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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-07-19 Leeward Exh B - Bill No. 255 LEEWARD PLANNING COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I HEARING TRANSCRIPT JULY 19, 2012 COUNTY COUNCIL INITIATED BILL NO. 255 A regularly advertised hearing on the REGARDING AN AMENDMENT TO ORDINANCE NO. 08-150 was called to order at 10:54 a.m. in the West Hawai‘i Civic Center, Community Center, Building G, 74-5044 Ane Keohokālole Highway, Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i, with Vice Chair Lani Bowman presiding. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Lani Bowman, Brandi Beaudet, Thomas Hickcox, Wayne Iokepa and Thomas Whittemore ABSENT AND EXCUSED: Geraldine Giffin and Richard Nelson, III ALSO PRESENT: Ivan Torigoe (Deputy Corporation Counsel), BJ Leithead Todd (Planning Director), Daryn Arai (Planning Program Manager), Jeff Darrow (Planner), Kiran Emler (Department of Public Works, Engineering Division – until 11:45 a.m.) and Noriko Sauer (Commission Secretary) And approximately 14 people from the public in attendance. INITIATOR: COUNTY COUNCIL Bill No. 255 regarding an amendment to Ordinance No. 08-150 which amended Ordinance No. 465, which reclassified lands from Agricultural-1 acre (A-1a) to Neighborhood Commercial-7,500 square feet (CN-7.5). Amendment seeks to delete Condition E that currently restricts use of the property to a visitor center and related uses due to flood hazards. The property is situated adjacent to the southeast of the Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in Kealakekua, South Kona, Hawai‘i, TMK: 8-2-013: Portion of 2. BOWMAN: I would like to call the Hawai‘i Leeward Planning Commission back to order. We are now on New Business, initiated by the County Council, Bill No. 255 regarding an amendment to Ordinance No. 08-150, which amended Ordinance No. 465, which reclassified lands from Agricultural-1 acre to Neighborhood Commercial-7,500 square feet. Amendment seeks to delete Condition E that currently restricts use of the property to a visitor center and related uses due to flood hazards. The property is situated adjacent to the southeast of the Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden in Kealakekua, South Kona. Staff, please. ARAI: Thank you very much. If I may direct your attention to the presentation board. The subject property is located in the South Kona District on the mauka side of the Māmalahoa Highway, which is this white line running left to right across the map. For orientation, this intersection where I’m pointing to is where the new bypass highway will intersect the Māmalahoa Highway, and this area indicated in pink is zoned Commercial; basically directly across the street is the Manago Hotel as a point of reference. Zooming in a little bit closer with the Māmalahoa Highway in this particular location here, and this road running mauka is Kinue Road. The Greenwell Park is located in this location here just to the southeast, and the Yano Hall and the Fire Department and Police Department complexes are located in this particular location here. Surrounding properties are 1 EXHIBIT B zoned Agricultural-1 acre as indicated by the green color and Single Family Residential indicated by the mustard color. Again, those properties zoned Commercial is indicated here in pink. This is an aerial photo of the property. As you can see, the park site is, Greenwell Park is located here adjacent to the subject property, Yano Hall located there, and across the highway is the Manago Hotel. The subject property itself is outlined in a black border. The redline you see going through the property is the separation of the zoning district boundary. If I would back up quickly, back in 1979 this property did undergo a change of zone, but only for the mauka portion, mauka of the red line; the Commercial zone area along the highway was already in existence. So in 1979 there was a subsequent rezoning to rezone the mauka half of the subject property to a Commercial zoning consistent with that which already existed along the highway. As you can see on this particular map, this is the State Land Use Boundary Map. It shows the entire property within the State Land Use Urban District as indicated in the pink color. Areas indicated in the green are State Land Use agriculturally designated lands. This is our General Plan Land Use Pattern Allocation Guide Map. It is in an area designated for Low Density residential uses as indicated by the yellow color. Medium Density Urban uses, which also accommodate multiple family and commercial uses, are indicated here in orange. Also, note that the LUPAG Map is a broad brush representation of the land use policies for the County. This is the Kona Community Development Plan Map. The subject property is located somewhere around there – if I can get my pointer to shoot correctly. It is within a Rural Town TOD and there are no concurrency requirements for a Rural Town TOD, with the exception that that does encourage establishment of TOD master plans to guide the redevelopment of these Rural Towns. Bill 255 submitted by the Council attempts to delete Condition E in order to remove a restriction within the ordinance that currently limits uses on this Neighborhood Commercial zone property only to a visitor center and its directly related uses. Condition E currently states, “This amendment to change the district classification of property is limited to a