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Home My WebLink About2023-05-08 Kaʻū CDP Minutes DraftMitchell D. Roth Mayor Lee E. Lord Managing Director Zendo Kern Director Jeffrey W. Darrow Deputy Director County of Hawai‘i PLANNING DEPARTMENT KAʻŪ COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ACTION COMMITTEE Aupuni Center • 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3 • Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720 Phone (808) 961-8288 • Fax (808) 961-8742 Hawai‘i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer Page 1 Monday, May 8, 2023 1 DRAFT Meeting Minutes 2 CALL TO ORDER 3 Chair Leinaʻala Enos called the Kaʻū Community Development Plan (KCDP) Action Committee 4 (AC) to order at 5:30 P.M. This meeting was held at the Oceanview Community Center. There 5 was no Zoom option. Quorum was established at this meeting. 6 ROLL CALL 7 AC Members Present: Leinaʻala Enos (Chair), Pernell Hanoa (Vice-Chair), Kaweni Ibarra, Jesse Ke, 8 Babette Morrow, Catherine Williams, Kaʻohinani Mokuhaliʻi, Jason Masters (arrived at 6:00 P.M.) 9 AC Members Absent-Excused: None 10 17 members of the public attended the meeting 11 ANNOUNCEMENTS: 12 • Laura Roberts, community member from Oceanview representing the Oceanview Skate Park 13 Association, gave a quick overview of what the project is and what they would like to 14 accomplish 15 APPROVAL OF MINUTES: 16 Line 68 and 71 name spelling corrections. Corrections: Line 68 Gwen Sorenson, line 71 Toby 17 Kekoa-Burgos. 18 Committee Member Mokuhaliʻi motioned to approve the February 22, 2023 minutes with the 19 spelling corrections made. Motion seconded by Committee Member Ibarra. Motion passed with 20 7 votes aye, 0 votes nay. 21 BUSINESS: 22 1. Hawaiʻi County Code Update: 23 This item was moved to the end of the agenda. 24 There was not much of an update because we are such a large district that we are not 25 encouraged to respond. As a district we need to have more notice so individuals can respond. 26 Committee member Masters to report updates. Need more notice, and representation of a 27 community. 28 www.planning.Hawaiʻicounty.gov/ CDP@Hawaiʻicounty.gov Page 2 2. Permitted Interaction Groups Updates to AC: 29 a. Punaluʻu Coastline Access and Resources Investigatory Subcommittee 30 Committee Member Hanoa reported that the committee had a last-minute meeting with the 31 Kaʻū Advisory Council, Punaluʻu developers and additional partners to introduce new members 32 and have a meet and greet, talk story session. It was expected to have several of their 33 representatives at the meeting to present their proposal, but none were present at this time. No 34 future meeting date has been set. 35 Kaʻū Advisory Council secretary Sophia Hanoa was in contact with property manager. She would 36 like to have a public community meeting in June in Pahala. Additional investors, Jiaying and Yoga. 37 Per the last maps received, the amount of luxury homes dropped to 100. 38 b. Mahana Bay Coastline Access and Resources Investigatory Subcommittee 39 The subcommittee hasn't had much discussion about this but have been thinking about purpose 40 and goals. As discussed at the last meeting, there have been studies and management plans 41 done in 2012 and 2016. The subcommittee wondered if they should discuss recommending that 42 the Action Committee take a position of advocacy regarding these plans and the CDP. Such plans 43 included: 44 The DHHL Kaʻū Regional Plan which was adopted in 2012 by Hawaiian Homes Commission. This 45 plan prioritized two projects to be implemented by 2015: (1) develop vehicular roadway(s) and 46 pedestrian pathways within the coastal area of Ka Lae (to manage access to Kaulana Bay, the 47 fishing grounds at Ka Lae, and protect sensitive resources), & (2) protect and preserve sites in 48 Kamāʻoa. Phases consisted of: updating the Historic Landmark designation; developing a 49 circulation plan; pursuing partnerships; developing signage and educational programs; obtaining 50 funding; and constructing roads, fencing, and educational signage. 