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Home My WebLink About2024-12-17 KCDP Minutes Final KONA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 1 ACTION COMMITTEE 2 COUNTY OF HAWAIʻI 3 FINAL MINUTES 4 December 17, 2024 5 CALL TO ORDER 6 Chair Young called the Kona Community Development Plan (CDP) Action Committee (AC) 7 meeting to order at 12:15 p.m. A quorum was established with five members in attendance. This 8 meeting was held in person at the West Hawai’i Civic Center, B2 Conference Room and online via 9 the Zoom platform. 10 The full YouTube video of this meeting can be found here: 11 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=9zbZkhvPRlQ&t=790s 12 ROLL CALL 13 Members Present (in person): Vice-Chair Nancy Pisicchio, Charla Thompson, Heather Korotie, 14 and Chair Charles Young 15 Members Present (via Zoom): David Huerta and John Pelletier 16 Members Absent: Roselyn Molina 17 County Staff Present: Kawelo Kalili (in person) and Maryam Palma (via Zoom) 18 There were 8 members of the public in attendance (0 in person and 8 via Zoom). 19 APPROVAL OF MINUTES 20 Committee member Pisicchio moved to approve the minutes from the November 19, 2024, 21 meeting as drafted. Vice-Chair Pisicchio seconded. The motion passed unanimously. [YOUTUBE 22 TIMESTAMP 5:20] 23 BUSINESS 24 1. General Plan Discussion – Discussion and potential action regarding submitting comment 25 to the Leeward Planning Commission. [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 6:29] 26 Committee member Pelletier suggested submitting the AC’s comments on the General Plan as 27 testimony to the Leeward Planning Commission and volunteered to attend the December 19, 2024 28 meeting at the Kona Council Chambers to provide verbal testimony. Chair Young supported the 29 action and clarified that the testimony should focus on the Kona CDP, as Pelletier would be 30 representing the Kona AC. Planning staff agreed to submit the comments. Pelletier moved to 31 submit the letter and represent the AC at the Leeward Planning Commission meeting. Committee 32 member Korotie seconded the motion. The motion passed unanimously. 33 Vice-Chair Pisicchio reported a draft testimony prepared for submission to the Leeward Planning 34 Commission, emphasizing concerns regarding the remapping of properties in the draft General 35 KONA CDP ACTION COMMITTEE Minutes of December 17, 2024 2 Plan from agricultural to rural use, which could encourage urban sprawl beyond the Kona Urban 36 Growth Area. She highlighted that the proposed changes could lead to higher-density development 37 outside the existing rural towns and villages, conflicting with the strategic objectives of the General 38 Plan to preserve resources and manage growth effectively. Vice-Chair Pisicchio recommended 39 removing the proposed remapping and clarified that developers could still seek boundary 40 amendments through the State Land Use Commission, if necessary. Committee member Pelletier 41 supported Vice-Chair Pisicchio’s concerns, agreeing that the remapping contradicts the intent of 42 rural land use policies and contributes to urban sprawl. Pelletier expressed willingness to present 43 the comments at the upcoming meeting and stated that both the TOD comments and the proposed 44 testimony could be covered within the allotted time. Committee member Thompson moved for the 45 AC to support Vice-Chair Pisicchio’s letter and for committee member Pelletier to read it verbally 46 at the PC meeting. Committee member Korotie seconded. The motion passed unanimously. 47 2. Chair and Vice Chair Nominations and Elections – Discussion and potential action to 48 elect a Chair and Vice-Chair for the Kona CDP Action Committee for 2025. [SEE 49 YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 29:21] 50 Vice-Chair Pisicchio moved to nominate Chair Young as Chair of the committee for 2025. 51 Committee member Pelletier seconded the motion. Chair Young emphasized the need for a strong 52 succession plan with both internal and external resource development as a condition for continuing 53 as Chair. He supports public participation and collaboration with other committees and the 54 administration, stressing succession planning for 2025 while remaining willing to serve until a 55 successor is found. Vice-Chair Pisicchio called for a vote. The motion passed unanimously. 