visitor center and related and accessory uses of a visitor center in substantial conformance to the description in the current application” – submitted back in 2008 – “for reasons of public health, safety, and welfare due to flood hazards in the area.” When in 2008 there was an attempt by the Amy B.H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden to amend the mauka half of the property, as I previously mentioned, and that was to accommodate a visitor center, during the course of hearings before the Planning Commission and ultimately at the County Council, the Council was concerned about potential flooding issues or drainage issues in a particular area. That being said, they saw it fit to incorporate this condition, which basically restricted uses to no more than a visitor center. This is a photograph of the affected area. This is an unnamed County road running basically mauka-makai, and we are looking makai with Manago Hotel in the background. The subject property is off to your right from this unnamed County road. And note the condition of the County road itself. This is looking back mauka along the same unnamed County road with the subject property off to your left. This is a view of the Ethnobotanical Center with the visitor center located to the right of the screen, and you may notice the paved circular driveway servicing the center. And again, this is a photograph of the visitor center itself. When we considered Bill 255, by eliminating Condition E, what that basically does is then allow all uses permitted within the CN zone district to occur on the subject property, regardless if the center is only envisioning nothing more than a visitor center and a farmers’ market, which has been the 2 EXHIBIT B whole reason driving this proposal. There are concurrency requirements. There are concerns that were raised back in 2008 regarding drainage concerns of the area. The Planning Director is therefore offering this proposed amendment to Condition E beyond what was represented in Bill 255, which basically is saying if the property is used only for a visitor education center and a biweekly farmers’ market, the applicant does not have to improve the unnamed County road and provide improvements to the Māmalahoa Highway intersection, as well as dealing with the drainage improvements that will normally be required of any other Commercial zone property. And what it says also is that should the center decide at some point in time in the future to allow uses beyond the visitor center and biweekly farmers’ market, then all the normal infrastructure improvements required of any other Commercial zone property on the island will be triggered, and that includes curb, gutter, sidewalk improvements, improve pavement surface, drainage improvements, striping, maybe even utility relocation; those things will be triggered, should they go beyond the visitor center and biweekly farmers’ market use. So the Director is recommending favorable recommendation of Bill 255, provided that your recommendation also includes the revision to Condition E as indicated on the screen. And I’ll leave this language up on the screen for your referral. So with that, I stand ready -. I’m sorry. We’ve received quite a few public testimonies in response to this proposed amendment. All of these testimonies have, copies of which have been provided to the Commission. We also received one just at today’s hearing from Virginia Isbell, and that has also been distributed to you. So with that, I stand ready to answer any questions that you may have. BOWMAN: Thank you. Commissioners, any questions of staff? BEAUDET: One question. BOWMAN: Yes. BEAUDET: The requirement for the sidewalk, curb and gutter down the lane is both sides of the lane or just the property side? ARAI: The way the condition currently reads, it will require curb, gutter and sidewalks on both sides, I’m sorry, on one side along the southeast frontage of the subject property – I need to correct the statement. And the one thing that I did fail to mention is that the County Code also requires that whenever there is an amendment to an existing change of zone ordinance, as that is occurring here, that the concurrency requirements of the Zoning Code kicks in. So with that, we want to introduce a proposed new Condition F, as in Frank. And if you give me a moment, I will distribute the proposed language to you – one moment. And this language is language that you will frequently see in change of zone applications, I mean, I’m sorry, or amendments, that come before you. And I would like to read it for you; new Condition F, as in Frank, would read, “Should the applicants, successors or assigns develop a land use which the Planning Department, in consultation with the Department of Public Works, determines will generate over 50 peak hour trips, a Traffic Impact Analysis Report (TIAR) shall be submitted for review and approval by the Department of Public Works prior to Final Plan Approval. The applicants shall implement, when required by the Department of Public Works, at no cost to the County, any transportation system improvements that may be deemed necessary by the Department 3 EXHIBIT B of Public Works.” So with that condition in place, it will deal with the concurrency requirements of the Zoning Code and therefore allow us to support the proposed amendment. And, let’s see, I had one final change to make – and for some reason I’ve lost track of it – okay, in Bill 255, as indicated in your background