Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2014-03-06HEARINGTRANSCRIPT-HACA SPP 845 WINDWARD PLANNING COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I HEARING TRANSCRIPT MARCH 6, 2014 HAWAIIAN ACRES COMMUNITY A regularly advertised hearing on the application of ASSOCIATION (SPP 845) was called to order at 11:11 a.m. in the Hilo State Office Building, Conference Rooms A, B, & C, 75 Aupuni Street, Hilo, Hawai‘i with Chairman Ronald Gonzales presiding. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Ronald Gonzales, Charles Heaukulani, Gregory Henkel, Wallace A. Ishibashi, Jr., Stephen Ono, and Raylene Moses. ABSENT AND EXCUSED: Myles Miyasato. ALSO PRESENT: Margaret Masunaga (Deputy Corporation Counsel for the Windward Planning Commission), William Brilhante (Deputy Corporation Counsel for the Planning Director), Daryn Arai (Planning Program Manager), Jeff Darrow (Staff Planner), Maija Cottle (Staff Planner), and Sarah Hata-Finley (Secretary). And approximately 15 people from the public in attendance. APPLICANT: HAWAIIAN ACRES COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION (SPP 845) Discussion and further action regarding submission of an informal opinion from the Board of Ethics regarding proper legal representation of potential intervenor in proceedings involving an amendment to Special Permit No. 845 to allow additional uses within the community center, including a farmers market, and a one-year time extension to comply with Condition No. 4 (construction timeline of the community center and volunteer fire station). Special Permit No. 845 was originally approved to allow the establishment of a volunteer fire station, community center and related improvements situated on three (3) acres of land within the State Land Use Agricultural District. The property is located at the northeast corner of the intersection of Road 8 and Road C within the Hawaiian Acres Subdivision, Kea‘au, Puna, Hawai‘i, TMK: 1- 6-052:002. GONZALES: The Windward Planning Commission is back in session. We’d like to address Unfinished Business, Item No. 5, applicant Hawaiian Acres Community Association. Let me go a little out of order on this. I’m going to go ahead and take public testimony first so I’m going to be calling you up four at a time. I’m going to swear you in. I’m going to ask you please to try stay, you get three minutes, try not to go over. Gotta be fair to everybody. We have no presentation, right? DARROW: Correct. GONZALES: Ok, so, if I could ask Susann Tita, Jon Olson, Kenneth Cutting, and Dorothy Sanger to come on up and testify please. 1 EXHIBIT E The testifiers came up to the table. GONZALES: Who are we missing is Kenneth Cutting. CUTTING: Right here sir. GONZALES: Ok, Dorothy, Jon-- SANGER: Dorothy. GONZALES: Ok, is Susanna (sic) Tita here? TESTIFIER: Susann. GONZALES: Susann? Very good. Come on up. Have a seat. I’d like to please have you all raise your right hands. Do you swear to tell the truth today before the Windward Planning Commission? TESTIFIERS: I do. GONZALES: Thank you very much. Why don’t we just start ladies first and we’ll go down the line. I need your name, where you live, and three minutes. SANGER: My name is Dorothy Sanger, and I own the parcel right next door to the association, and that’s where I am presently residing, and I am in favor of the Special Permit, the farmer’s market, having community, and I think we’ve had a lot of good people working hard on this to do the right thing. So, I’m in favor of it, and I have gotten to know Susann a little bit. I have no idea what the problem is, but I would just like to say to Susann and to you that if you would graciously grant us the permit, I’m going to do my very best to extend my hand in friendship and including everybody in the community association. Mahalo. GONZALES: Thank you. Any questions? HEAUKULANI: Yeah, I have a quick question. Ma’am, you said you were across the street from the parcel? SANGER: I am right next door to the association. HEAUKULANI: On the same side of the road? SANGER: On the same side. If you’re driving down 8 Road, there’s a big blue gate, and then you come to that first, and then the next parcel would be the association. HEAUKULANI: Thank you. 2 EXHIBIT E GONZALES: Very good. Ms. Tita. TITA: Hi. Susann Tita. I am the, in opposition to the special use permit. Actually, I’m not even sure why we are here hearing this or looking at this when this is on a permit that’s expired. I am not, I am confused by the fact that we’re doing an amendment to an expired permit. With that being said, there has been opposition from not only the difficulties I faced with the Hawaiian Acres farmers’ market which is ongoing, never stopped, continues, with blocking the roads. There is inadequate parking. There is inadequate facilities. And they’re operating out of a facility that has an expired permit. It doesn’t have an occupancy certificate. It’s, was a problem. I asked the association in the very beginning