HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-05-17 HCDP Minutes DraftMitchell D. Roth
Mayor
Lee E. Lord
Managing Director
Zendo Kern
Director
Jeffrey W. Darrow
Deputy Director
County of Hawai‘i
PLANNING DEPARTMENT
HĀMĀKUA 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
Tuesday, May 17, 2022 1
DRAFT Meeting Minutes 2
CALL TO ORDER 3
Chair McKnight called the Hāmākua Community Development Plan (HCDP) Action Committee 4
(AC) to order at 5:03 P.M. A quorum was established with five members in attendance. Due to 5
restrictions related to the COVID-19 pandemic and new provisions set by the Sunshine Law, this 6
meeting was held via the Zoom interactive video platform with one on-site location at the 7
Laupāhoehoe Train Museum. 8
ROLL CALL 9
AC Members Present: Jeff McKnight (Chair); Niki Hubbard (Vice-Chair); Brad Kurokawa; Rob 10
Nishimoto; Tawn Keeney 11
AC Members Absent-Excused: Rhonda Pollard; Carol Ignacio; Desiree Cruz; Crystal Kua 12
County Staff: Planners – Keiko Mercado, Heather Bartlett, Elyse Stevens, Kevin Sullivan 13
County Officials: Councilmember Heather Kimball, Jennifer Kagiwada (Legislative Assistant) 14
1 member of the public attended the meeting via Zoom. The meeting was also available for 15
synchronous viewing via the COH Planning Department YouTube Livestream. The livestream is 16
available at (23) Hāmākua CDP AC Meeting - May 17 - YouTube 17
ANNOUNCEMENTS: 18
• The November Hāmākua Action Committee meeting was moved to Thursday, November 19
17th. (Communication Number 2022-10) 20
Communication No. 2022-10 2022 Calendar.pdf (hawaiicounty.gov) may be viewed here. 21
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: 22
Vice-Chair Hubbard noted that her name was spelled incorrectly in the March 15, 2022 minutes 23
and requested that it be corrected to Nicolette. 24
Vice-Chair Niki Hubbard made a motion to approve the March 15, 2022 minutes. Motion 25
seconded by Committee Member Brad Kurokawa. Motion passed with 5 votes aye, 0 votes nay. 26
www.planning.hawaiicounty.gov/ CDP@hawaiicounty.gov Page 2
PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS: 27
One member of the public provided oral and written testimony: 28
Deborah Chang, representing herself, provided both written and oral testimony on agenda item 29
3. She asked for the Action Committee’s support in getting a site visit for Kahawai road and 30
Lower Kalōpā road to establish them as public rights-of-way. 31
There was an overall discussion regarding the roads location. Legislative Assistant Jennifer 32
Kagiwada stated she was sitting in for Councilmember Kimball and reiterated her sentiment for 33
support on the issue at hand. 34
Ms. Changs’ written testimony (Communication No. 2022-11) may be viewed here. 35
BUSINESS: 36
1. Update on the Shoreline Setback Project: 37
Mr. Sullivan screen shared a PowerPoint to discuss the islandwide Shoreline Pursuit Project 38
based on integrated Coastal Zone Management HRS Chapter 205A, Federal Coastal Zone 39
Management Act. He described the five phases of the project and the involved agencies 40
such as the University of Hawai'i at Hilo (UHH), the United States Geological Survey (USGS), 41
FEMA, Hawai'i Emergency Management Agency, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric 42
Administration (NOAA), and the Pacific Island Climate Adaptation Science Center (Pi-CASC). 43
He explained that Phase 1 targeted the Hāmākua coastline and was comprised of helicopter 44
flights for image collection and analysis. He summarized how the data collected helped to 45
measure shoreline typology and classification, create time-series images of top-of-cliff 46
delineations, identify coastal changes for inundation models, and calculate sea level rises, 47
riparian buffers, and coastal setbacks. He stated how the applied data would help to analyze 48
change rates within the Hāmākua shoreline to establish island-wide policy, future shoreline 49
resilience, and hazard typology. 50
He explained that Phases 2 and 3, were focused on policy implementation to gauge coastal 51
resilience and stated that the program would have a better policy baseline understanding 52
within the next few months. 53
Phases 4 and 5 were a continuation of Phase 1 for island-wide data collection that included 54
additional survey areas with current and potential developments. He explained that these 55
phases would examine coastline changes and briefly discussed the project timeline for the 56
end of the year. 57
Committee Member Kurokawa expressed the need to protect riparian corridors. He was 58
hopeful for future funding for island-wide data collection and policy implementation due to 59
the potential for disasters and property damage within the Hāmākua coastline. 60
Mr. Sullivan discussed the need for ecological and cultural protection along the Hāmākua 61
coastline. He recognized the issue with over clearing and grading of parcels and the need to 62
coordinate with the Department of Public Works. He expressed the potential restoration of 63
