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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-11-24 TSYLVA LEEWARD PLANNING COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAIÒI HEARING TRANSCRIPT NOVEMBER 24, 2010 CURTIS B. SYLVA (SPP 10-107) A regularly advertised hearing on the application of was called to order at 10:50 a.m. in the King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel, Ballroom I, 75-5660 Palani Road, Kailua-Kona, HawaiÒi, with Chairman Frederic Housel presiding. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Frederic Housel, Brandi Beaudet, Lani Bowman, Thomas Hickcox and Richard Nelson ABSENT AND EXCUSED: Geraldine Giffin and Wayne Iokepa STAFF PRESENT: Brandon Gonzalez (Deputy Corporation Counsel), BJ Leithead Todd (Planning Director), Daryn Arai (Planning Program Manager), Jeff Darrow (Staff Planner) and Maija Cottle (Staff Planner) DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC WORKS: Kiran Emler (Engineering Division) And seven people from the public in attendance. APPLICANT: CURTIS B. SYLVA (SPP 10-107) Application for a Special Permit to allow for the establishment of an agricultural and veterinary supply store within an existing 5,000-square foot warehouse and upon an approximately 1.184-acre portion of a 5.043-acre parcel situated within the State Land Use Agricultural District. The property is located off the south side of Highway 19 (Mamalahoa Highway) Building Supply and NAPA Auto Parts, PuÒukapu Homesteads, First Series, South Kohala, HawaiÒi, TMK: 6-4-6: portion of 1. HOUSEL: Next item on our agenda is Curtis B. Sylva. This is an application for a special permit to allow the establishment of an agricultural and veterinary supply store within an existing 5,000- square foot warehouse and upon an approximately 1.184-acre portion of a 5.043-acre parcel situated within the State Land Use Agricultural District. If anyone would like to provide testimony on this matter, please come forward. Could we invite Commissioner Beaudet back? Welcome back, Commissioner Beaudet. Maija, would you like to present? COTTLE: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The next application is a special permit request. The subject property is located in the South Kohala District in the town of Waimea, and you can see it on the slide outlined in black. You see Mmalahoa Highway running in an east-west direction through the middle of the slide. And this property has a driveway access off of the highway on the south side. The property is actually split-zoned; the access pole is zoned CN-7.5 and you can see the bulk of the property shown in green is zoned Agricultural 5 acres. Most of the properties to the north are zoned Commercial, and to the east and south are Agricultural. And just to kind of give you an idea where we are, HPM Building Supply is located on this lot here and NAPA Auto Parts is located on the east side of their access. The General Plan designation for the property is also split; itÓs a Medium Density Urban in the location of the special permit area on the north end of the property and thatÓs shown in orange, and then Low Density Urban on the south side of the property. 1 EXHIBIT C This is the conceptual map for Waimea from the South Kohala CDP, and this red circle kind of indicates the location of the property. The areas shown here in yellow are areas of Waimea that are already developed and urbanized, and then the green areas show areas that the community wants to preserve as small farms and ranches; so again Î itÓs really hard to see Î but the south end of the property is in the green area, and the north end of the property is in the yellow area. The applicant is proposing to establish an agricultural and veterinary supply store within an existing 5,000-square foot ag warehouse, and materials associated with the supply store would be stored on the property and within the warehouse. The total special permit area would be about 1.184 acres in size. They are anticipating hiring four to five employees and operating between 7:00 a.m. and 5:00 p.m., Monday through Friday, and 8:00 a.m. to 2:00 p.m. on Saturdays, and closed on Sundays. They estimate that about five to eight clients will visit the site per day, and they will also make deliveries of supplies to local farms and ranches. This is a site plan that shows the existing storage building, ag storage building in the middle of the slide, and then the 1.184 special permit area Î IÓll just outline it here Î itÓs on the northeast side of the property. Again, this is the access off of the highway; the highway runs on the left side of the slide. There is a 17-foot wide paved driveway to the warehouse. There is a paved parking area out in the front here. And then this structure here is a dwelling where the applicant lives. This is an aerial photo of the property; again, Mmalahoa Highway running in an east-west direction at the top of the slide, and the access, this is the existing warehouse, and the existing dwelling. This is a site photo showing the highway in the background and the driveway access right off of the highway. There are, these vehicles over here are employee parking for HPM. And there is a longer view; again, the driveway is all the way at the other end of the slide there where you see the white truck. And this is a picture of the existing warehouse that they are proposing to convert to the supply store. Again, you can see the paved parking area out in the front. This is a view, currently at the applicant stores his personal vehicles that are used in car shows; he collects vehicles and those are currently stored in the warehouse. Those would be removed, if the permit were approved. And then this is a view of the north end of the property. This is a, I believe itÓs an apartment complex on the neighboring property to the north, and this is the existing warehouse. And this is a view looking to the south end of the property; you see the parking area here. YouÓll notice in your packet you have a letter of withdrawal for this application from the applicant, and IÓll just explain that a little bit. Reason being is when they submitted the application, it was for