when they first started with the farmers’ market. Could you please not block the road. I went to several meetings, and I was told that they weren’t going to do anything. If they, they have nothing to do with roads. Here’s a clear picture (photo circulated to Commissioners). It shows you there is no parking. This is not parking. This is a road. So, it continues to go on. It hasn’t stopped. I think it was just two weeks ago I had to call the police and ask them on their free food issue, to ask the free food people to move their cars off the road. It got really bad in the, towards the end of their farmers’ market where they deliberately put product right onto the pavement part of the road. And you could not get an emergency vehicle down there. It, it doesn’t enhance our community. There were issues where they actually had folks, one guy in particular, was selling marijuana plants. And we stopped on our way out. We being my husband and I, and asked him to not sell those plants. My husband knew him. Even in their blog, they state, the Hawaiian Acres Community Association, that they’ve shooed away drug dealers, broken up fights between adolescents and pulled kids down from the swings and children running and darting in front of the cars, as well as the animals. That, just had that problem like two weeks ago, so it’s never stopped. It goes back to the point that why are we here on an expired permit. Now, I retained an attorney to assist me with this, and I’m being blocked from using her, and I don’t know why. GONZALES: Thank you, Ms. Tita. Any questions? HEAUKULANI: Yeah, just a quick one. Ma’am, where do you reside? I don’t recall where you reside in relation to the site that we’re discussing. TITA: I am down the road, so I have to drive through this gauntlet down past the community association. HEAUKULANI: How much down the road? TITA: Oh, I don’t know the exact count. How many miles or how many meters or how many feet that I am down the road. HEAUKULANI: More or less than a mile? 3 EXHIBIT E TITA: I think it’s less than a mile. HEAUKULANI: Thank you. GONZALES: Any other questions? Thank you. Mr. Cutting. CUTTING: Good morning, my name’s Ken Cutting. I’m a resident of Hawaiian Acres since 1990. I’m here today to voice my support for the Hawaiian Acres Special Use Permit. Our current permit does not allow the building to be used for many things that the community wants. We’ve had to have, we have had requests to hold art classes, photography workshops, yoga and Zumba exercise classes. Granting the special use permit would allow us to provide these services to our community. As for the request to allow a small scale farmers’ market, I feel that this is a very much needed. Not only would the market would provide an outlet for neighbors to sell unwanted goods or agricultural products but would serve as a meeting place bringing neighbors together and creating a sense of community. There have been some concerns raised regarding parking, and I feel that these issues have been addressed. Also, the Hawai‘i County Police Department has expressed a concern that could, that could increase calls for service. I would like to point out that the Police Department has already had an increase in calls for service. The overwhelming majority of these calls were from the same person and found to be groundless. The Hawaiian Acres community members, the Hawaiian Acres community watch members voted to fully support this request. You should have all received a copy of this letter from the community association, from our community watch program. It was submitted last time we had that. May I read this letter then? GONZALES: Got about a minute and a half. CUTTING: Ok, at a recent meeting of the Hawaiian Acres Community Watch Program, the members voted unanimously to support the request for the special use permit. We have carefully reviewed the proposal to create a small scale market, and agree that our concerns about traffic, parking, and the safety and security of our residents have been addressed to our satisfaction. One of the best ways to prevent crimes is to know your neighbors. In an area the size of Hawaiian Acres, with over 74 miles of unimproved roads, that is sometimes hard to do. The creation of a farmers’ market would bring neighbors together and create a sense of community. An added benefit is that it creates an outlet for neighbors to barter or sell agricultural products or unwanted household items. This eliminates the need for our residents to hold garage/yard sales, therefore, placing themselves and their neighbors at the risk of crimes from unknown people entering their property. Creating this outlet would greatly reduce the amount of useable items entering our landfills, and put them in the hands of people that could use them. Again, the members of the Hawaiian Acres Community Watch Program support this request, and if granted, we will assist in any way possible to assure that the safety of our residents is