51 Another was the South Point Resources Management Plan (RMP), which was prepared for the 52 Hawaiian Home Lands Trust and finalized in October 2016. This plan stated: “This resources 53 management plan identifies specific near- and long-term management actions for lands held 54 under the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust located within the ahupuaʻa of Kamāʻoa-Puʻuʻeo, Kaʻū 55 District, Island of Hawaiʻi. It is intended to guide future actions to steward the land and resources 56 of this area." Specific action plans on pages v., vi., and vii should be looked at. Of particular 57 interest is the concluding paragraph on page vii of the 2016 document. "The main near-term 58 priority for DHHL is to gain site control by managing vehicular access." 59 There are several areas of the CDP that address this issue: 60 Section 4.6.1 Community Objectives: 61 ❖ Objective 3: Protect, restore, and enhance ecosystems, including mauka forests and the 62 shorelines, while assuring responsible access for residents and for visitors. 63 ❖ Objective 6: Encourage community-based management plans to assure that human activity 64 doesn’t degrade the quality of Kaʻū’s unique natural and cultural lands. 65 Section 4.6.4.5: 66 Department of Land and Natural Resources 67 www.planning.Hawaiʻicounty.gov/ CDP@Hawaiʻicounty.gov Page 3 ❖ Following the recommendation of the South Kona- Kaʻū Coastal Conservation Task Force, 68 dedicate at least one State DOCARE officer to the Kaʻū district to aid in enforcement. 69 Section 4.6.4.6: 70 Department of Hawaiian Home Lands 71 ❖ Maintain the Ka Lae (South Point) coastal areas and related infrastructure for recreational, 72 cultural, education, and/or scientific uses in a manner that is protective of resources and is 73 consistent with the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act and all applicable laws related to Native 74 Hawaiian rights and public shoreline access. (GP 8.3(c) & 12.5.9.2(d)). 75 c. Pōhue Bay Coastline Access and Resources Investigatory Subcommittee 76 Community member, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that the National Park Service 77 (NPS) proposed trail goes through Hawaiian petroglyphs. The NPS asked for kūpuna to help but 78 no one came to claim it, so the trail is going through a sacred site. Also, there is hurricane and 79 storm damage from July 2022 to the coastline and alkaline ponds are empty. The community 80 member offered to help for free. 81 Community member Sophia Hanoa stated that there is a Hawaiian kupuna, Kelly Kaupu, that is 82 working with National Park to preserve sacred sites. 83 The anonymous community member also stated that there are people disturbing the turtles 84 along the coastline and he reported it to the National Park, but nothing was done. 85 Community member Rick Lyn stated that he was part of a training for volunteers who, for a 86 three-month period, were turtle monitors and were going 7 days a week. There was some turtle 87 egg loss due to the storm surge, but they are coming back. 88 Committee member Morrow will contact the training people to get an update on the next 89 training and report back at the next meeting. 90 Committee member Mokuhaliʻi asked for a description of where the sites that are not being 91 accessed are. The anonymous community member stated that they were 1 mile south of Pōhue 92 and a mile north of road to the sea there are more turtle nests. Committee will follow-up. 93 d. Kūpuna Housing Investigatory Subcommittee 94 Committee member Morrow reported there was a subcommittee meeting in April where they 95 met with Wayne Camache. The subcommittee wanted to assist in networking and to get input. 96 Currently the block to any kind of development of the Nāʻālehu parcel is the septic tank system; 97 perhaps there could be several uses for the property. Wayne appreciated the help and will keep 98 the subcommittee informed. Nāʻālehu farmers market location. 99 Previously the proposal was for unassisted senior housing but was not funded in the best benefit 100 in the past, so they are looking at how to use the land to best benefit the community. 101 Council member Michelle Galimba shared about the current affordable housing grant that is 102 available, perhaps a door to fund a project here. 103 www.planning.Hawaiʻicounty.gov/ CDP@Hawaiʻicounty.gov Page 4 e. Development in Kaʻū Investigatory Subcommittee 104 Since January some community members were put on a stakeholders panel for the solar farms 105 along South Point road. There was a face-to-face sack committee meeting that included, Jason 106 Masters, Kilohana Domingo, Kenny Joyce, and Kaʻoh Mokuhaliʻi, who had a question-and-answer 107 session that was lengthy and will be included on the CDP website. There will be a public meeting 108 on May 31st at Nāʻālehu Community Center. 