrastructure 70 needs for each community to meet favorable selection criteria. 71 Ruth Smith's written testimony (Communication No 2022-04) can be found at the following 72 link: Communication No. 2022-04 -R. Smith Testimony to PD Dir. Kern 73 3. Community Member Meizhu Lui, representing herself, testified on the State Sunshine Law 74 Update. She expressed agreement with the previous testifiers, adding that CDPs are 75 products of a democratic process and that she hoped the administration would honor that. 76 Ms. Lui explained that the Sunshine Law premise would mean nothing if there were no 77 meetings. She shared that infrequent meetings are a hindrance particularly given the 78 significance of the incoming Federal funds and the pandemic. She expressed support for 79 place-based AC initiatives given how different each district is. Ms. Lui echoed concern about 80 the 100-acre 201H housing development Ms. Harden mentioned. She talked about the 81 disadvantages of bypassing zoning regulations through the 201H and how it could potentially 82 harm the community. Community Member Lui voiced the need for affordable housing, 83 however, not at the expense of agricultural land. 84 MESSAGE FROM PLANNING DIRECTOR, ZENDO KERN: 85 Planning Director Zendo Kern introduced himself and shared his appreciation to Action 86 Committee members for their service to the community. Mr. Kern described the heavy 87 workload in the Planning Department explaining that it is not meant to be an excuse but an 88 insight on staff experiences. He mentioned Mayor Roth’s priority of sustainability and how the 89 Planning Department plays a central role in that function. In describing his strategic 90 approach; Director Kern utilized the Japanese term Kaizen. He defined it as continuous 91 improvement and an approach to improve the multifaceted processes of the department 92 through improving communication and addressing ongoing challenges. Director Kern shared the 93 benefits of the County’s EPIC system that would increase transparency, improve customer 94 service, and streamline processes. 95 He summarized some primary project goals to improve the EPIC system, increase digitization of 96 department files, and ongoing work with the Research and Development Department on a 97 Climate Action Plan to be a “living document” attached to the General Plan. He explained that 98 the Department is now back to “full throttle” on the General Plan comprehensive review 99 although it still has an extensive process to go through. He also shared plans for a 100 comprehensive update of the Zoning Code and Subdivision code to include a framework for 101 green infrastructure and transit-oriented developments (TODs) among other initiatives. He 102 shared that the Puna Eruption Recovery work continues to be a big priority for the Department 103 which includes the property buyout program, working with FEMA on infrastructure needs, and 104 designing a resiliency framework that can be applied island-wide. Director Kern also explained 105 the work he’s done to connect with Senators and the State DOT to understand and plug into the 106 process of dispersing Federal infrastructure funds. He said the County is still waiting on 107 information but that he would advocate for CDP Action Committee priorities as the process 108 moves forward. Lastly, he expressed that the Roth administration cares deeply about the CDP 109 Action Committees and shared regret that previous statements had been misconstrued to imply 110 www.planning.hawaiicounty.gov/ CDP@hawaiicounty.gov Page 4 otherwise. Moving forward, he encouraged AC members to contact the CDP team so that further 111 feedback could be shared with him. 112 BUSINESS: 113 1. Presentation by Susan Kuntz from the Office of Housing and Community Development: 114 Housing Administrator Susan Kuntz presented an overview of the 201H process and provided 115 information on its use and applicability. In her presentation, she covered the housing needs 116 in Hawai‘i County by outlining how they used Area Median Income (AMI) figures of 5 years to 117 estimate the need for 10,796 affordable housing units. Ms. Kuntz identified the challenges 118 developers face as affordable housing is not as profitable as developing market-rate housing 119 and may not always be financially feasible. She spoke about different mechanisms available 120 to assist qualifying housing projects, including federal funding assistance and the State’s 121 201H law. This law allows for exemptions from various permitting constraints relative to 122 affordable housing developments. Administrator Kuntz also shared 201H projects that were 123 proposed in 2021. She explained the agency's Strategic Roadmap which included regulatory 124 reform of the inclusionary zoning code (Hawai‘i County Code (HCC) Chapter 11), as well as 125 working with the Planning Department on amendments to the subdivision (HCC Chapter 23) 126 and zoning codes (HCC Chapter 25). Ms. Kuntz also included the creation of an affordable 127 housing program that identifies potential or existing State and County properties that could 128 be used for affordable housing developments. 