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Home My WebLink About2022-01-19 HCDP Minutes Final Mitchell D. Roth Zendo Kern Mayor Director Lee E. Lord Jeffrey W. Darrow Managing Director Deputy Director County of Hawai i PLANNING DEPARTMENT KUA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ACTION COMMITTEE Phone (808) 961 - - 8742 1 Wednesday, January 19, 2022 2 Meeting Minutes 3 CALL TO ORDER 4 This meeting was attended by members of all Community Development Plan (CDP) Action 5 Committees (AC) in the County of Hawai i. Long - Range Planner, Keiko Mercado serving as a non - 6 voting Chairperson for the island - wide convening of CDP ACs, called the a Community 7 Development Plan (CDP) Action Committee (AC) meeting to order at 5:11 P.M. Due to 8 restrictions related to the COVID - 19 pandemic, this meeting was held via the Zoom interactive 9 video platform. 10 Kona AC Chair Charles Young shared an : 11 9 ƉğƓǒ ƒĻğ 12 13 ROLL CALL 14 Action Committee Members Present : Brad Kurokawa (Chair), Jeff McKnight (Vice - Chair), Desiree 15 Cruz, Rhonda Pollard, Crystal Kua, Robert Nishimoto, Tawn Keeney. 16 Planning Department Staff : Zendo Kern (Planning Director); Grant Nagata (Admin Services 17 Officer); Keiko Mercado, Heather Bartlet t, and Jaslyn Nathaniel (Long Range Div ision Planners); 18 Courtney Costa (Long Range Div. Staff). 19 Members of the public : 9 members of the public attended the meeting via Zoom. Members of 20 the public also observed the meeting via the L ivestream on YouTube. Th e Livestream is available 21 at ŷƷƷƦƭʹΉΉǤƚǒƷǒ͵ĬĻΉĻ9ǝЌЋƭЋБƌЍŭ 22 STATE SUNSHINE LAW UPDATE BY CORPORATION COUNSEL : 23 Deputy Corporation Counsel Jean Campbell presented the basic tenents of the State Sunshine 24 Law and its new changes. 25 Click here for t he presentation slides (Communication No 2022 - 01): 26 http://records.hawaiicounty.gov/Weblink/1/doc/113992/Page1.aspx 27 Committee Member Keeney asked for clarification from Ms. Campbell on Sunshine 28 Law restrictions for contac ting members of other Action Committees. Ms. Campbell responded 29 that discussing business with members of your own Action Committee is a breach of Sunshine an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer Page 1 30 Law and that caution should be taken when discussing business with other AC members, 31 especially if t here is potential for applicability across multiple Action Committees. 32 Kona Committee Chair Young questioned amending an agenda and whether rearranging items 33 would be applicable. Ms. Campbell clarified that agenda items may be re - ordered or postponed. 34 S he added that boards are generally discouraged from adding agenda items during a meeting as 35 it does not give the public advanced notice. 36 kua Committee Member Kua asked if there were any plans to switch to in - person meetings 37 and, if so, how much notic e would the Planning Department provide. Ms. Campbell responded 38 - person meetings 39 until the end of February and that the proclamation could be extended/canceled depending on 40 the C OVID - 19 emergency. Remote meetings may resume after the proclamation is lifted but will 41 require at least one in - person site (usually at a County facility). 42 43 through email on recommendations for agenda items. Ms. Campbell responded with a 44 suggestion that communications outside of meetings should generally be discouraged and 45 recommended that Action Committee members share their agenda item suggestions with staff. 46 Ms. Merc ado reminded Committee Member Keeney that staff contacts AC members about three 47 weeks before each meeting to request input for the upcoming agenda. She requested that any 48 additional questions and/or feedback be included in the post - meeting feedback form. 49 P UBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS: 50 Two (2) members of the public and one (1) Action Committee member (representing 51 themselves) provided testimony. 52 Њ͵ 53 and on item (3) 2022 Road 54 55 made it impossible to respond to issues in a timely manner and to allow discussions on items 56 that are not 57 from once a month to once every three months. She also described long delays i n filling 58 vacant Action Committee and Kailua Village Design Commission seats. She mentioned that 59 the mu lti - meeting process for taking action combined with the limited number of meetings 60 severely slows progress. She also conveyed frustration with Planning Staff that an agenda 61 item request to discuss a large 201H housing development on agricultural land, was not 62 honored. Ms. Harden shared her concern that Action Committees were changing from being 63 place - based to issue - based. Lastly , she expressed concern that the draft General Plan is 64 formatted so differently from previous General Plans that it is too diffic ult to differentiate the 65 changes. 