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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2013-05-13 Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Commission Minutes HAWAII COUNTY PUBLIC ACCESS, OPEN SPACE AND NATURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES-REGULAR SESSION May 13, 2013 Building G Conference Room 74-5044 Ane Keohokalole Highway Kailua-Kona40 Present: Chair Marilyn Nicholson Vice-Chair Steven Hirakami Commissioner Gail Byrne Baber Commissioner Searle Grace Commissioner Wilma Matsumura Absent: Commissioner Timothy DeLozier Commissioner Enock Freire Commissioner Debbie Hecht Others Present: Bill Brilhante, Deputy Corporation Counsel Ken Van Bergen, Property Manager, Finance (left @11:01 a.m.; returned @ 11:03 a.m.; left @ 11:37 a.m.; returned @ 11:58 a.m.) Iwaloa Chilson, Clerk III, Finance CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chair Marilyn Nicholson at 10:04 a.m. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS CHUCK CORBE Mr. Chuck Corbe spoke on behalf of two acres adjacent to the Hot Springs in Puna. He and two other hey are willing to sell to the County to possibly use for additional parking for the adjacent County park. for 325,000.00 which was the price they purchased it for. His partner Allan Kroll previously put it on the market for 7.9 million however; at this point they are willing to work with the County if they decide to pursue this acquisition. recently. Mr. Corbe replied no, the parcel is currently listed for 650,000.00. Ms. Nicholson asked if there is any community input for this property. Mr. Corbe replied that the community would support this acquisition since they utilize the area thinki - 1 - Mr. Hirakami asked how many coconut trees are on the property. Mr. Corbe replied about 100. Mr. Hirakami asked if they are maintained. Mr. Corbe replied not really. Mr. Hirakami commented that if the County acquires the property for a parking area, it will be costly to maintain the coconut trees. Mr. Corbe added that the County should only buy it if they intend to do something with it and not just leave it open. Mr. Hirakami asked if a commissioner would be able to meet him and walk the property. Mr. Corbe STATHIE PRATTAS Mr. Stathie Prattas, a concerned area resident spoke in support of the proposed Manini Beach Project for acquisition. He noted that the proposal is to acquire two small parcels totaling less than an acre which would compliment the adjacent five acres that the County already owns. The subject area is located on the south shore of Kealakekua Bay. (Mr. Prattas presented a power-point to the Commission showing maps and images of the proposed area along with slides of numerous photos taken from different areas of the property.) Mr. Prattas stressed that this is a wonderful opportunity and asked for their consideration. the larger of the two parcels. Parcel 28 is owned by Ms. Kelly Edwards and is now a cement slab with a rock wall around it due to damage incurred by the tsunami. Parcel 27 is being used by area residents traversing the H (KS) and the Leslie family as joint title holders and leased to the Healy Foundation (HF). The HF has been a major supporter of the 2% Fund and he expects their cooperation in this matter but first wanted to see if the County has a real genuine interest before approaching them. Mr. Hirakami asked if people are allowed to launch kayaks from this area. Mr. Prattas replied that he hundreds of area residents that use the park. The HF has gated the area and greatly control the access which have upset residents who have used the area for generations. Ms. Nicholson asked what is the intent of the HF with parcel 27. Mr. Prattas replied that they own the property right behind it with a luxury home so this should make them happy by keeping it in open space. Ms. Nicholson asked if he has any idea of the value of the properties. Mr. Prattas replied about 800,000.00 for Parcel 27 and 1.4 million for Parcel 28. - 2 - GORDON LESLIE Mr. Gordon Leslie spoke as a representative of the Henry Leslie Sr. Estate and Malama Pono Kealakekua Bay Community Association. He wants to let them know that Ms. Kelly Edwards is his partner for the last eight years and Parcel 28 is not for sale and will never be for sale. For Parcel 27, KS and the Leslie family has multiple claim interests in the property however in the 19his family lost 3,000 acres of land from this area up to the mountain to Bishop Estate by adverse possession and only lost it by default since they did not challenge it. However; when he filed a complaint on the use of this land with the Planning Department (PD), he found out that this land was not part of the quiet ore his family still had claim to it. He highly doubts that KS and the Leslie family would let this property be sold for 1.4 million so when the details come to that they would have to determine the value of the parcel. However he does agree with Mr. Prattas that the land would be in the best interest of the public if the County or State acquires ownership. The HF has many violations with the PD and still went ahead and developed the land. Their whole use is in violation of both County and State laws. After the tsunami, there was no sand left on the beach and the HF brought in tons of golf course sand from China which dumped into Kealakekua Bay, double class A waters, thereby creating an OCCL violation. Historically the significance of the inlet was very important to the Hawaiian people. This area was used as a warrior elite spear-throwing boot camp for Chiefess Kapiolani also designated this inlet Kapahukapu (the sacred box) which was chosen for the women in the village. In December 2012, his grandchildren went to the beach for a morning swim with the dogs and were kicked out by security of the HF. When he contested it a TRO was put on him and he feels that this is a good reason for the County to take over to ensure that public access continues. Mr. Hirakami asked what happens when the County takes it over and another big wave comes and washes out all the sand. Mr. Leslie replied it is what it is. The sand makes it comfortable for the people that use the beach and his biggest problem is how the HF controls access to the beach. