HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-12-04 tuluwehi
PLANNING COMMISSION
COUNTY OF HAWAI`I
HEARING TRANSCRIPT
DECEMBER 4, 2003
A regularly advertised hearing on the application of ULUWEHI PROPERTIES (SLU 03-011/
REZ 03-026) was called to order at 4:05 p.m. in the Hapuna Beach Prince Hotel, Koa Room,
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62-100 Kaunaoa Drive, Kohala Coast, Hawai`i, with Chair Fred Galdones presiding.
PRESENT:Fred GaldonesABSENT AND EXCUSED:Bill Graham
Earl Fujikawa Francis Smith
Florence Kubota
Jeffrey McCall
Aurelio C. Mina, Jr.
Hannah Springer (left at 4:30 p.m.)
Bill Thibadeau
Patricia O'Toole, Esq., Deputy Corporation Counsel
Christopher J. Yuen, Planning Director
Norman Hayashi, Staff Planner
Phyllis Fujimoto, Staff Planner
Jeff Darrow, Staff Planner
Kiran Emler representing the Department of Public Works in atten
And approximately 17 people from the public in attendance.
APPLICANT: ULUWEHI PROPERTIES (SLU 03-011/REZ 03-026)
a.State Land Use boundary amendment for 9.095 acres of land from the Agricultural to the
Urban District.
b.Change of Zone for 9.095 acres from an Agricultural 5-acre (A-5a
Residential Î 15,000 square foot (RS-15) district.
The property is located along the southwest (makai) side of Hualalai Road and also makai of the
Kona Orchard Subdivision, approximately 700 feet south of the Hualalai Road and Kahului-
Hienaloli Road junction, Puapuaanui, North Kona, Hawaii, TMK: 7-5-17:21.
GALDONES:The next item on our agenda is Uluwehi Properties (SLU 03-011/
REZ 03-026).
a. This is a State Land Use Boundary Amendment for 9.095 acres
to the Urban District.
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EXHIBIT F
b. This is a Change of Zone for 9.095 acres from an Agricultural 5-acre (A-5a) to the Single
Family Residential Î 15,000 square foot (RS-15) District. Norman?
HAYASHI:Thank you, Mr. Chair and Members of the Commission. First of all, I'd
like to apologize for giving you the Background Report and Recommendation only this
morning. There was one issue that needed to be resolved before we were able to finalize our
recommendation, and that was with regard to the access to the property. Since that time, the
Applicant has submitted to us letters to verify that they do have -, they will have be having -,
they will have -, they have authorization from the adjoining property owner to gain access to
their property from the adjoining property owner's property.
The subject property is located again by this red dot. It is mauka of the Queen Ka`ahumanu
Highway. This would be towards Kailua village, and this would be in the Keauhou direction.
This is Huallai Road going mauka, and it veers to the right. The Kona Orchards Subdivision
is located in this location, and the subject property, again, is indicated here. It is within the
State Land Use Agricultural District, and the Applicant is requesting that it be reclassified into
the Urban District. Also, as part of this simultaneous request, the Applicant is requesting that
the current zoning of Agriculture-5 acre be reclassified to Single Family Residential-15,000
square foot minimum lot size.
The access to the property would be from Huallai Road, from Queen -, off of Queen
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Kaahumanu Highway, would be from Huallai Road, and they would gain access from the
adjacent Huallai Heights Subdivision, which is currently being reviewed for subdivision
approval. That would be the -, there will be a roadway that comes off of Huallai Road within
the Huallai Heights Subdivision, and the Applicant would gain access from that particular
roadway. Also, some of the lots will gain access off of a driveway which is located along the
mauka portion of the property.
The zoning in the area, if you look at the map, the various zoning in the area, colors on the
map indicate the various zoning in the area. The darker yellow area are Single Family
Residential-7,500 square foot zoned district. The Huallai Heights Subdivision is zoned RS-
20, or 20,000 square foot minimum lot size. Agriculture-5 acre zoning indicated in these
lighter shaded green areas, and we also have some Agricultural-1 acre in the darker green
areas. The mauka area, or the Kona Orchards Subdivision, is zoned Residential Agricultural
half acre.
The Planning Director is recommending approval of both the State Land Use Boundary
Amendment and the Change of Zone application subject to conditions. Are there any questions
at this time?
