Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2005-04-01 THAWAIIAN0401 PLANNING COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAII HEARING TRANSCRIPT APRIL 1, 2005 A regularly advertised hearing on the application of HAWAIIAN ISLAND DEVELOPMENT was called to order at 2:30 p.m. in the County Building, CO., INC. (REZ 04-034) Councilroom - Room 201, 25 Aupuni Street, Hilo, Hawaii, with Second Vice-Chairman Hannah Springer presiding. PRESENT:Hannah Springer ABSENT & EXCUSED: Fred Galdones C. Kimo Alameda Bill Graham Andrew Iwashita Jeffrey McCall Allen Salavea Rene€Siracusa Rodney Watanabe Ivan Torigoe, Deputy Corporation Counsel Christopher J. Yuen, Planning Director Norman Hayashi, Planning Program Manager Phyllis Fujimoto, Staff Planner Jeff Darrow, Staff Planner And approximately 28 people from the public in attendance. APPLICANT: HAWAIIAN ISLAND DEVELOPMENT CO., INC. (REZ 04-034) Change of Zone for approximately 2,048.05 acres of land from an Agricultural 20-acre (A-20a) district to an Agricultural Project District. The nearest portion of the property is located approximately 1 mile northwest of Pahala Village and includes the former Higashi and Middle Moaula Camps, Mohokea, Moaula, Kopu and Makaka, Ka‰u, Hawaii, TMK: 9-6-3:2 & 22; 9-6-5:10, 12, 13, 15 & 56; and 9-6-6:5, 6, 7 & 8. SPRINGER:Members, we have a request from Mr. James Leonard, who€s the applicant€s representative on Agenda Item No. 12, Hawaiian Island Development Co. (REZ 04-034); and he makes a request of us that they be moved up on the agenda because all that they are going to come before us today to do is ask for a continuance. So I would ask the members of the Commission or the staff if that€s acceptable to bring Agenda Item 12 forward. Is there anything that we should be aware of on other agenda items? YUEN:What I think we should do is ask if there€s any public testimony on that item, because it€s noted on the agenda for being heard. If any member of the public has come to testify, then we should hear it. And then if the Commission wants to defer it, then the EXHIBIT E Commission cando so. If there are more, if there are a number of people, maybe we shouldn€t take it out of order. But if there is nobody here for thatbesides the applicant, then let€s just take them up and take the request for deferral. SPRINGER:We have one individual, Jerome Warren, who has signed up to testify. And I would offer you the choice, or should we offerhim the choice of he may speak now or when the item is rescheduled? YUEN:Yeah, let him know. SPRINGER:So, Mr. Warren, you have properly signed up. You€ve heard the Planning Director, we€re happy to accept your testimony today if you prefer, or you may come back when the item is rescheduled. It€s your pleasure. WARREN:I€dliketospeaknowifit€sfine. SPRINGER:Okay,pleasecomeforwardatthistime,then.Mr.Warren,canyouraise your right hand, please, so I can swear you in. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Hawaii County Planning Commission? WARREN:I do. SPRINGER:Mr. Warren, if you can please give us your name, your residence address, and then speak directly into the microphone. WARREN:My name is Jerome Warren. My address is PO Box 951, Naalehu. And I€ve come here numerous times. I tie this in with the Hester situation. I€ve taken a lot of time away from my personal business to come here and do this at my own expense, and a great expense, and lot of grief. SPRINGER:Thank you. Please, proceed, sir. WARREN:Okay. I was at the Pahala meeting; and I€ll just reiterate that the project is too remote for housing, it€s unfeasible for profitable small-scale agriculture due to lack of water. It will hinder large-scale agriculture. There are other substandard subdivisions that are available if people want to live in remote areas. From the time that this has surfaced until now, I have purchased two of those properties that were very affordable. Anybody could have done so. They would have doubled their equity had they done so; and that gives a lot of people a lot of opportunity. I