coastal species and a broad framework with specific shoreline setback regulations for Hawai'i 64
Island. He would have a better understanding of how the data could direct policy toward the 65
end of 2022 and would follow up with the Action Committee. 66
www.planning.hawaiicounty.gov/ CDP@hawaiicounty.gov Page 3
Committee Member Kurokawa discussed ecological and conservative approaches to protect 67
specific agricultural areas. He mentioned existing development pressure and funding as 68
current issues. He discussed the disregard for maintenance and preservation of drainage 69
berms by new developments. He also reiterated that future community outreach for the 70
Shoreline Setback Project could involve continued conservation efforts. 71
Committee Member Nishimoto praised Mr. Sullivanʻs efforts and encouraged him to update 72
the Action Committee on the projects’ progress. 73
2. CIP Budget Overview: 74
Staff shared the FY2022-23 Capital Improvement Project (CIP) Budget spreadsheet that 75
outlined capital project appropriations submitted to the County Council relating to the 76
Hāmākua District. Ms. Mercado stated that the listed projects ranged from being directly 77
related to the Hāmākua District to broader island-wide benefits. She offered to provide 78
Financial Impact Statement (FIS) sheets for specific projects should the Hāmākua Action 79
Committee be interested. 80
Vice-Chair Hubbard had questions regarding testimony for the County Council CIP budget 81
meetings. Councilmember Kimball stated that the Thursday, May 19 budget meeting would 82
allow for public testimony. 83
Chair McKnight asked how proposed projects were considered. Councilmember Kimball 84
stated projects were accepted as a package based on each Department’s needs. She 85
elaborated that priorities are added every year and the projects on the current list were 86
newly proposed. She discussed the District 1 projects currently in progress, such as the 87
Laupāhoehoe Road and Boat Ramp, and bridge repairs. Ms. Mercado clarified that CIP 88
projects remain in the budget and then are reappropriated as needed. 89
Committee Member Kurokawa discussed bridge repair concerns, specifically asking if 90
Kaʻahakini Stream Bridge was included in the CIP budget. Councilmember Kimball confirmed 91
that bridge repair is accounted for from previous CIP appropriations. She also confirmed 92
new funding for the Papaʻaloa Gym replacement (State allocated 5 million with the County to 93
match funds), and Waipiʻo Valley road safety improvements. 94
Communication No. 2022-12 May CIP FY2022-23 (Hamakua) Final.v2.pdf (hawaiicounty.gov) may be viewed 95
here. 96
3. Infrastructure Discussion: 97
Ms. Mercado explained that the upcoming Federal Infrastructure Bill funding would be 98
allocated to the State and County. To prepare for this, the Administration created a task 99
force to identify priority projects. The Planning Director requested that the Action 100
Committee discuss infrastructure project ideas for their district. Planning Staff would then 101
record the projects identified and provide them to the Director. 102
Vice-Chair Hubbard suggested the Laupāhoehoe Boat ramp, road and bridge needed Federal 103
assistance. Committee Member Kurokawa suggested alternative routes and connectivity for 104
emergency purposes. Chair McKnight proposed the need for adequate emergency shelters 105
to prepare for potential hurricane disasters and climate change impacts. Committee 106
Member Kurokawa brought up the Hakalau School and Gym which is in dire need of repair. 107
www.planning.hawaiicounty.gov/ CDP@hawaiicounty.gov Page 4
He discussed the need to coordinate with the Department of Education and the Department 108
of Land and Natural Resources to transition the structures into community emergency 109
shelters. Councilmember Kimball stated that these projects can be “shovel worthy”, and do 110
not necessarily need to be “shovel ready.” She suggested the Action Committee identify 111
projects that “just make sense.” 112
Vice-Chair Hubbard proposed that the Waipiʻo access be added to the list. She noted that 113
though everyone was aware of the existing issue, it was still a significant project to highlight. 114
Ms. Mercado suggested that AC Members discuss projects and priorities within their 115
community networks. She requested that all proposed infrastructure projects be submitted 116
by the end of May and that Planning Staff would follow up with Action Committee members 117
as needed. 118
4. Action Committee Community Project Discussion: 119
The Action Committee continued their discussion to identify community action initiatives for 120
2022 and explore mutual interests between Action Committee members to potentially 121
create investigatory subcommittees and community liaison groups. 122
Ms. Mercado screen shared action items from the Hāmākua CDP Implementation Table. She 123
noted common areas within the table with more than 2 people could provide the 124
opportunity to create an investigatory subcommittee. She offered that Planning Staff could 125
