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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2012-12-13 Leeward Exh A - RS10 Kalaoa LEEWARD PLANNING COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I HEARING TRANSCRIPT DECEMBER 13, 2012 RS10 KALAOA LLC (Amend REZ No. 854) A regularly advertised hearing on the application of was called to order at 9:42 a.m. in the West Hawai‘i Civic Center, Community Center, Building G, 74-5044 Ane Keohokālole Highway, Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i, with Chair Geraldine Giffin presiding. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Geraldine Giffin, Brandi Beaudet, Lani Bowman, Thomas Hickcox, Richard Nelson, III and Thomas Whittemore ABSENT AND EXCUSED: Wayne Iokepa ALSO PRESENT: Ivan Torigoe (Deputy Corporation Counsel), BJ Leithead Todd (Planning Director), Daryn Arai (Planning Program Manager), Phyllis Fujimoto (Planner), Jeff Darrow (Planner), Maija Cottle (Planner) and Noriko Sauer (Commission Secretary) And approximately 21 people from the public in attendance. APPLICANT: RS10 KALAOA LLC (Amend REZ No. 854) Request to amend Condition D (time to secure Final Subdivision Approval) and Condition J (fair share requirements) of Change of Zone Ordinance No. 07-160, which amended Change of Zone Ordinance No. 97-56, which rezoned approximately 10.283 acres of land from an Agricultural–5 acre (A-5a) to a Single Family Residential–10,000 square foot (RS-10) zoning district. The properties (portion of Kukuinui Subdivision) is located at the intersection of Nana Street and th Holoholo Street between the Kona Coastview and Kona Palisades Subdivisions, at Kalaoa 4, North Kona, Hawai‘i, TMK: 7-3-28: 82 through 102. GIFFIN: Under New Business, the applicant, Agenda Item No. 1, the applicant is RS10 Kalaoa LLC. The request is to amend Condition D, time to secure final subdivision approval, and Condition J, the fair share requirements, of Change of Zone Ordinance No. 07-160. The applicant has submitted a request for a five-year time extension to comply with Condition D of Zone Ordinance No. 07-160, as I stated earlier. And I can read you what it says, “Final Subdivision Approval of the proposed residential subdivision within the subject property shall be secured from the Planning Director within five (5) years from the effective date of this ordinance.” The applicant is also requesting a five-year time extension to comply with Condition J, the fair share requirement, but this condition does not have a time requirement, and as of this date the applicant is in compliance with the requirements of Condition J. Good morning. Without any further ado, Jeff Darrow, will you please present. DARROW: Thank you, Madam Chairperson. Good morning, Members of the Planning Commission. Beautiful day we have here in Kona, it’s nice to be on this side in the sun. If I can direct your attention to our first presentation this morning. Our applicant is RS10 Kalaoa LLC, and they are requesting an amendment to Change of Zone Ordinance No. 07-160. The REZ 854 is a reference to our file for this particular application. The location of this subject property is within the North Kona District. More specifically, we are looking in the area of Kona Palisades Estates Subdivision. Running through the middle of the map, we have Ka‘iminani Drive. We have Queen 1 EXHIBIT A Ka‘ahumanu Highway running is a north-south direction on the left side of the map, and we have Māmalahoa Highway running in a north-south direction on the mauka side of the property on the right side of the map. The subject property is identified with a black outline, and you can see that there are numerous subdivisions surrounding this particular area. This is a closer-up view of the property, identifying the different zonings in the area; mainly we are looking at Agricultural-5 acres, but these are nonconforming types of lots, which are smaller than five acres in size. A majority of them are also located within the State Land Use Urban District. The subject property for this particular application consists of actually this entire yellow area, but the applicant has previously subdivided the mauka portion and has completed Increment I. They are requesting a time extension to be able to complete Increment II. And just for reference we have again Ka‘iminani Drive on the lower portion of the map, Holoholo Street that brings access from Ka‘iminani to Kukuinui Place. The actual property will have a cul-de-sac, as we’ll see with the subdivision map in the future here. This is an aerial photo, again, Ka‘iminani Drive on the lower portion with Holoholo Street. You can see the portion of Increment I that’s been subdivided and the single-family dwellings that have been constructed, and there has already been some construction activity on Increment II. State Land Use Boundary Map, again, identifying the majority of the area in the State Land Use Urban designation with some in Agricultural. This is the General Plan LUPAG Map for the area, identifying that this particular area is slated for Low Density Urban type uses for a long range plan. And last but not least, we have the Kona Community Development Plan Land Use Map, very difficult to show exactly where the property is, but it’s basically in this particular area. Again, we have Ka‘iminani Drive. It identifies that this particular property is within