just want to make this one point that I haven€t brought up in my Hester testimonies, and -. Okay, to make any project viable and successful requires a good plan and a good person. This is not a good plan. The facts should bear that out. Also, my brief experience with Peter Savio raises some great doubts in my mind regarding his th integrity. On February 10 I went to his meeting in Pahala. Before the meeting I overheard him 2 tellAnna Cariaga that his friend owned a wholesale coffee business and will come out and buy everybody€s coffee. During the meeting he told us that he knows a lady on Oahu who makes over $1,000 a month growing vegetables in her yard on a houselot. These are just examples of his general pie-in-the-sky rhetoric; and it represents just one aspect of a flawed plan. The former sugar lands should stay in large-scale agriculture. New housing should be as extensions of the existing villages of Pahala and Naalehu. That€s my testimony. SPRINGER:Thank you, Mr. Warren. And then, of course, your testimony becomes a part of the record that with travel with this agenda item should it be deferred. Commissioners, do you have any questions of the testifier? Commissioner Siracusa? SIRACUSA:Because we€re going to be voting on approval or denial of the deferment, yeah, I would have no questions if we voted to defer. But if we didn€t vote to defer then I might have. So could I sort of put that on hold? Is that allowed? SPRINGER:I would seek guidance from either the Director or our Deputy Corporation Counsel.We€veheardthetestimony.I€msureorIpresumethatMr.Warrenwouldstayinthe room should this matter be heard and would then be available -. TORIGOE:Recalled -. SPRINGER:To be recalled for your questions. Commissioner? SIRACUSA: Thank you. SPRINGER:Okay. Any other Commissioners? Commissioner Alameda. ALAMEDA:I have a question. I noticed some written testimony. I just want to make sure I have it all. I have one in front of me. Were there other written testimonies that we should be aware of regarding -? SPRINGER:Is that the one that came in today? ALAMEDA:I believe so. SPRINGER:We have also correspondence from Mr. Yamaki that came in today. ALAMEDA:Okay, that might be the one then. I just want to make sure I€m not missing anything else. SPRINGER:Commissioner McCall? MCCALL:Yeah, Kimo, you€re referring to questions he had? I think to some questions that refers -. ALAMEDA:No, actually, no, no questions for you. It€s just a comment on -. 3 SPRINGER:Okay, while we€re ascertaining whether or not we have all of the correspondence, are there any questions for this testifier, being mindful that when Mr. Warren steps back from the table we€ll be taking up the matter of deferral. Should we not, should we not defer the item, Mr. Warren will be available for recall today when we get to that item on the agenda. Thank you, Mr. Warren. Is the applicant€s representative available? Mr. Leonard, could you come forward, please. Mr. Leonard, if I could swear you in now. Could you raise your right hand. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Hawaii County Planning Commission? LEONARD:I do. SPRINGER:If you could please give us your name and your residence address, and proceedbytalkingdirectlyintothemicrophone. LEONARD:MynameisJamesLeonard.Myresidentaddressis1100AinalakoRoad, Hilo, Hawaii 96720. SPRINGER:Thank you. You may proceed. LEONARD:Madam Chairperson and Commissioners, we€ve submitted a letter on behalf of Hawaiian Island Development Company asking for a deferral on the change of zone th application from Hawaiian Island Development Company. We at the hearing on March 4 , we heard a lot of testimony, a number of issues were raised. Hawaiian Island Development Company has worked long and hard to come up with a project that allows for them to purchase and sell the land to the farmers there, especially those who have licenses now, and to do that in a way that€s affordable. They€ve worked over two years in this process; and this is really to give us more time to go back to the community and to work