HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-03-16 Leeward Exh C (Items 3&4 Ahu Pohaku Hoomaluhia PL-SMA-2022-000018&PL-SPP-2022-000018) LEEWARD PLANNING COMMISSION
COUNTY OF HAWAI`I
HEARING TRANSCRIPT
MARCH 16, 2023
A regularly advertised hearing on the contested case of AHU POHAKU HO`OMALUHIA LLC
(FORMERLY ROBERT WATKINS AND JEAN SUNDERLAND) (PL-SMA-2022-000018
AND PL-SPP-2022-000018) was called to order at 11:15 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, Mahina Paishon-Duarte,
and Michael Vitousek
ABSENT AND EXCUSED: Clement"CJ" Kanuha III
RECUSED: Barbara DeFranco
PARTIES PRESENT: Michael Matsukawa, Esq. (Counsel for Applicant), Jean Sunderland
(Applicant's Representative), Sidney Fuke (Planning Consultant for Applicant via Zoom),
Edmund Haitsuka, Esq. (Counsel for Intervenors), Charles Anderson (Agent for Intervenors),
Jean Campbell, Esq. (Counsel for the Planning Director), and Zendo Kern (Planning Director)
ALSO PRESENT: Sinclair Salas-Ferguson, Esq. (Counsel for the Commission), Maija Jackson
(Planning Program Manager), Jessica Andrews (Planner), Christian Kay (Planner), Alex Roy
(Planner), Janice Hata(Zoom host), and Noriko Sauer (Commission Secretary)
And one public member in the audience.
APPLICANT: AHU POHAKU HO`OMALUHIA LLC (FORMERLY ROBERT WATKINS
AND JEAN SUNDERLAND) (PL-SMA-2022-000018)
Application for an amendment to Special Management Area(SMA)Use Permit No. 417 to
increase the number of guest rooms from 16 to 36 by constructing 20 additional guest rooms at
Hawaii Island Retreat, on an approximately 5.0-acre portion of a 14.5-acre parcel of land situated
in the Special Management Area. The subject property is located at 54-250 Lokahi Road,
approximately 1.2 miles northeast(makai) of Akoni Pule Highway, Hanaula and Honopueo, North
Kohala, Hawaii, TMK: (3) 5-4-009:014 (por).
APPLICANT: AHU POHAKU HO`OMALUHIA LLC (FORMERLY ROBERT WATKINS
AND JEAN SUNDERLAND) (PL-SPP-2022-000018)
Application for an amendment to Special Permit No. 1117 to increase the number of guest rooms
from 16 to 36 by constructing 20 additional guest rooms at Hawaii Island Retreat, on an
approximately 5.0-acre portion of a 14.5-acre parcel of land situated in the State Land Use
Agricultural District. The subject property is located at 54-250 Lokahi Road, approximately
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1.2 miles northeast(makai) of Akoni Pule Highway, Hanaula and Honopueo, North Kohala,
Hawaii, TMK: (3) 5-4-009:014 (por).
KNOWLES: Okay, moving on. We are going to pick up some unfinished business, picking up
Agenda Items 3 and 4 for the project by Ahu Pohaku Ho`omaluhia LLC, formerly Robert Watkins
and Jean Sunderland. I'm going to introduce both of these items together.
Item No. 3, applicant Ahu Pohaku Ho`omaluhia LLC, formerly Robert Watkins and Jean
Sunderland, PL-SMA-2022-000018, application for an amendment to Special Management Area,
SMA, Use Permit No. 417 to increase the number of guest rooms from 16 to 36 by constructing
20 additional guest rooms at Hawaii Island Retreat, on an approximately five-acre portion of a
14.5-acre parcel of land situated in the Special Management Area. The subject property is located
at 54-250 Lokahi Road, approximately 1.2 miles northeast, makai, of Akoni Pule Highway,
Hanaula and Honopueo, North Kohala, Hawaii, TMK: (3) 5-4-009:014 portion.
I'll also read, applicant—Item No. 4—Ahu Pohaku Ho`omaluhia LLC, formerly Robert Watkins
and Jean Sunderland, PL-SPP-2022-000018, application for an amendment to Special Permit
No. 1117 to increase the number of guest rooms from 16 to 36 by constructing 20 additional guest
rooms at Hawaii Island Retreat, on an approximately five-acre portion of a 14.5-acre parcel of
land situated in the State Land Use Agricultural District. The subject property is located at 54-250
Lokahi Road, approximately 1.2 miles northeast, makai, of Akoni Pule Highway, Hanaula and
Honopueo, North Kohala, Hawaii, TMK: (3) 5-4-009:014 portion.
Commissioner Kanuha is not here—so he'll not make a statement. At the previous hearing on
January 19, 2023, the Commission voted to grant three petitioners standing in a contested case
hearing. Pursuant to Planning Commission Rule 4-6(i), the parties were directed to participate in a
mediation conference before the contested case hearing could commence. The Commission has
received a copy of email communication among the parties where they agreed to defer mediation,
as they were working on trying to reach an agreement by themselves.
I don't see that we have any public testimony on this item, okay
HATA: We have one testifier on Zoom.
KNOWLES: Okay, excellent. I will first open the floor to public testimony. Can you let us know
who that is testifying, and I'll swear them in.
HATA: Yes, Mark Castaing.
CASTAING: Yes.
KNOWLES: I'm sorry, Castaing is the last name?
