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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-11-24 TDELUZ TRUCKING LEEWARD PLANNING COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I HEARING TRANSCRIPT NOVEMBER 24, 2010 EDWIN DELUZ TRUCKING AND A regularly advertised hearing on the application of GRAVEL, LLC (SPP 164/LUC 70-85) was called to order at 10:16 a.m. in the King Kamehameha's Kona Beach Hotel, Ballroom I, 75-5660 Palani Road, Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i, with Chairman Frederic Housel presiding. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Frederic Housel, Lani Bowman, Thomas Hickcox and Richard Nelson ABSENT AND EXCUSED: Brandi Beaudet, 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 approximately ten people from the public in attendance. APPLICANT: EDWIN DELUZ TRUCKING AND GRAVEL, LLC (SPP 164/LUC 70-85) Amendment to Condition No. 2 of Special Permit No. 164 (LUC Docket SP70-85) to extend the life of the permit from December 11, 2010 to December 11, 2015. Special Permit No. 164 allowed for the continued operation of the Pu‘u Hinai Quarry on approximately 63.648 acres of land situated within the State Land Use Agricultural District. The subject property is situated approximately 4,600 feet south of Waikoloa Road and 1.3 miles southeast of Waikoloa Village, Waikoloa, South Kohala, Hawai‘i, TMK: 6-8-002: portion of 16. HOUSEL: The next item on our agenda is Item 2. This is Edwin Deluz Trucking and Gravel, LLC. This is an amendment to Condition No. 2 of Special Permit No. 164 and the Land Use Commission Docket to extend the life of the permit from December 11, 2010 to December 11, 2015. There is a special permit, No. 164, allowed for continued operation of the Pu‘u Hinai Quarry on approximately 63.648 acres of land situated within the State Land Use Agricultural Use District. Do we have anyone who would like to testify on this matter? One more thing that I didn’t cover on the previous item was that there were no people who signed up to testify on that one – just a matter of housekeeping. Is anyone here that would like to testify on this matter? Please sign up, if you can. GLASS: I do. HOUSEL: You do? Okay, have you signed up -? GLASS: I signed the little form and gave (inaudible). 1 EXHIBIT B HOUSEL: Okay. I think we’ll start with our staff. Mr. Darrow, would you like to proceed? DARROW: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, Mr. Chairman and Members of the Planning Commission. If I can direct your attention to our presentation on the wall. Our next applicant is Edwin Deluz Trucking and Gravel, LLC. They are requesting an amendment to Condition No. 2 of Special Permit No. 70-85, or in the Planning Commission we refer to as Special Permit No. 164. The location of this application is within the South Kohala District. More specifically, we are looking in the Waikoloa area. The actual subject property is identified in a black outline. For reference, this line running in a north-south direction on the right side of the map is the Hawai‘i Belt Road, running in an east-west direction, mauka-makai, is the Waikoloa Road, and this general area here is Waikoloa Village. This particular property is approximately 1,700 acres in size. The permit area for Quarry Site 1 is approximately 63 acres in size. The colors on the map represent the different zoning. This is a little closer view, which shows the different zonings. The particular property is zoned Agricultural 5-acre. Of interest would be the adjoining properties to the north, which are zoned RA 1-acre, as well as Open zoning, and that’s referred to in Condition No. 2. This is the USGS map, which identifies Pu‘u Hinai in the western corner of this particular portion of the property. This is an aerial photo, which shows the particular area that’s been mined on the pu‘u since 1970. This particular application has received its original approval in 1970 from the Land Use Commission, and so this has been a continual operation since 1970. The applicant is requesting an amendment to Condition No. 2 to extend the life of the permit for an additional five years from December 11, 2010 to December 11, 2015 to allow the continued operation at Quarry Site No. 1. Condition No. 2 currently states, “Quarry operations at Site 1 (Pu‘u Hinai Quarry) shall be terminated by December 11, 2010, or prior to final subdivision approval of the increment of adjacent RA zoned lands which abut the quarry boundaries, or prior abandonment, whichever occurs first.” As referenced earlier, the adjoining RA-1 zoned lands are currently, have received a revised tentative subdivision approval; they have not received final subdivision approval as of yet. But there is always the possibility that that could occur in this particular five-year period. This is the South Kohala Community Development Plan for the Waikoloa Village. As you can see on the lower portion of