56 Chair Young nominated Vice-Chair Pisicchio as Vice-Chair of the committee for 2025. Committee 57 member Pelletier seconded the motion. Chair Young shared his appreciation for Vice-Chair 58 Pisicchio’s commitment to the committee. Chair Young called for a vote. The motion passed 59 unanimously. 60 3. Other Advisory Committees Discussion – Discussion and potential action on how the 61 Kona CDP AC may interact with other advisory committees on CDP related matters. [SEE 62 YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 33:55] 63 Chair Young emphasized the need for the AC to strengthen connections with county and outside 64 agencies, suggesting outreach efforts beyond meetings and creating a priority list for engaging 65 with other committees. Committee member Pisicchio proposed inviting chairs from other boards 66 and commissions to present their projects and build relationships around CDP topics. Committee 67 member Pelletier encouraged AC members to use the county calendar. Chair Young challenged the 68 committee to review the County calendar before the January meeting to discuss effective 69 communication strategies. 70 ANNOUNCEMENTS 71 • Vice-Chair Nancy Pisicchio to provide update on the status of State bill relating to 72 Neighborhood Boards. 73 KONA CDP ACTION COMMITTEE Minutes of December 17, 2024 3 o Vice-Chair Pisicchio provided an update on the status of a State bill aimed at 74 revising Sunshine Law provisions for neighborhood boards. Last year, Senator 75 Kanuha introduced a bill drafted with the island’s action committees to align 76 Sunshine Law rules with those established for city neighborhood boards in 2008. 77 The bill was deferred due to concerns from a committee chair, who felt the title was 78 too specific. As a result, the bill now has a more generic title. Recently, Vice-Chair 79 Pisicchio met with State Representative Kapela, who plans to reintroduce the bill 80 in both the House and Senate, emphasizing grassroots participation in government. 81 The proposed changes would allow public testimony on items not on the agenda, 82 and provide more flexibility for non-voting discussions, such as presentations on 83 the General Plan. [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 48:55] 84 • See Communication No. 2024-32 for the Updated 2025 Kona CDP AC Meeting Cadence 85 Memo. 86 • The Final Recommended Draft General Plan 2045 has been submitted to the Planning 87 Commission. The Leeward Planning Commission will continue discussions and actions 88 on December 19, 2024, at 5:00 pm. More information can be found here: 89 https://www.planning.hawaiicounty.gov/about-us/boards-90 committees/planningcommission-applications 91 • The Planning Department is currently seeking applicants for the Kona CDP Action 92 Committee and the Cultural Resources Commission and requests assistance in spreading 93 the word to interested community members. The application can be found on the mayor’s 94 office website at: https://www.hawaiicounty.gov/our-county/boardscommissions-95 application 96 • Vice-Chair Pisicchio, the current Kona AC representative for the KOSN committee, 97 announced the ongoing Open Space Network committee, which has been meeting 98 throughout the year. Recently, the committee had a satisfying meeting where consultants 99 presented a comprehensive map of urban trails and open spaces within the urban boundary, 100 highlighting connections, potential issues, and roads related to these spaces. Vice-Chair 101 Pisicchio was excited about the progress made, noting that it exceeded expectations, 102 especially regarding trail connections and public domain information. They emphasized 103 the importance of ensuring that underrepresented areas are considered in future efforts. 104 [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 59:50] 105 AGENDA FOR NEXT MEETING [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 1:05:28] 106 1. General Plan Updates 107 2. Neighborhood Boards Bill 108 ADJOURNMENT 109 The meeting was adjourned at 1:23 p.m. [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 1:08:00] 110 These minutes and all related documents are available in the Planning Department’s Kona 111 Community Development Plan Action Committee folder via the County of Hawaiʻi Public 112 Documents Repository. These documents may also be requested from the Planning Department by 113 calling (808) 961-8288 or emailing cdp@hawaiicounty.gov. 114