129 Based on questions posed in the Zoom chat, Ms. Bartlett summarized a general question 130 around the qualifications for 201H. Ms. Kuntz replied by stating that both private and non-131 profit developers could apply with the stipulation of a 50% plus 1 criterion of affordable 132 units. Ms. Bartlett assured participants that other questions or comments would be followed 133 up on after the meeting. 134 Click here for the OHCD presentation slides (Communication No. 2022-02): 135 http://records.hawaiicounty.gov/Weblink/1/doc/114215/Page1.aspx 136 Click here for the 2019 Hawai‘i Housing Study mentioned in the presentation: 137 https://dbedt.hawaii.gov/hhfdc/files/2020/01/FINAL-State_Hawaii-Housing-Planning-138 Study.pdf 139 2. Presentation by Executive Director Kristine Kubat from Recycle Hawai‘i: 140 Recycle Hawai‘i Executive Director, Kristine Kubat shared information on strategic methods 141 to reduce solid waste, available resources, and their mission as a non-profit 142 organization. She stressed the importance of recycling and the general goals and objectives 143 that the non-profit organization would like to see communities accomplish. Ms. Kubat 144 phrased Zero Waste as “The conservation of all resources through responsible production, 145 consumption, reuse, and recovery of products, packaging, and materials without burning and 146 with no discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human 147 health”. She provided examples of self-sufficient community successes and current waste 148 management practices that could be expanded. Recycle Hawai‘i would like to be further 149 involved with Action Committee work and invites the community to get involved in the 150 mission. 151 www.planning.hawaiicounty.gov/ CDP@hawaiicounty.gov Page 5 Click here for the 2021 Zero Waste Plan: 152 https://www.hawaiicounty.gov/home/showdocument?id=304313&t=637812904261834301 153 Click here for the 2019 Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan: 154 https://records.hawaiicounty.gov/weblink/ElectronicFile.aspx?openfile=true&dbid=1&docid=155 110921 156 Click here for the 2009 Zero Waste Plan: http://hawaiizerowaste.org/site-content/uploads/3-157 14-09-Hawaii_Zero_Waste_Plan.doc.pdf 158 3. 2022 Roadmap Discussion: 159 Long-Range Planner, Heather Bartlett presented on the 2022 Action Committee Roadmap 160 and provided the Action Committees and community with updates, foreseeable events, and 161 upcoming discussion topics. Ms. Bartlett explained that the slideshow was a brief skeletal 162 overview to be discussed in greater detail at individual AC meetings. Ms. Bartlett covered a 163 collection of thoughts, ideas, and feedback from one-on-one meetings with AC members and 164 encouraged more AC members to share their thoughts with the CDP Team. She highlighted 165 progress for the Puna AC who gained two new members to satisfy quorum requirements 166 along with their progressive recovery efforts. Ms. Bartlett highlighted ongoing work to 167 engage the North Kohala community as they work to formalize an AC. She shared that the 168 Mayor’s office had received numerous applications for the Ka'ū CDP Action Committee and 169 the CDP Teams aspires to have members appointed by mid-2022. Suggested upcoming AC 170 discussion topics include chair and vice-chair elections in March, sharing of the draft Capital 171 Improvement Projects (CIP) budget, project prioritization/road-mapping, Chapter 16 review 172 and guidelines, and the hosting of mixed Zoom and in-person (hybrid) meetings. 173 The 2022 Roadmap Presentation slides (Communication No 2022-03) may be accessed at the 174 following link: http://records.hawaiicounty.gov/Weblink/1/doc/114216/Page1.aspx 175 ANNOUNCEMENTS: 176 The February Action Committee meetings have been moved to March. The next Puna Action 177 Committee meeting will be on March 3, 2022. 178 ADJOURNMENT: 179 The meeting was adjourned at 7:13 pm. 180 These minutes and all related documents are available in the Planning Department’s Puna 181 Community Development Plan Action Committee folder via the County of Hawaiʻi Public 182 Documents Repository. These documents may also be requested from the Planning Department 183 by calling (808) 961-8288 or emailing cdp@hawaiicounty.gov. 184