the map, Pu‘u Hinai is referenced on the map. The actual plan does speak specifically to Pu‘u Hinai, and I’ve brought that up here; it’s under Strategy 2.2, which the title is to “Preserve Waikoloa’s Scenic Views, Landscapes, and Pu‘u” – “Waikoloa has as many pu‘u if not more, than its sister town of Waimea, many of which have names that convey traditional stories of this ahupua‘a. The pu‘u named Hinai in the vicinity of Waikoloa and several other pu‘u in the district are being mined. Mining and also the encroachment of development have degraded the condition of several pu‘u in the district. These pu‘u should be protected and preserved in their natural state.” So this is directly from the current Community Development Plan in the area. Also, I’d like to bring to your attention a new condition that we are adding in response to the South Kohala Community Development Plan: “Mining of Pu‘u Hinai shall immediately cease to protect and preserve the pu‘u in compliance with the South Kohala Community Development Plan.” Also, Conditions No. 4 and 5. Condition No. 4 which is a current condition, states that “upon termination of operations or abandonment of any portion of Site 1 (Pu‘u Hinai Quarry), the land shall be graded to blend with the surrounding areas and re-vegetated. Further, the sites shall be left in a non- hazardous condition.” As a result of this new condition stating that the mining shall cease for this particular area of the Quarry Site 1, Condition 4 triggers. And so what we’ve done is implement Condition No. 5 which states that “the applicant shall submit a soils report of the mined area of Pu‘u Hinai by an engineer qualified in the field of soil mechanics and licensed within the State of 2 EXHIBIT B Hawai‘i within ninety days from the effective date of this amendment. The soils report, which shall provide recommendations for the stabilization of Pu‘u Hinai, shall be submitted to the Planning Director for review and approval, in consultation with the Department of Public Works. The applicant shall comply with the recommendation(s) of the approved soils report to stabilize the pu‘u and bring it into a non-hazardous condition. Additionally, the applicant shall comply with any other measures determined by the Planning Director to provide reasonable assurance of the stability of Pu‘u Hinai and the safety of people who may work or have reason to be in close proximity to the pu‘u.” So again, these are two added conditions that we are adding as a result of the South Kohala Community Development Plan. These are some site photos. This is from Hawai‘i Belt Road, looking makai. This is the access road off of Waikoloa Road; this is approximately 4,600 feet in length from Waikoloa Road to the pu‘u. This is a site photo of the area that has been mined. This particular area hasn’t been mined for over a two-year period. You can see, again, the cuts on the back side, or on the makai side, of the pu‘u. There is some existing equipment. In response to this, the applicant has stated that there are other areas within Quarry Site 1 that the applicant will be considering mining, and this is an area – this is just makai of the pu‘u. The Planning Director is recommending that the Planning Commission send a favorable recommendation to the State Land Use Commission with the added conditions. Are there any questions? BOWMAN: Could you show us the aerial of Pu‘u Hinai? So, with, I guess, Condition 5 (sic), when you talk about “shall be graded to blend with the surrounding areas and re-vegetated,” that whole side of the pu‘u where it’s -.How do they do that? I mean it’s gone -. DARROW: Well, I think in this particular case – and again I’m just going off a past experience with a quarry site that’s been abandoned, it hasn’t been particularly on a pu‘u, it’s just been in an area that’s been quarried, and so they had to kind of blend it and then re-vegetated it – as far as a pu‘u, I think the more, the greater concern is to leave this in a non-hazardous condition; I don’t think, at this time, to say to re-vegetate it. It’s not vegetated currently except unless there is some sort of vegetation currently on the front side of it. But I think in a matter of time, if there is vegetation on the front side, it will occur on the back side. But more importantly, we need to be able to determine that this particular area is left in a non-hazardous condition. BOWMAN: And that would be determined by the soils engineers. DARROW: Engineer, correct. Whether it’s through, whether they say that it is currently stable, maybe what could be required by the Planning Director is a fence be placed there, so that no access would be allowed into this particular area, or if the soils engineer may suggest possible benching or something. BOWMAN: Okay. And how close is the proposed new subdivision from this pu‘u? DARROW: It’s just to the northwest adjoining area. BOWMAN: Would you say half a mile from the perimeter? I’m just curious. 