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Home My WebLink About2025-07-22 Ka'ū CDP Minutes Draft KAʻŪ COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN 1 ACTION COMMITTEE 2 COUNTY OF HAWAIʻI 3 DRAFT MINUTES 4 July 22, 2025 5 CALL TO ORDER 6 Chair Masters called the Kaʻū Community Development Plan (CDP) Action Committee (AC) 7 meeting to order at 5:26 p.m. This meeting was held in person at the Nāʻālehu Community Center 8 and online via the Zoom platform. 9 The full YouTube video of this meeting can be found here: 10 https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=NBOMfATc6Pg&t=466s 11 ROLL CALL 12 Members Present (in person): Jason Masters (Chair), Kaʻohinani Mokuhaliʻi, Kaweni Ibarra, and 13 Catherine Williams (arrived at 5:37 p.m.) 14 Members Absent: Jesse Ke 15 From the County (in person): Maryam Palma and Jessica Lahip 16 There were approximately twenty-two (22) members of the public in attendance – (17) in person and 17 (5) via Zoom. 18 PUBLIC TESTIMONY ON AGENDA ITEMS [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 4:25] 19 There was no public testimony at this time. 20 PUBLIC TESTIMONY ON MATTERS NOT ON AGENDA [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 21 6:23] 22 Public testimony may be limited to three (3) minutes per speaker. (Pursuant to SB 869) 23 There was no public testimony at this time. 24 THIRD-PARTY REPORTS; GOVERNMENT OFFICIALS [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 25 7:07] 26 The Action Committee may receive and discuss information from third-party reports by any 27 government official not included in a publicly noticed agenda. The Action Committee may only 28 make decisions on matters originally raised by third-party reports from any government official at 29 a later meeting, where the agenda for the meeting gives notice of decision-making on the matter. 30 (Pursuant to SB 405). 31 BUSINESS: 32 1. Edmund C. Olson Trust No. 2 Highway Project Concept – Presentation by Olson Trust 33 Representative on a draft concept of a fuel station, coffee shop and small convenience store along 34 Highway 11, Pahala (TMK: 9-6-012:012). 35 *Note: This is a project concept. No plans or land use applications have been submitted. 36 KAʻŪ CDP ACTION COMMITTEE Minutes of July 22, 2025 2 This item was called to order at 5:33 p.m. [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 7:46] 37 The Edmund C. Olson Trust presented a draft concept for a fuel station, coffee shop, and small 38 convenience store on approximately three acres along Highway 11 near Pāhala. The project aims 39 to address the lack of fuel and public restrooms between Nā‘ālehu and Volcano while creating 40 local jobs and providing visitor amenities without drawing traffic into Pāhala town. The 41 presentation emphasized retaining existing monkeypod trees, providing EV charging and 42 potentially hydrogen fuel, and making highway safety improvements like turning lanes and speed 43 reductions. The Trust plans to rezone 8–10 acres along the frontage from AG-20 to CV-10 and 44 amend the General Plan from low-density to medium-density urban. Community members asked 45 questions about environmental impact, wastewater, wildfire safety, hours of operation, fuel tank 46 placement, and the risk of future large-scale development. Some residents expressed strong 47 support for the convenience the project would bring, while others voiced concern about potential 48 overdevelopment and the need to protect Ka‘ū’s rural character. The presenters affirmed that they 49 are gathering community input before submitting any formal applications. 50 Committee member Mokuhaliʻi made a motion to form a subcommittee to review the Kaʻū CDP 51 and provide input on the project. The motion was seconded by Committee member Ibarra but 52 motion was withdrawn to wait until new committee members are seated. [SEE YOUTUBE 53 TIMESTAMP 1:22:50] 54 Chair Masters made a motion to place the project back on the next meeting agenda in Pāhala to 55 continue gathering community input and discussion. The motion was seconded by Committee 56 member Ibarra and passed unanimously. [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 1:26:00] 57 Brenda Iokepa Moses provided testimony in support of the Edmund C. Olson Trust No. 2 58 Highway Project. [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 27:51] 59 Kyle Soares provided testimony expressing concern about the project’s proximity to the river. 