GALDONES:Commissioners? Commissioner Springer.
SPRINGER:Thank you. Norman, when you described there being an additional
access to the property through some driveways, I think you said.
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HAYASHI:Yeah. This is -. There is an existing lot here in this general
configuration, and the Applicant will have access for some of these lots along this existing
pavement or driveway.
SPRINGER:And that's access from the driveways in the subject property to another
existing longer driveway?
HAYASHI:This driveway is not part of the lot, it is part of another lot on the mauka
side of the subject property. The Applicant has authorization to utilize this existing driveway
to provide access to these proposed lots.
SPRINGER:It's a private road?
HAYASHI:That's correct.
SPRINGER:And how many -?
HAYASHI:It's a private driveway.
SPRINGER:And how many lots would be accessing that private drive
HAYASHI:Right now there is -, well, there is one existing house that gains access
from this lot. The proposal is to create one, two, three, four, five lots utilizing this particular
driveway.
SPRINGER:Thank you.
GALDONES:Commissioners, any further questions of Norman? If none, will the
Applicant or his representative please come forward. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth
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on this matter now before the Hawaii County Planning Commission?
LIM:Yes, I do.
GALDONES:Mr. Lim, please state your name, residence address.
LIM:Thank you, Mr. Chairman, Members of the Commission. I'm Steven
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Lim, Hilo, Hawaii, representative of the Applicant, Uluwehi Properties, LLC. With me
today are our planning consultant Royden Yamasato, the principle from the LLC, Mr. Ian
Joye, and next to him is the manager of the LLC, Mr. Barry Parker, and our project engineer,
Bruce Witcher.
GALDONES:Mr. Lim, have -?
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LIM:We have received -.
GALDONES:You received the -?
LIM:Copies of the Background Report and Recommendation for the State
Land Use and the Change of Zone applications, and with a couple minor comments on the
zone change conditions, we accept and agree with the report and recommendation.
GALDONES:Thank you. Commissioners, do you have any questions of Mr. Lim?
Hearing -. Mr. Lim.
LIM:I was just going to give up the floor. I know that they hav
people from the public adjoining the property who have been patiently waiting all day long to
come and say their piece, so I wanted to give up the floor, after which I will make my
presentation.
GALDONES:Fine. There have been -, there are two individuals who have signed up
to testify, Richtor Reynolds and George Error. Could you please raise your right hand. Do
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you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Hawaii County Planning
Commission?
TESTIFIERS:I do.
GALDONES:Mr. Reynolds, please state your name, your residence address, and you
may begin your testimony.
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REYNOLDS:My name is Richtor Reynolds. My address is 75-679 Hua Ai Street,
Kailua-Kona. I am the president of the Kona Orchards Homeowners Association.
GALDONES:You may begin your testimony.
REYNOLDS:I think just to begin I want to say we are in favor; we are not here to
protest the subdivision. Some things have come up that may be even a bit beyond the
subdivision that we, as owners, and the other owners wanted me to be here to at least make
sure you are aware of.
One is that Kona Orchards Subdivision, Hienaloli Street, Makapono Subdivision, this area is a
prime drug dealing location. It's only moments off the highway, so this has been constant. A
car broke down last week on Hienaloli Street, and within hours it was completely destroyed.
I'm saying that because we are of some understanding that the corner across from what's
described as the little driveway may be some sort of park. Now I'm not going to be one to
poo-poo a park in any sort of way in Kona, okay. We are only -, we don't know to what
degree if that's, if they're saying it'll be a park, but in the end it'll be someone's yard or it
really is a park, we just want to express some concern, the owners wanted, you know, the
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other owners, that if there is, if there was a way to get a light there, to keep the parking at a
minimum, because this is -. I could go on and on with how many times people have -. You
know, they come up from town, they stop, they make their deals, and they go back downtown
because it's just a few minutes away. So if some concern was put to that, that would be
wonderful.
The second thing is that somehow this property now is in, you know, three different owners
and there may be all kinds of SMA things that don't have to be applied for because of that, and
things, all kinds of things happening because of that. Meanwhile, the access here, what isn't
being said, we've been waiting years, and I am not a protestor sort of person, we've been
waiting most of a lifetime, what it seems like now, for Lako Street to go through, that never
has. So it seems like whatever reason the loopholes that Lako Street is being given to not
make this, their part go through, now may just move farther down the street. This may be one
of the most dangerous, you know, now one of the top dangerous sub -, intersection places in
Kona.
