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Home My WebLink About2023-03-16 Leeward Exh B (Public Testimony re Agenda Item 2 PL-PDI-2022-000004) LEEWARD PLANNING COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAI`I TESTIMONY TRANSCRIPT MARCH 16, 2023 Public testimony on the PLANNING DIRECTOR INITIATED REPEAL OF CHANGE OF ZONE ORDINANCE NO. 95 70 AND NO. 98 63 (PL-PDI-2022-000004)was heard at 11:05 a.m. in the West Hawaii Civic Center, Council Chambers, Building A, 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, with Vice Chairperson Zaheva Knowles presiding. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Zaheva Knowles, Michael Dela Cruz, and Mahina Paishon-Duarte ABSENT AND EXCUSED: Clement"CJ" Kanuha III RECUSED: Barbara DeFranco and Michael Vitousek ALSO PRESENT: Sinclair Salas-Ferguson, Esq. (Counsel for the Commission), Jean Campbell, Esq. (Counsel for the Planning Department), Zendo Kern (Planning Director), Maija Jackson (Planning Program Manager), Christian Kay (Planner), Jessica Andrews (Planner), Alex Roy (Planner), Janice Hata(Zoom host), and Noriko Sauer (Commission Secretary) And approximately 11 public members in the audience. INITIATOR: PLANNING DIRECTOR INITIATED (PL-PDI-2022-000004) The Planning Director has initiated the repeal of Change of Zone Ordinance No. 95 70 and No. 98 63 and amending Section 25-8-2 (North and South Kona Districts Zone Map), Chapter 25, Article 8, of the Hawaii County Code 1983 (2016 edition, as amended), by reverting the current zoning of the subject properties from Agricultural 1-acre (A-la), Agricultural 3-acres (A-3a), Agricultural 200-acres (A-200a), Agricultural 255-acres (A-255a), and Agricultural 8,000-acres (A-8000a) to their original, Agricultural 20-acres (A-20a) zoning district for 11,185.708 acres of land. The rezone area, consisting of six parcels begins approximately 1.2 miles east(mauka) of Hawaii Belt Road in the vicinity of Greenwell Mountain Road and extends approximately 8.6 miles further east(mauka) at Kealakekua, Kiloa, Waipunaula, Kalama, Kumu, and Kalamakowali, South Kona, Hawaii, TMKs: (3) 8-2-012:001, 012, 013, 014 (por.), 015 and (3) 8-2-001:101. KNOWLES: I'd like to introduce the next agenda item. Agenda Item No. 2, applicant is the Planning Director, it's a Planning Director-initiated PL-PDI-2022-000004, five zeros and a four, the Planning Director has initiated the repeal of Change of Zone Ordinance No. 95 70 and No. 98 63 and amending Section 25-8-2, North and South Kona Districts Zone Map, Chapter 25, Article 8, of the Hawaii County Code 1983, 2016 edition, as amended, by reverting the current zoning of the subject properties from Agricultural 1-acre, A-la, Agricultural 3-acres, A-3a, Agricultural 200-acres, A-200a, Agricultural 255-acres, A-255a, and Agricultural 8,000-acres, A-8000a, to their original Agricultural 20-acres, A-20a, zoning district for 11,185.708 acres of land. The rezone area, consisting of six parcels begins approximately 1.2 miles east, mauka, of 1 EXHIBIT B Hawaii Belt Road in the vicinity of Greenwell Mountain Road and extends approximately 8.6 miles further east, mauka, at Kealakekua, Kiloa, Waipunaula, Kalama, Kumu, and Kalamakowali, South Kona, Hawaii, TMKs: (3) 8-2-012:001, 012, 013, 014 portion, 015 and 3 dashI'm sorry (3) 8-2-001:101. Commissioner Vitousek, before we get started, will make a statement regarding his recusal from this item. VITOUSEK: Aloha. I'm just going to be recused from this. KNOWLES: Okay, do we have a staff presentation? [Inaudible short response from Deputy Corporation Counsel Salas-Ferguson] Okay, so we are going to go ahead and defer on this item because we don't have a quorum of Commissioners to take up any decisions or discussion around this item. But it does seem we have landowners present or just public testimony? KAY: They signed up to testify. KNOWLES: Okay. We have two people signed up to offer public testimony on this matter, so I will call the first person on the list, Tom Pace, to the table here. Please raise your right hand, Mr. Pace. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Leeward Planning Commission? PACE: [Inaudible microphone on mute] KNOWLES: Thank you. You have three minutes. PACE: [Inaudible microphone on mute] KNOWLES: Oh, turn on your microphone, please, and speak clearly into the mic. Thanks. PACE: Okay,just a brief history. This property was sold by the Greenwell family to a Japanese family who, the patriarch passed—it was turned into, going to be a golf course of 500 units and an Arnold Palmer-designed golf course—since the patriarch passed, it was sold to three major developers who were going to develop the property. We are the adjoining ranch holder, and we paid another 50 percent more to acquire the property to prevent it from being developed. We put 9,000 acres of it, the first in the State, to do the forest legacy program under conservation easement. And we've been 17 years with this application to revert the zoning back to 20 acres. So, we would greatly appreciate your consideration of that. KNOWLES: Thank you, Mr. Pace. No questions, right? Okay. Next, I'd like to call up Gregory Hendrickson. Please turn on the microphone. Thank you. And please raise your right hand, I'll swear you in. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on the matter now before the Leeward Planning Commission? HENDRICKSON: Yes, I do. 2 EXHIBIT B KNOWLES; Thank you. You may proceed. You have three minutes. HENDRICKSON: Good morning, Commissioners, and aloha. We appreciate the scheduling of this particular item, which is functionally a substantial downzoning of the property. As Tom had mentioned, there is a significant conservation easement, actually two, on the property that cover all of the larger zoned elements in addition to quite a bit of the one- and five-acre elements, but most of the one- and five-acre elements of the zoning remain in place, and it's really those aspects that this Director-initiated change impact, and it reverts it back to what is the zoning of adjacent lands and its original character as an agricultural property. And we have great respect for this Commission but recognize that because of the recusals of three of the Commissioners on this item, the likelihood of it having its opportunity to be heard by this Commission is remote in the near future for sure. And so, we, we do support if it is not able to be held in, a hearing to be held with an appropriate vote in the allocated 60 days, that it be moved by the Director to the County Council directly to be heard. Like Tom has mentioned, the Planning Director found that this ordinance was, the terms of the ordinance was time barred 17 years ago, and that the terms of the ordinance was reversion, and so we've been waiting for that to happen. It's created a lot of confusion between those who are working with the property agriculturally at this point and the Planning Department as exactly how this functions with what was an intensive zoning construct and landowners who are pursuing agricultural endeavors on the land. So, we are hoping to get that cleaned up sooner rather than later and do appreciate any review that this Commission has, but we would support that being moved directly to the County Council if the time lapses. Thank you. KNOWLES: Thank you, Mr. Hendrickson. Director Kern, did you have anything you wanted to say before we move on to the next agenda item? KERN: Thank you very much. Yeah, so, we are basically under a statute requirement to hold it for the 60 days; a quorum cannot be reached within that time, then the application will move forward to the County Council with a de facto negative recommendation, and then we'll take it up at the County Council, or Planning Committee, at that time and get into the discussion there. So, we'll keep you folks posted. And thank you very much. KNOWLES: Thank you, Director. These agenda items ended at 11:15 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Noriko Sauer, Secretary Leeward Planning Commission 3 EXHIBIT B