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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-08-18 Leeward Exh A - HIHS LEEWARD PLANNING COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I HEARING TRANSCRIPT AUGUST 18, 2011 HAWAI‘I ISLAND HUMANE SOCIETY A regularly advertised hearing on the applications of (SPP 11-120 and, formerly JOHN KOBAYASHI AND FUKU BONSAI INC., SPP 581) was called to order at 9:45 a.m. in the West Hawai‘i Civic Center, Community Center, Building G, 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway, Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i, with Wayne Iokepa, Chair Pro Tem, presiding. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Wayne Iokepa, Thomas Hickcox, Richard Nelson and Thomas Whittemore ABSENT AND EXCUSED: Brandi Beaudet, Lani Bowman and Geraldine Giffin STAFF PRESENT: Julie Mecklenburg (Deputy Corporation Counsel), BJ Leithead Todd (Planning Director), Jeff Darrow (Staff Planner) and Maija Cottle (Staff Planner) And approximately 45 people from the public in attendance. APPLICANT: HAWAI‘I ISLAND HUMANE SOCIETY (SPP 11-120) Application for a Special Permit to allow the establishment of an animal sheltering facility and related uses on 12 acres of land within the State Land Use Agricultural District. The property is the former Fuku-Bonsai site and is located on the mauka side of Māmalahoa Highway, northwest of the Ha‘awina Street – Māmalahoa Highway intersection, mauka portion of Keauhou 1st, North Kona, Hawai‘i, TMK: 7-8-006:065. APPLICANT: HAWAI‘I ISLAND HUMANE SOCIETY (formerly JOHN KOBAYASHI AND FUKU BONSAI INC.) (SPP 581) Revocation of Special Permit No. 581, which was approved by the Planning Commission on April 10, 1985 to allow the establishment of a bonsai visitor center, which included the charging of admission fees, the sale of unrelated agricultural, commercial and food items, and related improvements; and was amended on July 16, 1990 to allow the establishment of a coffee processing facility for exhibit, museum and retail sales; and was further amended on December 26, 2000 to allow the establishment of an indoor and outdoor self-storage facility on 12 acres of land within the State Land Use Agricultural District. The property is the former Fuku-Bonsai site and is located on the mauka side of Māmalahoa Highway, northwest of the Ha‘awina Street – Māmalahoa Highway intersection, mauka portion of Keauhou 1st, North Kona, Hawai‘i, TMK: 7-8-006:065. IOKEPA: We are ready to move along with our next agenda item, Hawai‘i Island Humane Society. This is an application for Special Permit to allow the establishment of an animal sheltering facility and related uses on twelve acres of land within the State Land Use Agricultural District. The property is the former Fuku Bonsai site and is located on the mauka side of Māmalahoa Highway, northwest of the Ha‘awina Street – Māmalahoa Highway intersection, mauka portion of Keauhou st 1, North Kona, Hawai‘i. Maija? 1 EXHIBIT A COTTLE: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good morning, everyone. Our next application is a Special Permit request. The applicant is Hawai‘i Island Humane Society. The subject property is located in the North Kona District. And you can see the subject property on the slide outlined in red. You have Kuakini Highway running in a north-south direction through the middle of the slide, and then you can see King Kamehameha III Road running off to the left side down to Keauhou, as well as Māmalahoa Highway just makai of the subject property. And the current zoning of the property is Agricultural-5 Acres that’s shown in the light green, and surrounding properties are also zoned Agricultural-5 Acres, as well as Agricultural-1 Acre zoning to the north and to the west. The State Land Use District for the property is Agricultural, again, that’s shown in green, and then you can see some Rural District classification to the north and makai of the highway. The General Plan designation for the property is Important Agricultural Land that’s shown again in the light green, and then there are Rural designated areas and Low-Density Urban nearby that’s shown in the yellow. The property is located just outside of the Kona Urban Area in the Kona Community Development Plan; the Kona Urban Area, you can see, is the red outline. So the applicant is requesting a Special Permit to establish an animal sheltering facility. The property is twelve acres in size, and the components of the project will include reusing some of the existing structures on the property that were associated with the former bonsai visitor center. There’s, I think, three or four existing structures that will be renovated and used as an administration building, a welcome center and a cattery building. The existing restroom building will continue to be used as a restroom. And then they are also proposing to construct new buildings for an education center, a veterinary clinic, a dog kennel building, and a retail area and a caretaker’s cottage. There is also going to be some outdoor features to the project that will include an approximately two-acre dog park, and a large equine park and stable, a small animal park