And Kona Orchards, it was developed in an older style, let's say. After 15 years, the owners
discovered that it wasn't even finalized subdivision, we bought our lots and it wasn't even
finalized. Our street, which see it's not part of these guys, so this would be something for Ki
or Highway people or somebody, I don't know, to be aware of. Our street, I'm sure it's a
substandard grade when you come to the intersection. This is hundreds of feet from here,
okay, this is not -. It's 700 feet to Hienaloli, so this is a couple hundred feet from here. So
what's happening, Kona Orchards comes down to Huallai Road and after a little rain, the oil
comes up on the road, the cars slide into the road. Now this is a regular event. Meanwhile,
there's a blind curve right there. The blind curve is just far enough away that the mirrors
don't help at all. Now I've been riding this road for 33 years, okay. I'm telling you, there are
close calls daily at our intersection. This is not an exaggeration. Daily, there are close calls of
people coming out. Turning left from Kona Orchards onto the road is almost impossible.
Now on the makai side of the road, there are monkeypod trees, okay. My concern is as the
road gets realigned, there be some concern. Now after years of years of discovering that our
subdivision didn't have a final approval, and we'd been living there for years, a drainage ditch
went in. You know, the road, the streets in there weren't finalized, okay. So a drainage
culvert was put in. It was put in off center by enough feet that when the water comes down
Kona Orchards, okay, it doesn't go into that drainage ditch, it washes everything out on the
road. Then to add to it, of course, we were allowed up Lolo Lane, several more houses now
attached through Kona Orchards. So the point I'm trying to make about this is that what's
being created here, it's feet away from their place, okay. So some concern. If the monkeypod
trees have to go out and the road is realigned, that's wonderful, but I'm just, somebody needs
to be brought to this attention.
And I think the -, you know, the last thing would be that this stuff somehow, and this is no
fault, I'm not trying to accuse the -, these people are not the same, but in Kona Orchards,
we've had bulldozers going nonstop for four years. Thanksgiving, we have them with lights at
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night time. We've probably had a million cubic yards moved with a grubbing permit. It just
goes nonstop. Calls to the Police Department, calls to everyone, they're all useless, okay. I
think these are different people, okay. I don't think these are the same people. I'm here, I am
saying this now, these bulldozers start at 5:30 in the morning, they go on the weekend. There
is no one to call, there is no action. Calls have been made everywhere possible, and everyone
in our subdivision has simply given up to it. Now we have more going below us, okay. Like I
say, I don't think these people are the same style as the other people that are all going around
us, but it just needs to be brought up.
Thirdly, however this access, or lastly, however this access happens, it would really be
wonderful that whatever little loopholes or whatever things Gamrex and Maryl were provided,
it would be really wonderful if all this access were -. I know we're looking at one place today,
but there are three or four little parcels that are together there, okay, that if all the access that
now affects all the people on Huallai Road, if that wasn't in such a little loophole like, let's
say, Hoklia, we find out years later there's some little strip owned by a private person, and it
may never happen. You know, we here that, okay, or we hear that years later Lako isn't
going through now because of Phase II has to sell. It would be wonderful if all these access
things had to happen somehow in the beginning or were provided for in the beginning so that if
something slips up in the development right in this area, we're not further made to suffer like
we are from Lako Street not opening. And thank you very much.
GALDONES:Mr. Fujikawa.
FUJIKAWA:I have a question for the testifier. Whereabouts on the map that you are
living at?
REYNOLDS:I think on the paper it says it's 700 feet to Hienaloli, so on this kind of a
map, Kona Orchards is the closest intersection across the street from -, in fact, we're almost
directly, we're like 30 feet, 30 feet kitty-corner here, okay. But you see here this curve, this is
a blind curve, okay, that without any subdivision, people's lives are jeopardy every single day
coming around here. I'm talking about close calls on a regular basis coming right around here,
okay. There are two wonderful monkeypod trees here, okay, and I understand nobody's ever
wanted to cut them, but at this particular point, I'm saying there needs to be some concern. If
the monkeypod trees have to go, they have to go, but this needs to be straightened up in some
kind of way. Now what's about to happen here is huge, and if Lako Street continues to go the
way, I only read about it in the paper, this is going to be massive right here, right in this area,
okay.