met. That letter was approved by the Hawaiian Acres Community Watch Program. Like I said, the Hawaiian Acres Community watch voted to approve this. Hawaiian Acres volunteer Fire Department is also in favor of this request. In fact, many from our community five, Company Five Bravo, have offered to assist in 4 EXHIBIT E the running of the market. I humbly ask you to allow this special use permit, and thank you for your time. GONZALES: Thank you. Any questions? That’s a good use of three minutes. Mr. Olson. OLSON: Thank you Mr. Chairman and members of the committee. I’m wearing a couple hats here today. I am, I’m not a property owner in Hawaiian Acres, and I don’t live there. I did, however, chair the Puna CDP Committee, and this proposal is consistent with that document. We fully support it in the document, you know, the communities coming together especially the, the large lot agricultural communities. So, the place where it is is off a road that is maintained by the County, 8 Road that goes through there, so in terms of the transportation, in and out issues, it’s a good one. There is a, probably the most interesting question here, and I hope maybe you will have some discussion about it, the parking issue has come up, and there’s several things that attach itself to that. All 4,000 lot owners are tenants in common on the roads. They are each an owner of the road. In order to be a member of HACA, you have to be a property owner; that is in their agreement. So, I’m not quite sure the requirements of having people who attend the market park off of the road. Basically, most of the people who go to the farmer’s market are resident property owners. So you’re telling the property owner that he can’t park on the road that he owns. And it’s going to be real interesting to see how you guys address that. Granted all the roads are unimproved. And I do know by law, whether it is a private road or a public road, you cannot block the road. You can’t stop somebody from travelling on it. If you do something, that is clearly illegal. But the road easement there is been cleared to about 50 feet and part of it is paved. There’s all kinds of things that tie into this. People come up there and park along that alignment all the time. People come up there and drop their children off. They sit there. They wait with their children till the bus comes. So, there’s constantly people parking at that intersection. It’s in constant use which is true of all of the alignments along 8 Road. And you know, if I put on my Puna Traffic safety hat, you know, we look at the safety issues of roadways in Puna and so there is a constant morning, evening, and afternoon procession of people who park in front of the community association building. They park on both sides of 8 Road for that purpose. Aside from the uses that the community allows the building to be used for. So, I’m going to sit back, and the ball is in your court. GONZALES: Any questions for Mr. Olson? Ok, thank you all. I’d like to call up Roger Robinson, Carol Casey Littell, and Ty Casey Littell. If there’s anyone else that would like to testify, please come sign up with Sarah over here. Three. Roger, Carol and Ty, right? Ok, can I get you to raise your right hands, please? Do you swear to tell the truth before the Windward Planning Commission today? 5 EXHIBIT E TESTIFIERS: I do. GONZALES: Thank you very much. Why don’t we just go ahead and start on this side. Name, where you live, and three minutes. ROBINSON: Good morning. I’m Roger Robinson. I live on 6 Road between A and F. I’ve been a resident there for 17 years and do go to the farmers, or did go to the farmers market occasionally when it was operating. I’ve never seen the road blocked there in my time of going. I think it’s a great site for this community meeting place, and we deserve something like this in our community. There’s two restrooms in the building, so the toilet facilities are there. It seems to me to be plenty of parking there. I’ve never seen a place when somebody was turned away for another parking. And I appreciate your time and hope you can find to let us continue this action. GONZALES: Thank you. Any questions? Thank you, sir. Go ahead, Ma’am. LITTELL: My name is Carol Casey Littell, and I am not a property owner of any property in Hawaiian Acres. I started living there as a farm worker on someone’s property on C and Hopue five years ago, and during that time, the farmers market was started and I started going and bringing my wares there, and I got to know the other people and the community through being there, through selling things, meeting people and talking to people, and having pancakes, and that all became a part of my life. And, even when I got offered a better home elsewhere outside the community, I lived there, I stayed, I continued to come, and during the time that I got there, I got to know the peo—the other vendors pretty well. And it was really, really a good sense of community. We cared about