report, Exhibit H, as in Harry, that is a transmittal from the County Council sending Bill 255 to the Planning Commission for review, and the condition that I’m looking at in the draft ordinance is Condition L, as in Larry, and that is your standard fair share condition. This bill basically, with the proposed amendment, it – how do I say this – they are incorporating the language from the existing ordinance and sort of like refreshing it in this proposed bill; but what they didn’t do was to sort of update the fair share numbers. As you recall, over time the fair share assessment changes based on the Honolulu Consumer Price Index. So, because, once you, should this proposed amendment, or new bill, go through, it will lock in the assessment at this point in time. These numbers are actually making reference to numbers that were originally adopted in 2008. So what I simply did is I’m recommending that all the numbers you see there, which is like on Page 5 in the middle of the lengthy paragraph under Condition L, it speaks to “the fair share contribution shall have a combined value of $7,383, 36 per multiple family residential unit ($11,506.13 per single family residential unit),” I want to change those numbers and all the numbers that come after it regarding parks, Police, Fire, solid waste disposal and roads, to current fair share assessment, or the fees. So just as a reference point, the value for multiple family residential unit, the fair share contribution will now increase to $8,796.06, and for single family it’s $12,772.64, and we will then adjust all of the numbers to make it consistent with the current fee, fair share assessment. So we will plug in those numbers based on the current fees for 2012. BEAUDET: Daryn? ARAI: Yes, Commissioner. BEAUDET: Is it necessary to change the numbers to current? Because if they don’t do it now, then it’s going to change next year because the sentence before provides language for the CPI change, right? ARAI: That is correct. But then if you read the sentence in its entirety, it says, “The fair share contribution may be adjusted annually beginning three years after the effective date of this ordinance”; so when it makes reference to “this ordinance,” it will be this ordinance that could be adopted in 2012. But these numbers are actually reflecting numbers that existed back in 2008, so -. Was I clear? Thank you. BOWMAN: Any other -? ARAI: And just, I’m sorry, just for the record, whenever we make amendments to existing change of zone ordinance, we frequently go through these type of updates to the numbers, just it’s so we are not treating this any different. And this is only applied, if they build residential units on the property; if they don’t build it, then the fair share doesn’t kick in. BEAUDET: So the three-year time frame starts from now or from the original date? ARAI: It will start from when this bill is eventually adopted by the Council. 4 EXHIBIT B BEAUDET: Okay, so it’s a completely new bill then -. ARAI: Yes. That is why -. BEAUDET: Once the changes are accepted. ARAI: Correct. BOWMAN: Any other questions, Commissioners? I have a quick one. Farmers’ market limited to homegrown and homemade – does that include woodwork art? ARAI: I believe it would – let me see – yeah, I believe it would. So homemade wood implements like bowls and -. BOWMAN: Or jewelry or art or -. I mean that’s -. ARAI: Jewelry, as long as it’s manufactured by the person selling it, yes; they cannot simply be a reseller of products. BOWMAN: Right. Okay. Any other questions? No? Okay, will the applicant or their representative please come forward, and then I can swear you in. Please raise your right hand. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Leeward Hawai‘i Planning Commission? VAN DYKE: Yes, I do. BOWMAN: Could you please state your name? VAN DYKE: My name is Peter Van Dyke. I’m the manager of Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden and an employee of Bishop Museum who is the owner of the property. BOWMAN: Good morning. VAN DYKE: Good morning. BOWMAN: Do you have anything to add? VAN DYKE: Well, I came basically to testify that I support the recommendation of the Planning Commission. I hadn’t seen this Condition F. And I quite certainly understand all about it. We are an ethnobotanical garden; our mission is supporting traditional Hawaiian cultural uses of plants through conservation and education. I think we are a real asset to our community and to our neighborhood. There would be a lot of -. I think people from the farmers’ market will tell you why the farmers’ market itself is going to be important to the farmers and to the community. But it’s also important to us as a botanical garden and a museum in the Captain Cook community. And the main thing the farmers’ market does for us is raise our visibility in the community, which brings people from local residents and non-resident visitors to our site. And they may be coming there for the purpose of the market, but they have a chance to look around, and hopefully, they like what they see and they’ll come back and take part in our programs or recommend that people, their friends 5 EXHIBIT B will come back. And so having a farmers’ market there is really going to be a benefit to us. It’s going to be a benefit to everybody in the community, I think, too. But I thought I could really kind of talk about how it’s a benefit to us. I don’t think that the original problems of drainage and flood hazards are going to