FUJIKAWA:Right.
REYNOLDS:I don't think I'm saying anything that's a surprise to the people that live
there or live in Kona.
FUJIKAWA:So you get onto -?
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REYNOLDS:We enter -.
FUJIKAWA:Huallai Road, right?
REYNOLDS:Yes, sir, on the mauka side of the street. And we can, our mail boxes, I
mean when they're at their mailbox, we can say good morning to each other. I mean our
entrance is right, just right here.
FUJIKAWA:I have a question with Staff now.
GALDONES:Commissioner Fujikawa.
FUJIKAWA:Norman, the Applicant, which is their main road right there?
HAYASHI:Their main access?
FUJIKAWA:Yeah.
HAYASHI:To this proposed subdivision? That would be through the Huallai
Heights Subdivision. That is -, there's -, Huallai Heights Subdivision is currently being
reviewed by our office; no final subdivision approval has been granted. However, the
Applicant has obtained authorization from the landlord of Huallai Heights to come through
their property, and that would mean that the Applicant would come up off Huallai Road,
come through the Huallai Heights Subdivision, and cross over on this particular road.
FUJIKAWA:I see. So in other words, that particular road that Y's into Huallai Road
still stays there, right?
HAYASHI:This section here, or this section -?
FUJIKAWA:Right.
HAYASHI:Is that what you mean?
FUJIKAWA:Right.
HAYASHI:Yes.
FUJIKAWA:It is a dangerous curve.
GALDONES:Commissioner Springer.
YUEN:Could I -?
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SPRINGER:That answers my question.
YUEN:Could I just elaborate on that a little bit? What the gentleman is talking
about is -, what Norman says is correct that the bulk of the subdivision and, unfortunately, I
think that you may not have this map in your materials. This is a proposed subdivision layout.
It doesn't mean that the subdivision would have to be laid out this way, but this is a proposed
layout. Under this plan, the bulk of the traffic would come in to a, to a road that's through
Huallai Heights into the middle part of the subdivision.
FUJIKAWA:I see.
YUEN:But the way they have this laid out though, there are six lots that would
feed into this mauka road that comes, that currently comes in and makes a Y connection with
Huallai Road. This is what the gentleman is complaining about that there is a blind
connection there, if I understand him correctly. Also, that Huallai Road is a, there's a bad
curve on Huallai Road.
The condition of approval that's meant to handle that is G. The private road access to Huallai
Road serving proposed lots A-1 through A-6, including the provision of adequate sight
distances, shall meet with the approval of the Department of Public Works. The pavement
shall be widened to comply with the Subdivision Code. The approach shall be reconstructed to
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align with Hua Ai Street, and that is the Kona Orchards street that comes down from above,
and a turnaround shall be provided in conformance with the Subdivision Code. The approach
grade shall provide for the future widening of Huallai Road to 60 feet. So the idea is that we
would, that this would have to be, the approach to Huallai Road from the six lots would have
to be realigned to provide a safe approach, and it may not be necessarily in the same
alignment. It probably would not be in exactly the same alignment as the current road.
FUJIKAWA:Great. Thank you.
GALDONES:Commissioners, any further questions of Mr. Reynolds? Commissioner
Springer.
SPRINGER:Might we take a brief recess so that we can, those of us who might want
to, or may I approach the map so I can better see while we're having this discussion?
GALDONES:Please do so.
SPRINGER:Thanks.
HAYASHI:Just for your information, the same map is also in the document that you
received. It's Petitioner's Exhibit C.
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GALDONES:With your indulgence, Commissioner Springer, Mr. Reynolds has a
question or a statement.
REYNOLDS:Yes. My concern wasn't just the five lots, and it's really not -, it's more
to you folks as planners. I don't mean to rntmckhjdHll`ss`bghmfsgdrdftxr`rjhmfenq`
subdivision, okay. If Lako Street -, I don't know anything about Lako Street. If it continues
on like it has in my life, then entering into one of the largest intersections in Kona is going to
be going through Pualani, so these five lots are little compared to what's going to happen.
Everybody coming down Hienaloli Road that wants to go left on the highway, they're all going
to -, it's all going to congest right there at Pualani, which is not -, you know, the mauka
intersection, okay, which is not really these guys, but I'm saying it affects all of this right
here, okay. So it's much more than just the five lots right there, okay. I don't think their
change of zone is going to affect anything happening. Mine is more overall, you know, road
planning.