each other’s lives, and we were able to share little bits and pieces, not everything, but little bits and pieces of our lives together, and try and hold it together. And I didn’t feel—I mean there a lot of things that came up afterwards—you know, oh yes, you know, you need to change this, you need change that. So then the farmers market was closed and then there was another proposal and I went over and I walked through the new area which appears to be off the road and off for everybody to even come inside and park. If there’s a few vendors, and if there’s more vendors, there’s a place alongside the road so there’s plenty of room in the suggested new location for people to park. It does require that the vendors have to walk through the rain a lot further to use the restrooms, to get pancakes, all that kind of stuff, so it’s more inconvenience for us but it is an actually good location. And Hawaiian Acres, the way the roads are set up, there’s pretty much in Hawaiian Acres, Volcano, it’s not just there that the road will be two lane and then it’s one lane. Maybe it’s paved, maybe it’s not paved, you know, and I have travelled around, and you come along and somebody’s car is parked in the side of the road, and you’re on the paved road until another car comes. You either pull behind the car that’s parked and wait until you have a space to go through or you, you know, if you got plenty of room, you go around them. So people park in that all the time, all over the Acres, and Volcano, and Eden Roc, and all the other places that we see. There isn’t lots and lots of cars there. This isn’t a big city. This is a farming community, and it allows more ability for small farmers to present their wares, and I’m sorry is it two minutes or one minute, and I’m not done. GONZALES: Three. Your time is up. 6 EXHIBIT E LITTELL: I’m sorry, I missed that. My apologies. We hope that you will support. GONZALES: Ok, any questions? Ok, thank you. Sir? LITTELL: I’m Ty Casey Littell, and I am in firm support of the HACA Special Use Permit. Like my wife, I live in Mountain View, but not currently, don’t own any property in the Acres, but I think the suspension or loss of the farmers market was a terrible, ah—I’m sorry, it was just a—there was a good sense of community and it was a good meeting place, and I don’t see what the problems that, any problems that it can cause. It’s only from like 8 o’clock in the morning to 1 in the afternoon every Saturday. So, I’m sure, allowances could be made for the parking situation such as I don’t know. I don’t know if they could put up no parking signs or in certain areas or lot, but I think there’s been plenty of parking around the sides or the back near the, I guess, right near the firehouse, so there’s plenty of room there, but I, I’d love to see the farmers market put back into effect because I think it’s going to benefit both members of the community and people who come to buy and sell, so and, and that’s, that’s it. GONZALES: Any questions? We have dealt with parking issues for a farmers market before so, it’s not a, something that can’t be worked on. So I need you to raise your right hand, please? Do you swear to tell the truth before the Windward Planning Commission today? FLEENER: Yeah I do absolutely. GONZALES: Thank you. I need your name, where you live, and you have three minutes. FLEENER: Ok, my name is Arthur Fleener, and ok I live in Hawaiian Acres close to, well I live on Road G close to Road 6. And I’ll be quick, you know, I’m just all for this farmers market even though you heard all these other reasons and I think they’re you know legitimate, and I hope everything can be worked out you know with everybody else. You know, everybody’s happy, that’s all. Thank you. GONZALES: Any questions? Thank you all. Thank you for coming up and testifying. Does anybody else want to testify today? All right. MASUNAGA: Have Jamae Kawauchi come up. GONZALES: Ok, Ms. Kawauchi, did you want to come up? MASUNAGA: And Bill Brilhante. GONZALES: And Mr. Brilhante? All right. Good morning. I believe, was it last month, couple months ago. Last time we met. We talked about a couple things. th DARROW: It was January 9, 2014. 7 EXHIBIT E GONZALES: Two months ago. I believe we continued Ms. Kawauchi. Your client was going to try and work with the other members of the community and see if you can come up with a solution and I also believe that we had asked you to go before the Board of Ethics for an informal recommendation. Has either of those happened? KAWAUCHI: Good morning, Commissioner, Chairman Gonzales and Members of the Hawai‘i County Planning Commission. My name is Jamae Kawauchi. I’m here representing Susann Tita who has applied for standing to intervene in the application that’s on the agenda today that you’re taking up right now. I apologize for my voice, a little hoarse, got a little cold from the th kids. Before we start, can you please clarify the motion that you made at the January 9 