66 2. South Kohala Committee Chair Smith, representing herself, testified on the Planning 67 68 Federal infrastructure funding. She asked the Dire ctor to advocate for the CDP 69 Infrastructure/ Emergency preparedness priorities. Ms. Smith expressed that each Action ǞǞǞ͵ƦƌğƓƓź Ɠŭ͵ŷğǞğźźĭƚǒƓƷǤ͵ŭƚǝΉ /5tθŷğǞğźźĭƚǒƓƷǤ͵ŭƚǝ Page 2 70 Committee has worked thoroughly, investing time to research and find the infrastructure 71 needs for each community to meet favorable selecti on criteria. 72 Click here for Ruth Smith ' s written testimony (Communication No 2022 - 04): 73 Communication No. 2022 - 04 - R. Smith Testimony to PD Dir. Kern 74 3. Community Member Meizhu Lui, representing herself, testified on the State Sunshine Law 75 Upd ate. She expressed agreement with the previous testifiers, adding that CDPs are 76 products of a democratic process and that she hoped the administration would honor that. 77 Ms. Lui explained that the Sunshine Law premise would mean nothing if there were no 78 me etings. She shared that infrequent meetings are a hindrance particularly given the 79 significance of the incoming Federal funds and the pandemic. She expressed support for 80 place - based AC initiatives given how different each district is. Ms. Lui echoed conc ern about 81 the 100 - acre 201H housing development Ms. Harden mentioned. She talked about the 82 disadvantages of bypassing zoning regulations through the 201H and how it could potentially 83 harm the community. Community Member Lui voiced the need for affordable h ousing, 84 however, not at the expense of agricultural land. 85 MESSAGE FROM PLANNING DIRECTOR, ZENDO KERN: 86 Planning Director Zendo Kern introduced himself and shared his appreciation to Action 87 Committee members for their service to the community. Mr. Kern d escribed the heavy 88 workload in the Planning Department explaining that it is not meant to be an excuse but an 89 90 Planning Department plays a central role in that fu nction. In describing his strategic 91 approach , Director Kern utilized the Japanese term YğźǩĻƓ . He defined it as continuous 92 improvement and an approach to improve the multifaceted processes of the department 93 through improving communication and addressing ongoing challenges. Director Kern shared the 94 95 service, and streamline processes. 96 He summarized some primary project goals to improve the EPIC system, increase digitiza tion of 97 department files, and ongoing work with the Research and Development Department on a 98 99 prehensive review 100 although it still has an extensive process to go through. He also shared plans for a 101 comprehensive update of the Zoning C ode and Subdivision code to include a framework for 102 green infrastructure and transit - oriented developments (TODs) amo ng other initiatives. He 103 shared that the Puna Eruption Recovery work continues to be a big priority for the Department 104 which includes the property buyout program, working with FEMA on infrastructure needs, and 105 designing a resiliency framework that can be a pplied island - wide. Director Kern also explained 106 107 process of dispersing Federal infrastructure funds. He said the County is still waiting on 108 information but that h e would advocate for CDP Action Committee priorities as the process 109 moves forward. Lastly, he expressed that the Roth administration cares deeply about the CDP 110 Action Committees and shared regret that previous statements had been misconstrued to imply ǞǞǞ͵ƦƌğƓƓź Ɠŭ͵ŷğǞğźźĭƚǒƓƷǤ͵ŭƚǝΉ /5tθŷğǞğźźĭƚǒƓƷǤ͵ŭƚǝ Page 3 111 othe rwise. Moving forward, he encouraged AC members to contact the CDP team so that further 112 feedback could be shared with him. 113 BUSINESS: 114 1 . P r e s e n t a t i o n b y S u s a n K u n t z f r o m t h e O f f i c e o f H o u s i n g a n d C o m m u n i t y D e v e l o p m e n t : 115 Housing Administrator Susan Kuntz presented an overview of the 201H process and provided 116 information on its use and applicability. In her presentation, she covered the housing needs 117 118 estimate the ne ed for 10,796 affordable housing units ͵ Ms. Kuntz identified the challenges 119 developers face as affordable housing is not as profitable as developing market - rate housing 120 and may not always be financially feasible ͵ She spoke about different mechanisms avai lable 121 to assist qualifying housing projects Ͳ including federal funding assistance and the State s 122 201H law ͵ This law allows for exemptions from various permitting constraints relative to 123 affordable housing developments. Administrator Kuntz also shared 201 H projects that were 124 proposed in 2021. She explained the agenc y' s Strategic Roadmap which included regulatory 125 126 working with the Planning Department on amendments to th e subdivision (HCC Chapter 23) 127 and zoning codes (HCC Chapter 25). Ms. Kuntz also included the creation of an affordable 128 housing program that identifies potential or existing State and County properties that could 129 be used for affordable housing developments . 