XTDM9BntkcHitrsi>Vg`sgd&rs`kjhng about is that Lako Street, which is a
little bit to the south of this subdivision, is supposed to extend and provide a way for people in
mauka Kona to come down to Kuakini. There have been a lot of problems, and I don't want to
get into a blow by blow about this. It's not due to unwillingness on the part of Gamrex. It's -,
there have been a lot of problems in finalizing that alignment. I think we're on the home
stretch to doing that, and we should have that done pretty shortly.
GALDONES:Any further questions or comments of Mr. Reynolds? Otherwise,
Mr. Error.
ERROR:I'm George Error, a resident of Kona Orchards, and until a few minutes
ago, I felt pretty good about it. Now I see that our subdivision is not so hot. I live at
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75-665 Hua Ai Street, and I'm on the board of directors of the homeowners association there.
As Richtor Reynolds has described to you, we are not opposed, per se, to this subdivision,
however, the density question is a little below the County General Plan of 20,000 square feet.
They are requesting 15,000 square feet. Our subdivision is a half an acre, and all of the other
subdivisions currently being developed in that vicinity are that large or larger.
We can understand the developer wanting to maximize the number of lots in his parcel, but I
would suggest that when you get into steep terrain, the topography should incorporate some
sort of slope requirement so that there are lesser lots in those vicinities. This topic was
addressed in the Huallai Heights proposal, where they have asked for, and I think the word is
cluster development so that they could minimize some of the grading. The grading and
excavation in our vicinity has been going on non-stop for quite some time, and we are in favor
of any kind of planning that minimizes this activity.
The traffic on Huallai Road, if you have traveled it recently, can be described in one word,
it's scary, whether you're going mauka or makai. It's a windy road. It takes about two and a
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half miles from Queen K up to Hlloa. The drivers there frequently exceed the posted speed
limits, cross over the center lines, and accidents are very common. With the development of
this project, Huallai Heights and Pualani Estates, conceivably it could become worse if we
allow another, and I'll call it Lako North, in other words, another gap road that doesn't get
completed. We have three developers, Pualani Estates, Huallai Heights, and this project, and
these folks need to come to some agreement so that we have some assurance that this road
indeed will be complete and we won't have another gap road. Maybe I'm wrong, maybe this
isn't Lako two, and for some of you who might know Hawaiian words better than I do, maybe
Lako means gap road, I don't know. But this connector road is important, and this
development is dependent on the completion or the approval of Huallai Heights for their
access. And I think that it's incumbent on the planning function to ensure proper alignment,
configuration, and commitment to completion so that this road can properly serve over 100
residences in these three combined projects plus the surrounding neighborhood.
There's been some question about this, I call it a glorified driveway. It's an easement that
goes along the top of this parcel that's been pointed out, and I'm glad to hear from the
Planning Director that there's some idea to change where that meets into Huallai Road. At
the present, it is virtually impossible to make a safe left turn off of Huallai Road onto that
driveway, and likewise, it is impossible to make a safe right turn to go mauka on Huallai
Road from that driveway. It is virtually impossible unless you're riding on a motor scooter.
The widening where this new road from the adjacent project, Huallai Heights, intersects with
Huallai Road needs to have very careful and thoughtful planning. And we, as residents
nearby, would like to be kept abreast of what you do plan for that. There's going to be a big
volume of traffic, as described by Richtor Reynolds, going down that roadway, and until there
is a blind spot or two that is not, that is taken out of the concern, it is going to be hazardous, at
best. At the moment, where we predict that roadway will come in is less than 150 feet to blind
corners both mauka and makai along Huallai Road. Widening it and providing a left turn lane
is a minimum effort, and there has to be some further change in the alignment there to make it
safe for people passing through.
Mention has been made about a proposed park, and we applaud that. The proposed park is a
irregular shaped piece of land mauka of this project and I believe is, in part, associated with
the Huallai Heights Subdivision proposed, their Lot No. 28, I believe. Our concern there is,
as already mentioned, what steps are to be taken to ensure that there is some parking, some
lighting, some security and maintenance? Otherwise, it's no more than an open invitation for a
new location for drug dealers and other nefarious things that go on at night in our
neighborhood. One thing that has not been mentioned is that in addition to those kinds of
activities, our subdivision, the residents there have had more than our fair share of burglaries.