for, like, hamsters, guinea pigs, little creatures, and walking trails. They are also, of course, proposing additional parking and landscaping on site. And in addition to that request for the new Special Permit, they also are requesting to revoke the existing permit for the property. The original permit was granted in 1985 for the bonsai visitor center, and then it was amended twice – once in 1990 and once in 2000 – to allow a coffee processing facility and a self-storage facility. So these uses haven’t operated on the property for quite a while and the applicant has no intention to re-establish the uses, so they are requesting that that permit be revoked. This is a site plan of the proposed animal sheltering facility. You can see Māmalahoa Highway on the bottom of the slide; actually Kuakini Highway is at the very bottom, then Māmalahoa Highway. You can see the driveway access kind of in the middle of the slide with some trees lining the sides, the parking area, and then all of the existing structures are shown in yellow. And again – that print is really small, so let me get my close-up view here – so the existing structures, again, will be used as an administration building, a cattery and a welcome center. And then the proposed structures are shown in red; you have the education center near the parking lot just below the parking lot, the retail area below the parking lot, and then the red building up above towards the top of the slide that’s going to be the veterinary clinic, and then the little half-moon shape near the clinic is the dog kennels, and then off to the side of the dog kennels in light green you can see an exercise yard for the dogs. And then the other outdoor features are the large equine park, which is just to the left of that, and then down in the bottom left corner is the approximately two-acre dog park. And then you can see the natural area at the very top of the slide, is going to be used as just natural walking trails. 2 EXHIBIT A These are some photos of the property. This is the gated driveway access. There is a circular driveway, and then you can see the existing building that will be used as a welcome center. And this is a view of Māmalahoa Highway looking south; you can see the driveway off to the left side there. And then the view of Māmalahoa Highway looking north and the driveway off to the right. The director is recommending approval of Special Permit 11-120, as well as approval of the applicant’s request to revoke the Special Permit, the original Special Permit, No. 581. Are there any questions? IOKEPA: Mahalo, Maija. Any questions, Commissioners, for staff? All right. Thank you, Maija. COTTLE: You’re welcome. IOKEPA: Hearing none, I’d like to call up the applicant or representative please come forward -. COTTLE: Excuse me, Mr. Chair, I forgot something very important. IOKEPA: Okay. COTTLE: We actually received numerous letters of support for this project. We received over 64 letters. So rather than read off everybody’s name that submitted testimony, we did receive quite a bit, you should have all of those letters in your packet. IOKEPA: Yes, we do. Mahalo. Could the applicant or representative please come forward? May I swear you in at this time? Please raise your right hand. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Hawai‘i County Leeward Planning Commission? REPRESENTATIVES: I do. Yes. IOKEPA: Please state your name and address, please. FUKE: Good morning, Mr. Chairman, Members of the Commission. My name is Sidney Fuke. I’m a planning consultant. I’ve been asked to assist the Hawai‘i Island Humane Society. My business address is 100 Pauahi Street in Hilo, Hawai‘i. RUDDLE: Good morning. My name is Susy Ruddle. I am the board president of Hawai‘i Island Humane Society. And my personal address is P. O. Box 1064 Kamuela, Hawai‘i. WHITAKER: Good morning. I’m Donna Whitaker, executive director of the Hawai‘i Island Humane Society. My address is 73-4175 Oluolu Place, Kailua-Kona. DODD: Good morning. I’m Scott Dodd, a board member on the Hawai‘i Island Humane Society. My address is 75-5828 Kahakai Road, Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i. IOKEPA: Thank you. We’ll start with you, Mr. Fuke. FUKE: Sure. First of all, I’d like to acknowledge that the applicant has had a chance to review the staff’s background report and the proposed recommendation with conditions, and found them to be acceptable. 3 EXHIBIT A Just by way of background, as you probably all know, the Hawai‘i Island Humane Society is a non-profit entity and their current operation is right by the former rubbish dump in Kealakehe. Obviously, that area is not really conducive for their overall operations. First of all, it’s too small; it’s under just about an acre in size. The location is at almost sea level, so it’s not really good for a lot of the animals that require care, let alone the employees that work there. So what -. And I guess the third reason is that it’s not really like central because this is, you know, they wanted to find an area that was a little bit more central, find an area that was a little bit larger, and an area that was environmentally a little bit more conducive, rather than be