HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-02-19 HCHA Approved MinutesMeeting ofthe
HAWAI`ICOUNTY HOUSING AGENCY
Hilo, Hawai`i
February 19, 2013
Agency Members Present Absent and Excused
Greggor Ilagan
Dennis “Fresh” Onishi
Dru Mamo Kanuha
Zendo Kern
J. Yoshimoto
Val Poindexter
Margaret Wille
Brenda Ford
Karen Eoff
Staff Members Present Members ofthe Public
Stephen Arnett Jim Pappas
Anne Bailey Warren Lee
Susan Akiyama
Alan Rudo
AmySelf
Nadine Pomroy
Mr. Ilagan: Hieverybody, pleasetake your seats and setyour
phones tosilent, mahalo. Aloha and welcome totheHawai`i
County Housing Agency. Itis February 19, 2013, the time is
9:30a.m. and weare the West Hawai`iCivic Center. Before I
start Iwant tointroduce themembers ofthe Hawai`iCounty
Housing Agency. To my farright is member Dennis “Fresh”
Onishi, member Margaret Wille, member Valerie Poindexter, member
Brenda Ford andtomyfarleft ismember J. Yoshimoto, member
Zendo Kern, member Dru Kanuha and member Karen Eoff. And I am
member Greggor Ilagan, thechair forthe Hawai`iCounty Housing
Agency. Iwill now call this meeting to order. At this time we
will take statements from the public andbe advised that you
have three minutes per agenda item. Wewill start, Iwill
account forstatements in Waimea. Good morning Waimea. Dowe
have any testifiers?
Donnie: Good morning Mr. Chair. No, wedo not have any
testifiers in Waimea.
Mr. Ilagan: Moving to, thank you Waimea, moving toPahoa. Good
morning Pahoa, do wehave any testifiers?
2140hcmd
HCHA February 19, 2013
Mike: Good morning Mr. Chair. No, wedonot have any
testifiers for your agency this morning.
Mr. Ilagan: Mahalo Pahoa. Moving toKa`u. Good morning Ka`u,
do wehave any testifiers?
DebraLee: Good morning Mr. Chair. Wedo not have any
testifiers.
Mr. Ilagan: Moving to, thank you Ka`u, moving toHilo. Good
morning Hilo. Do wehave any testifiers?
Jeanette: Good morning Mr. Chair. No, we don’thave any
testifiers butIwould like to mention thatwehave Deputy
Corporation Counsel Amy Self, Susan Akiyama andAlan Rudo from
the Housing Agency.
Mr. Ilagan: Mahalo Hilo. Hilo, if it’sokay with you, could you
call Warren Lee. Make sure that he’spresent inHilo. Thank
you.
Jeanette: I’lldo that; I’lldo that Mr. Chair.
Mr. Ilagan: And inKona, dowe have anytestifiers? Wehave no
testifiers at this time.
Mr. Onishi: Mr. Chair? Could you also letthem know ifthey
could bring insomeone from Parks and Rec?
Mr. Ilagan: Hilo? Ifit’sokay with you, could wehave someone
from Parks and Recs?
Jeanette: Okay, I’llmake the calls.
Mr. Ilagan: Thank youHilo. At this time, asthere are no
testifiers andwewill endthe statements from the public.
Moving on totheapproval ofthe minutes. May Ihave amotion
toapprove February 5, 2013 minutes? Moved bymember Kern,
second bymember Kanuha. Anydiscussion? We’lltake aone
minute recess.
Recess
Mr. Ilagan: Iwill nowcall this meeting backto order. At
this time Iwill take discussions and call member Ford.
Ms. Ford: Thank you. Wehave what is titled asummary of
minutes for usto vote on. There’sabsolutely nothing inhere
239Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
about the controversy andthe discussion ontheKidd Development
Corporation. Itjust says that wepostponed the approval.
Without having any ofthediscussion items inhere, it looks
like there was nothing going on, when wehad avery big andvery
controversial discussion. SoIthink these minutes are
inadequate because the controversy onthis particular subject is
notidentified in the minutes, therefore Icannot support them.
Ithink they should be redone and the, the for the public’s
benefit, they need tounderstand that there issome issues here.
Thank you.
Mr. Ilagan: Anyone else?
Mr. Yoshimoto: Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Ilagan: Member Yoshimoto.
Mr. Yoshimoto: Whydon’tweask Mr. Arnett what their normal
protocol orprocedure isinproviding minutes. If we could ask
Mr. Arnett tothe table? Mr. Arnett, ifyoucould identify
yourself.
Steve Arnett: Stephen Arnett, Housing Director. Ijust asked
myPrivate Secretary and this isthetypical protocol that we
normally goby. Ican understand the reticence ofCouncil
Member Ford and Council Member Poindexter regarding the
discussion of, itwas clearly adiscussion that was
controversial. That discussion isnot included but when Iasked
mysecretary what wetypically do, this iswhat wetypically do.
Soif the controversial discussion needs tobeincluded, wewill
indeed redo these minutes. Iguess she’spointed out tomethat
atthe bottom itsays complete transcript ofthe minutes is
available attheOffice ofHousing andCommunity Development.
Soatranscript isavailable to answer your question. But if
you want itinthe minutes, wewill redo these minutes for you.
Mr. Yoshimoto: Okay. Yeah. Cause myrecollection, being here
forthe last three terms, these are theway the minutes have
always looked.
Steve Arnett: Yes sir. Yes sir. That’strue.
Mr. Yoshimoto: Yeah so Idon’tthink this is anything out of
theordinary, just soCouncil Members understand that. Butof
course iftheCouncil wants tohave more detailed minutes, you
know, that’suptothe Council toIguess torequest that. I
guess. Isthat what we’resaying?
339Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
Steve Arnett: Ibelieve that’sthecase and we’llbehappy to
provide.
Mr. Yoshimoto: Okay. So yeah, Icould goeither wayonthis,
just wanted tomake sure theCouncil Members understand that
this isnot anything different. It’sjust the normal procedure
that the Housing Agency isdoing. Thank you.
Mr. Ilagan: Councilmember Poindexter?
Ms. Poindexter: And with much respect toour Chair. Even ifit
wasdone that way all thetime, that doesn’tmean it was done
right all the time. Ithink, for me aswell, forasummary of
minutes, I’mnotsaying that thesummary needs to bemore
detailed, but what Isee, is the summary needs to include any
hot topics or controversial issues that needs tobe, not
basically detailed out, butoutlined inthere that that
happened. Sothat inthesummary ofminutes, westill, it’sa
summarized version ofwhat happened. Sowestill need that in
there. SoIagree with Council Member Ford onthis, that itnot
necessarily itneeds tobeadetailed minutes, butthere needs
tobeasummarized version ofactually what happened. Soit’s
basically asummarized version ofactually what happened andwe
hadsome controversial issues so, Iwould like tosee that that
happens toeveryone because onour committees, oneach ofour
committees, wesummarize our minutes, but wealso summarize all
the details, especially oncontroversial issues. Wesummarize
those also, so. That iscommon practice for us, I’dlike to see
it beacommon practice for youaswell.
Steve Arnett: Ihave noproblem with that.
Ms. Poindexter: Thank you. Thank you very much.
Steve Arnett: You’rewelcome.
Mr. Ilagan: Now, before we move ontoother council members, I
do want toclarify that wehave Council committees, andatthis
time weare aHawai`iCounty Housing Agency. And, beaware that
weare Council Members butatthis agency wearejust members.
I’dprefer tobe, because this istheHawai`iCounty Housing
Agency, Iwould prefer everybody being called, Special Agent
Poindexter, but figure that wastaken toofar, soI’mgoing to
address everyone asmember. And member Kern?
439Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
Mr. Kern: Thank you Mr. Chair. Ican goeither wayonthis one
too. Ithink, I’mnot sure what the protocol would be for a
motion to postpone, toallow theminutes to come back and
forward. Ordoweneed toactually retract? Might aswell have
more information onit, it’snot abig deal youguys. Imove to
postpone till the next Housing Agency meeting.
Ms. Ford: Second
Mr. Ilagan: Moved bymember Kern, second by member Ford. Any
discussion? AndI’mgoing tostart with member Wille, on
postponement.
Mr. Ilagan: Oh, ok, ok.
Inaudible)
Ms. Ford: Thank you. Iwant to make sure that youunderstand I
agree with Ms. Poindexter. I’mnot looking foratranscript of
minutes tobe stuck in here. Down here in afont at least…
Mr. Kern: Point oforder Ms. Ford, we’resupposed tobetalking
about postponement now.
Ms. Ford: Iam talking tothepostponement of what Iexpect to
see done and come back tous.
Mr. Kern: Okay.
Ms. Ford: Thenote that says the complete transcript isdown in
afont five. It’sprobably notgoing tobe very legible. It
certainly didn’tcatch myeye. SoI’dlike tosee that tobe
larger. But, when you have, when wehave somebody who’svoting
no, I, especially onacontroversial issue, Ithink it’sonly
fair tothe public who’slooking atthesummary, that they can
understand alittle bit why somebody voted no. It’snotjust
because shewants tobe an, youknow, adversarial type person.