We have been in contact with our community police officer through our Neighborhood Watch
coordinator to get their recommendation on what needs to be taken, what steps need to be
taken to accommodate the proper development and management of this "park."
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Finally, and certainly not least, is that Huallai Road currently is the school bus route for
school children from preschool through high school, and one of the stopping places is at that
very intersection where this driveway intersects Huallai Road, just 150 feet below a blind
bnqmdq-Vdcnm&ssghmjsg`slr`fnncok`bdsng`ve to have school children congregate to catch
their bus. Now we aren't going to ask you to change the bus route, but we can improve the
blind corner situations so that perhaps we don't have another hazard awaiting us that will -,
something that we will all regret.
So in conclusion, there's really three things that we are vitally concerned about. One is the
intersection itself, the new intersection coming up through Huallai Heights and utilizing,
being utilized by this project.
Number two, the paved easement that goes through, called a driveway. We think on the copy
of the proposed subdivision that I have received, that driveway serves only one lot, Lot No. 5.
And I would ask that that roadway or that driveway be stopped at that point and the rest of the
lots be accessed from the main road that is adjacent to Huallai Heights, as outlined on this
proposed subdivision.
And finally, the proposed park we hope will be an asset to our community rather than a
liability that those of us who live in the neighborhood will have to endure.
I want to thank you for the opportunity to present these concerns, and we look forward to
suitable solutions to all of these issues.
GALDONES:Thank you, Mr. Error. Commissioners, any questions of Mr. Error?
Thank you, gentlemen. Mr. Lim.
LIM:Thank you, Mr. Chairman. If I may, I'll try to approach the diagrams
as easier, and for purposes of your reference, Exhibits B and C to our application, those are
copies of tax maps, and you'll see some of the roads I'm talking about.
The roadway system in this area for the projects that were mentioned by the gentlemen,
Pualani Estates, Huallai Heights, and the subject property, are -, have been planned I guess
since approximately the early '90s. We've been working, had the opportunity to work on
Pualani Estates, we're working on Huallai Heights, and also this one. And in the early '90s,
in the first rezonings for the Pualani Estates project, it was established that there would be a
60-foot wide collector road that would be dedicated to the County, built by the developer, that
would come from Queen K Highway in the mauka direction, swing across through the Huallai
Heights project, and end up at Huallai Road in approximately this area. So that will be, in
essence, for want of a better analogy, the new, the northern Lako Street mauka-makai
connector. So that has been in the County's plans for at least 10 years now.
The rezoning ordinances for the Pualani Estates Subdivision, the Huallai Heights Subdivision,
and as proposed in this particular project, will require the construction of this collector road to
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connect up from Huallai down to Queen Kaahumanu Highway. Pualani Estates Subdivision
has gone through its first two phases already and is working its way up the hill. This project,
in addition to the Huallai Heights, as you can see on your I think it's Exhibit B is the easiest
one to see, in that one you will see both the collector road alignment on the TMK and you'll
also see the interplay between the Huallai Heights Subdivision and the subject property will be
coming across here with a 50-foot wide County dedicable road which will be dedicated to the
County, curb, gutter, sidewalks, to connect up to the 60-foot collector road and also coming in
for service off of a non-dedicable road here for one lot.
The improvements that have already been approved, excuse me, have already been pre-
reviewed by the Department of Public Works with regard to the Huallai Heights Subdivision
are -, already include this, you see right here in this area, you'll see a curved radius. That is
the anticipated new connection up to Huallai Road. As you'll see from your conditions of
approval, the Department of Public Works and the Planning Department are requiring that the
developer for both the Huallai Heights Road, I mean the Huallai Heights Subdivision and the
proposed project dedicate one half of the right-of-way necessary for future expansion of
Huallai Road from its present 30 to 40-foot width up to 60 feet.
So what the Huallai Heights project and the proposed project will do is contribute to both, I
guess all three items that were raised by the gentlemen, which is to ensure the completion of
the mauka-makai connector subject to Pualani hooking it up here at the top of their project,
would ensure a realignment of the access driveway in this direction so that it more closely fits
and works with the Kona Orchards access road, and it would also develop the north-south
County dedicable roadway system that they're trying to establish as you go through the various
rezonings across the hill.
