HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommunication No. 2025-01 KCDP AC Testimony for LPC 1-16-25
County of Hawai‘i
KONA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ACTION COMMITTEE
Aupuni Center • 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3 • Hilo, Hawaiʻi 96720
(808) 961-8288 • Fax (808) 961-8742
C. Kimo Alameda, PhD. Mayor
John Pelletier Vacant Heather Korotie Vacant Charles Young, Chair Nancy Pisicchio, Vice-Chair Charla Thompson David Huerta Roselyn Molina
January 7, 2025
Leeward Planning Commission
County of Hawaiʻi
74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway
Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96740
Subject: Kona Community Development Plan Action Committee Testimony to the Leeward
Planning Commission Special General Plan Meeting on January 16, 2025
Aloha Chair Barbara DeFranco:
The Kona Community Development Plan Action Committee (AC) met on December 17, 2024, at the West
Hawaii Civic Center. Included on the agenda was discussion and decision-making on whether to submit testimony
to the Leeward Planning Commission regarding the General Plan. Following deliberation, the committee voted
unanimously to submit the letter collectively, identified as Communication 2025-01.
Sincerely,
Charles Young, Chair
Kona Community Development Plan Action Committee
KK:
V:\PL\PL\planning\public\wpwin60\CDP\CDP - Kona\Action Committee\Meetings\2025\2025-01-14\Communications\Communication
No. 2025-01 KCDP AC Testimony for LPC 1-16-25.pdf
To: Leeward Planning Commission of the County of Hawai'i, Barbara DeFranco, Chair
From: Kona Community Development Plan Action Committee, Charles Young, Chair
RE: Special General Plan Meeting 1/16/2025
Aloha Chair DeFranco, Vice-Chair Paishon-Duarte and other Commissioners,
On the December 17, 2024, meeting of the Kona Community Development Plan Action
Committee, the following Motion was unanimously approved:
“The Kona CDP Action Committee would like to share our concern that the remapping
of the 1200-acre Hōkūliʻa property from Agricultural to Rural proposed in the 2045 General
Plan (Map 8) would facilitate the upzoning of land for a residential resort with a potential
buildout of over 1,000 homes along the coast north of Kealakekua Bay outside of the Kona
Urban Growth Area.
We feel this proposal conflicts with the Kona Community Development Plan as well as
the 2045 General Plan, both of which discourage urban sprawl outside of the Kona Urban
Growth Area or existing rural towns and villages. The 2045 General Plan wisely states that:
The value of establishing Urban Growth Areas lies in the ability to manage growth
effectively, preserve natural and cultural resources, plan infrastructure efficiently,
stimulate economic development, and foster strong, cohesive communities. Urban
Growth Areas present a strategic approach to urban planning that balances the needs
of a growing population with the preservation of Hawaiʻi Island’s unique character and
heritage.
However, the County’s recommendation to convert the Hōkūliʻa property from
Agricultural to Rural seems to contradict the above recognition of the importance of that
“strategic approach”.
Therefore, Kona CDP Action Committee recommends removing the 2045 General
Plan’s proposed remapping of the Hōkūliʻa property from Agricultural to Rural.
This would not prevent the developer from filing a petition with the State Land Use
Commission to request a Boundary Amendment as provided in Chapter 205, HRS.”
Respectively yours,
Charles Young, Chair. Kona CDP Action Committee
Communication No. 2025-01