There was areason. Andsothat’swhythe controversy needs to
be spelled out and then maybe an asterisk that says, down here,
see the full transcript, you can seewhat happened. Ido…
Mr. Kern: Point oforder, this isnot discussion onwhether we
should postpone or not.
Ms. Ford: Excuse me, ifIcould please finish Mr. Kern. Please
let mefinish.
539Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
Mr. Kern: This iscontent… We’resupposed to be following our
rules here. (inaudible)
Mr. Ilagan: Hold on, member Kern andmember Ford. Member Ford
please continue but on postponement.
Ms. Ford: Thank you. Sothe reason Iam supporting the
postponement and Iwant tosee these come back with those things
init, sothat, that way, wedon’thave togothrough this
again. SoIwill support the postponement. Thank you.
Mr. Ilagan: Any discussion? Since there’snone, all infavor
say aye.
Members: Aye
Mr. Ilagan: All opposed say no. Theayes have it. Minutes will
be postponed tothe next meeting. Moving on, tooldbusiness.
Deputy Clerk, could you please read old business? Thank you.
Jeanette: Thank you. Approval of aresolution authorizing
exemptions ofcertain code requirements pursuant toSection
201(H)-38and Section 46-15 of the Hawai`iRevised Statutes for
thehousing units tobe constructed byKidds Development
Corporation and Kumulani Gardens inSouth Hilo.
Mr. Ilagan: May Ihave a, may Ihave anapprove. May Ihave a
motion toapprove resolution, this resolution?
Inaudible)
Ms. Poindexter: Second
Mr. Ilagan: Moved bymember Kern, second by member Poindexter.
Andbefore westart, I’mgoing to have our Administrator Arnett
andalso the Kidd Developer Corporation representative tostep
upand say your part. Thank you. Andplease state your name
and title.
Steve Arnett: Steve Arnett, Housing Administrator. Ireally
don’thave much more toother than what wediscussed. Myinput
from the last Housing Agency meeting regarding this resolution,
obviously itisfor anaffordable housing project inHilo. The
more affordable housing wecan get for themembers of, the
citizens oftheCounty ofHawai`i, thebetter offweall are.
Andthis particular project isgoing tobring on atleast 45 or
46 affordable housing units. So, inessence, this resolution is
639Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
nothing more than asking for some exemptions from the Code. And
theexemptions that are included inthis resolution are pretty
much standard, we, where wetypically do allow, inany kind of
affordable housing requests. So, Iwould encourage youto
approve andpass this resolution.
JimPappas: Thank youSteve. Myname isJim Pappas andI’mthe
Treasurer ofKidds Development Corporation. AndIunderstand
there was some discussion and anumber ofquestions and Ifirst,
apologize that Iwas not aware that Iwas invited toyour last
meeting. ButIwas invited tothis meeting andso I’mactually
here toanswer any ofyour questions. I’ve got acouple of
exhibits that Imade copies ofknowing acouple of your
questions from before. AndifImight distribute these toyou,
Ithink they might help in mydiscussion with you. May I
distribute these?
Mr. Ilagan: Yes. Mr. Pappas, we’regoing tohave staff do it
for you. Could you please?
JimPappas: The issues that were brought to myattention had to
do with, traffic was one, andI’mgiving youasynopsis ofthe
traffic report that we hadprepared for this project by Witcher
Engineering. And Ireally didn’tgiveyou the whole report but
Igave you theconclusions ofthe report that basically indicate
there is very little impact from this project onKumulani
Street. And soKumulani Gardens, over the next 20years, does
nothave asignificant impact. I’malsoproviding you amap
that you can look atthe design ofthesubdivision as well as
the intersection ofthe streets that will bewithin the project
andhow they interface with the surrounding area. And with that
I’mcertainly here toanswer any ofyour other questions.
Mr. Yoshimoto: Mr. Chairman?
Mr. Ilagan: Member Yoshimoto.
Mr. Yoshimoto: Thank you. IfImay start the discussion with
Mr. Pappas. Mr. Pappas, asyouare aware, there areseveral
issues being, that were discussed last time. Ijust want to
touch upononeof them. Actually, you know what might be
easier isifwegothrough the exemption list andmaybe youcan
explain the rationale behind therequests forthe exemptions.
Would that be okay?
JimPappas: Certainly.
739Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
Mr. Yoshimoto: Okay. So the first, I’mlooking atExhibit Aon
theexemption list and atfirst ittalks about suspending all
phasing requirements on the development of theproject. This
will allow thehousing units tobebuilt inonephase instead of
two. Ifyou could briefly explain therationale behind that
request.
JimPappas: Yes. Theoriginal developer for this project was
Rudy Hirota. And when he was proposing theproject, hewanted
tobreak itintoincrements which would’ve been much easier to
finance. Inourcase, because we’rebuilding affordable, we
felt wewould get significant savings by putting in all ofthe
infrastructure atone time. And we found financing todothat.
Sothat will justmake itmore cost effective forusto not
break the project into phases basically.
Mr. Yoshimoto: Right. And that sound reasonable. Ithink
everyone would rather see it being done one time. So okay.
That makes sense tome. The next one talks about the
elimination ofcurbs, gutters and sidewalks. This was, Ithink
this was discussed inthepast aswell. Ifyoucan explain the
rationale behind that exemption request.
JimPappas: Well, again given the cost ofthe infrastructure,
atthe moment there isabout afour tosixthousand dollar
estimate ofthedifference between curbs and gutters in and
going with swales basically. Many ofthe surrounding areas also
have been built with subdivisions without curbs and gutters and
again because it’saffordable, that four tosixthousand dollars
perlot savings touswill help mitigate the total cost forour
project. Ithink most ofyouwill recognize that building
affordable housing, this project would not befinancially
feasible ifitwasn’tforthe fact that we’regoing togetsome
subsidy, basically, from Hilo Hillside Project because their
affordable housing for that project is being provided here. And
otherwise, the 43 outofthe 83lots inthis subdivision,
frankly areall being built ataloss.
Mr. Yoshimoto: Okay. So it’samatter ofeconomics then I
guess is the short answer to that.
JimPappas: Yes.
Mr. Yoshimoto: Okay. And I’mtrying to think cause, you know,
this is mydistrict and Ican’tremember any subdivision that
hassidewalks inthe area. Doyou recall? Idon’trecall any
subdivision having any?
839Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
JimPappas: Idon’trecall anyinthe immediate area.
Mr. Yoshimoto: Inthe immediate area. Imean, forsure inthe
immediate area cause, yeah.
JimPappas: Yeah. Thenewest project, Ithink that theCounty
hasapproved isatthe endofHokulani Street, which isclose to
this project. And that onewill nothave any curbs and gutters
in iteither.
Mr. Yoshimoto: Yeah. So, inaddition tothat, Iguess itfits
within the characteristics of the neighboring communities as
well. Cause again, I, Imean someone can correct meifI’mwrong
butIdon’tremember any nearby subdivision having sidewalks.
Yeah, okay. Okay and the last exemption is, request is
exempting the subdivision inspection feeofpoint twofive
percent andsoon. If youcan explain that request.
JimPappas: Well, it’sagain, one more item that’sacost item
andso ifwecanavoid paying some fees. And again, the, this
particular exemption is asked for only forthe forty three
affordable housing units even though it might behard tofigure
that out inthiscase. Butthe idea was wewould pay the fair
share and everything else forthe forty lots that would be
market priced units. But wewould only askfor exemptions
essentially for the affordable side.
Mr. Yoshimoto: Okay. Andthe rationale again iswe want to
make it affordable.
JimPappas: I’dlike tomitigate theamount oflosses that they
have. Yes.
Mr. Yoshimoto: Okay. Okay. And there wassomemention of
traffic concerns, although when Iattended the community
meeting, itseemed asthough, this ismyrecollection, that the
traffic concerns were, forthe most partaddressed cause the
thought process was that the traffic wouldn’tbecoming from the
lower, existing subdivision, but would rather usethe new road
that would bebuilt with this subdivision. Is that your
recollection?
JimPappas: Yes andwedid have ameeting with the community.
Andatthat meeting, there were anumber ofissues about traffic
that were discussed and brought up. Andif, it’soneofthe
reasons Itried toshow youperhaps, onthis mapormaybe can
939Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
explain. Mokihana Street, where itties into the existing
subdivision, essentially the residents were saying their concern
wasthat people from Kumulani Gardens would begoing makai and
using the oldroads there in their subdivision andthat wasof
concern tothem. Infact, they indicated, could wetalk tothe
County about blocking our road off sothey would not have
access. Essentially, Ithink itwasindicated theCounty very
much wanted thiscircular pattern forawhole bunch ofsafety,
fire reasons, etc… The traffic report that Iprovided you, the
consultant pretty much said thetraffic is going to gotheother
way. It’sreally the lower people, offof Mokihana Street and
thetwo dead endstreets there. Those people probably will all
come through anduse this. And it isbetter access. Ithas
greater views upand down the street asopposed tothe lower
road that comes out onto Kumulani.