provide the necessary resources and connections that may support the Action Committee 126
with their initiatives. 127
Vice-Chair Hubbard hoped for the formation of an investigatory subcommittee for public 128
access and trails. She shared however that she would not be able to commit her time to the 129
project. 130
Ms. Mercado gave an example of an investigatory subcommittee within the Action 131
Committee and reiterated the idea for AC members to work outside of regularly scheduled 132
meetings. She suggested the collaboration between Committee Member Keeney and 133
Community Member Chang regarding the Lower Kalōpā Road could potentially become an 134
investigatory subcommittee if more AC Members were interested. 135
Committee Member Keeney stated that he and Community Member Chang would 136
collaborate and asked if anyone else were interested in the Lower Kalōpā Road Trail Project. 137
Community Member Chang discussed the need for a site visit to occur. She explained that 138
relying on maps alone was deceiving, in that what you see on-site could include overgrowth 139
or other barriers. She added that permission would be needed for any on-site visit due to 140
privately owned lands and blocked access. There was a brief discussion about ownership of 141
the subject roads. Ms. Mercado offered to connect the liaison group with Long Range 142
Planner, Kamuela Plunkett to assist with the conversation about public access. 143
Ms. Mercado confirmed that no investigatory subcommittee has been established for the 144
Lower Kalōpā Trail Road, but one could potentially be formed in the future. 145
Vice-Chair Hubbard updated the Action Committee about the Papaʻaloa Gym. She explained 146
that the State allocated 5 million in the budget, and the County would match the funds. She 147
www.planning.hawaiicounty.gov/ CDP@hawaiicounty.gov Page 5
added that the County released a needs assessment survey to assess how the community 148
may want to move forward on the project (link below). They hoped to hold public meetings 149
in the near future regarding the construction of the new gym. 150
Vice-Chair Hubbard also shared information about Vibrant Hawai'i, which is a growing 151
community organization that is committed to collective action for affordable housing. She 152
mentioned that the organization is currently looking for writers. 153
You may find the Pāpa'aloa Needs Assessment here. 154
You may find the Vibrant Hawai‘i Website here. 155
Chair McKnight updated the Action Committee relative to the Emergency Preparedness 156
working group. He previously donated a repeater and two-way radio system to the 157
Department of Civil Defense. He discussed obtaining an FCC license and antennae system for 158
future emergency implementation. 159
Committee Member Keeney discussed Senate Bill No. 2070 which granted a 50 million 160
Special Purpose Revenue Bond to the Hawaiian Legacy Reforestation Initiative. He stated 161
that the main objective was to reforest the Kona Coast and how the initiative had already 162
accomplished up to 73 acres in reforestation. He claimed he was unsure how the new 163
funding would impact the Hawaiian Legacy Reforestation Initiative but believed it could pave 164
the way for other community groups. He proposed potential discussions between the Action 165
Committee and the Hawaiian Legacy Reforestation Initiative in the future. 166
You may find Senate Bill 2070 (SD1) here. 167
Councilmember Kimball highlighted a two-day community meeting on Friday, June 10 (2pm-168
6pm) and Saturday, 11 (10am-1pm) at the Jack Wayne ILWU Union Hall in Honokaʻa 169
regarding Waipiʻo Valley public access. She encouraged the Action Committee to participate 170
and to share the information within the community. 171
Ms. Mercado suggested creating a Google Document for the Action Committee to access and 172
update with projects and priorities. She suggested the Action Committee email Planning 173
Staff with any suggestions for the Joint Action Committee meeting agenda. She proposed 174
that Planning Staff would also provide a link to a PowerPoint presentation staff did that 175
outlines how Action Committee can initiate self-run meetings. 176
Chair McKnight asked the Action Committee to think about other locations for future 177
meetings within the Hāmākua district, preferably with Wi-Fi connectivity, and to send 178
suggestions to Planning Staff. 179
PROPOSED AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING: None. 180
ADJOURNMENT: Committee Member Keeney moved to adjourn. Seconded by Committee 181
Member Kurokawa. The motion passes with 5 votes aye, 0 votes nay. 182
The meeting was adjourned at 7:04 pm. 183
This agenda and all related documents are available in the Planning Department’s Hāmākua 184
Community Development Plan Action Committee folder via the County of Hawaiʻi Public 185
www.planning.hawaiicounty.gov/ CDP@hawaiicounty.gov Page 6
Documents Repository. These documents may also be requested from the Planning Department 186
by calling (808) 961-8288 or emailing cdp@hawaiicounty.gov. 187