HomeMy WebLinkAbout2022-11-03 Windward Exh A (Item #2 Shaleen Curlee Amend SPP 11399 PL-SPP-2022-000023) WINDWARD PLANNING COMMISSION
COUNTY OF HAWAI`I
HEARING TRANSCRIPT
NOVEMBER 3, 2022
A regularly advertised hearing on the application of SHALEEN CURLEE (AMEND SPP
1139/PL-SPP-2022-000023) was called to order at 9:11 a.m. in the County of Hawaii Council
Chambers in Hilo, 25 Aupuni Street, Hilo, Hawaii with Chair Dennis Lin presiding.
COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Dennis Lin, Gilbert Aguinaldo, Lauren Balog, John C. Cross,
Wayne De Luz, and Michelle Galimba
ABSENT AND EXCUSED: Louis Danielle III.
ALSO PRESENT: Malia Kekai Esq. (Counsel for the Commission), Jean Campbell, Esq.
(Counsel for the Planning Department), Zendo Kern (Planning Director), Jessica Andrews
(Planner), Clinton Mercado (Planner), Janice Hata(Zoom Host), Christian Kay (Acting Planning
Program Manager), and Melissa Dacayanan-Salvador (Windward Planning Commission
Secretary)
And 2 members from the public in attendance.
APPLICANT: SHALEEN CURLEE (AMEND SPP 1139/PL-SPP-2022-000023)
Application for a ten (10)-year time extension to Condition No. 2 (life of permit) of Special
Permit No. 1139, which allowed the establishment of an auto repair shop and towing service
operation on 4,421 square feet of land in the State Land Use Agricultural District. The subject
property is located at 15-1505 Paradise Drive, on the northeast corner of the 19th Avenue-
Paradise Drive intersection, Hawaiian Paradise Park Subdivision, Kea`au, Puna, Hawaii, TMK:
(3) 1-5-041:190.
Secretary's Note: "—" indicates that there were technical and/or internet difficulties, which made
the conversation inaudible.
LIN: So,with that we will be moving on to Item Number 2. Which is applicant Shaleen
Curlee. Applicant is amending SPP 1139/PL-SPP-2022-000023. Application for a ten (10)year time
extension to Condition No. 2 (Life of Permit)of Special Permit No. 1139,which allowed the
establishment of an auto repair shop and towing service operation on 4,421 square feet of land in the State
Land Use Agricultural District. The subject property is located at 15-1505 Paradise Drive, on the
northeast corner of the 19th Avenue-Paradise intersection, of Paradise Drive intersection, Hawaiian
Paradise Park Subdivision,Kea`au,Puna, Hawaii,TMK: (3) 1-5-041:190. At this time our staff
presentation, Clinton,please.
MERCADO: Hello,testing. Hi,good morning everyone. We will begin with the Shaleen Curlee
Special Permit application here,presentation. Okay,we will begin with the location map. As Chair
Dennis Lin said the property is located in Paradise Park at the corner of 19th Avenue. It's located in blue
right now as the subject property. The applicant is requesting an amendment to Special Permit No. 1139
for a 10-year time extension to Condition No. 2 (Life of Permit). Basically what that is"the life of permit
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for the auto repair shop and towing service operation shall be for 10 years from the effective date of this
amendment, or after suitably industrial zoned lands become available for use within the subdivision,
within a reasonable time to relocate,whichever occurs first".
The purpose of the request. The business was created to provide a convenient light industrial service to
the growing community. The applicant would like to continue operating their auto repair shop and
towing service that was established twenty(20)years ago at the subject property. The life of permit
condition was added to ensure that the business,excuse me,would move when suitable ,industrial-zoned
lands became available. However, since the Special Permit was approved in 2002,no industrial-zoned
lands have become available in Hawaiian Paradise Park to allow the business to relocate. Thus,the
applicant had a 10-time extension approved by the Planning Commission in 2012 and is requesting
another 10-year extension now.
The County zoning map of the property is zoned Agricultural one (1) acre with the County which is
outlined in blue and shown in green. The State Land Use Boundary Amendment is also Agricultural
shown in blue. The General Plan,Land Use Planned [Pattern] Allocation Guide map is Rural in the
mustard yellow outlined in blue. Here's a map of the Puna CDP,just so that you folks can see that the
red star is the Curlee Auto Repair Shop and the location of the Hawaiian Paradise Park Regional
Community Center that they allocated a whole bunch of property for this type of industrial and village
type of activities. But,none has been established yet. So,this map was just so that you can see in
relation to where the Regional Town Center is compared to their property.
Here is a site plan provided by the applicant. Again,the existing auto repair shop is outlined in blue with
19th Avenue to the left and Paradise Drive straight ahead towards the top of the slide. Here's a couple
aerial views, of course the one on the left side is a blown-up version of it again outlined in blue corner of
19th Avenue and Paradise Park Drive. Surrounding properties consists of Agricultural and Residential
lands. Here's an image standing on Paradise Drive. The top left is the intersection where Paradise Drive
is on the left and 19th Avenue on the right and straight in the middle is the palm tree hedges that was taken
care of in a previous plan approval to help mitigate the noise and view from the public. Bottom right is
off of Paradise Drive and an image of their driveway looking at the auto repair shop.
My final slide is the Planning Director's recommendation of approval with modifications. The Director is
recommending modifying the request for a time extension, finding it more appropriate to recommend the
deletion of Condition No. 2 and allow the Special Permit to run with the land. The applicant has been in
contact with Hawaiian Paradise Park Association constantly and just to see if those industrial zoned lands
became available and currently there's none available. So,the Director is thinking that if we could
recommend a deletion of Condition No. 2 to ride with the land. That concludes my presentation,Dennis,
Chair Lin.