Mr. Yoshimoto: Okay. Andyeah, forCouncil Members
information, youknow, Iwalked the neighborhood and especially
onMokihana Street where you look onyour map and you seeon the
bottom. And Jim, this road isfairly narrow, Imean, doyou
have arecollection astohowwide itiscause itisfairly
narrow.
JimPappas: The lower road there which is, I’mtrying to
remember what the name ofthat street isthat comes out there.
Olena Street, where itcomes, winds around, that is anarrower
street than theMokihana Street that will beup toCounty
standards, that runs through our subdivision.
Mr. Yoshimoto: Okay. So basically, Imean, ifitwasme and I
wasliving here, Iwould probably take the new proposed route,
cause Ithink that would bewider and it’dbeless curvy.
Whereas the existing road for the existing subdivision, Imean,
it’skind ofyou’regoing down ahill and insome places you
really wouldn’twant to have two cars oryou’dhave tokind of
drive slow andpull over tothe shoulder alittle bit. Imean
that’smyrecollection from driving the area.
JimPappas: Ithink your recollection iscorrect andofcourse
also on that lower street, ithas some deep areas where their
drainage alongside the street that there’snoshoulder atall
so, yeah it’skind ofhard, you’dbealittle careful topass
through there.
Mr. Yoshimoto: Okay. Cause Iremember residents asking you if
you could do anything about existing, widening the existing road
1039Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
inthe neighboring subdivision. Wasthat one ofthe questions?
It wasright Ithought?
JimPappas: Ithink somebody brought that up.
Mr. Yoshimoto: Yeah, yeah. But ofcourse, you can’tdo
anything about the existing orprevious subdivision but, okay.
Those are the concerns that Ican recall. Anything else, Mr.
Pappas, asfaras the meeting with thecommunity, issues that
the Council Members, members ofthe agency should be aware of?
JimPappas: The only other issue that Iremember briefly being
discussed was arequest bysome oftheresidents ifwe would
sell some ofthemarket unit lots, ifwewould sell them aslot
only rather than building homes onthem. Andwesaid yeah we
would consider that.
Mr. Yoshimoto: Okay. That’sright. That wasbrought upto as
well. Okay. Thank you Mr. Chairman.
Mr. Ilagan: Anyone else? Member Ford.
Ms. Ford: Thank you. Mr. Lee, would youcome forward please?
Warren Lee: Good morning, Warren Lee, Director ofPublic Works.
Ms. Ford: Thank you. Ijust want tomake acomment onthe map.
Until this point intime, this new subdivision goesin, we’ve
got agiant cul-de-sac. That stub out was put there sothat we
would require the next subdivision toconnect, sowe would no
longer have acul-de-sac. This isapublic safety issue. Okay.
Mr. Lee, during our discussion this past week, Iasked you about
this point, where isit? Point two five percent exemption from
the, itlooks like, inspection fees. The phrase that they say,
exempt subdivision inspection fee ofpoint two five percent of
subdivision improvement costs. Onthebuilding permit, I’d
asked you tocheck, isthere aspecific line item thatsays
we’regoing todo aninspection, andit’sgoing tocost point
two five percent ofthe building permit fee.
Warren Lee: Well, first ofall Ms. Ford, Ibelieve that the
feedback Igotfrom the engineering group isthat the point two
five percent should actually bezero point two percent of
subdivision improvement costs. And then building permit fees
andother County fees, whether itbeforelectrical feeor
plumbing fee arealso inplay, yeah. Soifthis exemption goes
1139Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
forward, then, as with other affordable housing projects where
exemptions have been asked for, that would apply.
Ms. Ford: Soyou’re saying that ifthis isallowed tohappen,
it’sgoing toimpact electrical, plumbing, building and the
inspection. This covers it all.
Warren Lee: Yes. Iwould take that aswritten. And other
County fees, sothat’spretty broad.
Ms. Ford: Okay. It ispretty broad and Ihave no idea what
other County fees isreferring toasIsaid inthe last meeting.
However, ifthisagency didallow this exemption, would yougo
out and send your people out toinspect these houses anyway?
Warren Lee: Yes, wewould. We would expect that thebuilding
plans, and theinfrastructure plans would besubmitted tothe
Public Works and itwould go on the review. And then when the
plans are approved, the permit would beissued, without afee.
Ms. Ford: Okay. So youwould do aninspection, sothat would
take care ofthepublic safety issue. However, your department
would be losing agreat deal ofmoney todoallthese
inspections. Cause they’redone by different inspectors,
correct?
Warren Lee: That iscorrect. Wehave aroad, basically
inspection. Wehave astructural inspection, referred toas
building, plumbing and electrical.
Ms. Ford: Okay. Doyou have any idea, on these 43 homes, how
much this is going tocost your department? Cause Iknow we’re
very short onmoney. Last time Ichecked, youdidn’thave money
floating around that Icould possibly get myhands ontouse for
something. Sohow much isthis going tocost your department?
Warren Lee: Ithink that itdepends. Idon’thave arough
number. But ifyou take oneplumbing inspector, one building
inspector, wetalking about, you know, three tofour people.
And Iwould say maybe, roughly, thirty tofifty thousand.
Depending on thespeed andthe phasing ofconstruction,
certainly one phase helps.
Ms. Ford: So, thirty tofifty thousand fortheentire project
of these forty three homes right?
Warren Lee: That ismy estimate.
1239Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
Ms. Ford: Okay. Do youhave thirty tofifty thousand sitting
in your budget that we canjust expend todothis?
Warren Lee: Well, Ihave thirty tofifty thousand this year.
I’mnot sure about next year. Itdepends onthegood graces of
the Council and the Mayor.
Ms. Ford: Butyou have, youhave this excess amount ofmoney in
here to, todothe inspections without getting paid for it.
Warren Lee: We would make it work. Basically, also letme say,
is that thefees that are collected go into the general fund.
Ms. Ford: Okay.
Warren Lee: There isn’tabuilding fund, sowedraw from the
general fund. That’show the building inspectors get financed.
Ms. Ford: Alright, thank you. Iactually object tothis
because Idon’tthink theCounty canafford this. We’vebeen
talking for weeks about howmuch money wedon’thave and howwe
would lose money. But this is ataxpayer issue because the
taxpayers have to pick this up. So, inorder to dothis, the
taxpayers have to payfor this amount.
Secondly, the first two amendments to suspend all phasing
requirements, this is, although it’sinthe actual ordinance,
it’s, this isathrowaway. Whocares ifthey build the
increments simultaneously? Nobody fromthe County is going to
runout and say “Stop the project. They’rebuilding both
increments atthe same time.” Itisn’tgoing tohappen. Ifwe
went tothree increments, then we’dhave something todiscuss.
SoIdon’tthink this isworth anything. Ithink it’sa
throwaway.
Butthe last one, the, eliminating therequirement toconstruct
curbs, gutters and sidewalks, whether ornot wewant todothat.
And frankly, Idon’thave aproblem with doing this, the problem
is, this isanamendment totheoriginal ordinance coming
through asanexemption. It’snot. Itactually amends the
ordinance. Imean, the ordinance won’tchange, but that’swhat
they’re trying to dowith this, isto amend the ordinance.
And Ms. Self andIhad averydifficult discussion last week.
And sotherefore, Iwould like toamend this exemption
resolution with the contents ofproposed draft two, which you
allhave infront ofyouthat Ihanded out this morning forthe
1339Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
sake ofdiscussion. Ifweallow this type ofthing tohappen,
instead ofmaking the ordinance goback through thePlanning
Commission and come back uptous, fortheappropriate changes.
Itismyposition that what weare allowing isadeveloper to
change the conditions ofanordinance without the Council,
without aPlanning Commission, without even the Planning
Department being part ofthis. Ithink this isinappropriate.
Idon’t, Iunderstand Ms. Self is working out of HRS 201(H)38,
butthe problem is, there was something left out. This, itcan
happen, provided that number three, athree, the legislative
body ofthe County, which means when it gets upto the Council,
inwhich the housing project isto besituated shall have
approved the project, which wedid, it was done thirty oneyears
ago, with orwithout modifications, which means we can make the
modifications. So, these are the modifications.
There’sillusions tothe fair share, which isbythe way not
encoded anywhere inour chapters, it’sonly inthe, there’s
impact fees inthe HRS butnofair share. SoIthink that if we
putthis inhere, if wepass this inthis manner instead of
doing this byamendment, Ithink we’re going tobesetting a
terrible precedent. Every developer could come here and sayI
want tobeexempted from fair share. Iwant tobe exempted from
curbs, sidewalks and gutters. Iwant tobeexempted from
everything the Planning Commission andthe Council putinto the
ordinance. Iamvery much in favor ofaffordable housing but
this process totally eliminates home rule ofanysort. SoI’m
asking the Council topass this amendment that I’mproposing,
which basically puts all of thethings that should be inthe
ordinance into this resolution. Itputsin the twelve foot
swales that wetalked about last time.