130 Based on questions posed in the Zoom chat, Ms. Bartlett summarized a general question 131 around the qualifications for 201H. Ms. Kuntz replied by stating that both private and non - 132 profit developers could apply with the stipulation of a 50% plus 1 criterio n of affordable 133 units. Ms. Bartlett assured participants that other questions or comments would be followed 134 up on after the meeting. 135 Click here for t he OHCD presentation slides (Communication No. 2022 - 02): 136 http://records.hawaiicounty.gov/Weblink/1/doc/114215/Page1.aspx 137 Click here for t 138 https://dbedt.hawaii.gov/hhfdc/files/2020/01/FINAL - State_Hawaii - Housing - Planning - 139 Study.pdf 140 2 . P r e s e n t a t i o n b y E x e c u t i v e D i r e c t o r K r i s t i n e K u b : 141 142 to reduce solid waste, available resources, and their mission as a non - profit 143 organization. She stressed the importance of recycling and t he general goals and objectives 144 that the non - profit organization would like to see communities accomplish. Ms. Kubat 145 146 consumption, reuse, and recovery of products, pac kaging, and materials without burning and 147 with no discharges to land, water, or air that threaten the environment or human 148 ͵ She provided examples of self - sufficient community successes and current waste 149 management practices that could be expanded ͵ Recycle Hawai i would like to be further ǞǞǞ͵ƦƌğƓƓź Ɠŭ͵ŷğǞğźźĭƚǒƓƷǤ͵ŭƚǝΉ /5tθŷğǞğźźĭƚǒƓƷǤ͵ŭƚǝ Page 4 150 involved with Action Committee work and invites the community to get involved in the 151 mission. 152 Click here for t he 20 21 Zero Waste Plan: 153 https://www.hawaiicounty.gov/home/showdocument?id=304313&t=637812904261834301 154 Click here for t he 2019 Integrated Solid Waste Management Plan: 155 https://records.hawaiicounty.gov/weblink/ElectronicFile.aspx?openfile=true&dbid=1&docid= 156 110921 157 Click here for t he 2009 Zero Waste Plan: http://hawaiizerowaste.org/site - content/uploads/3 - 158 14 - 09 - Hawaii_Zero_Waste_Plan.doc.pdf 159 3 . 2 0 2 2 R o a d m a p D i s c u s s i o n : 160 Long - Range Planner, Heather Bartlett present ed on the 2022 Action Committee Roadmap 161 and provided the Action Committees and community with updates, foreseeable events, and 162 upcoming discussion topics. Ms. Bartlett explained that the slideshow was a brief skeletal 163 overview to be discussed in greater d etail at individual AC meetings. Ms. Bartlett covered a 164 collection of thoughts, ideas, and feedback from one - on - one meetings with AC members and 165 encouraged more AC members to share their thoughts with the CDP Team. She highlighted 166 progress for the Puna AC who gained two new members to satisfy quorum requirements 167 along with their progressive recovery efforts. Ms. Bartlett highlighted ongoing work to 168 engage the North Kohala community as they work to formalize an AC. She shared that the 169 170 the CDP Teams aspires to have members appointed by mid - 2022. Suggested upcoming AC 171 discussion topics include chair and vice - chair elections in March, sharing of the draft Capital 172 Improvemen t Projects (CIP) budget, project prioritization/road - mapping, Chapter 16 review 173 and guidelines, and the hosting of mixed Zoom and in - person (hybrid) meetings. 174 Click here for t he 2022 Roadmap Presentation slides (Communication No 2022 - 03): 175 http://records.hawaiicounty.gov/Weblink/1/doc/114216/Page1.aspx 176 ANNOUNCEMENTS: T he February Action Committee meetings have been moved to March. The 177 next H m kua Action Committee meeting will be on March 15 , 2022. 178 ADJOURNMENT: The meeting was adjourned at 7:13 pm. 179 These minutes and all related documents are available in the Planning Department s 180 Community Development Plan Action Committee folder via the 181 Documents Repository . These documents may also be requested from the Planning Department 182 by calling (808) 961 - 8288 or emailing cdp@hawaiicounty.gov . ǞǞǞ͵ƦƌğƓƓź Ɠŭ͵ŷğǞğźźĭƚǒƓƷǤ͵ŭƚǝΉ /5tθŷğǞğźźĭƚǒƓƷǤ͵ŭƚǝ Page 5