be exacerbated or increased by the farmers’ market there. When there is a heavy rain, the farmers’ market will close, customers won’t come, the vendors will, you know, we’ll close the market obviously. Mind you this is not Hilo, so people here don’t go out to market or something like that in heavy rains. But, and also, the onsite drainage mitigation has really taken care of, I think, anything, any storm runoff that’s generated by the site itself. The only thing, I mean, I wonder about the language of the recommendation that why we couldn’t just say that the, going back to the original County Council language, the amendment to change the district classification of property is limited to a visitor center and a farmers’ market, you know, for the purpose of the condition, or biweekly farmers’ market permitted, blah, blah, blah, and leave it at that, without having to specify exactly what improvements will be required, should we desire to make any other, have any other kind of activities on there. And I’m not sure that, it just seems like we are, we have been locked into a really precise definition of what will be required, if we want to do anything else, whereas we would certainly have to come back to the Public Works Department or the Planning Department, if we want to do anything else anyway and, you know, times change. We might, you know, there’s, we don’t, we lose any kind of negotiation opportunity we might have by specifying exactly what would be required to do, if we wanted to do anything else, whereas if we just leave that out, of course we will be required to come back and find out what it is we have to do, but we won’t be pinned down to the one condition. And that’s more of a question; it’s not an objection or a deal killer on my part. It’s just sort of like why can’t we just leave it at a visitor center and a farmers’ market without including all those specifics. And I’m not sure how the, what is the process for determining whether in this new condition, a land use will generate over 50 peak hours. Do we have to, like, submit a proposed land use to, whom? To the Planning Department, I guess. And they work it out with the Department of Public Works, and then they determine, they determine 50 trips per hour. So, you know, anything we are thinking about doing, we have to come back to the Planning Department to do it, or -. So anyway, those are a couple of questions. BOWMAN: Okay, staff, thank you. ARAI: Okay, I’ll do my best to respond to all of your concerns. Thank you, Mr. Van Dyke. The reason why we are proposing the revised language to Condition E is that Bill 255, which was introduced by Mrs. Ford, basically -. Let me back up. When the 2008 amendment to the change of zone ordinance was going through to accommodate the proposed visitor center, there were concerns brought up by Councilperson Ford regarding drainage in the area. Based on those concerns, the Councilperson and the rest of the Council saw it fit to limit uses only to a visitor center, as indicated by the Condition E, which is struck out there below. We do not support that type of condition because it restricts uses that are normally permitted by the Neighborhood Commercial zone district. As you look at the Zoning Code, there is a whole range of uses allowed in the Neighborhood Commercial zoned area – farmers’ market, laundromats, retail stores, offices – a whole range of uses. So to restrict it to one particular use within the whole category use, you are actually defeating the purpose of zoning; you are almost as if you are treating this like a special permit or a use permit, which only defines one particular use. That is like a contractual type of zoning. That I believe the proper word is illegal. So we are in some ways glad to get rid of the old condition because it really 6 EXHIBIT B shouldn’t be in an ordinance like this. When you approve a zoning, it should be based on the assumption that the entire range of uses will be allowed and that is a proper location for all of those type of uses permitted under the Zoning Code. That is why we are offering -. We cannot support the proposal offered by, submitted under Bill 255, simply because by eliminating that condition, or that restriction, it allows the whole range of uses allowed under the CN zone district, but it fails to address the very concern that was raised back in 2008, which is concerns regarding drainage in the property and adequacy of access. All Commercial zone districts normally require commercial type of improvements – adequately paved roadways, curb, gutter and sidewalk improvements, and drainage improvements; we couldn’t just eliminate the conditions or allow all those uses to occur on the property without addressing the basic requirements that we expect of any other Commercial zoning on the rest of the island. We have to treat this in a same manner. So with that being said, and knowing what was envisioned by Bill 255, the Planning Director felt that we would accommodate a visitor education center and a biweekly farmers’ market without having to do all those extensive commercial improvements; however, should the center decide to do all those other commercial uses beyond the farmers’ market and the visitor center, then you’ll be obligated to provide all those standard commercial level of improvements, including roadway and drainage. Now, the Department of Public Works is concerned, you know, I believe the farmers’ market has occurred in the past on this property, so