the Kona Urban Area designated in the plan, which is outlined in red. You’ll see the different transient oriented developments, or TOD’s, that are identified along the corridor there, and this is located outside of those TOD’s. The applicant is requesting an amendment to Condition D, which is time to secure final subdivision approval, and Condition J, which is our fair share requirements condition, of Change of Zone Ordinance 07-160, which amended Change of Zone Ordinance No. 97-56, which originally rezoned the property, approximately 10.283 acres, from Agricultural-5 acres to Single Family Residential zoning. Condition D of Zone Ordinance No. 07-160 states, “Final Subdivision Approval of the proposed residential subdivision within the subject property shall be secured from the Planning Director within five (5) years from the effective date of this ordinance.” The deadline would have been October 19, 2012. Condition J does not require an amendment because there is no time condition. Condition J states that the applicant shall pay fair share prior to final subdivision approval of any portion or its increments; so the applicant has paid for the fair share portion of Increment I, and prior to final subdivision of Increment II they will pay the fair share. The reason for the request: The applicant is in the process of subdividing and developing a total of 31 residential lots; Increment I has been completed, which consists of a total of 20 lots; the deadline to secure final subdivision approval for Increment II, as we mentioned, is October 19, 2012; the applicant had every intention of trying to meet the current deadline based on the completion of a number of conditions, but given the current serious economic slump, the applicant felt it was unfeasible and not prudent to move forward with the project at this time considering current construction costs. 2 EXHIBIT A This is the final plat map that’s been, or the preliminary plat map, that’s been submitted for Increment II. For reference, you have Increment I on the right side of the map, which has been completed, Holoholo Street and, again, Kukuinui Place with the proposed extension of the cul-de-sac. There are a total of eleven lots identified on the preliminary subdivision map. The Planning Director is recommending that the Planning Commission send a favorable recommendation to the Hawai‘i County Council for this time extension request. Are there any questions? GIFFIN: Commissioners, any questions of Jeff? Seeing none, thank you, Jeff. DARROW: Thank you. GIFFIN: At this time I would like to call the applicant and/or the applicant’s representative to please come forward. There is a table there with two chairs and microphones. MCCOMAS: Good morning. GIFFIN: Good morning. Will you please raise your right hands. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Leeward Hawai‘i County Planning Commission? ASHIKAWA: Yes. MCCOMAS: We do. GIFFIN: Thank you. Starting with you, ma’am, will you please state your name and your capacity here this morning. MCCOMAS: I’m Faye McComas. I represent RS10 Kalaoa as the manager. GIFFIN: Thank you. And you, sir? ASHIKAWA: I’m Gary Ashikawa. I work for Kona Scenic Land who is also affiliated with RS10 Kalaoa. GIFFIN: Great, thank you. Hang on just a minute. So who is going to do the initial presentation, you? MCCOMAS: I guess, yeah. GIFFIN: Great. MCCOMAS: As far as the presentation, I’m not sure – I guess the gentleman has covered pretty much what, you know, we, our intent is – so I’m not sure exactly how much more you want me to go into detail, I mean, I’ll be willing to answer questions. GIFFIN: Sure, sure. 3 EXHIBIT A MCCOMAS: But as far as that I think he has covered pretty much, you know, what our intent is at this point. GIFFIN: Commissioners, let’s start this way then. Do you have any questions of the applicant? I do. MCCOMAS: Okay. GIFFIN: In terms of the time, you know, your time, block of time that you are asking for, what is still specifically needed to be done? MCCOMAS: Well, we fina-, we have all of the plans, I think, that were completed; the only thing that’s holding us at this point would be, again as we had stated, you know, because of the way the economy is, you know, we are just hoping that the economy improves within the next five years so that it becomes feasible for us to move forward on this. We are committed to do it; however, at this time I think, you know, it’s just, it’s not feasible for us. GIFFIN: I’m looking at your letter that you sent to the Director, dated October 12, 2012, and in that you speak to all of the various conditions and the status of what has been done -. MCCOMAS: Right. GIFFIN: In terms, and I understand the economic situation, what level, what tipping point are you looking for in terms of the economy to be better to begin actually selling your lots? MCCOMAS: Well, I guess, you know, just kind of see within the next five years or sooner that the economy starts to pick up where, you know, the market becomes more active and to kind of offset the balance with the expenses, you know, that I guess will be incurred for the subdivision. GIFFIN: In your previous section, the increment that is already sold, what were you selling the lots for? MCCOMAS: I think it was averaged -. ASHIKAWA: The average went to $250,000. GIFFIN: Per lot. ASHIKAWA: Yes. GIFFIN: And they averaged in size? MCCOMAS: They were all about 10,000 square feet -. ASHIKAWA: Approximately 10,000 square feet. GIFFIN: Okay. Commissioners, any other questions of the applicant? If not, at this point – thank you very much – there is a person -. Oh, I’m sorry -. 