CASTAING: Yes, Mark Castaing.
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KNOWLES: Please raise your right hand, Mr. Castaing. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
on the matter currently before the Leeward Planning Commission?
CASTAING: I do.
KNOWLES: Thank you so much. You may proceed. You have three minutes.
CASTAING: I appreciate the opportunity. I would like, I'm speaking for myself, if I have
enough time, I'll read a letter from six of our neighbors.
We were part of a community association established 20 years ago, which is now dissolved. We
have been neighbors of Hawaii Island Retreat. We've had huge issues with them from the start,
many of them never resolved. One of the biggest is Maluhia Road, which accesses this. The
community association as a whole was left with the responsibility to pave this road. I don't know
if you've had an opportunity to go out there. It has a very steep grade, over 10 percent, blind
curves, and we had to live with this because the County did not make them [inaudible
connection failure]
KNOWLES: It looks like we've lost Mr. Castaing. If we can get him back, we want to preserve
his time. How does that work? Okay, we'll go ahead and proceed, and if we get him back on the
line, we may take a brief recess from the applicant's presentation to let him finish his testimony.
I'd like to call the applicants to the table,please. I guess all parties, my apologies. Mr. Fuke is
online?
MATSUKAWA: Good morning, Michael Matsukawa.
KNOWLES: I'd like to ask you all to raise your right hand. Do you swear or affirm to tell the
truth on the matter currently before the Leeward Planning Commission?
FUKE: I do.
MATSUKAWA: I do.
HAITSUKA: I do.
KNOWLES: Thank you. Okay
MATSUKAWA: My name is Michael Matsukawa. I'm an attorney representing the applicant.
And the applicant's representative, Jean Sunderland, is also here seated to my right.
KNOWLES: Thank you.
HAITSUKA: Good morning, my name is Edmund Haitsuka. I represent the petitioners.
Mr. Charles Anderson, one of the petitioners and representative of the other petitioners, is here
with me this morning.
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KNOWLES: Okay. Would you like to provide the Commission with an update on where things
currently stand?
MATSUKAWA: Mr. Fuke is also
KNOWLES: Yes, I see him there
MATSUKAWA: up online.
KNOWLES: Thank you.
FUKE: Yeah, hi, good morning and aloha, Madame Chair, members of the Commission. Again,
my name is Sydney Fuke. I was here to assist the applicant in the processing of this application. I
appreciate the Commission's indulgence in, you know, giving us an opportunity to see whether we
could kind of reach an informal settlement with the petitioner. And, you know, over the last
couple months, we did work rather aggressively in trying to address the concerns, but, you know,
regrettably and sadly, nothing, you know, although we did make quite a bit of progress, there was
no consensus on all of the items. So, while we appreciate the Commission's giving us an
opportunity, I think, regrettably, right now we'll have to take it to the next step, which is
mediation and, I guess, eventually, the contested case process. Again, I express my appreciation
to the Commission for this opportunity to have this informal settlement opportunity. Thank you
very much.
KNOWLES: Thank you. Any
HAITSUKA: Yes,just to confirm that we have attempted to reach an informal agreement, the
applicant and the petitioners, and that we are unable to reach an agreement at this time.
KNOWLES: Okay, can you clarify for the Commission, please? I was under the impression, after
our last Leeward Planning Commission meeting, that we referred you all to a formal mediation
process but—pursuant to Rule 4-6(i)—did that not occur?
HAITSUKA: That is correct. We had requested that the mediation be deferred while the parties
attempt to reach an agreement.
KNOWLES: Okay. Does anyone have any questions for the applicant? Anything for the
Planning Commission to add? I mean, sorry, the Planning Department—we are the Planning
Commission.
JACKSON: No, Chair Knowles. The only thing I would add is that now I will reach out to the
parties again, and we will schedule that formal mediation.
KNOWLES: Okay, thank you. Yes, I, I just wanted to note that we had asked you to conduct a
formal mediation process between our previous meeting and this meeting, so just to flag that as a
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point of order with respect to the rules. If there is nothing else? Okay. So, Maija, you'll go ahead
and work with the parties to
JACKSON: Yes
KNOWLES: establish a formal mediation schedule?
JACKSON: Yes, I will reach out to them by email.
KNOWLES: Thank you. Okay, I think that's all. Thank you very much.
MATSUKAWA: Thank you very much.
HAITSUKA: Thank you.
VITOUSEK: Mahalo.
KNOWLES: Oh, yeah, sorry, I have to make a motion, I'd like to ask for a motion to defer to a
future hearing upon successful completion of mediation or conclusion of the contested case
hearing.
VITOUSEK: So moved.
KNOWLES: Second?
PAISHON-DUARTE: Second.
KNOWLES: Thank you. All indo we do a roll call? Any discussion?
VITOUSEK: No.
KNOWLES: Okay. Is this a roll call vote?
JACKSON: Commissioner Vitousek?
VITOUSEK: Aye.
JACKSON: Commissioner Paishon-Duarte?
PAISHON-DUARTE: Aye.
JACKSON: Commissioner Dela Cruz?
DELA CRUZ: Aye.
JACKSON: And Chair Knowles?
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KNOWLES: Aye.
JACKSON: Okay, the motion carries, four-zero.
KNOWLES: Thank you. You may be excused.
MATSUKAWA: Thank you.
These agenda items ended at 11:26 a.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Noriko Sauer, Secretary
Leeward Planning Commission
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