there have been firsthand experiences on some of the traffic concerns that occur at that particular location. And maybe you can, maybe you will witness to that. What the Director is offering here is to accommodate those limited uses, the visitor center and the farmers’ market, even though we understand that it may not address all of the concerns regarding traffic that was expressed by the Department of Public Works. But we understand that the visitor center (sic) limited to twice a week, we are trying to control the frequency of the impacts to the roads in that area. And that is why the Director is recommending that we do allow those two limited uses and defer those outside roadway improvements. VAN DYKE: Okay, thank you, I understand that. ARAI: Now, you had -. That was a long explanation, so now I lost track of what the other concern was. But Condition F, was it? DARROW: Whom they have to go to. ARAI: Okay, thank you, Jeff. Whenever you do development on a piece of property, either the landowner, the consultants, the contractors have to be aware of all of the requirements of government. We are sorry that the condition doesn’t go into extreme depth on what would be the normal course; but if so, then we would end up with a condition that’s over a page long. What that simply says is that, what it basically means is if you propose anything else on the property, come to the Planning Department. We would then advise you on all the processes, the permits, the requirements that would be necessary, should you wish to introduce other uses on the subject property. VAN DYKE: But not if, say, the Boy Scouts are going to come for a jamboree and there’s going to be 50 kids or, you know, maybe 50 cars coming one day? ARAI: Well, that is why, that’s the difficulty. There is no such thing as a temporary use on the property, you know. If you are contemplating using this property for uses beyond the visitor 7 EXHIBIT B education center and a biweekly farmers’ market, then you will be subject to all the standard commercial improvements that we normally require of anyone else. So I guess what I’m basically saying is you’ll be, should this amendment be approved by the County Council, you will be limited to those two uses, nothing more. VAN DYKE: Okay. ARAI: And if you want to contemplate something much grander, then that should have been considered before Bill 255 was submitted down to this office. But as it stands, the proposed revision is what was offered to us; there was no real detailed explanation on what else was coming. We had to glean through the records that everything was being promulgated by the desire of the community to have a, to re-establish the farmers’ market on the property. So that’s what we knew and that’s what we try to accommodate. VAN DYKE: Okay, thank you. BOWMAN: Commissioners, any questions? I have a question, comment, or something, in regards, say, the Boy Scouts. Would that be ancillary use to the visitor center, if the Boy Scouts came, that kind of thing? I mean, what’s ancillary to the visitor center? Cause I think that’s a question. ARAI: The visitor center is, the way I understand it, educational. A lot of what’s occurring on the property is educational. If there is some sort of activity that is promoting the direct operations of the visitor education center, then that is maybe something we can consider as ancillary and supportive, or related, to the operations of the visitor education center. Something like, if the Boy Scouts were to hold a bake sale or a fundraiser to support the operations of the visitor center, that’s fine; but if they hold a makahiki or some other type of event that has no direct bearing on the operations of the visitor center or the Greenwell Botanical Garden, then I would think that would be in conflict with the code. I just see no relationship. BOWMAN: Thank you. But that doesn’t preclude them from holding, like, you have your Amy Botanical Days; so they could have one of those in addition to the biweekly markets, right? Because that’s, again, totally for the visitor center. I’m just trying to clarify. Say, they had a ‘ulu festival that was ancillary to the visitor center. ARAI: You know, I try to think that the Department prides itself on being reasonable, so I would think that, you know, it really depends; I mean, I don’t think we are going to come across and be unreasonable on how we review things. But, you know, it’s hard for me to pass judgment without sitting down because -. Understand that the Planning Director is trying to accommodate the desires of the community but is also very aware of the concerns affecting the area – one of them being drainage, the other one clearly being traffic. So that is always in the back of our mind. And we do have a fiducially responsibility to make sure that whatever is being offered remains consistent with the intent of what’s being offered through this bill, but not compromise the purpose of our zoning requirements, which would normally, as I mentioned before, require that roadways in the area and drainage system be improved to commercial standards. So if you want free liberty to do whatever you want within the Commercial zone district, then we are going to expect all the improvements to be put in first. 