The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About08-25-2022 ACK LTR TO FAY SAKATA (PETITION_PL-CCH-2022-007_PL-SPP-2022-015) Mitchell D.Roth d$•'s'f f„i!►? Zendo Kern Mayor �digf Director Lee E.Lord Jeffrey W.Darrow Managing Director :� * Deputy Director T�OF.HIiI West Hawaii Office East Hawaii Office 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Hwy • • 101 Pauahi Street,Suite 3 Kailua-Kona,Hawaii 96740 County of Hawaii Hilo,Hawaii 96720 Phone(808)323-4770 Phone(808)961-8288 Fax(808)327-3563 PLANNING DEPARTMENT Fax(808)961-8742 August 25, 2022 Fay Sakata 1617 Mele Manu Street Hilo, HI 96720 Dear Fay Sakata: Special Permit Application No. PL-SPP-2022-000015 Applicant: Randy Kunimoto Subject: Acknowledgment of Petition for Standing in a Contested Case Hearing (PL-CCH-2022-000007) Tax Map Key: (3) 2-5-061:058, South Hilo, Hawaii This is to acknowledge receipt on August 24, 2022, of the Petition for Standing in a Contested Case Hearing that you filed with the Planning Department. The petition will be forwarded to the Windward Planning Commission for their consideration. The hearing on this matter has been tentatively scheduled for September 1, 2022, at 9:00 a.m. Your presence or the presence of your representative will be required at the hearing to respond to questions that the Windward Planning Commission may have regarding the petition for standing. Please refer to Planning Commission Rules of Practice and Procedure, Rule 4 (Contested Case Hearing Procedure) for information about the contested case process. The rules can be found on the Planning Department website at: https://www.planning.hawaiicounly.g v/about-us/boards-committees/planning-commission- applications www.planning.hawaiicounty.gov Hawaii County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer planning cghawaiicounty.gov Fay Sakata August 25, 2022 Page 2 If you have any questions,please feel free to contact Jessica Andrews at (808) 961-8155. Sincerely, Zgewo eMe Zendo Kern(Aug 26,2022 09:53 HST) ZENDO KERN Planning Director JMA:jaa \\coh01\planning\public\wpwin60\Jessica\Letters\S akata-PL-SPP-2022-000015-AckReceiptForContestedCasePetition.doe cc w/copy of petition: Windward Planning Commission via e-mail Malia Hall, Esq., Deputy Corporation Counsel via e-mail Jean Campbell, Esq., Deputy Corporation Counsel via e-mail Randy Kunimoto via e-mail PETITION FOR STANDING IN A CONTESTED CASE HEARING (Page I of 2) NAME: FAY SAKATA ADDRESS: 1617 Mele Manu Street Hilo, HI 96720 PHONE NO.: (808) 935-7337 (808) 936-7133 APPLICANT/ DOCKET NO.: RANDY KUNI140TO / PL—SPP-2022-000015 A. Is your interest in this matter clearly distinguishable from that of the general public'? Yes % No If the answer is "yes", please explain: My husband and I live next door to the Applicant's property where he conducts his commercial tennis operation. Please see attached letter for further explanation of our interest in this matter. If the answer is "no",please explain how the proposed action will nevertheless cause you actual or threatened inj ury: B. Are you a goverment agency whose jurisdiction includes the land involved in the subject request? Yes No X If the answer is "yes", please explain the nature of the agency's jurisdiction: C. Do you lawfully reside on or have some property interest in the land involved in the subject request? Yes No % If the answer is "yes", please explain: Appendix A PETITION FOR STANDING IN A CONTESTED CASE HEARING (Page 2 of 2) D. Are you a person or persons descended from native Hawaiians who inhabited the Hawaiian Islands prior to 1778, who practiced those rights which were customarily and traditionally exercised for subsistence, cultural, or reli;.>.ious purposes? Yes No If the answer is "yes", please submit any genealogical evidence and historical evidence showin�.t the exercise of those rights to support your statement: P itioner's Signature STATE OF HAWAII ) SS. COUNTY OF HAWAII ) On this 24th day of August , 20 22 , before me personally appeared Fay Sakata to me known to be the person described in and who executed the foregoing instrument, and acknowledged that he executed the sante as his free act and POc NOTARY * PUBLIC Nota blit, State of Hawaii No. 17-214 May 14 2025 q My commission expires: y 6F My POC Uoc. Date: ya �f I'a•�es�-_- 0C',�•. Notary Name ro :gym (:ircutt NOTARY Doc. Description C3'1 — PUBLIC &VtnCkJ-1,) in Gi = * i * = No. 17-214 A1.Pcn�x.A Nota y gnature D re '�.;9 OF HP�P'�,, NOTARY CERTIFICATION STEVEN AND FAY SAKATA 1617 Mele Manu Street Hilo, HI 96720 August 24, 2022 County of Hawaii Planning Department 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3 Hilo,HI 96720 Re: Petition For Standing In A Contested Case Hearing Windward Planning Commission Public Hearing: September 1,2022,9:00 a.m. New Business Agenda Item No. 3 Application for Special Permit(PL-SPP-000015) Applicant: Randy Kunimoto Affected Property: 1625 Mele Manu Street, Hilo, TMK 3rd/2-5-061:058 Dear Planning Department and Windward Planning Commission: This letter is submitted in support of our August 24, 2022 Petition For Standing In A Contested Case Hearing and to provide further explanation of our clearly distinguishable interest in this matter from that of the general public. We have lived at the top of Mele Manu Street since 1996 when we built our home in what was then,and was for several years thereafter, a quiet,private, safe, low-traffic subdivision. After Randy purchased his lot just above ours and built his residence in 2005, he installed a tennis court and thereafter began to operate a compensated tennis lesson business which became a full-time enterprise. The negative impact of his commercial tennis operation upon us and our neighborhood was soon apparent,with a major increase in daily traffic driving up and down our street,often at high speeds,with tennis lessons and play occurring seven days a week,from 7:00 a.m.to after 9:00 p.m., and loud noise from the many players and the sounds of tennis activities reaching our home and the homes of other neighbors all day long and into the late evening. Two close-up aerial photos are attached. The first photo shows Randy's property,his tennis facility,his large parking area for his patrons,and two neighboring houses to the right. The second photo shows our house which is just below Randy's property. This photo also shows