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HomeMy WebLinkAbout21Oct2010 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 Thursday, October 21, 2010 Meeting Minutes CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Barbara Bell called the Puna Community Development Plan (PCDP) Action Committee (AC) meeting to order at 3:04 p.m. in the Kea’au Community Center, with the following persons present: Action Committee: Barbara Bell, Greg Braun, Frank Commendador, Keikialoha Kekipi, Madie Greene, Daniel Taylor. Excused: Jeffrey Krepps, Wesley Owens, Tim Tunison. Staff: Larry Brown (Planning Department, Project Manager), Elizabeth “Liz” Hultman-Salfen (Planning Department, Community Planning Assistant), Virginia Aste (Recorder). Members of the public: 6 ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA None ANNOUNCEMENTS 1. Daniel Taylor expressed disappointment that the County Council passed Bill 194 and ignored public comments. PUBLIC TESTIMONY 1. Jerome Siebenrock spoke about the need to improve connectivity in the subdivisions and in emergencies. He proposed paving F Road and during emergencies 8 Road and F Road could be turned into one-way roads in opposite directions. Jon Olson responded that F Road was not in the plan because of flooding issues and that any improvement to Road 8 would involve improvement to F Road. Action: Jerome was referred to the Transportation Sub-Committee to develop a work plan that would identify alignments and connections and make recommendations to the AC and then to the Department of Public Works. Frank Commendador offered to take up the matter with the Fern Forest Community Association. Interested persons may call Siebenrock at 936-7184. 2. Rob Tucker spoke about the passage of Bill 194. He stated that some important planning tools such as Transfer of Development Rights and Floating Zones have been removed from the plan and may be no longer subject to the Sunshine Law. He stated that Friends of Puna’s Future will be working with the Council to introduce revisions to the Code regarding floating zones. 2 3. Elizabeth Weatherford, Transportation Sub-Committee member, spoke of her dissatisfaction with the Kea’au-Pahoa Advisory Group (KPAG) meeting, which outlined alternative 4 chosen for the Keaau-Pahoa Road (Hwy 130). The demand analysis did not take into consideration mass transit. 4. Stephanie Bath, Transportation Sub-Committee member, addressed paving in Hawaiian Acres and stated that regarding Jerome Siebenrock’s suggestions, the inter-connectivity issue in the original PCDP addresses concerns for emergency response. She also felt the community was not involved in the Puna Emergency Access Road (PEAR) process. She cautioned the AC to be wary about community members who may not be speaking for the greater community. 5. Toby Hazel stated that video conferencing in Pahoa will resume, per Bob Fitzgerald of the Department of Parks and Recreation. She feels that conferencing is essential for community input and pointed out that, had the equipment not been packed away in boxes, it might have been available to Puna residents for the October 22 Transportation Conference in Waikoloa. 6. Toni Robert, President of Hawaiian Shores Community Association stated that people in her subdivision depend on her to bring them information about the PCDP and that she felt printing additional copies of the amended plan for the subdivisions was not economically wise. She suggested blogs, Twitter and other electronic methods of reaching people. APPROVAL OF MINUTES A motion was introduced by Frank Commendador and seconded by Madie Greene, to accept the September 16, 2010 minutes as presented. The motion passed by unanimous vote. NEW BUSINESS 1. Sub-Committee Reports A. Amendment Sub-Committee i. Larry Brown stated that Bill 194 will become the new PCDP as soon as the mayor signs it. Separate ordinances with changes will be submitted to the Planning Committee in December. ii. Proposed amendments to the new Bill were presented (item 2 on the agenda) and include an amendment to the title and a text change in the maps. The AC will vote on approval of these amendments at the next meeting. iii. Larry said the AC can introduce changes to the Planning Department on a project-by- project basis, and that a tool in the zoning code is needed to facilitate the concept of village centers, such as voluntary (as opposed to mandatory) Transfer of Development Rights. iv. Larry said existing law requires a master plan before a village center can be created. Jon Olson and Madie Greene pointed out that Pahoa has a master plan that was done in 1993 by Mainstreet Pahoa Association, updated in 2003 and 2005. v. The AC confirmed consensus to continue the Amendment Committee as a standing committee. B. Budget and Finance Sub-Committee i. Liz reported that no grants have been located; support staff is funded through June. ii. Submissions for a new budget will be made in January. C. Malama i ka ‘Aina Sub-Committee 3 i. No report. D. Managing Growth Sub-Committee i. Greg Braun joined the sub-committee. His strongest interest is Parks and Recreation. ii. Parks and Recreation Sub-sub-Committee a. Madie Greene reported that two public meetings have been held in Pahoa to receive suggestions and develop priorities on the 56-acre District Park in Pahoa. It was suggested that this be developed into a work plan for the Parks and Recreation Sub-sub Committee. E. Transportation Sub-Committee i. Stephanie Bath reported that no response has been received from Mass Transit Director Tom Brown on the July 15 letter requesting a copy of the $350,000 grant expected to fund “Hubs and Spokes,” the scope of work, the share for Puna and the method and extent of public input. A second request was made to Brown’s assistant with no response. She requested action from the AC. A motion was made by Frank and seconded by Keiki to send another request for the information with a cover letter to the mayor. The motion passed by unanimous vote. ii. Frank introduced a letter to the Mayor regarding Hele-on bus service in Puna subdivisions. Frank moved and Greg seconded a motion to send a letter, approved by the Chair, to the Mayor with copies to County Council members in Districts 3, 5 and 6, as well as to Corporation Counsel, Lincoln Ashida and Bill Brilhante. The motion passed by unanimous vote. 2. Annual Progress Report A. Barbara proposed to include at the next meeting a brainstorming session regarding the contents of the annual progress report, and a re-evaluation of priorities based on the revisions to the PCDP posed by the recent passage of Bill 194. B. Larry pointed out that the timeline for the report should be March or April to coincide with any funding requests. He also stated that community meetings might be in order. C. Barbara said she could not attend the next meeting on Nov. 18. Madie moved and Keiki seconded a motion to change the meeting to November 16, same time and place. 3. Work Plan Protocols A. Hannah will work with Barbara to draft a work plan protocol for next month’s meeting. UNFINISHED BUSINESS 1. Cultural Resources Commission Letter A. The sub-committee will introduce a new draft letter in the future. 2. Cost of Government Commission Letter A. The AC discussed the draft from the last meeting and Frank moved to have Barbara redraft and send a letter with the message, “we have no comments at this time.” Madie seconded and all voted in favor. PUBLIC TESTIMONY 4 1. Hannah Hedrick testified on where improvements are needed to keep the PCDP alive and meet implementation goals. She urged the AC to develop a fact sheet that would list accomplishments of the AC and serve as a mechanism for ongoing outreach. She said the current method of posting minutes online puts too heavy a burden on the people who lack Internet access. She also suggested workshops and sending a copy of the amended plan to all subdivisions. 2. Stephanie Bath testified on reasons why the community is getting discouraged. The administration took too long to appoint the AC. The Council held the final reading in Kona on Bill 194. Council members made the amendments to the community plan and held only one public meeting. She feels that there is no respect for the process. The AC needs to reengage the community. 3. Jon Olsen testified on Action Committee Workshops and suggested a workshop on environmental justice. AGENDA FOR NEXT MEETING 1. Annual report 2. Work plan protocols ADJOURNMENT A motion to adjourn was made by Frank Commendador, seconded by Madie Greene and unanimously adopted. The meeting was adjourned by the Chairperson at 6:07 p.m.