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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-02-14 PCDP AC Minutes County of Hawai‘i PLANNING DEPARTMENT PUNA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ACTION COMMITTEE Aupuni Center • 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3 • Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720 Phone (808) 961-8288 • Fax (808) 961-8742 Hawai‘i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer BJ Leithead Todd Director Margaret Masunaga Deputy Director William P. Kenoi Mayor Tuesday, February 14, 2012 Meeting Minutes CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Dan Taylor called the Puna Community Development Plan (PCDP) Action Committee (AC) meeting to order at 3:01 p.m. in the Kea‛au Community Center with the following persons present: Action Committee: Frank Commendador (arrived at 3:03 p.m.) Madie Greene, Keikialoha Kekipi, René Siracusa, Patti Pinto, Dan Taylor and Oshi Simsarian. Excused: Barbara Bell, and Kelly Nafie. Staff: Bobby Jean Leithead Todd, Planning Director, April Surprenant, Long Range Planning Division Program Manager, Larry Brown (Planning Department, Project Manager), Elizabeth “Liz” Hultman- Salfen (Planning Department, Community Planning Assistant). Members of the public: 8 ANNOUNCEMENTS 1. Dan Taylor announced that René will chair the Action Committee meeting today and thanked everyone that is in attendance today on Valentine’s Day. 2. Larry Brown made the announcement that Kelly Nafie has resigned from the Action Committee. Applications for appointment to the Action Committee will be on-going and interested individuals can apply. PUBLIC TESTIMONY APPROVAL OF MINUTES Madie Greene moved to approve the minutes with three noted corrected. Second by Dan. All voted in favor NEW BUSINESS 1. Planning Director: tabled until her arrival. 2. Election of Chair and Vice-Chair: Oshi Simsarian moved to have Dan Taylor and René Siracusa elected to Chair and Vice- Chair respectively, of the Puna Community Development Action Committee for 2011- 2012. Second by Frank. All voted in favor. 2 3. General Plan Amendments for Pāhoa: a. James Weatherford testified that he is very glad to see the LUPAG amendments and agrees one-hundred percent. b. Dan Taylor reminded the committee that the Planning Director had met with the community several times in Pāhoa. Madie Greene moved to approve the draft letter in support of the Planning Director’s proposed amendments to the General Plan Land Use Pattern Allocation Guide (LUPAG) Map. Second by Patti. All voted in favor 4. Larry introduced April Surprenant, the Manager of Long Range Planning in the County of Hawaii Planning Department. 5. Mass Transit Hub & Spoke Concept: a. Public Testimony: i. Stephanie Bath provided written testimony in lieu of her presentation. a) Elizabeth Weatherford asked the AC to invest time into understanding Steph’s letters. Elizabeth believes that the Mass Transit Agency (MTA) should prioritize the Hub & Spoke Concept in order to mitigate traffic demand and increase bus service, and MTA should listen to advocates on how to improve transit. b) Dan stated that in his meetings with Stephanie she expressed her frustration with MTA. She would like to know what Mr. Brown’s plans are toward moving towards a Hub & Spoke Concept and would like increased bus service to Puna, especially the mauka areas after school and work commute hours. She does not receive any communications from Mr. Brown in response to her inquiries. c) René stated that Mr. Brown can be invited to an AC meeting once we have specific questions to ask him with his timeline for implementation. He does face the funding obstacle. d) Frank stated that Mr. Brown is burdened with all the community concerns and the AC needs to be more specific with recommendations for desired bus routes and frequency of runs. e) Patti stated that individual communities need to take a more active role in identifying their particular MTA needs. f) René recalled that several years ago Pāhoa High School formed a group and requested a late bus for Pāhoa town so they could work at the mall. MTA added that route. ii. James Weatherford stated that during the CDP planning process the need for better bus system was always mentioned. He suggests that the AC do the following: a) Make noise and be heard; b) Make Hub & Spoke high on the AC priority list; and 3 c) Look at the Transportation Working Group Report and see what they say about the Hub & Spoke program iii. Jon Olson announced that he is now serving on the Transit Committee for the County of Hawai‛i. He has been on the committee for four months and there has been no meeting, and the web site is not working. He will be following up. Current and potential ridership numbers are needed to make meaningful recommendations for improved service. Puna should expect an increased level of service. a) René asked Jon if the Pāhoa High School auto shop students could repair some of those old buses stored at the landfill or use them for scrap metal. Jon replied that the buses were obtained using Federal Funds which makes disposal difficult and nearly impossible for the auto shop youth. b) Oshi suggested the Transportation subcommittee might try to find out what the needs and wants are for local communities/subdivisions in order to develop a MTA priority list. c) Keiki asked if we have adequate service between Hilo and Puna, which needs to be considered along with adding local service. d) Patti added that MTA has online surveys but lacks the staff to look at the survey results. e) Frank added that Fern Acres continues to speak with Corporation Council regarding Hele On bus service on private roads and that a model is needed to provide the subdivisions with a process for getting bus service on their private roads. Jon added that federally funded equipment should be able to go on private roads. Madie Greene moved that the AC wait until Jon Olson has his meeting with Tom Brown after which he will report back to the AC so the AC can develop specific proposals for addressing Mass Transit issues. Second by Keiki. All voted in favor 6. Pahoa Town Center Plan: a. Robin Stetson is a member of the Steering Committee formed to create a Pāhoa Regional Town Center Plan, which will be a long-range plan for the Pāhoa Village. They hope the plan will be adopted by ordinance. There are two groups working on two aspects of the plan; the Pāhoa Regional Town Center Steering Committee (PRTCSC) is focusing on the overall long-range growth management