hearing, please? GONZALES: I’m going to ask you on that one, Jeffrey. DARROW: The motion was continued. The Windward Planning Commission at its duly held public hearing on January 9, 2014, voted to continue the above-referenced request which is the request to amend Special Permit 845 to obtain an inf-, oh, to allow Jamae Kawauchi, attorney for the, for intervenor Susann Tita, to obtain an informal opinion from the County Board of Ethics regarding her representation of Ms. Tita because of previous employment with the County of Hawai‘i. KAWAUCHI: My understanding is that my client requests clarification of the motion so she would like some clarification about it. The basis for it and also to find out a little bit more about why it was made. GONZALES: Mr. Brilhante, can you help me with the County, the law or the, whatever the one year— MASUNAGA: --the County Code section. GONZALES: --the County Code section? BRILHANTE: You know the, the issue that I raised at the last hearing was regarding Hawai‘i County Code Section 2-91.2 in which a former officer and employee of the County is precluded for a 12-month period of time from representing, precluded from representing any party, whether it be a corporation or individual-- representing any party as it relates to official action being taken in front of the County. And here, the Planning Commission is considering a recommendation from the Planning Director regarding the Special Use Permit. Ms. Kawauchi is representing a party who has submitted a request to intervene. The issue regarding whether or not intervention be granted, intervention should be granted, is something for discussion at a later point. The issue that I raised is that in order to protect the record, informal opinion, pursuant to Hawai‘i County Code Section 2-86 from the County Board of Ethics should be obtained by Ms. Kawauchi in order to protect the record, because some of the adverse effects of allowing Ms. Kawauchi to go forward and possibly in violation of the post employment rule is that this whole proceeding could be retracted and if Ms. Kawauchi is deemed to be in violation of that rule, could be retracted and taken back and we may have to re-do the whole process again, and that’s a 8 EXHIBIT E complaint that could come from anybody, any member of the public regarding this post employment requirement. So that’s why I raised the issue, again, to protect the record. And so that’s the basis. The reason as to why again, to protect the record and also to protect Ms. Kawauchi because some of the remedies that stem from this requirement is that the Corporation Counsel could then attempt to attach any financial gain or interest that Ms. Kawauchi has gotten from her client as it relates to that representation so there could be actual specific actions taken against Ms. Kawauchi, so, I’m again as an advisory in my opinion, I’m protecting not only the record but Ms. Kawauchi herself as a former employee of the County. KAWAUCHI: So, so just to speak to that. The motion that was voted by the Planning th Commission on January 9 was to ask me basically just to take continuance so to have me get an informal opinion by the Board, so I’m a little unclear about why it is that we’re here today because that hasn’t happened yet. Um, the, I did make a request to the Board. I did reserve my client’s rights and my rights for any claims that we may have that we are aware of right now or may be become known to us at a future date. So there’s a reservation of rights within my submission to the Board. There’s also, you know, of course, no admission of any violation of, of you know, of an ethics rule by the County, including the ones cited by Mr. Brilhante. I need to be clear also that if you know this Commission wants to go forward now with sending that letter, you can. In fact, your Planning rules specify that the first matter that’s supposed to be taken up once the petition for standing is submitted is that petition, so your suspending your proceedings to get this informal opinion, which I have no control, neither do you, no one has control when that opinion’s going to be produced, if at all. You know, the Board of Ethics could never produce an opinion. So, the motion that you took is kind of contingent on something that we don’t have control over, is not a matter before this Planning Commission, and also appears to be improper because it’s not, you know, the rules specify you’re supposed to take up the petition for standing first. Also, your rules say, you know, I’m sure if you rely on Roberts Rules of Order for your meetings, your motion really should have been made to a specific time, place, and location, and this, you know this motion that was made is pretty ambiguous you know as to that. So, you can have the other types of issues that could come up because of that motion that was made. There’s another concern that I have. I was a, my understanding is that, and my client can kind of speak to this as well, that she was