next to an abandoned dump. And fortunately, early part of this year there was a donor that stepped up to the plate and they, through the auspices of that donor, they were able to get the subject property, which I think Maija did a great job in explaining the location and what some of the different components are. As some of you know, primarily those who live in Kona, this used to be the former Tanaka quarry. And subsequently there were several Special Permits issued for the project; one was for the Fuku Bonsai and there was an amendment to that for a coffee processing and visitor center, and most recently for a self-storage facility, but the self-storage facility never did get off the ground. And so it’s that property that the Hawai‘i Island Humane Society wants to do. Now, the other reason why the property is also very conducive for their purpose is it’s not only the size, the location, and some of their ability to convert their existing facilities for their purpose without much significant cost, there is really no major infrastructure issues. The waterline is there; there is an existing 1-inch line, and we’ve already had a study done by a registered civil engineer basically attesting that the water capacity and the meter size is sufficient for their purposes. There is, as you can see by the photo, the access is really fully improved and has excellent sight distance. And this is all kind of collaborated by the various agencies where there is the Police, the Fire, the Water Department, and none of those agencies have registered any objections to the property. The site also, they found out, was not in a flood zone. And because it was previously used for the most part as a quarry, there are no cultural or archaeological kind of issues. Much to the applicant’s credit, what they have done is they’ve met with a number of the surrounding property owners. And I think attestment of their outreach is reflected by the, I guess, 65-plus favorable testimonies that you have received. And there also was a letter from an adjoining property owner that provided favorable testimony on the project. So I think that all things considered, you know, we feel that the project meets the test for the issuance of a Special Permit, and we respectfully request your favorable consideration. The other board members, I mean, Donna is the executive director and Scott is a former president and board member and Mrs. Ruddle is the current president, so they are here to answer any questions that you may have specifically relating to their planned operation of the site. IOKEPA: Thank you very much, Mr. Fuke. Commissioners, any questions? Okay. Hearing none, are you okay with the conditions set forth in the -. FUKE: Yes. The applicant has reviewed all of those conditions and found them to be acceptable, reasonable and acceptable. IOKEPA: Very good. Thank you very much. We have a list of testifiers. You can go back to your seats. Thank you very much. And I believe, Susy, are you one of them? 4 EXHIBIT A RUDDLE: I am. IOKEPA: Yes. May I call Nancy Jameson and Teri Hollowell? I need to swear you two in; so if you could raise your right hands. You don’t have to stand. Okay. Sorry. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Hawai‘i County Leeward Planning Commission? TESTIFIERS: I do. IOKEPA: Please use the mike and state your name and address, please. JAMESON: Aloha. My name is Nancy Jameson, 73-4341 Kapuahi Street, Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i. HOLLOWELL: Good morning. My name is Teri Hollowell. And my address is Post Office Box 604 Hōlualoa, Hawai‘i. IOKEPA: Mahalo. Susy, we’ll start with you. RUDDLE: Good morning, again. As a longtime board member of the Hawai‘i Island Humane Society, I begin by thanking the Commission for their thoughtful consideration of HIHS’s Special Permit application. It has been a long, long road to reach this exciting point in time towards our dreams of a facility in West Hawai‘i that our community – pets and people alike – deserves. The mere thought of a location that is specious, cool, and perfectly suited to the many purposes of Hawai‘i Island Humane Society has been a dream of mine personally and of many HIHS Board of Directors for years. We have long sought a location where dogs have a dog park to play in, cats are housed away from dogs rather than side by side in cramped conditions, where the community is welcomed to come and stroll the grounds, bring their own dogs to the dog park, interact with shelter animals and participate in educational programs and outreach. But before that dream becomes reality, there is still much work to be done. We assure the Commission today and in advance that all potential impacts can and will be mitigated. As an example, our plans include evening security and, of course, daily care and cleaning initiatives to minimize any odor concerns. Also of note, I believe, is the name itself. We intentionally are not calling ourselves the Hawai‘i Island Humane Society shelter but rather an Animal Community Center. The name is indicative of our efforts through this new center to be more inclusive and welcoming to animals and the community. We will be in a far better position