The reason for the six lots coming across, the five-six lots here coming across the top of the
project and being accessed off of this driveway easement are that there's a significant grade
differential here, and in order to minimize the grading requirements, they're going to try to
keep these up at one grade, and then it drops down to a lower grade, and so that's why we're
coming in for the main access to the subdivision off of the spine road and getting up into a cul-
de-sacs top and bottom. And this area is that, like I said, that grade separation which makes it
very difficult. They'd have to do a lot of cut and fill to smooth that drop-out.
They were correct in their assumption that the park is part of the Huallai Heights project.
That will be a private park maintained by the homeowners association, so we will pass on the
comments regarding the concerns about maintenance and trying to keep it free from being a
crime area.
And I think if you look at, like I say, our Exhibit B to the application, that's a copy of the tax
map, and you can see off of Exhibit B the Pualani Estates Subdivision on the makai side near
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Queen Kaahumanu Highway, and you can see how that collector road alignment extends in the
mauka direction going up through the Huallai Heights Subdivision and it will meet Huallai
Road just mauka of this particular project. So we hope that with the development of these
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projects that the traffic situation along Huallai Road will be alleviated. The design of the
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collector road and the intersection improvements down at Queen Kaahumanu Highway have
all been designed to accept the traffic coming from the mauka sections down through the
subdivision.
GALDONES:Mr. Lim, what about the noise abatement?
LIM:With regard to construction equipment and things like that?
GALDONES:That's correct.
LIM:I guess we will follow the applicable noise requirements for construction.
I think what they're probably referring to when they're talking about the Kona Orchards
Subdivision is you probably got one lot at a time going with relatively small bulldozer
operators. We would be obviously working with licensed contractors who have the hours of
operation that are followed by the industry in Kona. I think when you run into the small dozer
operators, those are the guys that come in at, you know, weekends and night times and try to
work.
GALDONES:Mr. Lim, you had also submitted a amendment to Condition F.
LIM:That is correct. That was solely intended to clarify which roadways
would be constructed to County-dedicable standards and dedicated to the County. As I
indicated, it would be Easement A-3 and Road Lot A, which were the ones coming down the
middle. That's the 50-foot collector which would be improved with curb, gutter, sidewalks,
and this is upon an alignment that has been suggested by the Department of Public Works to
try to link up a north-south road through the -, across the mountainside.
GALDONES:Norman, is that acceptable?
HAYASHI:That would be acceptable, however, we would also like to add to that
particular condition, and that would be Condition F, in addition to what was proposed by the
Applicant, we would like to add that -, the following. Concrete curb, gutter, and sidewalk
shall be provided throughout the length of the proposed Road Lot A to maintain consistency
with the proposed road section in the adjacent Huallai Heights Subdivision. The
improvements shall meet with the approval of the Department of Public Works.
GALDONES:Mr. Lim.
LIM:That is acceptable. We've already planned those in.
GALDONES:Thank you. Commissioners, any further questions of Mr. Lim?
YUEN:I have a question. Which is Easement A-3?
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LIM:Easement A-3 is the easement that's off the property, it's in the Huallai
Heights Subdivision. It's the section of road that will connect the 60-foot mauka-makai
collector to Road Lot A within the subdivision. You can see that on Exhibit C.
YUEN:Oh, okay. I didn't understand that. Then we should say that Easement A-3
and Road Lot A are constructed with concrete curbs, gutters, and sidewalks.
LIM:Yes, I guess -.
YUEN:That was the intent.
LIM:That's the intent, but it's technically, you know, Easement A-3 is not on
the property, it's off-site, yeah.
YUEN:Who is going to build Easement A-3?
LIM:That's going to be a cooperative effort between Huallai Heights and the
developer, Uluwehi.
YUEN:Is Easement A-3 in Huallai Heights?
LIM:Yes.
YUEN:Okay. So that's already required to be -.
LIM:That's already required.
YUEN:All right, fine.
LIM:Yes.
YUEN:Then that's fine.
HAYASHI:That would mean that we don't need to include Easement A-3 as far as
the amendment proposed by the Applicant?
LIM:As Mr. Witcher informs me that the Easement A-3 is already required to
be constructed with the curb, gutter, sidewalks and a 50-foot wide -.