informed that if she got rid of me as her attorney that she could have a hearing. I think, is that correct, Susann? TITA: I am so confused as to how the Commission operates because the last hearing we went to, nothing was ascertained as to standing or, then the next thing I hear is Ms. Jamae is told that she cannot represent me. I hope I’m not blowing anyone here. Um, and now we’re back at a hearing and we have testimony already. I’m, I’m really confused. I was called by Mr. Arai, and I went down to the office. Mr. Arai said to me if you get rid of your lawyer, you can have a hearing. So, I, I, I’m really questioning what’s going on here. How is this supposed to flow? How does this Commission work? And why are we here again is my question when you have no permit. We’re working off of something that doesn’t exist. You’re extending something that doesn’t exist. It’s confusing. And I was told when I asked Mr. Arai who do you really work for? Do you work as non-biased or do you work for the, Hawaiian Acres Community Association, or me, a taxpayer. Where is your position, and he told me I work, I work, I’m helping Hawaiian Acres. I get that general sense that this is the way it’s going. Like a decision’s already been made. So 9 EXHIBIT E am I just spinning my wheels here because nothing seems to be flowing according to the rules. I mean, there clearly is, and I heard you Mr. Gonzales say, parking problems can always be worked out for, for farmers markets. Did anyone take into consideration that the Fire Department is right there? If there’s a fire when the fire, farmers markets going on, we’re all in big trouble in Hawaiian Acres, cause we’re gonna to have to move a whole bunch of cars just to get to a water tank. I mean, there are many, many issues here. They’re not being carefully looked at. Just that photograph alone that I’ve handed in to you folks today over the parking. There is no parking there. There is no second location. There is no place for a farmers market. If anyone was to go out and look at the site, it doesn’t exist. It was backfilled property that backfilled without a permit. I mean, there are many, many problems here. BRILHANTE: Chair, Chairman, I’m going to object. It seems like the witness is testifying as to the merits of the case as opposed to the issue in front of us regarding the request by the Board for her representative to get an informal opinion. GONZALES: Um, your application hasn’t been denied or accepted. As Mr. Brilhante has stated, and I think as the way we understand it, this is all, we cannot proceed without putting you, the County, all of us at risk because if you don’t get that recommendation from the Board of Ethics for us, this could all end up for nothing. Am I understanding that correctly? BRILHANTE: Pursuant to the rules, that is one of the pending outcomes that could possibly be— GONZALES: I’m not a lawyer, I mean there’s enough of them in the room, but I, you—she can be your lawyer, I mean, she can be your counselor. We’re just asking her to get a recommendation from the Board of Ethics. KAWAUCHI: I’m glad, Chairman, that you clarified that. The Planning Commission’s position is that Ms. Tita is entitled to representation. I’m glad that you made that clear for the Planning Commission. As far as the pending motion, again, you know, you have, you know, you have your own attorney with you. I’m sure you’ve been properly advised about whether or not postponing a hearing on the merits of the permit is permissible or not. Whether or not Ms. Tita has a constitutional or even if Hawaiian Acres has a constitutional right to have their hearing heard within a timely basis and whether or not even the type of motion that you made would be in violation of the Sunshine Law. Ms. Tita will have her own position on that. And also whether or not it’s a violation of her due process rights. So, you know, you’re confronted with a position by the Planning Director as stated by his attorney, that in order for you to proceed, you have to go get this letter. Our position, of course, is otherwise. My opinion is you could proceed right now if you wanted to on her application for standing, and holding that up, you know, delays, the disposition of that and it also puts the association in potential harm because if our allegations are correct that there is no certificate of occupancy for that building. If that the permit has already lapsed, if you’ve got a firehouse that’s not up to code and is being operated, you’ve got parking problems over there, and if there’s a fire, there could be problems with people getting in and out of that place, getting Fire, out there to assist the homeowner. If you’ve got all these concerns, and you also have, my understanding according to Ms. Tita’s prior testimony, is that the farmers market is currently in operation even though there’s no permit, so you’ve got you know people 10 EXHIBIT E running a farmers market now. The warning letter has already been sent