4 EXHIBIT A LEITHEAD TODD: No, no, no, I have no questions. GIFFIN: Okay, there is -. I’m sorry? Oh, if they have, yeah. Ivan has just reminded me if you have received a copy of the background report and the Director’s recommendation. MCCOMAS: Yes. ASHIKAWA: Yes. GIFFIN: Great, thank you very much. And if you’ll just move back, there is a man who has signed up to testify. His name is Richard Wagner. Sir, if you are here -. Great. And I’d like to remind you one more time, members of the public, if there is anyone else who would like to testify, please go up to our staff and sign up. Sir? WAGNER: The name is Richard Wagner -. GIFFIN: Hang on just one minute. Will you please raise your right hand? Thank you. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Leeward Hawai‘i County Planning Commission? WAGNER: Yes. GIFFIN: Thank you. And your name, sir? WAGNER: Richard Wagner. I live at 73-1003 Kukuinui in the first phase. One of the things that was overlooked in the first phase is mail delivery. We do not get mail delivery, and I’d like to know if there is a provision – there is apparently, local legend said that mail delivery was going to happen at the second phase whenever it gets built – and I’d like to know, is this included as one of the conditions of the subdivision? GIFFIN: Um -. WAGNER: Or is it something you can answer? GIFFIN: Director. LEITHEAD TODD: Basically, mail deliver is at the mercy of the US Postal Service and not by people who create subdivisions. So if there is an issue of not getting delivery, it has to be taken up with the Postal Service. WAGNER: I don’t believe you are a hundred percent right; my understanding was there is no place for a community mailbox -. LEITHEAD TODD: Oh, you are talking about not individual but a community mailbox. Okay -. WAGNER: No, well, yeah, something that’s closer than the post office in the town. LEITHEAD TODD: Okay, that still has to be taken up with the Postal Service, and then it would have to be located. 5 EXHIBIT A GIFFIN: Daryn. ARAI: My understanding is that the Postal Service has instituted new rules regarding the use of gang mailboxes, and they are discouraging individual mail delivery to individual residences. I’m not sure if this particular project met the cutoff when they were going to gang mailboxes versus individual service; but ultimately it is up to the subdivider working with the US Postal Service to determine if mail service can be delivered to individual lots. And if not, then accommodations somehow have to be made for a gang mailbox facility. But that is really between the subdivider or, if yours is a pre-existing subdivision, then the subdivision and the Postal Service. But it’s not something that can be addressed in this venue. WAGNER: My – is this live? GIFFIN: Yeah. WAGNER: My belief is that it was overlooked in Phase I, and it was said that it was going to be done at Phase II, exactly what you were saying, by the subdivider. ARAI: What we -. WAGNER: Yeah, I -. ARAI: What we do is during the subdivision process we inform all subdividers of the new requirements of the US Postal Service regarding these community mailboxes. Whether or not the landowner or developer is obligated to provide a gang facility that would service both Phases I and II, that I’m not sure; the expectation at least within our Department is that a facility for the particular phase. WAGNER: Don’t you provide, put conditions on subdivision that the developer has to complete before it’s approved? And that’s what I’m asking. Can you or Will you do it? ARAI: For mail service, no, because it is not a standard requirement of the subdivision process; mail service is not a prerequisite for subdivision. Access, like roadways, water service, yes, but not mail delivery. WAGNER: So in other words I’m going to have to pay $240 for the rest of the time I stay in Kukuinui – it just went up a hundred percent for mail box – plus time and gas to go to Kona to pick up my mail. GIFFIN: Sir, if I may interrupt. WAGNER: Oh, go ahead. GIFFIN: We have, as you saw earlier, the developer here -. WAGNER: Yeah, I’d like to find out -. 6 EXHIBIT A GIFFIN: And so this would be a good thing for us to ask. Ma’am, or either one of you, will you please come up. I don’t know if you heard the concern that Mr. Wagner just presented, but it has to do with mail delivery to both increments. He lives in Increment I, if I’m correct, Mr. Wagner? WAGNER: Yes. GIFFIN: And he said that he was told, and I don’t know by whom, that they, they would be providing mail delivery to both increments when Increment II happened. WAGNER: As a gang box type of thing. GIFFIN: Yeah, uh huh. ASHIKAWA: Actually, when Increment I was developed, that really wasn’t an issue back then because back then the post office did individual delivery. And I guess right during completion they changed it to where they no longer provide home delivery individual. So it kind of caught us off guard like that; we weren’t expecting that. So for Increment II we were planning to put some kind of cluster mailbox initially, and after speaking with the, someone from the post office, they