our driveway where it enters the cul de sac. Randy's patrons drive right in front of our driveway entrance when arriving and leaving his property. This often requires us to stop abruptly when leaving our driveway to avoid a collision,and multiple cars are often backed in the cul de sac waiting to drop off and pick up players during heavy tennis lesson traffic. Even though Randy's daily tennis activities and the increased traffic were having a huge, negative impact upon us and our neighborhood soon after he began operations 17 years ago, early on we were reluctant to complain and for quite some time we did not say anything to him, hoping that perhaps his tennis operation would slow down and the problems would abate. This was due in part because we wanted to be cordial, good neighbors, and also because we knew Randy and his family from before he became our neighbor, as we are also a tennis family and have always loved the sport. Our kids grew up in the Hilo Junior Tennis Club, we ran Sanctioned Junior Tennis Tournaments and Tournament Fundraisers with Randy's parents, we chaperoned junior tennis players from our club and took them to neighbor islands for tournaments,and our youngest daughter took lessons from Randy. However,when the situation did not change,his hours of operation remained the same,his clientele increased in number,the daily tennis noise from his property did not abate,the traffic did not decrease,and we(and several other neighbors)had a number of instances while walking on the side of the street of nearly being hit by cars driven by his tennis patrons, we told Randy well over 10 years ago of our concerns and asked him to reduce his hours of operation,reduce the noise, and advise his patrons to drive more carefully on our street. Randy responded by promising to reduce his hours (which he did for a brief period but returned to his regular hours of operation soon thereafter) and that he would address the traffic and speeding problems caused by his customers. Despite our requests,the high level of traffic has remained constant,and the tennis activities,noise, and long hours of operation have remained the same. To make matters worse,a couple of years ago Randy began to also allow pickle ball to be played at his facility, which has further increased the number of people coming to his facility, is much louder than tennis, and has increased the level of noise that we now hear coming from his property. Over the past decade or more,we have repeated our concerns to him on numerous occasions, and each time he has made the same hollow promises to take actions to reduce the noise,reduce his hours of operation, and address the ongoing traffic and safety problems, with no changes ever occurring. The traffic issue prompted us and other neighbors, for the safety of our neighborhood, to seek the installation of speed humps on Mele Manu Street, which the County installed several years ago, something that would not have been necessary but for Randy's commercial tennis operation. Even with these speed humps,cars traveling to and from Randy's property still speed up and down our street. Other neighbors have also asked Randy to alter his operation to reduce noise, hours of operation and traffic problems and have been met with same non-response, and some neighbors have told us that they feel intimidated and have therefore not lodged complaints with him, although they feel his operation has a negative impact upon their property ownership rights as well. The ongoing interference with our quiet use and enjoyment of our property, the ongoing traffic safety concerns,and Randy's years-long refusal to abide by his numerous promises to make changes in his tennis facility operation, prompted us to file a zoning complaint of unpermitted commercial activity with the Planning Department in November,2020. This complaint resulted in the County's issuance of a Warning Letter to Randy dated November 10, 2021 which included a cease and desist order,an instruction to allow a property inspection,and a requirement to apply for a Special Permit before he could resume operating his commercial tennis operation at his residence. Upon inspection of Randy's property,the County found two unpermitted structures, ordered them to be removed, and granted his request to resume his tennis business during the Special Permit process,with limited hours of operation between 9:00 a.m.and 5:00 p.m.,Monday through Saturday. The County further stated that should the Special Permit Application be denied, Randy must immediately cease his tennis operation on his property. Randy's Application for Special Permit seeks to resume his commercial tennis operation seven days a week, from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 p.m., essentially seeking to return to the very same activities that have caused a pervasive, negative impact upon the quiet use and enjoyment of our property for the past 17 years,with the only difference being no tennis activities in the evening after 6:00 p.m. While he makes no mention in his Application of the availability of alternative sites for operating his tennis enterprise,there are numerous public tennis and pickle ball courts in Hilo where other tennis coaches conduct their lessons, and there are certainly available properties in non- residential areas that could be acquired or rented to operate his tennis business. Denying his Application will not prevent Randy from continuing to provide the Hilo tennis community with his tennis expertise and services as his Application implies; it will simply require him to do so at a site that will not interfere with our residential property rights and the rights of other neighbors similarly impacted, something that the vast majority of commercial enterprises are required to do. Accordingly, we ask that the Commission find that our interest in this matter is clearly distinguishable from that of the general public and grant the Petition For Standing In A Contested Case Hearing. Thank you. Steven akata &Q�C� Fay Sakata ƒy} / m - . - /\ - \ � 40 e - a ` a _ • . - ^ i�� 4' "" .f• .tit..��k'i'�''_•�-�"•'��` _�_� �' - - ry.-� l.=•�"-•" ,}.- -Sri - -. .`.t''��" "+"��t 7',',r� � y*.�'y��' .}�_i ��'`r' r hi' g ff^�+�f j ;Y?��`'�'•�"xr.?{�y, 7 wf'�,K � ;• ' - �F,,�j'� ,5{��if- +tip __ - i 4. v�y�z a`• r+. 3 oto ansen Lowilo 1 san � R pr • ±