HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-11-20 Kaʻū CDP Minutes Draft
KAʻŪ COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 1 ACTION COMMITTEE 2
COUNTY OF HAWAIʻI 3
DRAFT MINUTES 4 November 20, 2024 5
CALL TO ORDER 6
Chair Masters called the Kaʻū Community Development Plan (CDP) Action Committee (AC) 7
meeting to order at 5:16 p.m. A quorum was established with five members in attendance. This 8
meeting was held in person at the Kaʻū District Gym Multi-Purpose Room and online via the Zoom 9 platform. 10
The full YouTube video of this meeting can be found here: 11 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=RQh6tZSM6rA 12
ROLL CALL 13
Members Present (in person): Jason Masters (Chair), Kaʻohinani Mokuhaliʻi, Kaweni Ibarra, 14
Babette Morrow, and Leinaʻala Enos 15
Members Present (via Zoom): None 16
Members Absent: Pernell Hanoa, Jesse Ke, and Catherine Williams 17
From the County (in person): Maryam Palma and Kawelo Kalili 18
There were approximately ten members of the public in attendance (8) in person and (2) via Zoom. 19
APPROVAL OF MINUTES [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 3:07] 20
Committee member Kaweni Ibarra motioned to approve the draft minutes from the October 16, 21 2024, seconded by committee member Morrow. The motion passed unanimously. 22
PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS: [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 4:29] 23
None. 24
BUSINESS 25
1. Waiʻōhinu Transfer Station – Discussion and action on drafted letter to Department of 26 Environmental Management to open the transfer station to 7 days a week. 27
This item was called to order at 5:21 p.m. [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 5:40] 28
Gary Davis testimony [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 6:20] 29
The AC discussed and unanimously approved submitting a finalized letter to the Department of 30
Environmental Management (DEM) requesting the Waiohinu Transfer Station be open seven days 31
a week. The letter will include: 32
• 267 petition signatures from community member Gary Davis in support of the proposal. 33
• A note that Kaʻū is the only district on the island without a transfer station open daily. 34
KAʻŪ CDP ACTION COMMITTEE
Minutes of November 20, 2024 2
• Descriptions of attached photos highlighting issues like illegal dumping caused by limited 35
access. 36
• A reference to Section 4.6 of the Kaʻū CDP, emphasizing the protection and enhancement 37
of ecosystems. 38
• A mention of the millions spent renovating the transfer station to underline the need for 39
full utilization. 40
The letter will be sent to DEM and copied to the Planning Director, Governor, Mayor, and the 41
County Council. Chair Masters moved that the AC finalize and submit the letter with the discussed 42
changes. The motion passed unanimously. 43
This item closed at 5:55 p.m. 44
2. Pāhala Water Bottling Facility Update – Discussion and potential action on findings 45
regarding the Pāhala Water Bottling Facility. 46
This item was called to order at 5:55 p.m. [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 44:00] 47
Chair Masters made a motion to defer this item to the next meeting, seconded by committee 48 member Mokuhaliʻi. Motion passed unanimously. 49
This item closed at 5:57 p.m. 50
3. Egress and Ingress at Green Sands Subdivision Permitted Interaction Group Report – 51
The Permitted Interaction Group will present their report to the committee. The committee may 52 ask clarifying questions, but no discussion or action may be made on the item at this meeting. 53
This item was called to order at 5:57 p.m. [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 42:00] 54
Volunteer Fire Captain, Robert Ebert provided a report on the egress and ingress challenges at 55
Green Sands Subdivision, emphasizing two key fire safety concerns: fires move faster uphill and 56
spread rapidly with wind, creating sparks that increase risk. He highlighted public safety issues, 57 including traffic on narrow roads and the difficulties of accessing water for firefighting, which 58 exacerbate congestion. 59
Since the goal of the current Permitted Interaction Group (PIG) was to meet with fire chiefs about 60
evacuation and mitigation routes for Green Sands, Chair Masters moved to dissolve the PIG. 61
Committee member Mokuhali‘i seconded the motion, and it passed unanimously. Chair Masters 62 will conduct fact finding independently. 63
This item closed at 6:27 p.m. 64
4. Proposed Transient Accommodations Rental Code Amendment (TAR Bill) – Discussion 65
and potential decision-making on providing testimony to County Council’s TAR Bill package 66
(Bill 121 and 122). Bill 123 was signed into law on October 8, 2024. For more information: 67 https://www.hawaiicountytar.com/ 68
This item was called to order at 6:28 p.m. Due to a technical issue, the Zoom recording for this 69 portion of the meeting was disrupted. We sincerely apologize for any inconvenience this may have 70
caused and appreciate your understanding. 71
The AC noted that the County Council has temporarily put the TAR Bill on hold and will revisit it 72 for discussion once it is reopened. 73
KAʻŪ CDP ACTION COMMITTEE
Minutes of November 20, 2024 3
This item closed at 6:29 p.m. 74
5. Nāʻālehu Hill Subdivision – Phase 1 (PL-SUB-2024-000279) – Discussion and potential 75
action on providing comment to relevant agencies regarding the pending consolidation and re-76
subdivision application (TMK: (3) 9-5-008:001). 77
This item was called to order at 6:29 p.m. [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 1:16:44] 78
Committee member Morrow inquired how the subdivision parcel could be divided into so many 79 lots despite being zoned as Agricultural 20 acres (A-20a), to which Planning clarified that many 80
of the lots have exceptions to the current code. Morrow referenced policies from the Kaʻū CDP 81
relevant to the subdivision application as the AC discussed their findings and understanding of the 82 matter. Planning explained an option for the AC to provide comments to the agencies reviewing 83 the applicant’s plat map and suggested designating 1-2 members to research the application and 84 consult with the assigned Planner. 85
This item closed at 6:55 p.m. 86
PROPOSED BUSINESS FOR NEXT MEETING [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 1:42:18] 87
1. Nāʻālehu Hill Subdivision application 88
2. Pāhala Water Bottling Facility 89
ANNOUNCEMENTS [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 1:47:35] 90
• Leinaʻala Enos will be resigning from the committee at the end of 2024. Mahalo to her 91
for all her time and dedication to the Kaʻū CDP Action Committee over the years. 92
• The Planning Department is currently seeking applicants for the Kaʻū CDP Action 93
Committee and is requesting assistance to get the word out to interested community 94
members. The application can be found on the Mayor’s office website at: 95
https://www.hawaiicounty.gov/our-county/boards-and-commissions/boards-and-96
commissions-application 97
• The Cultural Resource Commission currently has vacancies, and interested individuals 98
can apply through the County's website: https://www.hawaiicounty.gov/our-99
county/boards-and-commissions/boards-and-commissions-application 100
ADJOURNMENT 101
Chair Masters adjourned this meeting at 7:07 p.m. 102
These minutes and all related documents are available in the Planning Department’s Kaʻū 103
Community Development Plan Action Committee folder via the County of Hawaiʻi Public 104
Documents Repository. These documents may also be requested from the Planning Department 105 by calling (808) 961-8288 or emailing cdp@hawaiicounty.gov. 106