YUEN:Okay.
LIM:Right-of-way, so we probably don't need that in this particular condition.
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YUEN:Yes, then we don't need Easement A-3 in there at all.
GALDONES:So the required -.
YUEN:I'm sorry, I see a question mark on the -.
KUBOTA:I hear a lot of mumbling going on -.
YUEN:Commission.
KUBOTA:And I can't understand.
YUEN:Okay. Road Lot A is the road going through the subdivision, that's -,
and then Easement A-3 is to the right of that on Huallai Heights Subdivision. And because
there already is a condition that Easement A-3 be constructed as a County dedicable 50-foot
wide collector with curbs, gutters, and sidewalks, we don't need to say anything about it in
Condition F. We only need to say that Road Lot A shall be constructed to County dedicable
standards with curbs, gutters, and sidewalks.
KUBOTA:Take out Easement A-3.
HAYASHI:That's right.
YUEN:Yeah.
KUBOTA:Thank you.
GALDONES:Commissioners, any further questions? Okay. Commissioners, we are
working with State Land Use boundary amendment first. It comes with a favorable
recommendation. What's the wishes of the Commissioners? Commissioner Kubota.
KUBOTA:Mr. Chairman, I move that State Land Use Boundary Amendment
Application SLU 03-011 be given a favorable recommendation and forwarded to the County
Council, along with the findings and conclusions submitted by the Planning Director.
FUJIKAWA:I second.
GALDONES:It has been moved by Commissioner Kubota, seconded by Commissioner
Fujikawa, that Uluwehi Properties, LLC State Land Use Boundary Amendment Application
SLU 03-011, along with the findings and the recommendations, be given a favorable
recommendation and forwarded to the County Council. Discussion? Hearing none, Norman?
HAYASHI:Commissioner Kubota?
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KUBOTA:Aye.
HAYASHI:Commissioner Fujikawa?
FUJIKAWA:Aye.
HAYASHI:Commissioner McCall?
MCCALL:Aye.
HAYASHI:Commissioner Mina?
MINA:Aye.
HAYASHI:Commissioner Smith, excused. Commissioner Springer?
GALDONES:She's excused.
HAYASHI:Excused. Commissioner Thibadeau?
THIBADEAU:Aye.
HAYASHI:Chair Galdones?
GALDONES:Aye.
HAYASHI:Mr. Chair, motion carries with six votes.
GALDONES:Thank you, Norman. The next application is the change of zone.
KUBOTA:Mr. Chair?
GALDONES:Commissioner Kubota.
KUBOTA:I move that a favorable recommendation be given on the Change of Zone
Application REZ 03-026 and be forwarded to the County Council along with the findings and
recommendations as provided to us by the Planning Department, along with changes in the
conditions of approval, namely I think, correct me if I'm wrong, but F, the Applicant shall
construct Road Lot A to County dedicable standards and dedicate the roadways to the County
at no cost, and in addition to that, I think it was added by Staff something about curb, gutter,
sidewalk, I missed the verbiage on that, but the intent was to have curb, gutter, and sidewalk
along, included in Condition No. F.
FUJIKAWA:I second that.
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GALDONES:It has been moved by Commissioner Kubota and seconded by
Commissioner Fujikawa, Uluwehi Properties, LLC Change of Zone Application REZ 03-026,
along with the findings and recommendations and amendment to Condition F be given a
favorable recommendation and forwarded to the County Council. Discussions,
Commissioners? Hearing none, Norman?
HAYASHI:Commissioner Kubota?
KUBOTA:Aye.
HAYASHI:Commissioner Fujikawa?
FUJIKAWA:Aye.
HAYASHI:Commissioner McCall?
MCCALL:Aye.
HAYASHI:Commissioner Mina?
MINA:Aye.
HAYASHI:Both Commissioner Smith and Springer excused. Commissioner
Thibadeau?
THIBADEAU:Aye.
HAYASHI:Chair Galdones?
GALDONES:Aye.
HAYASHI:Mr. Chair, motion carries.
GALDONES:Thank you, Norman. Mr. Lim, you will be informed in writing of
today's actions.
LIM:Thank you very much.
GALDONES:You're welcome.
LIM:And please have a happy holiday season.
GALDONES:Thank you.
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The discussion ended at 4:52 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
Janet L. Kama, Transcriber
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