to expand our services and do so much more than we have any hope of doing from the current facility while also helping relieve some of the burden on our Waimea and Kea‘au shelters. We have consulted with Planning Director Bobby Jean Leithead Todd every step of the way to ensure that the perfect parcel was found. We would not have taken another step forward without her blessing on this location – mahalo. If our application is approved, our next plan of action among many is to issue a request for proposal to hire architects who are experts in the field of animal care facilities. Through thoughtful design, we can better ensure sound and odor impacts are minimal to the neighbors and community while also ensuring we have a state of the art facility the entire Kona community can be very proud of. 5 EXHIBIT A We look forward to the day we celebrate this center along with the community, as we recognize the overwhelming and constant need to provide a caring environment for all animals who have not found their forever homes. Mahalo. IOKEPA: Mahalo. Teri? HOLLOWELL: Good morning, Mr. Chairman, Members of the Planning Committee (sic). I come here as a member of the neighborhood where this new facility and site is going to be. I live within about a mile of it. I also participated in the blessing of the property. And I’m also the president of the Kona Coast Kennel Club, which is a club, which has been around Kona now since the 70’s. And I come with the support of our club; they support the new location of the Animal Community Center, and we look forward to a joint vibrant collaboration between these two non-profits to benefit and improve and strengthen education of youth and citizens about responsible pet ownership here in West Hawai‘i. Thank you. IOKEPA: Mahalo. Nancy? JAMESON: May I say it is an honor and a privilege to speak to all of you on behalf of the Hawai‘i Island Humane Society. I have been involved with Humane Society organizations for over 30 years. The care and love of animals is why all of us are here. The new facility will be welcomed by all the animals saved and is one for which all Hawai‘i residents will be proud. By approving the requested special use permit to allow an onsite veterinary facility and retail shop for animal supplies, you will be providing the animals with immediate health care, spay, neuter, etc. and provide the new animal adoptive parents much needed start-up supplies for their newly adopted pet. We all hope you will approve this permit today for the animals that need this service and for all the residents and adoptive families that will use it. This will be one of the final pieces to this animal puzzle for the Big Island of Hawai‘i. Mahalo. IOKEPA: Mahalo, ladies. Commissioners, any questions for the ladies? Thank you very much. This time I would like to entertain a motion to Application 11-120. NELSON: So move. WHITTEMORE: Second. MECKLENBURG: So, to clarify, the motion -. NELSON: That was a motion to approve. MECKLENBURG: To approve the application for Special Permit based on the Planning Director’s analysis and reasoning and subject to the conditions set forth in the recommendation. NELSON: Correct. MECKLENBURG: Okay, thank you. And that’s the second as well? WHITTEMORE: Right. Second. 6 EXHIBIT A IOKEPA: Maija? COTTLE: Thank you, Mr. Chair. So the motion before us is to approve Special Permit 11-120, as recommended by the Planning Director. IOKEPA: Correct. MECKLENBURG: Commissioners, I’m sorry, we should have the opportunity for discussion, if there’s any. Seeing none, okay. COTTLE: Okay. Commissioner Nelson? NELSON: Aye. COTTLE: Commissioner Whittemore? WHITTEMORE: Aye. COTTLE: Commissioner Hickcox? HICKCOX: Aye. COTTLE: And Mr. Chair? IOKEPA: Aye. COTTLE: Okay, the motion to approve passes, four-zero. IOKEPA: Mahalo, Maija. We have one more agenda item and that is the revocation of Special Permit No. 581. HICKCOX: Mr. Chair? IOKEPA: Yes. HICKCOX: Is staff going to do a presentation? IOKEPA: Maija? COTTLE: I kind of wrapped the presentation into the last one. This is the Special Permit that was originally granted to allow the bonsai visitor center associated with Fuku Bonsai, and then it was amended in 1990 and 2000 to allow a self-storage facility and a coffee processing facility. And this is on the same property as the Hawai‘i Island Humane Society Special Permit you just granted, so the applicant is requesting that those, the permit for those other uses be revoked. IOKEPA: Very good. Having said that, we have no one that signed up to testify. So I will ask for a motion. 7 EXHIBIT A HICKCOX: Mr. Chair, I move that we approve the revocation of Special Permit No. 581. NELSON: Second. IOKEPA: Discussion? Maija? COTTLE: Thank you, Mr. Chair. The motion before you is to approve the revocation of Special Permit 581. Commissioner Hickcox? HICKCOX: Aye. COTTLE: Commissioner Nelson? NELSON: Aye. COTTLE: Commissioner Whittemore? WHITTEMORE: Aye. COTTLE: And Chair Iokepa? IOKEPA: Aye. COTTLE: The motion passes, four-zero, to revoke. IOKEPA: Mahalo. The discussion ended at 10:10 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Noriko Sauer, Secretary Leeward Planning Commission 8 EXHIBIT A