the supply store, and then it came to the DepartmentÓs attention that they were expanding the warehouse structure Î you can see the fill material in preparation for pouring the foundation in this area here. And so when that came to our attention, we were trying to decide whether to add that onto the special permit or deal with it separately. And the applicant informed us that that expansion will be used to store those personal vehicles that I showed you earlier. So if, we are still in discussions with the applicant to determine whether itÓs considered a personal storage building or whether it would be more of a commercial storage building. And once thatÓs determined, the applicant may need to come back to amend a special permit, if itÓs granted today. But right now, we are just focusing on the veterinarian and ag supply store and the existing warehouse. And with that, the Department is recommending approval. I donÓt believe weÓve received any other correspondence for this application. So are there any questions? HOUSEL: Maija, just to clarify. So the applicant today is asking for just the veterinary supply -. 2 EXHIBIT C COTTLE: Correct. HOUSEL: Permit, right? COTTLE: Yeah, if the Department determines in the future that the storage of those vehicles is considered a commercial use and would need a special permit, the an amendment to a special permit or a separate special permit. HOUSEL: Okay, thank you. We donÓt have anyone signed up. IÓd like to call the applicant forward. Could you please use the microphone, and raise your right hand, please? Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth now before the Leeward Planning Commission today? MOOERS: I do. SYLVA: I do. HOUSEL: Thank you. Greg, if you would like to start, would you please give your name and address? MOOERS: Sure, thank you, Mr. Chairman. My name is Greg Mooers. consultant for the applicant. My address is P. O. Box 1101 Kamu the staffÓs background report and recommendation, and agree with the conditions as proposed. And we are prepared to answer any questions you may have. With me today are the applicants, the Sylvas, who live on the subject property. HOUSEL: Commissioners, do you have any questions of the applicants? BOWMAN: I do. Question: A veterinary supply store, could you kind of elaborate what you are going to be using the acreage for? You are talking about, I donÓt know what big veterinary supply -. MOOERS: Well, it says veterinary and ranch supplies, so there will be fencing materials as well. BOWMAN: Okay, and they would be out -. MOOERS: Probably outside, yeah. BOWMAN: Okay, fencing, anything else? Just -. SYLVA: Fence poles, fencing -. BOWMAN: No cars? SYLVA: No, no cars. BOWMAN: Okay, I mean I know you donÓt want to put your good cars out there, but -. MOOERS: No, thatÓs been a problem and, you know, I was not aware that the warehouse is being expanded, and so it was kind of the last minute this week and so weÓve had several conversations 3 EXHIBIT C about this. And so the new warehouse is something that weÓll be having conversations with the Planning Department about. The proposed use of that expansion is only for personal use, not for the special permit. The special permit area is defined actually by metes and bounds and shown in the exhibits, and the applicant is not asking for any uses outside of the special permit area. He is a collector. He and his son race car, show cars, and they need some place to store those cars, and thatÓs what the purpose of the expansion is for. It would have been obviously easier, if that had been known at that time; I mean we could have included it, not as part of the application, but certainly as part of the narrative to explain, you know, what was being done. But it is not part of the special permit application and we are not requesting any use of that area for uses other than his personal use. BOWMAN: IÓm not as concerned as I am, because there are residential, you know, an apartment building abutting, as what would be outside. And I assume that because there is no one to testify -. Is there anyone to testify? HOUSEL: No, no testifiers. BOWMAN: That the neighbors are -. MOOERS: You may have recalled that the previous proposal on the subject property from Mr. Bal did elicit some rather strong controversy from the neighboring property. And Mr. Lindsey has not expressed that. And I have spoken with Mr. Lindsey about this application and he seems comfortable with this. BOWMAN: Okay, thank you. HOUSEL: Any other questions, Commissioners? No? I had one question to the applicant. Do you have an existing veterinary or agricultural business right now? SYLVA: No. HOUSEL: You donÓt. So this is a new business. SYLVA: Yes. HOUSEL: Okay. In the agricultural supply business, will you store materials like fertilizer in this building? SYLVA: I donÓt think fertilizer -. IÓm not really sure a hundred percent, but I donÓt really think so. HOUSEL: Okay, so as far as, there shouldnÓt be any hazardous materials stored in this building? SYLVA: No, not that I know of. HOUSEL: Okay, thank you. Now, Greg, youÓve read all the terms and conditions, and you are in agreement with them? MOOERS: Yes, we do. 4 EXHIBIT C SYLVA: Yes. HOUSEL: Okay, I think weÓll proceed, if there arenÓt any other questions. Would someone like to make a motion? NELSON: Mr. Chairman, I move that the application for a special permit, in this case it would be 10-107, be approved. HOUSEL: Okay. Do we have a second? BEAUDET: I second. HOUSEL: Okay, motion by Commissioner Nelson, seconded by Commissioner Beaudet. Any discussion? Okay, Maija? COTTLE: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Commissioner Nelson? NELSON: Aye. COTTLE: Commissioner Beaudet? BEAUDET: Aye. COTTLE: Commissioner Bowman? BOWMAN: Aye. COTTLE: Commissioner Hickcox? HICKCOX: Aye. COTTLE: And Mr. Chairman? HOUSEL: Aye. COTTLE: The motion to approve passes, five-zero. MOOERS: Thank you very much. HOUSEL: Thank you very much. And youÓll be receiving all the documentation very shortly. Thank you very much. The discussion ended at 11:05 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Noriko Sauer, Secretary Leeward Planning Commission 5 EXHIBIT C