HomeMy WebLinkAboutAC-PD Aguinaldo REZ 12-159 Comments
William P. Kenoi BJ Leithead Todd
Director
Mayor
Margaret Masunaga
Deputy Director
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
Memorandum
Date: December 11, 2012
To: BJ Leithead Todd, Planning Director
From: Dan Taylor, Chair, PCDP AC
Subject: Change of zone Application No. (REZ 12-000159)
Applicant: Aguinaldo 4, LLC
Request: RS-10 to CV-20
TMK: 1-5-003:037
A subcommittee of the AC, consisting of four members, is divided on our recommendation to you
concerning subject change of zone application. We are pleased to collaborate with the Pāhoa
Regional Town Center Plan Steering Committee, whose counsel we respect highly, and whose
recommendation bears resemblance to ours. If only technical planning issues are considered, our
decision would unequivocally be to deny the application.
The application by Anguinaldo4 proposes to change land use zone designation from residential (RS-
10) to Commercial (CV-20.) Aguinaldo proposes to develop a medical facility on 1.5 acres, on a
parcel with a long history of family ownership. We would have no problem with this if the parcel were
not at the intersection of two main roads, State Highway 130 and Country Road 132. Planning
Department protocols and the Puna Community Development Plan, intend to avoid enabling
commercial development next to highway corridors, and especially makai-side development along
Highway 130. To approve this application would establish a precedent for exceptions, and might set in
motion an uncomfortable series of similar applications, leading to endless conflict among community
planners, developers, and Planning Department officials.
Other reasons to deny the Aguinaldo4 application recognize a rather awkward traffic flow
configuration for persons seeking access to and egress from the proposed facility, a business plan that
fails to consider the design strategy of the emerging Pāhoa Regional Town Center Plan, a significant
lack of infrastructure for a medical facility, and an irrational assessment of the suitability of the
designated property for commercial zoning.
Hawai‘i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer
All members the Action Committee, as well as those of the PRTCP Steering Committee, laud Mr
Aguinaldo for his vision for a medical center as a legacy of his family’s devotion to Pāhoa Town, as
well as his passion for the future of his home town. There are many reasons to encourage the
development of a medical center, especially one that is initiated by a prominent and successful citizen
who has roots in Pāhoa Town. We encourage Mr Aguinaldo to seek an alternative site in Pāhoa,
where a medical facility might be more appropriate, and where it might prosper and grow. We
ardently hope County and State officials would facilitate such an alternative.
Sincerely,
Patti Pinto, Chair
PCDP Action Committee