plan and Mainstreet Pāhoa will be working on defining a design district. b. In November and December the PRTCSC appeared at the AC meetings and is seeking acknowledgment and support from the AC. c. Since Pāhoa serves as the regional center for all of Puna south of Orchidland, public input from the 96778 zip code area, which has a population of approximately14,000, will be sought. The proposed LUPAG map amendments introduced by the Planning Director will be used to guide their growth management planning area. d. To seek community input they will be hosting a community gathering event on March 24, 2012 from 3:00 pm to 6:00 pm to kickoff this community-based planning effort, 4 seek additional volunteer participation, and to announce the Pāhoa Plan Survey. A print version of the survey will be distributed at public places such as grocery stores, and farmers markets and an on-line version will be made available. e. The design district area will likely include the area from Malama Market to the high school with the intent of preserving what is unique about Pāhoa. f. Robin asked the Planning Director: “How may our community have the most input on the growth and design of Pāhoa before the Pāhoa Plan is approved by the County?” Bobby Jean explained that the Department is mandated to process complete land use applications according to specific timelines. i. Bobby Jean suggested that you include the people who live, work and own property in Pāhoa Town area involved from the beginning including all levels of government. ii. Seek a resolution from the County Council members to defer any action from the County Council on applications until the plan is done making sure to include a timeline for completion of the plan. iii. Adopt through resolution a community group/association that is designated to act on design questions and give approvals g. Robin stated that the unofficial timeline for PRTCSC to complete the plan is by the end of the year or sooner if possible. Frank moved that Dan and Frank will work with Robin to draft a letter of recognition and support for the actions of the Pāhoa Regional Town Center Planning Steering Committee for consideration at the March AC meeting. Second by Madie. Six votes in favor; Keiki abstained. 7. Planning Director dialogue with the AC: a. René described the expansion plans for the Puna Community Medical Center (PCMC) to increase service toward the CDP implementation. They are seeking new land across from the water pumping station on Hwy. 130, 8/10 of a mile from Pāhoa Marketplace intersection. She asked for Bobby-Jean’s advice. Bobby Jean said one of the biggest issues will be the left-hand turn from Hwy 130. Special Use Permits and the General Plan are supposed to be flexible. She suggested asking the State DOT to incorporate the left turn into their Hwy 130 improvements. The PCMC will need to do an EA because it is State land. b. Regarding the endorsement of the Pāhoa Plan, Bobby Jean suggested creating a subcommittee and then it will be on all the AC published agendas and there will be a formal connection. Dan moved to form a subcommittee of up to four AC Members as part of the Pāhoa Community Plan Steering Committee for the Pāhoa Plan which will include Madie, Oshi, Dan and Frank. Second by Oshi. All voted in favor c. Oshi asked about what could be done to get public restroom facilities at the Wai ‘ōpae tide pool area. Bobby Jean recommended looking for “un-buildable” land in the area and seeking inclusion on the 2% Open Space List. Once a piece of land has been found, 5 advocate for the land purchase. Serious consideration by the PONC requires a “willing seller” of the proposed property to be acquired. 8. Mountain View Playground: a. Public testimony: i. Hannah Hendrick stated there is a lot of support in her community for playgrounds close to where the youth live. b. Sharon Daun gave a presentation regarding the KaBoom playground equipment for a Mountain View neighborhood park. It will be placed on the County Parks and Recreation parcel behind St. Teresa Church. They need to raise $8,000 for the community contribution to the park and KaBoom will fund the rest of the project. Neighborhood Place of Puna will be the fiscal agent for the project. The support of the AC was requested for implementation of the project. Frank moved to add the Mountain View Playground to the AC Priority List under item number 5. Second by Dan. All in Favor. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: 1. Action Committee Implementation Priority List: a. Public Testimony: i. James Weatherford said the Implementation Priority List is the most important item at today’s meeting. He further stated that the AC is to implement the plan not to re-write the plan, and the AC is here to serve the entire Puna community. The AC must stick to the plan and stay faithful to the plan. Dan moved to accept the PCDP Action Committee High Priority Projects with the following amendments: a. Accept the deletion of the line-out text and accept the addition of the red text as noted in Communication No. 2012-2. b. Delete the second bullet item under “Support preparation of Draft Community…” c. Correct the name to the “Wai ‘ōpae Marine Life Conservation District” in item #5. Second by Keiki. All voted in favor. 2. Communication No. 2012-1 Report on the PCMC: René informed the AC that the PCMC is now seeing 500+ patients a month and there is a need for increased space and services, so they are seeking a long-term lease from DLNR which they hope to secure in two months. 3. Community Village Center Plan for Mountain View: Dan informed the committee that development is coming fast in their community and that the need for long-term planning is evident. He doesn’t want to see neighbor versus neighbor. 4. Criteria for Prioritizing PCDP Actions: The set of criteria and scoring values for each developed by Dan and Oshi to serve as a guide in deciding what actions or projects should be included on the Implementation Priority List was briefly discussed and it was generally agreed by the AC that no action was necessary. 6 AGENDA FOR NEXT MEETING: 1. Wai ´Opae Marine Life Conservation District update from Oshi 2. Invite Bob Nishimoto from DLNR Aquatic Resources Division to speak to the AC-René 3. Pahoa Plan Draft Letter 4. Friends of the Mountain View Park 5. Tom Brown Mass Transit Agency 6. A representative from the Mayor’s Broad Band internet committee ADJOURNMENT: Madie moved to adjourn the meeting. Second by Keiki. All voted in favor. Meeting adjourned at 6:10 p.m.