3 EXHIBIT B DARROW: I would be speculating. Maybe if we could have the applicant address that. Thank you. BOWMAN: Okay, thank you. HOUSEL: Jeff, if you could go back to the aerial view. What is the area considered by Quarry 1? Is the whole thing part of Quarry 1? DARROW: The actual pu‘u? HOUSEL: Well -. DARROW: I believe it actually goes beyond this map. There is a 60-acre area. HOUSEL: Okay, but what’s referred to in the application is as Quarry 1. Is there another quarry also? DARROW: There was originally, but that quarry has been taken out of this particular special permit. HOUSEL: So this, what we are looking at here is considered all of Quarry 1, is that right? DARROW: Correct. And I believe that there is additional area for Quarry 1. HOUSEL: Now, the area that you had a photo that the applicant is considering mining, is that in this photo? DARROW: Yes, that’s just in this location here. HOUSEL: Okay, and that’s not part of the pu‘u. DARROW: Correct. HOUSEL: Okay, thank you. Any other questions of staff? Thank you, Jeff. We have the applicants at the table. Could you please raise your right hand? Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth about this matter now before the Leeward Planning Commission today? APPLICANTS: Yes, I do. HOUSEL: Thank you. If you could use the microphone. And please state your name and address, please. DARROW: I’m sorry, Mr. Chairman. I forgot to bring one matter to your attention, and that is – excuse me, also, Ed and Kevin – we have received correspondence since the application was sent out; you all should have received, there were several letters of opposition, as well as several response letters from the applicant. Those should be in your possession. Thank you. Sorry about that. HOUSEL: Okay, thank you, Mr. Darrow. Please proceed. 4 EXHIBIT B HAITSUKA: Yes, my name is Edmund Haitsuka. I represent the applicant, Edwin Deluz Trucking and Gravel, LLC. And with me is Mr. Kevin Balog who is a representative of the applicant. HOUSEL: And your address, please. HAITSUKA: My address is 75-1000 Henry Street, Suite 209, Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i 96740. HOUSEL: And the applicant, address, please. BALOG: Kevin Balog with Edwin Deluz Trucking and Gravel. Address: P. O. Box 368 Pa‘auilo, Hawai‘i 96776. HOUSEL: Thank you very much. Mr. Haitsuka, would you like to make a comment on this? HAITSUKA: Yes, Mr. Chair. We have received the Planning Department’s report and recommendations and we have no comments, objections or anything to add this time. HOUSEL: Commissioners, do you have any questions of the applicant? BOWMAN: I do. Do you know approximately how far from the, like, say, the mauka edge of the proposed subdivision the quarry, the pu‘u, is from? Like miles-wise. BALOG: They are based on the, actually, from where they do the actual subdivision; from the pu‘u, it’s further from the access road, it’s about 1,000 feet. So it depends where you are asking from where. BOWMAN: And then – can we have the aerial again, please – and then, just to reconfirm, so that the quarry would take place in the lower left hand area, correct? BALOG: Correct. We actually, I think, I don’t know if it came in our stuff we submitted, we actually haven’t actively mined any part of the cinder cone in two and half years or three years. And down on the, you can see a little bit of a crusher, then you see - (receiving a laser pointer from the staff). So the actual mining that we would be mining is in this area in here, right here. And you can kind of see a gray rock right here – that’s actually what we are after is this area. And you asked about how far, from here to the access road – I don’t know if Jeff took the, what it was – it’s about 1,000 feet, then from there to the subdivision is about another 1,000. BOWMAN: Okay, thank you. HOUSEL: Any other questions? One question: The area that we are looking at now is part of the pu‘u, the condition No. 3 which says, “Mining of Pu‘u Hinai shall Immediately cease …,” so there would be no more activity in the pu‘u, if this were approved, is that correct? HAITSUKA: That’s correct, Mr. Chair. There hasn’t been any mining on the pu‘u for over two and half years; I think the last mining of that was prior to maybe somewhere of 2007. 