60 [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 30:22] 61 Jamie Kawauchi provided testimony seeking clarification on the project. [SEE YOUTUBE 62 TIMESTAMP 41:55] 63 Mahina Lorenzo provided testimony in support of the project. [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 64 46:26] 65 Frank Lorenzo Sr. provided testimony support of the project. [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 66 47:28] 67 Carl Okuyama provided testimony and spoke about his role as a potential operator. [SEE 68 YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 48:11] 69 Kyle Soares provided additional testimony expressing concern about balancing pricing for 70 residents and visitors. [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 53:13] 71 Tara Rojas provided testimony in opposition and expressed caution for the project. [SEE 72 YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 59:37] 73 Mahina Lorenzo provided additional testimony in response to Tara Rojas’s concerns. [SEE 74 YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 1:04:22] 75 KAʻŪ CDP ACTION COMMITTEE Minutes of July 22, 2025 3 Dal Aldridge provided testimony in support of the project. [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 76 1:06:00] 77 Tara Rojas provided additional testimony reminding the committee to be cautious about zoning 78 changes. [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 1:19:15] 79 This item was closed at 5:29 p.m. 80 APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 1:29:10] 81 Chair Masters made a motion to approve the May 27, 2025 meeting minutes with the correction that 82 the meeting was held at the Pāhala Multi-Purpose Room instead of the Nā‘ālehu Community Center. 83 The motion was seconded by Committee Member Ibarra and passed unanimously 84 NEW BUSINESS [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 1:31:29] 85 The following items were introduced and may be discussed in more detail at future meetings: 86 • Edmund C. Olson Trust Highway Project Concept 87 • Pōhue Bay Coastline Access and Resources (when meeting will be held OceanView) 88 • The Nature Conservancy’s Hīlea Property Acquisition PIG Report 89 An update on the Green Sands emergency access issue is pending additional information from the 90 County Property Management Division; staff will follow up and provide an update at a future 91 meeting. 92 Chair Masters shared that the Nāʻālehu Hills Subdivision status is still pending and will be brought 93 back for further discussion once there are any updates from the Planning Department. 94 Staff provided a brief update on the recent Sunshine Law changes and noted that the Office of 95 Information Practices (OIP) will be conducting training. The CDP team will provide this training to 96 committee chairs and offer refreshers for all members. 97 Staff provided a brief update from Department of Transportation (DOT) regarding 98 crosswalk/speedhumps to improve pedestrian safety. 99 Richard Oba provided testimony in support of the proposed crosswalk project, emphasizing the need 100 for improved pedestrian safety in the area. [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 1:42:41] 101 ANNOUNCEMENTS [SEE YOUTUBE TIMESTAMP 1:53:05] 102 • Nāʻālehu Post Office Safe Pedestrian Crossing Update: The Department of Transportation is 103 in the process of securing funds to install a Speed Feedback Sign to assist in slowing 104 motorists and addressing pedestrian safety and speeding concerns. 105 • Waiohinu Transfer Station: Chair Masters and Member Mokuhaliʻi met with Department of 106 Environmental Management Staff to discuss increasing the days per week the transfer 107 station is open. A site visit with AC members and DEM staff is pending. 108 • Mahana Bay Update: Letter has been resent via email and certified mail to updated contacts. 109 KAʻŪ CDP ACTION COMMITTEE Minutes of July 22, 2025 4 • Real Property Tax Division and Department of Research & Development Agricultural 110 Workshops July 19, 2025 (Waimea Civic Center, 10am-12pm) and August 2, 2025 (online, 111 10am-12pm) – To register: https://docs.google.com/forms/d/e/1FAIpQLSeOYaL- 112 DRlNjUv8Iibf-ilQhCITYhRXx0PZxPfV0qx31BxIWw/viewform?pli=1&authuser=0 113 • The Planning Department is seeking applicants for the Kaʻū CDP Action Committee and is 114 requesting assistance to get the word out to interested community members. The application 115 is available on the Mayor’s Office website: https://www.hawaiicounty.gov/our-116 county/boards- and-commissions. For inquiries, contact Micah Alameda, Executive 117 Assistant to the Mayor at Micah.Alameda@hawaiicounty.gov or (808) 961-8211. 118 • Pōhue Bay is pending further information from the National Park Service. The committee 119 hopes that a representative from the Park will be able to attend a future Kaʻū AC meeting for 120 further discussion. 121 ADJOURNMENT 122 Chair Masters adjourned this meeting at 7:23 p.m. 123 These minutes and all related documents are available in the Planning Department’s Kaʻū Community 124 Development Plan Action Committee folder via the County of Hawaiʻi Public Documents Repository. 125 These documents may also be requested from the Planning Department by calling (808) 961-8288 or 126 emailing cdp@hawaiicounty.gov. 127