8 EXHIBIT B BOWMAN: Thank you. Any other questions, Commissioners? Forgive me, I forgot to ask you if you have received the background report in addition to what we’ve given you, and that you’ve received it and -. VAN DYKE: Yes, I did, yeah. BOWMAN: Okay, thank you. Okay, any more comments? VAN DYKE: Well, just to say thank you for answering my questions. I feel really satisfied with your answers, and I think it’s a good recommendation from the Planning Commission. We’ll be very happy to -, if it’s accepted. BOWMAN: Thank you. Now, we have eleven people to testify – thank you, you may sit down – so what I’d like to do is call you up four at a time. And if you could, you know, you’ve heard the testimony, maybe if you have additional testimony, do your best to limit it to a couple of minutes, because we’d like everyone to be able to, you know, have their turn to testify. So I will call you up by fours according to how, when you signed up. So – forgive me if I don’t say your name right – Karen Kriebl, Timothy Bruno, Gary Willick and Roxann Taughinbaugh. Okay, and I will need to swear you in, so if you could, after you’re seated, please raise your right hand. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Leeward Hawai‘i Planning Commission? TESTIFIERS: Yes, I do. BOWMAN: Good. I will start with Ms. Kriebl. KRIEBL: Thank you. Hello, my name is Karen Kriebl. I am a founding member and a vendor at the South Kona Green Market since 2008. I’m a fulltime farmer, and the South Kona Green Market has provided me the opportunity to connect my farm products with the community. It’s been an integral part of our income. I’m very appreciative of the Kealakekua Ranch providing us a temporary home while the visitor center has been constructed. But during the two years time, I’ve seen a 50 percent or more reduction in my sales. I’m looking forward to the opportunity to be back at the Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden with its road frontage, and an increase number of visitors to the island finding myself and my coffee. It’s not only a place for income for me but the market has provide a social venue for my family and the opportunity to speak with other farmers, to learn about new ideas, to connect with other educational organizations like the One Island sustainability program, so I can learn about how to bring hot water to my home, to learn about how I can help with the, treat the coffee berry borer issue on my farm, it brings local commissioners there where we can ask questions, and it’s provided a wonderful opportunity for my family. And I look forward to the adoption of this change. BOWMAN: Thank you. Commissioners, any questions? Thank you. Mr. Bruno? BRUNO: Aloha. My name is Tim Bruno. I am the manager of the South Kona Green Market, also one of the founding members. And we applaud the change as it is on its way; we think it’s really terrific. The Green Market has quickly found its way to the heart of the community. We get a lot of regulars every week. It’s pretty terrific. And we get a fair number of tourists, not as many as we used to when we were in front of Amy Greenwell, the property there. The road visibility cannot be minimized; that makes such a big difference to our folks. In terms of nuts and bolts, many of our 9 EXHIBIT B vendors have stopped attending the market because it was just not economically feasible for them because some of them come as faraway as, we used to have people come as faraway as Hilo. They would because there’s something special that they knew so well in South Kona, and they would drive all the way around. And when we moved up to the land on the Kealakekua Ranch Center, it just didn’t make any sense for them; they weren’t making enough sales to even justify the gasoline. So being back in front of the Amy Greenwell center would be terrific. And really we have a very special relationship with them. Many of our members of the market are also members of the Garden. And it’s pretty terrific that way, the way it works out. One of the items that you were addressing was the traffic. And I can speak from experience on this that when the market is full of customers, the cars just continue on down the road. Usually we are getting people who are regulars, of course, that come in, and they come in and do their shopping and they hang out for however long that they hang out, and then they leave. But the additional traffic that comes from the tourists, if they don’t see parking, they just continue on down the road. So it will not really impact the traffic in any additional way. It’s kind of a self-regulating mechanism. It’s kind of a benefit there. We have a very specific mission with the South Kona Green Market. Our motto is “From the Land – By Our Hand,” and that means it’s got to be your thing; you’ve got to make it, grow it, paint it, pick it – it’s got to be yours. And we are very specific about who is allowed to vend at the market based on the criteria. With that in mind, however, there are a couple of categories that are not necessarily addressed by the wording of this ordinance as it is. In the final sentence there where it begins with “for the purpose of this condition,” if we were to make a change in where it says “and/or raw produce,” if we were to change the word “produce” to “food,” that would cover a handful of food preparers at our market. And also in the section where it says “local homegrown and homemade products,” if we were to say “homegrown and homemade products, and locally designed art ….” Because there are several artists who in addition to having their paintings and drawings for sale, also have prints that are not necessarily produced by them; they are printed off-island and brought