Mr. Ilagan: Mahalo Member Ford. If you want tomove that
amendment, may Ihave amotion?
Ms. Ford: SoImove toamend this exemption with the contents
ofproposed draft two that I’vehanded out for thepurposes of
discussion.
Mr. Ilagan: Dowe have asecond?
Mr. Onishi: Second.
Mr. Ilagan: Moved byMember Ford, second byMember Onishi, any
discussion on the amendment?
Ms. Ford: Yes. It’smyamendment.
1439Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
Mr. Ilagan: Itsure is. Member Ford.
Ms. Ford: Thank you. I’llkeep this short. Basically, what I
putin here iseverything that should have gone into the
ordinance that Itried toget into last week, orlast meeting.
ButIspelled itout. Ispelled outwhat the fair share should
be. Ispelled, despite thefact Ithink fair share isillegal.
Ispelled out that all the homes besides theforty three
supposedly affordable homes will bepaying fair share. Because
certainly Hilo deserves tohave some fair share inthis kind of
athing. Iputin everything here, asyoucan see, and I’m
asking you topass this amendment tothis resolution and let’s
move forward. Thank you.
Mr. Ilagan: Member Kern.
Mr. Kern: Thank you Chair. Ithink this takes arelatively
simple issue ofafew exemptions that generally works this way
andmakes itmuch more complex. Which, again, gives people the
wrong impression when they want tocome intodoaproject here
that will actually increase ourtax base. While this, the
exemption oftheinspection fees will have anegative financial
impact onusright atthis, maybe particular moment, the benefit
toactually having that taxable base and the taxes that wewill
receive onthat over the years tocome, will faroutweigh any
minor break that we give these folks tosecondly, build
affordable homes. This is, this iscrazy. This iswhat we
should bedoing, working with peoples, working with developers
andagencies tofind the middle ground, to find balance. And
again, this takes three simple exemptions that, according to Mr.
Arnett, are pretty common. Andit’snot even that heavy
compared tosome other projects that we’vehadcome inandmakes
it complicated. Again, the more wedothis, we won’thave any
affordable housing and wewon’thave any tax base, wewon’thave
anyjobs and ourkids canleave. Iwill not support that. I
will never support that. So, therefore Ibelieve we need to
vote this amendment down andI’lltalk onthe original motion
when that time comes. Thank you.
Mr. Ilagan: Member Wille?
Ms. Wille: Yes, thank you Chair. Iwant tofocus onthe
exemption concerning the sidewalks.
Mr. Ilagan: Member Wille, we’reonthe amendment currently.
Ms. Wille: Yeah. Yeah. That’swhat weare, on the amendment.
1539Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
Mr. Ilagan: Okay.
Ms. Wille: Okay. There arethree, asIseeit, and I’mjust
trying totake this all in, quickly, basically, three different
points that Member Ford brought up. One is the phasing. I
don’thave aproblem with the phasing, how they’redoing it.
And letme just say that ontheCounty fees, that there isa
balancing. Itend toagree with Member Kern onthat. Ithink
that this is, again, balancing. Weare supporting this, Idon’t
have aproblem and we’lljust have toget more money for Warren
Lee.
But, Idohave aproblem, abig problem on the eliminating the
sidewalks inthe subdivision. Pedestrian safety is, wehave the
highest number of pedestrian deaths andaccidents, at least in
mydistrict. This has been in our CDP’s, the, probably the
highest priority. There’salso State legislation tomake
pedestrian traffic incirculation, evenahigher priority than
accommodating automobiles. Atthesame time, I’mnot
necessarily saying ithasto besix foot wide sidewalks and, I
don’thave aproblem trying toreduce the hardscape. But Ido
have aproblem eliminating it. Iwill oppose this. Ithink
it’svery important. Ialso feel that there’ssome precedent.
Iwas working with adeveloper representative concerning
Waikoloa inorder, not necessarily toput insidewalks, butto
provide adequate pathways that are traversable onapracticable
level. So, Iwould entertain some kindof exemption, but not
where it’seliminating. It’sjust, tome, this, Ialso feel,
I’vejust been in Honolulu saying wewon’ttolerate avoiding
home rule. Wewon’ttolerate exempting ifwedon’t, have a
problem with arequirement; weought tochange therequirement
if it’snotgood enough.
So, again, just tosummarize, Iagree with the, I’mokay with
theexemption phasing. I’mokay with the exemption on fees.
I’mnot okay withthe complete exemption ofall pedestrian
access ways. Thank you.
Mr. Ilagan: Member Onishi?
Mr. Onishi: Thank youMr. Chair. Home rule wasbrought up
twice sofar indiscussion. Ithink that’s, this is the body
that does the home rule. SoIdon’tseewhy you folks are
saying it’sbeing exempt, the home rule. Cause weare theones
making decisions for the homerule, forthis County. So, I
1639Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
don’tsee what you guys arearguing about home rule. But, I
just needed tosay that. Thank you.
Mr. Ilagan: Member Kern?
Mr. Kern: Thank youChair. Ithink there’smaybe a
misperception ofwhat theswales areineliminating the curbs,
gutters, sidewalks. Have you ever beenin, Ms. Wille, can I.
Chair can Iask Ms. Wille aquestion?
Mr. Ilagan: Yesyou may.
Mr. Kern: Have you ever been into Sunrise Estates? InHilo,
off ofKaumana, Imean Komohana.
Ms. Wille: No.
Mr. Kern: No.
Ms. Wille: But wedohave that in, around, inWaimea. Even
around the Parker Ranch Center and Luala`isubdivision.
Mr. Kern: Okay. Mr. Lee, would youplease come forward?
Please identify yourself one more time. Please identify yourself
one more time.
Warren Lee: Warren Lee, Director ofPublic Works.
Mr. Kern: Thank you. Thewaythat Iunderstand, ifweexempt
this project from curbs, gutters, sidewalks, they will have to
pave out the swales which will beabout what, ten totwelve feet
wide? Isthat accurate? On the shoulders.
Warren Lee: The size oftheswale will depend onwhat the
hydraulic studies that thedeveloper comes upwith and youknow,
how then want tomake it. Wehave standards that they can work
from, but each project initself, you know, has its own
personality orcharacteristics. Butit could beten totwelve.
It could beless.
Mr. Kern: What would bethe minimum width onthe shoulder?
Warren Lee: I’msorry. Can you repeat the question?
Mr. Kern: What would betheminimum width they could go? On
the shoulder, onthe shoulder width.
1739Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
Warren Lee: Shoulder width?
Mr. Kern: Yeah. Could they gofour feet wide ifthat worked?
Warren Lee: Usually shoulders are, anywhere from atminimum
three feet. Wecertainly, we’dlike to have itwider. This is
a, would beadesignated pedestrian, bike way. Not necessarily
to normal standards but certainly wide enough sopublic health
and safety would not be compromised.
Mr. Kern: Andwhat you will beincharge ofoverseeing that
part, tomake sure that theshoulders are wide enough? Public
health and safety isnot compromised?
Warren Lee: We generally are, yes. Andthe plan review, during
the plan review process, and during the construction, ofcourse.
Mr. Kern: Yeah.Okay. Thank you, Mr. Lee. Mr. Pappas, doyou
have a, would you beokay with putting aminimum width onthe
shoulder?
JimPappas: Yeah. Iknow we’ve had this discussion. Gordon
Inaba isour engineer andhe’sthe onewhoworks withPublic
Works and Iknowthat we’lldowhatever is necessary according
tohealth and safety there. And that’salways beendiscussed
and part of, what Ithink, everybody would want. We’re not
trying toavoid any standards inanything that we’ve asked.
Everything will bebuilt tothe County standards as they shall
decide, ofcourse.
Mr. Kern: You have the civil drawings done, complete yet?
Warren Lee: No. We’vehad towait, basically, because this is
akey element for us, asyou know, the cost thatI’vementioned.
So, we’vestopped our plans until wehave afinal determination
of isthis feasible for ustogo forward.
Mr. Kern: Okay. Doyou, Mr. Lee, feel that weshould have
maybe put inthere aminimum shoulder width inthis exemption?
Because right now it’sexempting itscurbs, gutters, sidewalks.
Myconcern isweexempt curb, gutters, sidewalks, I’mseeing it
as apicture inmy mind with anice, wide shoulder youcan walk,
dothe, you know, the baby stroller orwhatever. But, ifit
comes out tobethree feet wide, I’mnot going tofeel really
good about that.
1839Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
Warren Lee: If youwant toput something definitive intothe
bill…
Mr. Kern: Into the exemption.