out these issues. Each one of the issues has cost implications, and we need to run that by the people who are perspective buyers of that land.Andsoinordertogetthatadditionaltime,we€reaskingforadeferralofthisapplication. SPRINGER:Mr.Leonard,I€mlookingatyourcorrespondenceofMarch9,2005-. LEONARD:That€scorrect. SPRINGER:AndIbelievethat€swhatyou€rereferringto.Andinthatyousuggestto us that June might be a time when you would come back before us. LEONARD:Yes, that would work out well, I think. th SPRINGER:So, Commissioners, do you have the March 9 correspondence to refer to then?Anydiscussionontherequest?CommissionerGraham. GRAHAM:Jim,Idon€tknowwhetherit€sforyouorforourCorporationCounsel,but there is normally something like a 90-day periodfor when the Planning Commission first takes 4 up an agenda to where we just pass it on to the Council, if we haven€t taken action or something. So I€m wondering if this run into any timeliness issues. LEONARD:Yeah, I would defer to the Corporation Counsel or the Planning Director. I understand where the applicant requests that that can be extended. SPRINGER:Either Mr. Yuen or Mr. Torigoe? YUEN:Yes, I, the applicant can extend the time. And I take it that you€re requesting, if the time should run out before the June meeting, and I€m not sure what the time frame is, you would agree to a time extension so that the Planning Commission can have at least one more meeting to consider this, right? LEONARD:Yes, we would. YUEN:Okay. Then that€s fine. SPRINGER:Other members of the Commission, is there any discussion on this request beforeus?Seeingnone,whatwehaveistheapplicant€srepresentative,therepresentativefor Hawaiian Island Development Co., Inc. on the matter of Rezoning 04-034, a change of zone for approximately 2,048.05 acres of land from an Agricultural 20-acre (A-20a) district to an Agricultural Project District. The nearest portion of the property is located approximately 1 mile northwest of Pahala Village and includes the former Higashi and Middle Moaula Camps, Mohokea, Moaula, Kopu and Makaka, Ka‰u, Hawaii, TMK: 9-6-3:2 & 22; 9-6-5:10, 12, 13, 15 & 56; and 9-6-6:5, 6, 7 & 8. The request again is for a deferral until June. Members, is there any discussion on this request? May I have a motion on the request for a deferral then. Commissioner Siracusa. SIRACUSA:On the matter of change of zone application (REZ 04-034), applicant Hawaiian Island Development Co., I move that we accept the request to defer until the June meeting. SPRINGER:Moved by Commissioner Siracusa. Is there a second? ALAMEDA:Second. SPRINGER:Seconded by Commissioner Alameda to accept the request for deferral. Is there any discussion on this? Commissioner Graham. GRAHAM:That would be the June meeting in Hilo, etc., etc.? LEONARD:Yes, the first available June meeting in Hilo. SPRINGER:Thank you for that clarification, Commissioner Graham. Is there any further discussion, members? 5 ALAMEDA:And, Madam Chair? SPRINGER:Commissioner Alameda. ALAMEDA:And prior to that meeting we would have whatever supporting documents and kind of things to bring us up to date of what has transpired since our previous meeting? SPRINGER:If there is anything that the Planning Department generates, that would be added to the file that we already have before us. ALAMEDA:Okay, thank you, Madam Chair. SPRINGER:You€re welcome. Any further discussion? Jeff, ready for the rollcall vote. DARROW:Thankyou,MadamChair.CommissionerSiracusa? SIRACUSA:Aye. DARROW:CommissionerAlameda? ALAMEDA:Aye. DARROW:Commissioner Graham? GRAHAM:Aye. DARROW:Commissioner Iwashita? IWASHITA:Aye. DARROW:Commissioner McCall? MCCALL:Aye. DARROW:Commissioner Salavea? SALAVEA:Aye. DARROW:Commissioner Watanabe? WATANABE:Aye. DARROW:And Madam Chair? 6 SPRINGER:Yes. DARROW:The motion passes eight to zero. LEONARD:Thank you very much, I appreciate it. SPRINGER:You€re welcome. And Mr. Warren, you have those dates also? WARREN:Yes. SPRINGER:Thank you both. The discussion ended at 2:42 p.m. Respectfullysubmitted, Sharon M. Nomura, East Hawaii Secretary 7