109 Minutes are available, the members were willing to meet and discuss which was positive, many 110 things were discussed. There are many solar projects coming up. 111 Flooding occurred during the last storm on Kaʻalai Road and the stretch of HI 1 between Kawa 112 and Honuapo. The latest is that the subcommittee is working with County and land owners. 113 Oceanview community member, Tito Haggardt presented about the fact that Oceanview has the 114 infrastructure within the subdivision to support future development with large setbacks, etc. This 115 could be organized through the road corporation. Also, residents of Oceanview pay a road tax on 116 their cars which is given to the state but none of that is returned to the road corporation for 117 roads. It was mentioned that they also pay an annual road maintenance fee, and it seemed like 118 they are double charged for their roads. The subcommittee will take it into consideration to see 119 how this concern can be addressed within their purview. Perhaps in the future, the committee 120 could suggest, for example, that if there was going to be commercial businesses in the 121 developed subdivision then there needs to be a right turn lane created, etc. 122 f. Nāʻālehu Theatre Site Investigatory Subcommittee 123 Committee member Morrow motioned to dissolve the Nāʻālehu Theater Site Subcommittee. 124 Motion seconded by Committee member Ke. 125 Discussion: The theater was demolished shortly after the last Kaʻū CDP meeting was held. Several 126 members wondered why nobody in the community was aware that the permit to destroy it was 127 taken out in September 2022. County works deemed it as dangerous and it was scheduled for 128 demolition. The property is still owned by the Weinberg Foundation of Hawaiʻi. 129 A question came up about the shopping center, but the committee wants to continue the 130 subcommittee to investigate what the plans for the theater site might be. 131 Motion denied by roll call vote: 0 votes aye, 8 votes nay. 132 3. Small and Industrial Solar Farm Developments: 133 Ocean View community member, Aniy Bosted, testified on Agenda Item 3. She presented a map 134 of the OV proposed project as of 2016 and shared that the proposed project includes a 6.5-135 megawatt solar development consisting of eighteen 3-acre parcels, and eight 21-acre parcels; 136 proposed by an overseas company. She also shared overhead drone photos of current projects. 137 Chair Enos allowed more time for her testimony because of its importance to this community. 138 Community members from Wood Valley, Noa Causerman and Matt Drayer, testified on Agenda 139 Item 3. They shared that there are several 10 X 20ft proposed satellite sites from a Taiwanese 140 company, proposed in WOOD Valley. They stated that the land is zoned agricultural, and permits 141 www.planning.Hawaiʻicounty.gov/ CDP@Hawaiʻicounty.gov Page 5 were granted by an appointed panel from Mayor Roth with 2 votes against it, 4 votes to install it. 142 Causerman and Drayer presented a petition. 143 Community member Sophia Hanoa raised the question “Why was the community not informed? 144 Any development coming to our community needs to be brought to the people out of respect.” 145 Council Member Galimba said there is another place to appeal this, also the meeting was 146 attended by people appointed by the Mayor and approved by the County Council. 147 AC resolved to find out how they as the committee could get updates on upcoming issues to 148 inform the community. 149 PROPOSED AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING: 150 1. Satellite installation in Wood Valley 151 2. Permitted Interaction Groups report back to the AC 152 ADJOURNMENT: 153 Committee Member Masters motioned to adjourn the meeting. Motion seconded by Committee 154 Member Williams. Motion passed with 8 votes aye, 0 votes nay. The meeting was adjourned at 155 7:12 P.M. 156 These minutes and all related documents are available in the Planning Department’s Kaʻū 157 Community Development Plan Action Committee folder via the County of Hawaiʻi Public 158 Documents Repository. These documents may also be requested from the Planning Department 159 by calling (808) 961-8288 or emailing cdp@Hawaiʻicounty.gov. 160