5 EXHIBIT B HOUSEL: And, now, you can, from the photo, looking at the shadows, obviously those rock walls have been cut, you know, considerably. One of the conditions in here says that that should be restored. Is that your intention? HAITSUKA: I think the intention is to mitigate it in accordance with what the Planning Department requires; with the report from the soils engineer, I think we have better indication as to what they would recommend. I think previous discussions were that the benches would be cut so that there would be more of a slope to the surface. I don’t know if that’s going to be recommended by the soils engineer. But we’ll leave it up to them. HOUSEL: Is this property accessible from the public, by the public? HAITSUKA: No, it’s not. It’s off of a private road. HOUSEL: Okay. Commissioner Bowman. BOWMAN: And this -. BALOG: Just a little follow-up to the Chairman’s question. When you are traveling on Waikoloa Road, there is actually a fence and a gate, and there is a sign on the gate “No Trespassing.” When we are in operation, the gate is open, but other than that it’s locked. HAITSUKA: And the public access is further restricted; there is a crew that’s taking out live ordnance in the area, and they are working on that in that particular area. HOUSEL: I see. Okay, thank you. Commissioner Bowman. BOWMAN: Okay, I have a question, maybe from the staff. If, just say, this is denied and they have to cease all quarry activity, then the pu‘u would be left the way it is, is that correct? DARROW: They would have to comply with Condition 4, which is currently -. BOWMAN: No, but -. DARROW: We are not, that’s a current condition. BOWMAN: But I mean, if the whole, if the extension was denied, the extension of any more quarry activity. DARROW: Correct. They would still have to comply with Condition No. 4. BOWMAN: Okay, thank you. HOUSEL: A little housekeeping, I just wanted to confirm. Did you receive the Planning Department’s background report and recommendations on this -? HAITSUKA: Yes, we did, Mr. Chair. Thank you. HOUSEL: Thank you. And you agree to the conditions of the Planning Department’s report? 6 EXHIBIT B HAITSUKA: Yes, we do. And we have no objections or comments or additions. Thank you. HOUSEL: Okay. Let’s see, we have a – I think I’ll excuse you for now – and we have one person who would like to testify. Could Anika Glass please come forward? Good morning. GLASS: Good morning. HOUSEL: Could you raise your right hand, please? Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth now before the Leeward Planning Commission today? GLASS: You bet. Yes, I do. HOUSEL: Thank you. Could you state your name and address, please? GLASS: My name is Anika Glass. I live in Waikoloa Village. I live at 68-1863 Ua Noe Street. Waikoloa Village is across Waikoloa Road from this pu‘u, which is visible from my home and many homes, including the currently devastated parts of it. So its current state of sad exploitation is highly visible from all the way up Waikoloa Road, from the bottom, from just many locations – it’s not hidden. I’m against the, I came to testify in opposition to the request that was made to you. I was not aware of the new conditions that sounds like that have been recently set forth – those were not published to my knowledge. So I’m a little befuddled about where to start, so if you’ll just bear with me. I do want to re-emphasize my original points, which is the South Kohala CDP, which people in Waikoloa Village have spent thousands of hours developing. We’ve had a good turnout at the meeting just last night, two nights ago – very concerned about the destruction of the pu‘u, and agree with the CDP that our landscapes and views around Waikoloa and in South Kohala should not be destroyed like this. I further want to know that according to the facts in the County’s assessment of this and to previous published findings, the views of the pu‘u project site are not anticipated to adversely affect the new development; because the homes will be 30 feet high and they will be able to see it, and so will others in Waikoloa, but if it’s not there, there is nothing to see except rubble. It’s been previously noted that during the research on the cultural practices in this area, informants did identify Pu‘u Hinai as being culturally significant; there is a wonderful story that goes with it. The quarrying operations are planned to cease as development progresses in the subject project. Further, according to the State Land Use Commission, when it approved the Waikoloa Mauka request, final environmental impact report of Waikoloa Highlands, which is the development proposed immediately makai, very close to the pu‘u, it stated that Deluz Trucking must quit operations – or anyone – operations at the site be terminated by December 11, 2010 or prior to final subdivision approval – final approval hasn’t happened – of the increments of the adjacent lots or prior abandonment, whichever occurs first. I beg for another moment. HOUSEL: Could you please summarize, if you can? GLASS: Okay. It is vegetated currently; it may not look like it to you, or from that particular aerial photograph. But our whole area is very dry like right now, and that area is vegetated. I have concerns about the idea of a new pit and how that will be. If they are going to cease now on the pu‘u, is that to be a permanent cessation or just for now? And then, the new quarry that they are doing right next to the pu‘u, will that be some kind of pit mine, or what is that – I just don’t know. So I’d