came up to take a look, and there really wasn’t an area that could be agreed on. And I guess the best thing for them would be along Holoholo Street some kind of cluster box, but after speaking to I think Engineering, someone from the County, they didn’t feel that was a good place to put the boxes. So we were kind of like, you know, decided that, I guess, at this time it can’t be done, I guess, to put the cluster mailbox there. And like, as it was already stated, you know, the post office, that’s kind of between the owner and the post office for the delivery, so if they don’t want to do it, you know, it’s, I guess -. GIFFIN: I don’t mean to be washing the County’s hands of this issue, sir, but it sounds to me that this is an issue that should be taken up between the developer and members of your community association, if one exists, and also Phase II owners, too. And as Daryn said earlier, and Daryn, you can correct me if I’m wrong, this is not the domain of the County. Did I hear you correctly, Daryn? ARAI: That is correct; mail delivery is not a requirement for subdivisions. GIFFIN: But I do strongly recommend that both of you, and all three of you, ma’am, you included, go ahead and speak to the members of the Phase I group. Director. LEITHEAD TODD: I was going to say if you follow up, contact me, I’m willing to work with you and try mediate some meeting with the US Postal Service, and see whether we can come up with an agreed-upon spot, and I’ll also talk to Engineering, because -. I mean, you know, I like having my mailbox at my house, and I feel sorry that you kind of got caught off guard because you obviously started the subdivision with belief that people would get individual spots. So why don’t you follow up, call me, and then let’s set up a meeting and see what we can do and whether there is some place where we can find something, and maybe it’s not Holoholo Street, maybe it has to be another County street, but something that’s closer to the residents of your subdivision than having to drive all the way down to the post office boxes. ASHIKAWA: Thank you. I’ll be willing to speak with you -. LEITHEAD TODD: Okay, thank you. 7 EXHIBIT A GIFFIN: That sounds great. Mr. Wagner? WAGNER: Yeah, Ms. Planning Director, I don’t think the County would be amenable to us, me drilling a hole in the sidewalk and putting my post office box there for individual -. Or is that possible? LEITHEAD TODD: I’m looking at a gang system, because the problem is is that the Postal Service has basically moved away from doing individual house delivery. And it’s one of their cost, you know, control items that they are doing. But what it sounds like is they need a spot where they can kind of pull off the road and access so that it also has – we have the same issues happening on the other side of the island – it has to be a safe spot where both residents can pull off and access the mailboxes as well as the Postal Service. And so whether that can be accomplished within Increment II or whether that has to be accomplished someplace else where the County has another spot, we’re going to have to have the conversation, because I suspect that this is going to be an issue. Even though it’s not in our Subdivision Code, this is going to be an issue that comes up with other developments, and it’s something that we ought to take a look at as we approve even if it’s not a requirement, because otherwise we are going to have very disgruntled unhappy people -. GIFFIN: Right. WAGNER: Especially the elderly who don’t move around as much. LEITHEAD TODD: You know, and so it seems like this is something that whether it’s our kuleana or not, that we ought to get involved in and engage with the Postal Service and work out some kind of a settlement. So please call me, and let’s see what we can do. ASHIKAWA: Okay, I will, thank you. WAGNER: Okay, I’ll call. Thank you very much for your time. GIFFIN: You’re very welcome. Any other members of the public who wish to testify on this agenda item? Commissioners, any questions? Once again, Commissioners, we are looking at Agenda Item 1, which is RS10 Kalaoa LLC, who is asking for a change of zone for the Ordinance No. 07-160, specifically to the amendment, Condition D and Condition J. No questions? Do I hear a motion? Brandi, do you have a question? BEAUDET: No. GIFFIN: Okay. BEAUDET: I have a motion. GIFFIN: Brandi. BEAUDET: I move for a favorable recommendation of the request to amend Condition D of Change of Zone Ordinance No. 07-160 be forwarded to the County Council. GIFFIN: Do I hear a second? 8 EXHIBIT A HICKCOX: Second. GIFFIN: It’s been moved by Commissioner Beaudet and seconded by Commissioner Hickcox that we send a favorable recommendation for the request to amend Condition D of Change of Zone Ordinance No. 07-160 to the County Council. Discussion? Hearing none, Jeff? DARROW: Thank you, Madam Chair. With that, we’ll take the motion. Commissioner Beaudet? BEAUDET: Aye. DARROW: Commissioner Hickcox? HICKCOX: Aye. DARROW: Commissioner Bowman? BOWMAN: Aye. DARROW: Commissioner Nelson? NELSON: Aye. DARROW: Commissioner Whittemore? WHITTEMORE: Aye. DARROW: And Madam Chair? GIFFIN: Aye. DARROW: The motion passes, six to zero. GIFFIN: Thank you very much. The discussion ended at 10:06 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Noriko Sauer, Secretary Leeward Planning Commission 9 EXHIBIT A