HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-02-27 PL-SMA-2023-000038 Bill and Cindy Armer Opposition Testimony 75-5888 Alii. Drive. C-12
Kailua-Kona HI. 96740
Fevruary 27, 2024
Leeward Planning Commissioners
Hawaii County Planning Department
74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway
Bldg B,
Kailua-Kona. HI. 96740
RE: Proposed Kona Hawaii Development 100-room hotel on AIN Drive at Kahakai
Road (Application PL-5MA-2023-000038).
Aloha Leeward Planning Commissioners and Hawaii County Departmental Heads,
My wife and i are 20+ year residents as southern neighbors of this proposed
development at the Kona Reef Condominium Complex. Every five years we are
confronted with another developer's $250 proposal to exploit the land to the planning
department despite the community concerns and continue previous promises or
stipulations stated and ignored by the developers. 2025 gives us another opportunity
to be confronted by an outrageous plan without any preparation or supportive evidence
presented to the Hawaii County Commissioners. On February 29, 2024 you will hear a
new applicant and "fresh proposal" from a different development company. We strongly
urge you to reject this most recent proposal without hesitation due to the following
considerations.
• The proposal has minimal supportive data nor investigation by this developer.
There have been no public informational meetings nor a shared proposal to
communicate intent to the surrounding neighbors. There are no traffic studies of
pedestrian, bicyclist, or vehicle traffic usage, or safety considerations in this
submission submitting. We find this failure to engage or communicate with the
neighbors and general community a crude attempt to fly "under the radar " with a
purposely, incomplete, and deceptive insertion of a new proposal of 100 rooms in
contrast with more modest prior proposals, failure to abide by existing county
regulatory practices and requirements, and disregard for neighboring community
views.
• This developer seems destined to continue the past practice of not meeting
planning department stipulations for sidewalks, general upkeep, graffiti removal,
safety practices, and a questionable project proposal to continue the largest
eyesore monstrosity on a public thoroughfare in Hawaii County dating back to the
last century. You do not see structures like this in downtown Hilo.
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• Proposals are routed to the 15-20 county department heads for them to identify
any issues that will impact their area of responsibility. Why are there no red flags
from police, fire, civil defense, medical, water and sewage, engineering, DOT and
all the other salaried department heads on this project? Every segment of county
government will all be severely stressed by the magnitude and location of this
project.
• The applicant did not submit traffic studies, safety proposals, pedestrian usage
data, vehicle speed recommendations, a neighborhood communication plan, or
traffic routing considerations for those turning into/out of the applicant entrance
on North Kahakai Rd, from heavily traveled AM Drive. Alii Drive is the most used
coastal road from Kailua Village to Keauhou, with only 6 mauka-makai
connectors between Palani and Kamehmeha III Hwy. During the hours of 4:30
am and 10:00 pm there is no busier thoroughfare in Hawaii County with walkers,
runners, strollers, auto, bicyclists, and dog walkers. During emergency coastal
evacuations, there is no bigger bottleneck of panicked visitors seeking higher
ground.
• The neighborhood is already impacted by Royal Kona Hotel's 430 rooms and to
propose a 100+room hotel on the adjacent southern property boundary is the
height of developer arrogance. The applicant claims sufficient parking spaces
but our experience is that inadequate parking is ever-present for all the existing
tenants on AM Drive especially during events, holidays, and high season. Over
three hundred people will be housed and working daily at this facility with no
ocean frontage to even view the ocean. There is no question that they will
migrate 24 hours a day onto all the adjacent properties--especially the green
frontage area at Kona Reef. Kona Reef will need to purchase three gated
entrances to our property in order to not be overrun by trespassers with nowhere
else to park.
The applicant is proposing to build a 40 foot tall structure on top of an existing
concrete foundation. However, the construction site is located on a slope such that
the makai side of the structure would be 74 feet above ground level. This clearly
violates Hawaii County Zoning Code (Sect. 25-5-93)which explicitly limits the height
of buildings in hoteilresort areas to 45 feet. This concrete facility is perched on top of
a massive lava tube that was filled with concrete over the course of several months
around 15 years ago and now they propose to add four stories of concrete on top of
that precarious foundation.
* The proposed 100 "Room" hotel would actually consist of 9 standard guest rooms
and 91 2-bedroom suites. At 80% occupancy, there would be over 300 guests plus the
necessary hotel support staff to squeeze into the 143 proposed parking spaces. The
additional cars would greatly exacerbate the traffic congestion and parking issues
already existing in Kailua Kona. Yet the developer has not conducted nor even
requested a traffic and pedestrian safety study
The emergency response services for Kailua Kona are already under severe
duress. On busy days, Kealakekua's ambulance service is responsible for responding
to emergency calls in Kailua. This greatly increases the response time for potentially
life threatening situations due to the 10-mile drive and frequent traffic jams. It also takes
critical emergency services away from the deserving residents of South Kona
district. Adding more visitors to the already overcrowded resort area would increase the
safety risk to both residents and visitors. We have not mentioned the obvious difficulties
for over 500 visitors unfamiliar with the concept "evacuation routes" trying t oavoid
panic to travel mauka upon hearing the sirens. We have seen it and it is not preety and
quiet dangerous.
The property has no oceanfront and nor immediate designated shoreline
access. As a result, we expect that many of their guests will stray from that property to
encroach onto nearby privately-owned oceanfront properties such as the Kona Reef,
Hale Kona Kai, and the Royal Kona. This would dramatically and negatively impact the
quality of life for long-time residents and guests.
• Sadly, the Hawaii County Planning Department has already made its
recommendation to the Leeward Planning Commission to approve this SMA
Permit application without questioning any of these violations or concerns.
We respectfully request that the Commissioners deny this application until the applicant
prepares a proper and complete application for such a high impact project. We thank
you in advance for your consideration of our concerns.
Aloha nui loa,
Bill and Cindy Armer