like to have that clarified by someone, thank you. And thank you very much. 7 EXHIBIT B HOUSEL: Thank you for your testimony. Commissioners, do you have any questions of the testifier? Okay. Thank you very much for your testimony. Jeff, I had one question, looking at Conditions 4 and 5. On your slide, these were represented, but it seems like you read more than just here. Is that included in 4 and 5 also? DARROW: On the slide, I was just summarizing. But 4 and 5 definitely has a lot more in the condition. HOUSEL: Okay, so what you were reading is included in these 4 and 5? DARROW: Yes, I was reading it from the condition. HOUSEL: Okay, I just wanted to make sure. Thank you. BOWMAN: And just to clarify, too, if the final subdivision is given before 2015, then all quarry operations will cease, is that correct? DARROW: Currently, that’s the way that the condition reads. BOWMAN: And can I ask, are there – and maybe this was in the background – is this the only quarry operation in that area? DARROW: To my knowledge, I believe that that is the only quarry operation in this particular area. There is a number of quarry operations above the highway, mauka of the highway -. BOWMAN: At the Saddle Road. DARROW: Correct. And also towards Waimea up in that area. BOWMAN: Right. Thank you. DARROW: If I’m wrong, if the applicants can correct me. HOUSEL: Yes, please come forward. BALOG: Commissioner Bowman, just so the record is straight, there is actually another mine below the Village on the, it’s not on this map, but it’s below the Village. There’s actually two – one is abandoned and one is active. The abandoned quarry is right above the helicopter pad, and the active mine is below the town and above the big tanks that you see on the road, and it’s operated by West Hawai‘i Concrete. BOWMAN: And they mine the same black and red cinder? BALOG: Actually no. It’s, the West Hawai‘i Concrete quarry is a basalt mine, a rock mine. BOWMAN: So yours is the only black and red cinder in that area. Is it black and red? BALOG: In that specific area, it was the only one. Like we’ve represented, we haven’t mined cinder or intend to mine cinder actually through the extension of the permit. We’ve bid for several, 8 EXHIBIT B the past probably two years, on the Queen K Highway road extension with several contractors, and the contractor that was awarded the contract. When we bid, we were bidding to sell fill material. There is a lot of fill material that’s going to be required, and this was a site that – probably you are wondering why we’ve been asking for an extension – that was used, that we could use to sell fill material for the widening of Queen K. So it doesn’t have the black and red cinder, is really not a concern. And the other part, just so you, to be upfront and honest about it, is our company actually has a mine, a surface mine, similar to this, not with a larger cinder cone, on Parker Ranch property and -. BOWMAN: A mine that mines black and red cinder? Sorry. BALOG: Yes. BOWMAN: Okay, so this would be fill, this would not be cinder, this would be fill. BALOG: No. And I think another question from the testifier was, she asked about creating a new pit. Actually, when the permit was granted for the extension last time, we already said that – when it showed that satellite view and I showed you where we would be mining – that was an area that we said that we would already mine, and we have actually taken some fill material out of that area -. BOWMAN: It looks like it. BALOG: During the last time extension. BOWMAN: Thank you. HOUSEL: Any other questions, Commissioners, of the applicants? Would someone like to make a motion? BOWMAN: I would just like to make a comment. I thank the testifier. And I realize that, you know, the pu‘u is pretty well denigrated, and I’m glad to see nothing else will happen. Maybe 30 years ago was the time when it should have been brought up. With that been said, I move that we send a favorable recommendation for Special Permit No. 70-85 to the State Land Use Commission based on the Director’s recommendations and conditions. HOUSEL: Motion from Commissioner Bowman. Do we have a second? NELSON: Second. HOUSEL: Seconded by Commissioner Nelson. Any discussion? Mr. Darrow, would you like to take the roll, please? DARROW: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The motion before us is to send a favorable recommendation to the State Land Use Commission. With that, I’ll take the roll. Commissioner Bowman? BOWMAN: Aye. 9 EXHIBIT B DARROW: Commissioner Nelson? NELSON: Aye. DARROW: Commissioner Hickcox? HICKCOX: Aye. DARROW: And Mr. Chairman? HOUSEL: Aye. DARROW: The motion passes, four to zero. HOUSEL: Thank you. And you’ll be receiving the documentation very shortly. Thank you. APPLICANTS: Thank you. The discussion ended at 10:50 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Noriko Sauer, Secretary Leeward Planning Commission 10 EXHIBIT B