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Ms. Nicholson asked if there is any discussion regarding the minutes. Ms. Byrne Baber noted that on Page 4 under the Department of Finance Report, last sentence of the first paragraph, for Kaiholena be change Motion: Vice-Chair Hirakami moved to approve the minutes as amended of March 11, 2013. Seconded by Commissioner Byrne Baber; all members voted aye, motion carried. Recess: 11:08 a.m. Reconvened: 11:15 a.m. - 3 - WRITTEN COMMUNICATION Communication No. 13-008: Suggestion Form received on March 7, 2013 from Allan Kroll, re: Lands adjacent to Ahalanui Park and the Hot Pond, TMK: (3) 1-4-02:075 Communication No. 13-009: Suggestion Form received on March 15, 2013 from Stathie J. Prattas, re: Manini Beach Park Project, TMK: (3) 8-2-006:027 & 028 Ms. Nicholson asked for a motion to accept and file Communication Nos. 13-008 and 13-009. Motion: Commissioner Grace moved to file Communication Nos. 13-008 and 13-009. Seconded by Vice-Chair Hirakami; all members voted aye, motion carried. Communication No. 13-010: Letter received on March 22, 2013 from James Hayes, Parsons Brinckerhoff, re: Transmittal of electronic copy of Draft Environmental Assessment (EA) for the , Kailua- Communication No. 13-011: Letter received on March 22, 2013 from James Hayes, Parsons International Airport Ms. Nicholson asked for a motion to accept and file Communication Nos. 13-010 and 13-011. Motion: Commissioner Byrne Baber moved to file Communication Nos. 13-010 and 13-011. Seconded by Vice-Chair Hirakami; all members voted aye, motion carried. Communication No. 13-012: Letter received on March 28, 2013 from Dean Au, re: Resignation from PONC commissioner for District 4 Ms. Nicholson asked for a motion to accept and file Communication No. 13-012. Motion: Vice-Chair Hirakami moved to file Communication No. 13-012. Seconded by Commissioner Byrne Baber; all members voted aye, motion carried. Communication No. 13-013: Letter received on April 15, 2013 from Patti Pinto, Chair, Puna Community Development Plan (CDP) Action Committee, re: Support for the land acquisition of K: (3) 1-4-02:022 & 051 by PONC; request to move property to a higher position on the list for 2013 Ms. Nicholson asked what would their action be for this request. Mr. Hirakami commented that he did have to be #1 to be considered and he suggested that they contact Council Member Ilagan to prepare a the Commission do this and do they need to respond to this request. Mr. Hirakami agreed to contact them to clarify the process. - 4 - Motion: Commissioner Matsumura moved to authorize Commissioner Hirakami to contact the Puna CDP Action Committee and explain the process for them at this point, to either contact their Councilperson for resolution or re-submit. Seconded by Commissioner Byrne Baber; all members voted aye, motion carried. DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE Mr. Van Bergen reported that we are in escrow for Kaiholena (parcels 21, 22 & 25) and was scheduled to close in May but there may be a slight delay and anticipate closing in about 2-4 weeks. Escrow is still open with about 40,000.00 remaining for the Kingman parcels acquired last year awaiting SHPD to approve the Burial Treatment Plan. For Pohoiki there are still pending conservation violations with DLNR that must be cured by the landowner before the State will grant subdivision approval in order for the County to proceed with acquisition. Mr. Van Bergen pre-7-08:21 & 23) adjacent to the former Kingman properties acquired by the County. Mr. Van Bergen stated that Parcel 21 and 23 is currently on the market and the bank that owns it is willing to sell and will be submitting a form for consideration. He met with the landowner representative and Council Member Dru Kanuha at the site a few weeks ago and was able to walk the land. There is approximately 10 acres in a highly dense area and he feels that this acquisition would mirror perfectly with the adjacent Kipapa Park already owned by the County. He requested that discussion on the acquisition of these properties be placed on the next agenda since there will be members of the public testifying on this item. that be CIP or another source of funding. Mr. Van Bergen replied no, CIP funds are used for improving parks, we cannot use 2% funds to build pavilions, if you look at the list of open space criteria, parks use is definitely on there. determined yet our only goal right now is acquisition. In looking at the overall and future growth of the area, it makes sense to explore this possibility since these parcels have already been approved for 120 units. Mr. Hirakami asked why is the March real property tax transfer amount to the 2% Fund so low compar and it could reflect that more people paid their taxes during that period. Mr. Hirakami asked when is the