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Home My WebLink About2005-08-26 REZ 05-002 State DLNR PLANNING COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAII HEARING TRANSCRIPT AUGUST 26, 2005 STATE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND A regularly advertised hearing on the application of NATURAL RESOURCES (REZ 05-002) was called to order at 9:07 a.m. in the King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel, Ekahi Ballroom, 75-5660 Palani Road, Kailua-Kona, Hawaii, with Chairman Fred Galdones presiding. PRESENT:Fred GaldonesABSENT & EXCUSED: C. Kimo Alameda Hannah SpringerRene Siracusa Jeffrey McCallRodney H. Watanabe AndrewIwashita Allen Salavea William R. Graham Chris Yuen, Deputy Planning Director Norman Hayashi, Planning Program Manager Phyllis Fujimoto, Staff Planner Jeff Darrow, Staff Planner Ivan Torigoe, Deputy Corporation Counsel Kiran Emler representing Department of Public Works And approximately 17 people from the public in attendance. APPLICANT: STATE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES (REZ 05-002) Continued hearing on the application for a Change of Zone from Open (O) to the Industrial- Commercial Mixed one-acre (MCX-1a) district for approximately 1.32 acres of land located approximately 1,200 feet northwest of the junction between the Kawaihae Road and the Akoni Pule Highway at Kawaihae, South Kohala, Hawaii, TMK: 6-1-3:15. GALDONES:Commissioners we are on agenda item number 1, unfinished business. Applicant is State Department of Land and Natural Resources, REZ 05-002. This is a continued hearing on the application for a change of zone from Open (O) to the Industrial-Commercial Mixed one-acre (MCX-1a) district for approximately 1.32 acres of land located approximately 1,200 feet northwest of the junction between the Kawaihae Road and the Akoni Pule Highway at Kawaihae, South Kohala. Norman? HAYASHI:Thank you Mr. Chair, members of the Commission good morning. As th you recall this particular application was heard on June 17atwhichtimethePlanningDirector had recommended approval of the request. There were some concerns expressed by the CommissionandbothCommissionersIwashitaandSiracusahadsuggestedthatperhapssomeof the uses that are allowed within the MCX zoned district should be deleted or be restricted from-, EXHIBIT A 1 for development should this rezoning application be approved. There was a motion to deny the application and that motion did not pass. The vote was 4 to 3. The applicant requested that this particular application be continued for further discussion by the Planning Commission. Since that time we were in discussion with the applicant as to whether they would agree to delete some of the uses that are allowed within the MCX zoned district to which they had agreed. As a result we had, we are recommending that Condition D, I believe, be amended. Or a new Condition D be included and the remaining conditions be alphabetized. And Condition D, the new Condition D will state that, and Ill read that, and these are uses that were suggested for deletion by both Commissioners Siracusa and Iwashita. Condition D reads as agreed to by the applicant, the following numbered uses under Chapter 25, Zoning Code, Article 5, Division 13 (MCX Industrial-Commercial Mixed Districts) Section 25-5-132, shall not be permitted on the property: 1) Agricultural products processing, minor; 4) Automobile sales and rentals; 5) Automobile service stations; 7) Broadcasting station; 9) Car washing; 11) Cemeteries and mausoleums; 14) Commercial parking lots and garages; 23) Laboratories, medical and research; 24) Manufacturing,processingandpackagingestablishments,light;34)Repairestablishments, minor; 41) Self-storage facilities; 42) Telecommunication antennas; 47) Warehousing and 48) Wholesaling and distribution operations. We also received a letter from the Applicants representative, which was circulated to you this morning, indicating that they have received the proposed Condition D and have no objections to the imposition of that particular condition. And this is the correspondence from Brian Nishimura on behalf of the Applicant dated August 24, 2005. With that again the Planning Director is recommending approval of this request with conditions and with the amended Condition D. Are there any questions? GALDONES:Commissioners any questions of Norman? Seeing none will the applicant or his representative please come forward? Good morning Mr. Nishimura. Please raise your right hand. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Hawaii County Planning Commission? NISHIMURA:I do. GALDONES:Mr. Nishimura if you could speak into the mike, please state your name and your residence address. NISHIMURA:Brian T. Nishimura. 