Warren Lee: Into the exemption, which tosayitfollows the
County standards, Ithink that’dprobably bemore applicable.
Mr. Kern: That the shell bebuilt toCounty standards, isthat
right, basically?
Warren Lee: That iscorrect.
Mr. Kern: Okay, very good. I’mgoing to, after we deal with
this motion, I’ll make amove tomake amotion onthat one. So
wedohave that requirement inthere. Again, Isupport this,
this makes sense. We’regoing tohave atremendous amount of
value both inthecommunity aswell astaxbase through a
project like this. It’simportant that we’renot, you know,
penny smart anddollar foolish. Wetend toflip flop back and
forth on that insituations andIthink we really have to look
atwhat the best impact for our community would be. And inthis
case, Ithink being penny smart and dollar foolish will have a
really negative impact onus moving forward inHawai`iCounty as
awhole. The less money we have, less parks, less roads, less
infrastructure, less public safety. Again, it’sallabout
finding that balance and doing the right thing and doing it
right. Ithink wecan dothat here with keeping the exemptions
the way that they arewith maybe adding in theverbiage to
County standards, which willmake it, make sure that shoulder
width that we need, ayield.
Mr. Ilagan: Member Wille?
Ms. Wille: Yes. Thank you. Warren, inWaimea wedohave those
swales such asalong theBank ofHawai`ibuilding and into the,
in front ofthe Post Office, onone side andmost, alot of
people find that really dangerous. Anyway, there is noreal
separation from the cars tothe pedestrian traffic. Isupport
what Member Kern said, andIjust wonder ifwewere tosay
something, swales toCounty standards or asotherwise required
byPublic Works toensure pedestrian safety. Imean, Ijust
want togive alittle more flexibility. One thing that happens
insome areas isflooding inthose swales, and theneverybody
jumps into the road. And I’vejust seen alot ofproblems with
itinWaimea. So, Idon’tmind trying to strike abalance,
moving itforward, but again, Iwant tostress, pedestrian
1939Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
safety isreally important tomeandI’dlike togive you maybe
alittle bit more discretion. SoI’mgoing to, whatever time
it’sappropriate, perhaps make Member Kern’samendment alittle
bit stronger andprovide you alittle more flexibility, unless
yousay, Margaret, you know, it’snotgoing todoany good, or
you’re, you feel there’splenty ofpedestrian safety the way
it’sset upandadding anymore would really notadd anything. I
don’tknow. Imean that’smyfeeling. I’dlike to give youa
little, empower you alittle bit more onthis andjust tofocus
onthe pedestrian safety issue. So, Member Kern Iwas
supporting you. Imight trytoalittle more language to
strengthen it.
Mr. Ilagan: Member Wille. Any more discussion on the
amendment? We’re going togoto Member Yoshimoto.
Mr. Yoshimoto: Thank youMr. Chairman. IfIcould call
Corporation Counsel Amy Self tothe table inHilo?
AmySelf: Good morning. Deputy Corporation Counsel AmySelf.
Mr. Yoshimoto: Good morning Ms. Self. Have you had an
opportunity toreview the current proposal wehave before us?
AmySelf: Ihave briefly looked through itwhile the meeting
wasgoing on. Ihaven’t, well the first question Iwould have
isitlooks likeit’samending anordinance byresolution. And
Idon’tunderstand why youwouldn’t, ifyou’regoing toamend
theordinance, it should be abill toamend theordinance rather
than aresolution amending the ordinance. Cause they’resimply
asking for, this is, you know, this is pursuant to201(H)-38
where they simply request exemptions from any law, whether, any
County law, rule, whatever for anaffordable housing project.
And it, you know, the State lawrequires it tobeby resolution
andto beapproved orapproved with modifications ordenied by
theCounty Council. So, Idon’t, fromwhat I’velooked atthus
far, Idon’tthink this isaproper waytodothis. We, you
know, it’sjust a, westart out with just aresolution asking
forthe exemptions and that’swhat’srequired under two ohone h
dash thirty eight.
Mr. Yoshimoto: Okay so the present, well prior tothis
amendment being made, theprocess wasfine theway wewere doing
it. Is that correct then Ms. Self?
AmySelf: Yes.
2039Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
Mr. Yoshimoto: And sowhatyou’resaying here isthatthis
submission, well, isn’tconsistent then with howyou’resupposed
toamend anordinance with abill rather than aresolution. So,
Iunderstand what you’resaying. Okay. Any other comments you
wanted toprovide foruswhile we’reonthis amendment?
AmySelf: No. That’s, that’sall Ihave.
Mr. Yoshimoto: Okay. Thank you Ms. Self. Thank youMr.
Chairman.
Mr. Ilagan: Any other discussion onthe amendment? Member
Eoff.
Ms. Eoff: Thank you. It, it seems tomethat possibly this is
not the proper process toamend the ordinance. Ms. Fordhas
incorporated theexemptions from Exhibit Ainto, into her
amendment. However, Ithink if wewereto elaborate upon the
swales, aswe’vetalked about, byproviding stronger language
about how that requirement would be met toexempt this
development from the curbs, gutters andsidewalks. Iwould
prefer toseeusdoitinthis manner. And theresolution that
theHousing Agency brought forward hasalready been amended to
make afew corrections that were necessary. Sowehavean
amended version of the resolution andweneed toamend the
exemptions, andthen Ithink that might be, because otherwise
this proposal byMs. Ford, whether it’scorrect or not, I’mnot
totally sure, but inany rate itwould have togoback tothe
Planning Commission, which isgoing todelay this project for
affordable housing, which Iknow weneed. Thank you.
Mr. Ilagan: Member Ford, would youlike to withdraw your
amendment?
Ms. Ford: No, I’dlike totalk toit.
Mr. Ilagan: Member Ford.
Ms. Ford: Thank you. First ofall, I’dlike to add something
to what Ms. Wille said regarding theswales. There’snobike
lanes in here. We are completely lacking multi-modal
transportation. Even ifthe pedestrians can walk onhere, this
isn’ta, they need tobeseparated from apotential bike lane.
Andthat’snot onhere.
Second, this Council apparently, the new people may not
understand, that when you build housing atahundred forty
2139Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
percent ofmedian income, that ismarket based housing. People
whomake sixty and seventy thousand dollars ayear forthe
family income, can afford to buy housing. It’sthe people who
make ahundred percent andless who can’tfind itaffordable
housing. And this particular issue will come upover and over
again because most ofthedevelopers will try tobuild asmuch
ofthe housing at ahundred and forty percent asthey possibly
can. And if youlook atthe amendment, you will see that 22 of
the 43homes are going tobefor people earning less than a
hundred and forty percent ofmedian income. That means,
semantically thatthey canbuild itatahundred andforty
percent, that’snot affordable housing. Mr. Arnett can explain
toyou that that’snot affordable housing. Maybe bylaw, itis
inthe affordable housing range, butit isnot affordable. And
that’sthe problem wehave here. Wekeep building market value
based housing, and our affordable housing iswaytoo expensive
forpeople tobuy. And youcan see that all over onaffordable
housing.
Thenext, the last issue is, Ms. Self, Ihave aquestion for
you. Onthis exemption resolution, my understanding iswhen you
have aresolution thelaw portion ofittakes place from thebe
it resolved bythe Council, this saysby the Council, ofthe
County ofHawai`i, it doesn’tsay the agency, itsays the
Council, because this will go uptotheCouncil. Everything
below that becomes quote, Ihate tosay the law, but that’sall
Ican think of, unquote is, andeverything above itisjust an
explanation ofwhat’sgoing on. Isthat correct?
AmySelf: Well, the whereas’ is what indicates what’sgoing on
andbe itresolved iswhat you’reactually accomplishing through
the resolution.
Ms. Ford: Thank you. Thank you. Sothewhereas statements are
informational butunless allof these things inthewhereas
statement follow the beitresolved, the developer does nothave
toadhere toitbecause it’swhat becomes after the beit
resolved bytheCounty Council ofHawai`iiswhat hastobe
done. Soif we pass this, we’resaying Exhibit A, that’sall
they have todoand they don’thave to dothe affordable housing
portion. There’snothing, legally, after the beitresolved
that says they’re going todo this. They talk about it. All
thethings wetalked about today andlast time, have been talked
about. None ofitisinthebe itresolved stuff as the what
has tobeimplemented.
2239Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
AmySelf: Well, there’salso the housing agreement that they
have with OHCD. And,
Ms. Ford: What housing agreement?
AmySelf: Ialso wanted to…
Ms. Ford: Excuse mebutwhat housing agreement? What housing
agreement?
AmySelf: There’s, the affordable housing agreement. They have
to have anaffordable housing agreement
Ms. Ford: Idon’thave that.
AmySelf: under the Housing code. That’sunder the Housing
code.
Ms. Ford: Do wehave, where isit? Ihaven’tseen that.
AmySelf: It’sat the Housing department.
Ms. Ford: Okay so this, this agency isnotprivy towhatever
that agreement might be? Please goon.