LIN: Thank you Clinton. Sorry,I do have to close public testimony, so I apologize. Do I have
a motion to close public testimony?
GALIMBA: So,moved.
AGUINALDO: I second.
LIN: It was moved by Vice Chair Galimba and seconded by Commissioner Aguinaldo. All in
favor to close public testimony,please say aye.
COMMISSIONERS: Aye.
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LIN: Any opposed. [None] Public testimony is now closed. At this time,can I bring up,oh,
sorry, Christian are you coming up?
KAY: No,just dealing with the technical issues.
LIN: Oh, okay. At this time, can I bring up the applicant or the applicant's representative.
[Female from the audience made her way to the testifier table]
LIN: If you could please raise your right hand. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this
matter before the Windward Planning Commission?
FEMALE: I do.
LIN: And have you received the Planning Director's recommendation?
FEMALE: I have.
LIN: And do you agree with the recommendation?
FEMALE: Yes.
LIN: Okay. Thank you. You can go ahead. Please state your name and the area that you live
in.
CURLEE: Shaleen Curlee, 15-1505 Paradise Drive, Kea`au, Hawaii.
LIN: Thank you. Go ahead.
CURLEE: I just wanted to extend the application because that's our business and that's our income
and that's what we've been doing for the last 20 years and it's helping the community and they've been
very pleasant, and they've been happy with our business.
LIN: Thank you. Commissioners or Planning Director you have any? Commissioners you
have any questions for the applicant or the staff? Okay, seeing none. Oh, go ahead Vice Chair.
GALIMBA: Thanks, I just wanted to ask. So, this property is in your family,it belongs to your
family. Is that correct?
CURLEE: Yes.
GALIMBA: Okay, I think that's my only question. Thanks.
CURLEE: You're welcome.
DE LUZ: Chair, quick question.
LIN: Go ahead.
DE LUZ: So,in reading through the requirements, I'm not opposed to it,but you do know that they
are going ask you to now get permits for your building and wastewater treatment, I mean a wastewater
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system is now going to be required for your business. They're going to want you to permit your building
yeah.
CURLEE: Right.
DE LUZ: Okay. I just wanted to make sure that that's aware and because that can be a lengthy
process in itself so.
CURLEE: Thank you. Hello. Hello. Oh, I'm just going to say the building is permitted but it's
under storage and not an auto repair. So, I have to resubmit another plan to show that it's from storage
building to an auto repair shop.
DE LUZ: Yeah, correct. It's just that the,usually when you file for permits it's going to require
you to come to current codes and just wanted to make you aware that sometimes that can be a little costly.
So,—
CURLEE: Yes.
DE LUZ: —you know,I don't want you to agree to something that later becomes financially to
you too costly.
CURLEE: I understand.
DE LUZ: Okay.
CURLEE: Thank you.
DE LUZ: Now,the property is really one acre and you using part of your property for the business.
Is that correct?
CURLEE: Yes.
DE LUZ: Okay. Thank you.
CURLEE: Thank you.
LIN: Okay, Planning Director?
KERN: Thank you. If I may,I just wanted to kind of give some, a little more context around the
condition change and what we're looking at there. So,in these couple Special Permits that came in
around 20 years ago and there was the thought that at some point there would be some industrial type
zoned land in HPP. Maybe at the top around Makuu and 331d or maybe within the Village Center. That
obviously hasn't happened and looking at it I don't really see it happening any time soon. There's a lot of
factors that go along with that. Potentially,that would something that may become available. Now the
area that we showed within the Puna CDP for the Village Center. To me,that's a better suited use for
multi-family,more commercial type uses so,I'd prefer to not have them have to move there and we don't
know when that's going to happen.
Curlee's has become a fixture in the neighborhood in Hawaiian Paradise Park. People know where it is,
they've been good neighbors clearly,we don't get complaints,we don't get any issues with them. And
so,the thought was instead of having them come back every 10 years and you can imagine that there's a
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bit of uncertainty even though we have great people on the Commission as an applicant, as a business
owner having that uncertainty of am I going to get shut down in 10 years or am I going to have some
other things come up in 10 years. It seems prudent at this point in time to remove that 10-year condition.
Allow them to maintain their use as they have it and let it run with the land. Again, for all those reasons
that's why the request I decided to make it so to take out the 10 years. They didn't bring that up to us,
this is a decision that I felt was important to do.
So, that was the context around that and I'm happy to answer any questions. Thank you.
LIN: Commissioners, any other questions? If not,I'll entertain a motion.
GALIMBA: I'd like to move to approve it,but I don't have the words. Thank you. [laughs] Okay,I
move that the application to amend Special Permit No. 1139 be approved based on the Planning
Director's recommendations,which shall be adopted.
AGUINALDO: I second.
LIN: It's been moved from Vice Chair Galimba and seconded by Commissioner Aguinaldo to
approve,yeah, approval of the Planning Recommendation as amended. Any other discussion? If not,
staff roll call vote please.
MERCADO: Thank you Chair. Commissioner Galimba?
GALIMBA: Aye.
MERCADO: Commissioner Aguinaldo?
AGUINALDO: Aye.
MERCADO: Commissioner Balog?
BALOG: Aye.
MERCADO: Commissioner Cross?
CROSS: Aye.
MERCADO: Commissioner De Luz?
DE LUZ: Aye.
MERCADO: And Chair Lin?
LIN: Aye.
MERCADO: The ayes have it six(6)to zero (0) and one (1)excused. Thank you.
LIN: Thank you and Ms. Curlee you'll be notified in writing of the decision. Yeah,thank you.
MERCADO: Mahalo Chair and Commissioners.
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LIN: Thank you.
The item ended at 9:26 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Melissa Dacayanan-Salvador, Secretary
Windward Planning Commission
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