1174 Awiki Place, Hilo, Hawaii. GALDONES:Mr. Nishimura you have the background report and the recommendations do you have any other comments to them? NISHIMURA:No I dont. As Norman indicated the Applicant has reviewed the proposed changes and the amended condition and will be able to comply with those conditions. GALDONES:Commissioners are there any questions of Mr. Nishimura? Commissioner Graham? EXHIBIT A 2 GRAHAM:Brian I know at the initial meeting I made a request that maybe you all wouldhave the opportunity to have some additional community meetings on this project. Has there been anything done in that regard? NISHIMURA:No. We havent. GRAHAM:Thank you. GALDONES:Good morning Commissioner Springer. Are there any further questions of Mr. Nishimura? If none, there was no one from the public who had signed up to testify on this matter and it comes with the recommendation from the Department for a favorable recommendation to the County Council. Commissioner Iwashita? IWASHITA:If its appropriate Im prepared to make the motion. GALDONES:Motion is in order. IWASHITA:I move that a favorable recommendation be forwarded to the County Councilonapplicationforchangeofzone,docketnumberREZ05-002,theStateDepartmentof Land and Natural Resources application in this matter based on the Planning Directors recommendation and proposed conditions including the additional condition discussed today. MCCALL:Second. GALDONES:Thank you. It has been moved by Commissioner Iwashita and is seconded by Commissioner McCall that applicant from the State Department of Land and Natural Resources, Change of Zone application, REZ 05-002 be given a favorable recommendation and be forwarded to the County Council with the amendments as recommended. Further discussion? Commissioner Graham? GRAHAM:Well at the last meeting I indicated I could not support this application unless there was broad community support for it and I still feel the same way. I think, just to explain my reasons one more time, if the Commissioners would look at the back of the yellow recommendation sheet where the map is on the back page. You can see that full parcel State owned parcel for which the rezoning is only a piece thats circled here. So that whole parcel is on the ocean. The Kawaihae Harbor Complex is just to the right on the ocean as you look at it. The Kawaihae Water Complex has been a valued and often a heavily used recreation area over the years primarily for local families. But that has been really closed down the last several years because of the 9-11 security measures and all. So you have to go through a checkpoint and theres strict rules and things about who can even get in there so thats pretty much way down in use. And then looking to the left of the parcel and up mauka is Hawaiian Homes development in Kawaihae, which is still built out to a very small percentage of what it will be eventually. So theres going to be presumably a lot more folks getting lots up there. And to me for the State to take a very valued coastal parcel and right in the middle of an area that really needs ocean resources for the reasons I just- in building in the future, for the reasons I just discussed; I think its an inappropriate decision for the State to try to turn this into a money making parcel as EXHIBIT A 3 opposed to leave it as a open parcel for the full enjoyment of the community and others who can make use of it. And like I said the only reason I would support it is if various community organizations who go down there said that its fine by them and we havent had those meetings and I dont believe they would say that anyway. So, for all those reasons I cannot support this application. GALDONES:Commissioner Salavea? SALAVEA:I have a question for Director Yuen. Is it required of the applicant to notify an organization such as the canoe club of their intention to rezone? YUEN:Uh, no. Its, it wouldnt be a-, its not normally required. There is a letter of support from the President of the Canoe Club in the application file though. GALDONES:CommissionerSpringerdiscussion?Seeingnone.Commissioner Iwashita? IWASHITA:Just for the record I would like to acknowledge the Departments favorable response to the suggestions as far as the limitation of the uses that we had and just wanted to make that on the record. Thank you. GALDONES:Seeing no further discussion, Norman? HAYASHI:Commissioner Iwashita? IWASHITA:Aye. HAYASHI:Commissioner McCall? MCCALL:Aye. HAYASHI:Commissioner Salavea? SALAVEA:Aye. HAYASHI:Commissioner Springer? SPRINGER:Yes. HAYASHI:Commissioner Graham? GRAHAM:No. HAYASHI:Chair Galdones? GALDONES:Aye. EXHIBIT A 4 HAYASHI:Mr. Chair, motion was 5 to 1, motion carries. GALDONES:Thank you Norman. Mr. Nishimura you will be informed in writing of todays actions. NISHIMURA:Thank you. GALDONES:Youre welcome. This discussion ended at 9:35 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Lynette Sanemitsu, West Hawaii Secretary EXHIBIT A 5