AmySelf: Anyway there’salso aproblem, ifyou, I’m, soI’m
referring totheamendment, Idon’tknow what happened to
Exhibit Abutnow it’ssaying Exhibit B. SoIdon’tknow what
happened tothat.
Ms. Ford: MayIexplain that? Exhibit Aiswith the original
ordinance. Itis the mapof the subdivision, it’sthe last page
of, should bethe last pageofthis amendment. And ifyoulook
inthe lower left hand corner, you will seeExhibit A. I
changed this toExhibit Bso there’dbeno confusion.
AmySelf: Okay but Iwant topoint out that, there, the
exemptions they’reasking for aren’tonly contained inordinance
seven sixteen, they’realso asking for achange of, they’realso
asking for anexemption from building permit fees, subdivision
inspection fees, sothose aren’teven part ofthe original
seven, ordinance number seven sixteen. So this resolution is
Ms. Ford: Actually they are. Actually they are. The phasing
isincondition band thecurbs, gutters and sidewalks are in
condition f.
2339Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
AmySelf: No, I’mtalking about exemption number three.
Hawai`iCounty fees.
Ms. Ford: Oh, that’stheonly one, that’stheonly one that
truly is anexemption. The other two areamendments tothe
ordinance that you’redoing byresolution.
AmySelf: Butthe resolution covers any exemptions that are
contained in, I’mtrying tothe statute for you, theycan be
exempt, they canaskfor exemptions from allstatutes,
ordinances, charter provisions and rules ofany government
agency relating toplanning and zoning construction standards
forsubdivisions and soforth. Sothat’swhy, and it’srequired
tobedone byresolutions. Sothat’swhy there’saresolution
that is, that’swhy this thing isbrought byresolution cause
it’sper statute. And itmerely requests, itsets forth the
exemptions from any ordinances, laws, codes, whatever, inone
resolution. Andthe whole purpose behind this istofast track
affordable housing and tomake itaffordable sothat affordable
housing can bebuilt. So, the whole point istomake asimpler
process when you’retrying toget affordable housing built. So
theresolution merely states what they’reasking for and then
the Council just votes, you know, within 45 days after receiving
it. The Council will either vote for orapprove, vote to
approve the exemptions, approve itwithmodifications ordeny
it. Soit’sjust uptotheCouncil tovote for itor todeny
it. And soatthe Housing Agency, Iguess your, it’sjust for
purposes ofdiscussion atthis level and then later itgoes up
to theCouncil.
Ms. Ford: Ms. Self, would youplease answer thequestion about
thefact that nothing after the beitresolved contains anything
that’sinthe whereas statements isnot enforceable? Wedo not
have aHousing Agency whatever itwasthat youcalled it. This,
this agency isnot privy tothat document, sotheonly thing we
have iswhat’sin this resolution. Andthere’snothing inthe
beitresolved that indicates that they’regoing todofair
housing, atall, much less the swales and much lessanything
else. The only thing that Isee inthe exemption that istruly
anexception isthe point two five percent oftheinspection.
Therest ofitare amendments totheordinance andnow you’re
denying that wecan, that this agency has the authority tomake
additional amendments totheordinance, or tothis resolution
for that matter.
AmySelf: Well,
2439Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
Mr. Ilagan: Ms. Self andMember Ford, hold on. We, I’mjust
going to clarify some things. From myunderstanding right now,
thetechnical part ofthis resolution iskind ofmurky. And
let’sstart back to the subject and the substance ofthis
amendment. And start from there Member Ford.
Ms. Ford: Thank you, Iwould be glad to.
Mr. Ilagan: Goahead.
Ms. Ford: Thank you. Because this, the original exemptions
came through with amendments tothe content ofthe ordinance, I
feel that ifyou are going toallow that, ifCorporation Counsel
is saying that’sokay todo itthis way by resolution, then it’s
okay toadd other amendments tothis resolution exemption. And
Ihave added everything Ithink isimportant toprotect the
people and the taxpayers of this County. IftheCouncil chooses
not todothat, that’sokay, it’syou know, uptothe Council.
Butplease beaware that the exemption resolution, asitstands,
hasnothing after the beitresolved clause toenforce anything
that they’reasking except what is inExhibit B. There’s
nothing inthere tosay you’regoing tobuild 43 homes that meet
HRS, nothing inhere about the roads, I’msorry, strike that,
nothing about fair share forthe rest ofthe property. Fair
share was not addressed 31years ago. This is, this came out,
what is it, isit 31or 22? Decades ago, wedidn’teven have
fair share back then. Sothe rest of thehousing will not be
subject tofair share, inwhether Ithink it’slegal ornot.
That means this developer isgetting preferential treatment
compared toevery other developer, development that brings
forward anordinance. That is arbitrary, capricious and
discriminatory. It’snotright, which is why Ihadto doit
this way.
Now, ifthe Council prefers, Ican withdraw this, Ican goback,
ifaslong asit’spostponed, this whole issue, Iwill goback
andIwill amend the ordinance and putit through theproper
channels. Iwant toget affordable housing inheretoo. But
this resolution is not written correctly.
Mr. Ilagan: Member Ford? I’mgoing toaskMember Yoshimoto,
would you, howdo you feel? Would yourather haveMember Ford
withdraw this amendment? Or wegofor acall for the question.
Mr. Yoshimoto: Both are attractive actually. But no, Ileave
itupto Ms. Ford. Ithink wevoiced ourconcerns quite
clearly. Ithink weneed tostay ontheamendment, which is
2539Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
what we’redoing now. Ithink Ms. Poindexter wanted tospeak,
but since you gave meabrief opening Mr. Chair,
Mr. Ilagan: Goahead. This isinyour district.
Mr. Yoshimoto: Yeah. Weonly have 45 days, soweneed tomove
this forward toCouncil inwhatever way shape orform. Ms. Ford
cando whatever she wants. Wecan vote itdown or vote itup or
whatever wewant todo. But let’sfinish upwithMs. Poindexter
and then call for thequestion.
Mr. Ilagan: Ijust want toalso clarify, thetime does not,
does not start right now. It’swhen itgets totheCouncil,
then the time starts ticking. But, Iknowthere’salot of
Council Members that want to voice outtheir concerns. Butin
alldue respect tothe developer, I’mgoing tohave him saywhat
heneeds tosay. And then I’mgoing togoontotheother
Council Members.
JimPappas: Thank you. Letmeshed alittle light cause I
think Ms. Ford has brought upsome interesting discussion points
that have actually been addressed. There isanother document
that isexecuted between thedeveloper andthe department of
Housing. And that document actually has very specific
requirements init. And ifthat document was here, and I’m
sorry Idon’thave itwith me, but wehave executed an
affordable housing agreement. It actually gets recorded and
that one provides, ofthe 43 lots that will beavailable, and I
maybe wrong inmynumbers alittle bit, but it’seither eight
ornine ofthem have tobedeveloped andsold attheeighty
percent affordable level. The next tranche, andIthink there
isaCouncil approved newhousing requirement onaffordability,
and we, this, wemeet that. Ithink there’salso then 11 units
or 12units that arebuilt atahundred percent. And then the
balance ofaffordable housing isallbuilt toahundred, andI
believe it’sahundred andtwenty percent only, Ithink inthe
agreement, butthere’slimitations onitthat meet that Council
approved statute number one. Inourwritten agreement, wehave
been very clear and the agreement states that theaffordable
housing arethe only ones that are exempt from any oftheother
fair share, sospecifically the forty lots that are market units
will all pay their fair share, just forclarification. And
that’sinawritten agreement.
Ms. Ford: Thank you, point oforder sir.
Mr. Ilagan: What’syour point of order?
2639Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
Ms. Ford: Ithink that this Council can’tmake aninformed
decision without seeing thedocument that Mr. Pappas is
recommending, orisreferring to.
Mr. Ilagan: Ihear your point oforder. Right now wearegoing
todiscuss ontheamendment and I’mgoing togowith Member
Poindexter.
Ms. Poindexter: AndIjust wanted tomake aclarification ona
statement, with no disrespect toyou Ms. Ford. But Ijustwant
toget this clear sowedon’thave amisperception out inthe
public that Ms., when Ms. Ford stated, the new people may not
understand affordable housing. Ijust want tolet you know, I’m
one ofthe new Council Members and Itotally understand
affordable housing because Ihave worked for many years with the
Hawai`iHousing Authority andour County agency when Iwas
working with theOffice ofSocial Ministry. SoIjust want the
public tobeaware ofthat alot ofusnew people here onthe
Council are, notoblivious toissues that come before the
Council, cause we have been out working in the private sector
andsometimes in the public sector. So Ijust want tomake that
clarification that, so with nodisrespect. Thank you.
Mr. Ilagan: Council Member Kern.
Mr. Kern: Thank you Mr. Chair. Again, taking arelatively
simple subject and getting very deep into something that should
be relatively simple, wehave avery competent Housing Director,
Mr. Arnett. Wehave anattorney, ourattorney, Deputy Attorney
Amy Self saying that this isall allowable, we’reontrack here.