next transfer into the 2% Maintenance Fund. Mr. Van Ber of about 150,000.00 and it will be managed by Parks and Recreation. - 5 - Mr. Brilhante had nothing to report and will be presenting the Sunshine Law training under new business. Ms. Nicholson had nothing to report. NEW BUSINESS Sunshine Law Training Power-point Presentation by Deputy Corporation Counsel William Brilhante Mr. Brilhante noted that the request to do training was due to the addition of new members to the Commission. Ms. Nicholson commented that her concern is that if they put it off for another meeting it will be after their deadline and they will have more to do. Mr. Brilhante suggested that he briefly run through the key components of the Sunshine Law now to address any questions that the commissioners may have. Ms. Nicholson asked if there will be other opportunities for the commissioners not present. Mr. Brilhante replied that Corporation Counsel Lincoln Ashida holds two sessions every year and he can always do another presentation when all commissioners are present. (Mr. Brilhante presented a power-point to the Commission with a brief overview of the Sunshine Law) NEW BUSINESS Commission to discuss with Property Manager Ken Van Bergen on what happens to past properties on the prioritized list that are no longer available for sale or have been developed or sold and if so is there a way to remove properties from the prioritized list Mr. Van Bergen stated that nothing happens to the property. There is a period that the public has time to submit and nominate properties for consideration from January to June. The Commission reviews st the submittals and then submits a recommended list to the Mayor by December 31. The way the code reads multiple letters can be sent to the Mayor throughout the year updating the list. In the past, several properties were re-prioritized. For example, Kaiholena and Kw were ranked on separate prioritized lists. A few years ago he recommended to the Commission that a property should only be prioritized once. After that the next step would be to contact the Councilmember in the respective district to prepare a resolution authorizing the administration to enter into negotiations for acquisition. Historically, t order the County can pursue acquisition. Past lisserved - 6 - Ms. Byrne Baber commented that ies in terms of understanding the values or whether a property becomes available for sale. Also, in terms of looking for outside funding the community can refer to having the properties listed multiple times on the prioritized list which makes it more attractive. Mr. Van Bergen commented that if they want to recommend a re- been prioritized on a past list and have a reso Ms. Matsumura noted that some people value the position of properties on the prioritized list and throughout the years it can change. Having properties re-evaluated can be favorable also, since different factors can affect its ranking over the years. Ms. Nicholson also stated that part of the question was that the list keeps getting longer and longer. Some of these properties from years ago may have been developed. Is there a way to move some of these properties off that are totally irrelevant at this point. Mr. Van Bergen lists. The comprehensive list is constantly being added to with properties submitted by the public each year. The prioritized list is done, once that year is over it Mr. Hirakami co It waters down the role and the process of the Commission and for this year they should not have every property listed. Ms. Nicholson noted that they will have that discussion at the next meeting when reviewing suggestion forms. Mr. Brilhante added that the minimum requirement is that the list gets published. If there is a change in circumstance for a property and for example it becomes available for sale throughout the year, you can always send a new list to the Mayor changing the ranking of a property. Once there is a resolution Commission to discuss deed restrictions for properties acquired with monies from the 2% Fund Ms. Byrne Baber asked if the deed is restricted in perpetuity for properties purchased with the 2% Fund. Mr. Van Bergen replied that there was an ordinance passed to incorporate the language into the deed so it was added for the most recent acquisition. Mr. Brilhante noted that at the last election it was passed through Charter so for all newly acquired lands it will be incorporated, back you can only move forward. Ms. Byrne Baber asked how can we make sure that the County will honor the ordinance for the past properties that have already been purchased. Mr. Brilhante replied that if the sale of the property was challenged this could be an issue that was raised and if you want that specific requirement the code would have to be changed. - 7 - Mr. Hirakami wants to know if there is a way for the County to subdivide and sell off the properties to make money to go back into the fund. In the past was this ever an idea. Mr. Van Bergen replied that this has never come up, the only properties this would pertain to is Kaiholena and Kw, large acreage of land mostly zoned conservation with vast open space. ANNOUNCEMENTS The next meeting is scheduled for Monday, July 8, 2013, 10:00 a.m. in , ADJOURNMENT Motion: Vice-Chair Hirakami moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Commissioner Grace; all members voted aye, motion carried. Chair Nicholson adjourned the meeting at 12:51 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Alexandra Kelepolo Property Management Technician - 8 -