in. We also have a couple of authors who have displayed at our market, and obviously they don’t print their books here on the island. And the way we address that is to find out where the mana is in the product. And, you know, the person is not buying the book because it’s a book; they are buying it because it’s the person’s book, the one that they wrote. They are not buying the art card just because it’s a card; they are buying it because they like the art that was created by the person that’s on the card. So I would like you to consider that. And also -. I think that everything else is addressed in there. Thank you. BOWMAN: Thank you. Commissioners, any questions of the testifier? Or staff, any comments? ARAI: I’m sorry, could you repeat that question? BOWMAN: Okay, he had a couple of concerns to add – let me get – “limited to the sale of local fresh -.” ARAI: Oh, I see. BOWMAN: The additions that he had. 10 EXHIBIT B ARAI: I understand what he is asking for. I would recommend that the requested amendments not occur. The reason being is what you see there regarding how a biweekly farmers’ market is defined is extracted directly from the County Code. It is the standard that is applied island-wide, and I would rather not see different type of description on what is a farmers’ market throughout, you know, embedded in separate ordinances. But with that being said, we have been very liberal on how we interpret those requirements. As Commissioner Bowman mentioned earlier, it could be locally turned wood products. I would imagine if someone was interested in making bentos or sandwiches or anything that, I mean, the whole concept is to promote products that are actually manufactured by the person selling them, and if that’s basically the intent, then it’s something that we would try to adhere to. BRUNO: That would be satisfactory then. ARAI: Thank you. BOWMAN: Thank you. Yes, I agree. Any other questions, comments? No? Okay, I think Gary Willick was not -. WILLICK: Gay. BRUNO: It’s Gay. BOWMAN: Oh, I’m sorry. It looked just like -. I apologize. Ms. Willick. Thank you. WILLICK: I think Karen and Tim pretty well covered it. I agree with what they said. BOWMAN: Thank you very much. And Ms. Taughinbaugh? TAUGHINBAUGH: Hi, my name is Roxann Taughinbaugh. And I’ve been at the Green Market for, I believe, three years. And I just want to say I appreciate that you are going to make this change so we can go back and have street visibility. It’s going to make a big difference in my sales. So thank you. BOWMAN: Thank you. Any questions, Commissioners? Thank you, you may -. BRUNO: Just one last item. Thank you very much for the Commission to allow us to speak. But also, I’m so glad that you guys are actually paying attention to the laws, I mean, this is not about, I mean, I understand you are following the letter of the law, and that’s great. BOWMAN: Thank you very much. You may be seated. I’m going to call up the next four testifiers, and you may be seated so I can swear you in – Terry Patrick, Harold Moodie, Michele Wilkins and John Reiner. And if you could raise your right hand. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Leeward Hawai‘i Planning Commission? TESTIFIERS: I do. BOWMAN: Thank you. Okay, we will start -. 11 EXHIBIT B PATRICK: Good morning, Commissioners. BOWMAN: Good morning. PATRICK: My name is Terry Patrick. I’m a coffee farmer from Captain Cook. I’m currently operating the farm of one of the original founders of the South Kona Farmers’ Market, and just very thankful that she was such a hard worker and helped put this group together. A good portion of the income from our farm comes from this market, and allows me to hire several full and part time workers throughout the year. And we really appreciate this opportunity to move back to Amy Greenwell Botanical Garden. Thank you. BOWMAN: Thank you. Any questions? Thank you. And Mr. Moodie? MOODIE: Hi there, good morning, Commissioners. My name is Harold Moodie. I’m testifying as a former vendor at the South Kona Market. We really had to stop going to the market because it was essentially costing us money to be there. When the market moved up behind Choice Mart, we lost the visibility that we really need to attract the island visitors. We sell hand-painted silk garments, and we also grow fruit and sell eggs, and so the hand-painted silk really does depend upon the visitor industry. And if we were to return to the Greenwell Garden, I think that it would really enhance the sales of a number of vendors. Thank you very much. BOWMAN: Thank you. Any questions? Okay, moving right along, we have Michele Wilkins? WILKINS: Aloha, my name is Michele Wilkins, and my husband and I own and operate a small plant nursery, and we specialize in the landscape. We’ve been with Market two years now, and we have noticed a substantial decrease in our sales. And we don’t sell products that tourists can buy. But just the visibility, even with the local population, you know, with the community, it makes a huge difference to us as far as getting our plants, you know, and talking to people and telling them how to grow food and, you know, as landscape kind of a thing. It makes a huge difference, so -. Thank you. We hope to get to go back. BOWMAN: Thank you. Any questions, Commissioners? Thank you. Mr. Reiner? REINER: Good morning. I’m John Reiner. And I agree with my wife. She pretty much covered it. And I agree with the Bill 255. Thank you. BOWMAN: Thank you. You may be seated. I will call our last testifiers – Shirley Wills, Robert Scanpule and Virginia Isbell. If you could please be sworn in. Virginia, are you -? Thank you. WILLS: My name is Shirley -. BOWMAN: I’m going to swear you in first, please. If you raise your right hand. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Leeward Hawai‘i Planning Commission? TESTIFIERS: Yes, I do. BOWMAN: Thank you. And if you could speak into the mike. 12 EXHIBIT B WILLS: Yes. Hello. I’m very grateful for what happen today with the Green Market being able to be at the Ethnobotanical Garden. I’m really happy. And I thank you, all of you, for supporting that. BOWMAN: Thank you. Commissioners, any questions? No? Thank you. SCANPULE: Good morning. My name is Robert Scanpule, and I’m a sometimes-volunteer there, and enjoy going to the South Kona Green Market for the produce and the music. And the people that are there are very friendly, and it’s a nice area to be at. And it supports people who are growing food to give to other people and share. And it’s nice to see a lot of people come out on that day to enjoy each other. Thank you. BOWMAN: Thank you. Any questions? Thank you. Ms. Isbell? ISBELL: Aloha. My name is Virginia Isbell, and I’m very happy to be here this morning. And I think you all have received a copy of my testimony. I would like to remind you of only one thing, and that is on the mainland they are having the most severe drought in the history of the United States. They have never had one this bad. And they are hoping for anything, even if it’s a calamity, to bring rain. If we don’t have our farmers prepared and us ready to buy, we have ourselves in another situation. If we have another drought, like, I remember having several times over the 52 years I’ve lived here, then we should be thankful for anything that we can get. So I’m saying to all of you we need to start working together, instead of finding reasons why not to work together. And I think it’s wonderful that Amy Greenwell Botanical Garden is ready to help us. And I am personally very happy to know that there are farmers here. And we are still getting a little rain and we are still in good shape. But I feel for all of those on the mainland who are going through the worst time of their lives. So in my testimony really basically what I want you to know is I am in full support of this. I know them all very well, not all farmers, but I know the people who run the Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden. But there is another part of this that’s very important. The parking for the vendors would not be competing with the parking for the visitors, because around the back of the Amy Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden over by the old office is room for 20 to 30 vehicles. And that’s where I always parked, and everybody else does usually. Because remember there were days there was nothing going on there on the other side. So I just want to remind you that there is plenty room for parking, there is plenty room for the vendors then to be on the paved area, not on a slope like they used to be. And I just feel very comfortable about it. But I think it’s very important that we do all we can to help farmers. And if they can raise the food and we get the rains, thank goodness, for all of that. Thank you very much for allowing me to speak today. Mahalo. BOWMAN: Thank you. Any questions? Thank you. You may be seated. Will the applicant come forward? ARAI: Madam Chairwoman? BOWMAN: Yes. ARAI: I just want to clarify to -. Mr. Van Dyke has been speaking. It is a Council initiated bill, so actually, the applicant, or initiator, is the County Council, and -. 13 EXHIBIT B BOWMAN: Oh, okay, I apologize. ARAI: No, no, no, don’t -. I know it’s sometimes confusing, especially when it was initiated by the County Council on behalf of a particular entity; so that’s what kind of creates confusion. BOWMAN: So then the County Council will be notified in writing, not the Garden, with our decision. ARAI: That is okay, but we can copy the Botanical Garden with our, the Commission’s decision whatever it may be. BOWMAN: Okay, thank you. Sorry. VAN DYKE: Okay. BOWMAN: So, with this done, any other comments, Commissioners? Questions? Do I hear a motion? BEAUDET: Okay, I’ll go. BOWMAN: Okay, thank you. BEAUDET: I’d like to move for a favorable recommendation be made to the Hawai‘i County Council to the request for amendment of Bill No. 255, amendment to Ordinance No. 08-150, Change of Zone No. 335, with the changes as stated in the recommendation for Condition E and the addition of the new Condition F and Condition L. BOWMAN: Regarding the fair share. BEAUDET: Yeah, excuse me, and the changes to be made to Condition L regarding the dollar amount, to fair share credit. HICKCOX: Second. BOWMAN: Okay, it’s been moved and seconded. Any other questions, comments? No, we are ready for the vote? ARAI: Okay, roll call. Commissioner Beaudet? BEAUDET: Aye. ARAI: Commissioner Hickcox? HICKCOX: Aye. ARAI: Commissioner Iokepa? IOKEPA: Aye. 14 EXHIBIT B ARAI: Commissioner Whittemore? WHITTEMORE: Aye. ARAI: And Madam Chairwoman? BOWMAN: Aye. ARAI: Madam Chairwoman, motion carries with five aye votes. BOWMAN: Okay, so the County will be informed and the Garden cc’d on this. Thank you. Thank you, everyone, for your time you took to come here. The discussion ended at 11:58 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Noriko Sauer, Secretary Leeward Planning Commission 15 EXHIBIT B