Weshould just simply vote for this. Again, it’ssimple. It’s
going tohave agood impact. The more that, mycaution is, I
want things tobe right, but mycaution isthe more that we
nitpick, take ourtime, dilly dally, postpone, itsends the
message out toanyone else looking atdoing anything, ohit’s
hoop after hoop after hoop after hoop. Idon’twant tohave a
open door policy anything happens but Ithink weshould be
working together and be, haveamutual respect onwhat the
developer, thepeople ofthe public need out there. And Iagree
that affordable housing isnot ahundred and forty percent of
the value. They obviously have intheir agreement that it’snot
allahundred andforty percent of the value but that’sa
separate issue, that’sseparate law. What weneed todeal with
right now isthis project so itcan move forward and people can
actually start getting towork. With that, Imove tocall for
the question.
2739Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
Mr. Ilagan: Dowe have asecond?
Mr. Onishi: Second.
Mr. Ilagan: Moved byMember Kern, second byOnishi, there’sno
discussion on call toquestion. Allinfavor say aye.
Mr. Kern: Mr. Chair, this is forthe, just point of
Mr. Ilagan: This isfor the amendment.
Mr. Kern: Correct.
Mr. Ilagan: This iscall to the question for the amendment for
clarification,
Ms. Ford: With no discussion?
Mr. Ilagan: There isnodiscussion forcall the question. It
goes straight tovote and since this is, seems like a
controversial issue, we’regoing todoaroll call. Deputy
Clerk would you please…
Point of order, before, but there was amotion onthefloor
from Member Kern asto his, he made amotion for anamendment to
add that language
Mr. Kern: Isaid Iwas going to.
No.
Ohokay.
Mr. Ilagan: We’regoing tomove on. Deputy Clerk, could you
call for roll? On the
Jeanette: Call for the question.
Mr. Ilagan: What we’re voting on isthe amendment.
Mr. Kern: No, we’revoting oncall for the question.
Mr. Ilagan: Actually, what we’re voting onis the call forthe
question. Ifthis goes through then we’regoing tovote for the
amendment.
2839Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
Jeanette: Okay, onthe call for thequestion, Member Eoff?
Ms. Eoff: Aye.
Jeanette: Member Ford?
Ms. Ford: Aye.
Jeanette: Member Kanuha?
Ms. Kanuha: Aye.
Jeanette: Member Kern?
Mr. Kern: Aye.
Jeanette: Member Onishi?
Mr. Onishi: Aye.
Jeanette: Member Poindexter?
Ms. Poindexter: Aye.
Jeanette: Member Wille?
Ms. Wille: No.
Jeanette: Member Yoshimoto?
Mr. Yoshimoto: Aye.
Jeanette: Chair you have eight ayes on the call for the
question.
Mr. Ilagan: Thank you. Now moving on to the amendment, and
Deputy Clerk? Now this is, forclarification, we arenowvoting
on theamendment for the main motion ofthe resolution. This is
Member Ford’samendment.
Jeanette: Yes, onthe motion toamend with proposed draft two.
Member Eoff?
Ms. Eoff: No.
Jeanette: Member Ford?
2939Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
Ms. Ford: Aye.
Jeanette: Member Kanuha?
Ms. Kanuha: No.
Jeanette: Member Kern?
Mr. Kern: No.
Jeanette: Member Onishi?
Mr. Onishi: No.
Jeanette: Member Poindexter?
Ms. Poindexter: No.
Jeanette: Member Wille?
Ms. Wille: No.
Jeanette: Member Yoshimoto?
Mr. Yoshimoto: No.
Jeanette: Chair Ilagan?
Mr. Ilagan: No.
Jeanette: Chair Ilagan you have oneaye.
Mr. Ilagan: Thank youDeputy Clerk. Moving onto the main
motion onthe floor on this resolution, any discussion?
Mr. Kern: Mr. Chair?
Mr. Ilagan: Council, Member Kern.
Mr. Kern: Thank you. Onexemption number two where it, after
itsays drainage and swales, I’dlike toamend it tocontinue to
say built to County standards.
Ms. Ford: Point oforder.
Mr. Ilagan: What’syour point of order?
3039Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
Ms. Ford: We’resupposed tobeusing written changes,
especially ifit’ssubstantive. Only typographical errors are
supposed tobeon thefloor amendment.
Mr. Kern: Thank you Ms. Ford, Idid check with LRBand Iwas
told that Icould dothis byvoice. This is, with one ofour
LRB representatives here. Being that this isnot a
Ms. Ford: I’msorry, point oforder.
Mr. Ilagan: Hold on, hold on, hold on, hold on.
Mr. Kern: This is aCounty agency, it’snot, our rules don’t
apply the same as inCommittee.
Mr. Ilagan: That’scorrect and I’mgoing toletMember Kern
carry on.
Mr. Kern: Thank you. Soitwould read insection twoafter it
says the Hawai`iZoning Ordinance seven one sixetcetera, it’ll
sayeliminate therequirement to construct concrete curbs,
gutters and sidewalks andallow subdivision roads tobeimproved
with paved shoulders and drainage swales built to County
standards, and then the rest ofitwould continue as iswritten.
Mr. Ilagan: The amendment on the floor istoeliminate the
requirements toconstruct concrete curbs, gutters and sidewalks
andallow subdivision roads tobeimproved with paved shoulders
and drainage swales built to County standards. Isthat correct?
Mr. Kern: That is correct.
Mr. Ilagan: Dowe have asecond?
Mr. Onishi: Second.
Mr. Ilagan: Second byMember Onishi, anydiscussion on the
amendment?
Mr. Onishi: Ido.
Mr. Ilagan: Member Onishi.
Mr. Onishi: Thank youMr. Chair. Mr. Lee, can you move, come
forward please? Cause Ithink when wegobysaying County
standards, it could be different widths. Correct?
3139Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
Warren Lee: Warren Lee, Director ofPublic Works. Yes, wedo
have several County, there are multiple County standards.
Mr. Onishi: Right, right. So Ithink ifwe, you know, like,
what is theminimum that they could go? The width.
Warren Lee: The minimum width ontheshoulder? Isthat what
we’rereferring to?
Mr. Onishi: Yes, yes.
Warren Lee: Well we’veseen anything from three feet tofour
feet minimum andsome cases ithas been wider.
Mr. Onishi: Right, right. And I’veseen thattoo. And so,
what Ithink you’remeaning is, you need tospecify, cause like
we, they mentioned about bike lanes, cause this going include
thebike lanes and this isgoing include where people are going
tobewalking with, you know, with thebaby carriage and stuff
like that, sosafety wise. Plus theswale like Ms. Wille had
mentioned, about that’sgoing be part ofthe flood, ofthe
water, the drainage, correct?
Warren Lee: Right.
Mr. Onishi: Soif it’sraining, especially maybe inthat area,
yeah sothe people going get one hard time, ifit’sthree feet
wide right. And soIthink that’swhere wegotto look atmaybe
thechanging ofthe amendment. But then also, you know wehave
toalso look atthe developer too because you don’twant tomake
ittoo wide then they’regoing tohave totake too much property
and then the cost going behigh again, correct?
Warren Lee: Mr. Pappas?
Mr. Onishi: Doyou have any comments onthat?
JimPappas: Ithink you’ll find thestreets are sixty feet wide
inthe subdivision and soIdon’tknow what the minimum
requirement isand what has been designed. But Icertainly know
that there’safair amount ofroom there, Idon’tthink this is
ataminimum. But the drainage issue by the wayisall taken
care of on-site with dry wells so,
Mr. Onishi: Youhave dry wells?
JimPappas: Yeah, sonowater is basically going off-site.
3239Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
Mr. Onishi: Yeah, butImean, but there still would be, like,
areas where ithas to gothrough aswale tothe dry well,
correct? And cause, right above my parents’ home, this
subdivision, andIdon’tunderstand, theCouncil prior tome
passed the zoning, but it’slike hundred fifty no, two hundred
thousand dollar lots, with no curbs andsidewalks. It’sall
swales and sowhat, soit’sdone indifferent areas. But I
think too, maybe, weshould dothis amendment once wepass this
in Council. Because then we’llgive time for Members totalk to
Public Works and also tothe developer tomake sure what isthe,
Iguess, the most efficient width ofthe sidewalk should beor
the swales. Thank you.
Mr. Ilagan: I’mgoing toget the, have the floor toMember Kern
on your amendment. How doyou feel after hearing that?
Mr. Kern: Yeah, Iwas originally inclined toactually put a
minimum width onitaswell but with that being said, I’mokay
with amending itatCouncil and withdrawing mymotion now and
moving this forward, with the intention ofmoving this forward,
talking story more with, you know, ourDirector Warren Lee and
coming upwith the right number. Cause right nowwhile wemay
throw out anumber, we maythrow outanumber, itmight not have
thedue diligence necessary tomake the best decision. Sowith
that, I’llwithdraw my motion.
Mr. Onishi: And I’llwithdraw mysecond.
Mr. Ilagan: Just toclarify, there’sno amendment onthe floor.
Weare back tothe main motion. Andon discussion, I’mgoing to
bring it toMember Wille.
Ms. Wille: Thank you very much. Iwould like to make amotion
that goes along with the intent ofMember Kern’sbutas I’m
trying togive the Public Works alittle more leeway interms of
assuring sufficient standards for pedestrian safety. What I’ve
written out is, and this ison number two, regarding curbs,
gutters and sidewalks, and itwould read: eliminate the
requirement toconstruct concrete curbs, gutters and sidewalks
andinstead require, cross out the wordallow, thesubdivision
roads tobeimproved with paved shoulders and drainage swales to
County standards and asotherwise required bytheDirector of
Public Works toensure safe pedestrian access inand abutting
the residential development. Basically this, instead of…
3339Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
Mr. Ilagan: Wait. Before you make your amendment, could you
please clarify that one more time?
Ms. Wille: Yes
Mr. Ilagan: Sowe all are…
Ms. Wille: Let memake onepoint, isintheway itreads now,
theconditions amending, ituses, itsays eliminate such and
such and then allow something else tobedone. Allowing
something else to bedone, doesn’trequire ittobe done. So,
just interms ofthat, andallow subdivision roads tobe, to
have swales andshoulders, I’mchanging that language tosay
instead require shoulders anddrainage swales toCounty
standards and asotherwise required bythe Director of Public
Works toensure safe pedestrian access inand abutting the
residential development. SoIjust tried toturn it over so
you’reworking
Inaudible)
Ms. Wille: Yeah. And Iknow it hastobe inwriting and…
Inaudible)
Mr. Ilagan: Hold on.
Ms. Wille: Noit doesn’t? Anyway, I’mmaking it (inaudible)
Mr. Ilagan: We first need to understand what the amendment is.
NowMember Wille, I’mgoing towork with you onthis one. This
chair has torestate the motion, atleast soweunderstand.
Inaudible) Thank you. Okay so theamendment onthefloor, the
motion for amendment isto, okay, what’sbeing amended is
eliminate therequirement to construct concrete curbs, gutters
andsidewalks and, added in, instead require thesubdivisions
roads tobeimproved with shoulders, drainage andswales to
County standards and asotherwise required bytheDirector of
Public Works toensure safety, safe access and abutting the
residential development. Can we have asecond?
Ms. Ford: Second.
Mr. Ilagan: Second byMember Ford. Any discussion on the
amendment?
Ms. Wille.
3439Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
Mr. Ilagan: Member Wille?
Ms. Wille: Yes. I’mbasically trying toexpand what Member
Kern was saying and let’sensure that weare providing safe
access without adding onmore cost andmore hardscape than is
necessary to doso. So, Ithere areareas where swales and
shoulders maynot beadequate where, for example, problems with
kids using them on their, whatever those skateboards are or
something. ButI’mtrying togive thedeveloper and the Public
Works to work outthis. Weneed to have adequate safety
regardless ofif it’saffordable housing oranykind ofhousing.
And Idon’tfeel Ican figure out the width and what this is,
butIamhopeful this issomething that Warren Lee andhis
staff, including Ron Thiel, whoisvery knowledgeable about
pedestrian issues, can help with, andagain, forme, it’salso
themore wecaneliminate hardscape, the better the environment
is. But I’mnotwilling to, Iwant tobe sure thatthere is
pedestrian safety. That’sall.
Mr. Ilagan: Soforclarification ontheamendment, the only
thing that’sbeing changed isinstead ofand allow subdivisions,
it’s, that wording ischanged torequire. And it’sgoing tobe
toCounty standards and asotherwise required bythe Director of
Public Works. So that’sthe clarification ofthe amendment, so
it’spretty much like Member Kern’samendment, except it’sadded
with and Director of Public Works input and instead ofallow,
it’srequire. So that’sthe change of amendment.
Ms. Ford: Oh mygod, no, no.
Ms. Wille: That’salittle confusing.
Ms. Ford: Point oforder. Sheread it correctly, you’re
changing itnow so are youmaking asubordinate motion?
Mr. Ilagan: No. I’mmaking aclarification on theamendment.
Ms. Wille: Ihad alittle trouble following you. If you just,
when you read the language
Mr. Ilagan: Yeah, the language is what you changed is the
sidewalks andinstead ofsidewalks andallow subdivisions, you
had put instead require subdivisions.
Ms. Wille: It requires, itrequires theswales and whatever to
County standards, istheimportant point, and thesecond point,
3539Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
andas otherwise required bythe Director ofPublic Works to
ensure public safety.
Mr. Ilagan: Yes, that’swhat Ijust pointed out.
Ms. Wille: Yeah, okay. Ijust was alittle confused. Okay.
Mr. Ilagan: Okay. Since we’reshort ontime andthenext
committee isgoing tostart atten, eleven, I’mgoing totake a
five minute recess, ordered bythe Chair.
Recess
Mr. Ilagan: Currently theCouncil, theMember of theHousing,
theHawai`iCounty Housing Agency, the amendment onthe floor is
similar to Mr. Kern’sthe only thing that’sadded isand
otherwise required bythe Director of Public Works.
Ms. Ford: Point oforder. I’msorry Mr. Chairman, point of
order. Nooffense, you haveno right totry torestate this
differently, Ms.
Mr. Ilagan: Member Ford,
Ms. Ford: Wait, please let mefinish
Mr. Ilagan: Iheard your point of
Ms. Ford: Ms. Wille read ittheway she wanted it. Iseconded
it. You cannot restate itinadifferent manner.
Mr. Ilagan: Member Ford, I’mclarifying theamendment. Theway
Member Wille read it and have itdown, noone canunderstand it.
Nooffense. I’mmaking itsoeverybody here canunderstand it.
There’stwoways wecould dothis, and Member Wille ifyou’ll
work with meonthis, iswecan withdraw this motion orwecan
move this toCouncil and have awritten amendment soeverybody
canunderstand it. Now Member Wille, you have the floor. What
do you, what would you like todo?
Ms. Wille: Yes. Iwill withdraw andmove it forward and Iwill
be submitting anamendment atthat time.
Mr. Ilagan: Thank you. Thank you very much. Now, I, we’re
short on time, and Iwill
Mr. Kern: inaudible)
3639Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
Ms. Ford: Myhand wasupfirst Mr. Chairman
Mr. Ilagan: Member Kern?
Mr. Kern: Thank you Mr. Chair. Weare back to the main motion
now, correct? Imove tocall for the question.
Mr. Yoshimoto: Second.
Mr. Ilagan: Moved byKern, second byYoshimoto. Deputy Clerk?
Jeanette: Member Eoff?
Ms. Eoff: Aye.
Jeanette: Member Ford?
Ms. Ford: No.
Jeanette: Member Kanuha?
Ms. Kanuha: Aye.
Jeanette: Member Kern?
Mr. Kern: Aye.
Jeanette: Member Onishi?
Mr. Onishi: No.
Jeanette: Member Poindexter?
Ms. Poindexter: Aye.
Jeanette: Member Wille?
Ms. Wille: Aye.
Jeanette: Member Yoshimoto?
Mr. Yoshimoto: Aye.
Jeanette: Chair Ilagan?
Mr. Ilagan: Aye.
3739Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
Jeanette: Chair Ilagan, youhave seven ayes onthe call for the
question.
Mr. Ilagan: Call for thequestion haspassed. Now moving on to
the main motion, Deputy Clerk, please?
Jeanette: Member Eoff?
Ms. Eoff: Aye.
Jeanette: Member Ford?
Ms. Ford: No.
Jeanette: Member Kanuha?
Ms. Kanuha: Aye.
Jeanette: Member Kern?
Mr. Kern: Aye.
Jeanette: Member Onishi?
Mr. Onishi: No.
Jeanette: Member Poindexter?
Ms. Poindexter: Aye.
Jeanette: Member Wille?
Ms. Wille: Aye.
Jeanette: Member Yoshimoto?
Mr. Yoshimoto: Aye.
Jeanette: Chair Ilagan?
Mr. Ilagan: Aye.
Jeanette: Chair Ilagan, you have seven ayes.
Mr. Ilagan: Thank you Deputy Clerk.
Jeanette: You’re welcome.
3839Pageof
HCHA February 19, 2013
Mr. Ilagan: Moving ontotheoral report, and there isnooral
report and it looks like, may Ihave amotion for adjournment?
Mr. Kern: So moved.
Mr. Yoshimoto: Second.
Mr. Ilagan: Moved byMember Kern, second byMember Yoshimoto,
all infavor sayaye.
Council Members: Aye.
Mr. Ilagan: All opposed say no. Theayes have it. This
meeting isadjourned.
3939Pageof