by the Planning Department, and the allegation is that they’re continuing to operate even notwithstanding that they don’t have a permit. So all of these things are going on. It’s being delayed again to a time, place that the Commission has no control over. So, we could be looking at you know several weeks or hopefully you know, you get a letter back soon, and then you can go forward but— GONZALES: So, you have applied for the letter. KAWAUCHI: I did submit a letter to the, a—a, a Board of Ethics, that’s correct. I did, yeah. So but you’ve no control over when you’re going to get it back— GONZALES: I understand that, and I believe your client has a right to due process. HENKEL: Mr. Gonzales? GONZALES: Sir, Mr. Henkel. HENKEL: Can I ask Ms. Kawauchi when you submitted the letter to the Board of Ethics? KAWAUCHI: I submitted it today. HENKEL: Ok. KAWAUCHI: I would ask that the Chairman please advise the a— GONZALES: Yeah, please don’t, don’t— KAWAUCHI: --of their decorum. I’m sure you have a rule that states that you should— GONZALES: --you want a lozenge? KAWAUCHI: No thanks, I’m good. Thank you, though. I appreciate that. It’s kind. BRILHANTE: Mr. Chair, based on the information provided that Ms. Kawauchi has submitted a request for informal advisory opinion today to the Board of Ethics, I guess that I would request that we continue this matter until the Board of Ethics sends a reply, hopefully, there can be some communication from maybe the Commission’s attorney, informing the Board of Ethics, as to the timeliness and the ramifications associated with any delay involved with their, response to the informal letter. GONZALES: Is that something we can do? Can we ask them to please respond in a timely manner? MASUNAGA: Yes, and I did try and check when the next Board of Ethics meeting is, and I believe they told me April, so the earliest, I know we have another contested case probably in May, so I don’t know if you wanted to have two—I mean if in fact, there is going to be you 11 EXHIBIT E know standing allowed for intervention—it might need to be until June cause we have something on the agenda for May already, and if they can’t get it, Board of Ethics get a decision out until April, their April meeting, that’s my understanding. Oh yes-- BRILHANTE: Um— MASUNAGA: Mr. Brilhante— BRILHANTE: Just to clarify, I think Ms. Kawauchi was correct in which the issue regarding standing hasn’t even been addressed, so that would have to be addressed before we set this for a contested case hearing so that be the case, if we came back in April, when’s the next hearing? Ok, so we’d have to come back in May and then the issue regarding whether or not a contested case would be determined at that May hearing, and then set be for June anyway. So, in essence, all we’re delaying this is one month. GONZALES: Two months, I would think before we could talk about the contested case hearing because we’re going to meet before the Board of Ethics meets. Is that correct? Do they meet before the first Thursday? rd ARAI: Yes, April 3 is our, your next meeting, so I understand the Board of Ethics meets some time after that, right Margaret? So, we probably won’t be able to get to the intervention request until May— GONZALES: --May— ARAI: --with the contested case proceeding scheduled thereafter. GONZALES: Ms. Kawauchi, would that work for you? KAWAUCHI: Just to be clear, you’re going to entertain a motion to continue to when? GONZALES: Until we get the letter from the Board of Ethics, and we are going to try to push them to get it done in April, so May is what we’re aiming for. KAWAUCHI: Um, you know again, we just continued this or that, a petition for standing according to your rules is the very first item that’s taken up, so that would be my response. GONZALES: Okay, and I think— KAWAUCHI: I apol--, I thank you for the courtesy of asking us for opinion. GONZALES: Mr. Henkel— KAWAUCHI: Thank you. 12 EXHIBIT E HENKEL: Um, I’d like to make a motion to go into Executive Session to consult with our attorney about the legality of this. GONZALES: Need a second. ISHIBASHI: Second. GONZALES: Ok, do we need a vote on that? MASUNAGA: Yeah. GONZALES: Could we get a, can we just do a voice? MASUNAGA: Voice is ok. GONZALES: Everyone in favor? COMMISSIONERS: Aye. GONZALES: Anyone opposed? Ok, we’re going to ask everyone to step outside for a few moments please. KAWAUCHI: Thank you. EXECUTIVE SESSION – The Commission went into Executive Session at 11:55 a.m. The Commission came out of Executive Session at 12:06 p.m. by a motion made by Commission Moses and seconded by Commission Henkel, and unanimously carried by a voice vote of all Commissioners in attendance. The hearing reconvened for regular session at 12:08 p.m. GONZALES: The Windward Planning Commission is back in session. Commissioners, I’d like to ask if anyone would like to offer a motion. HENKEL: It’s aggravating that this has dragged on so long but we feel that we had only one option and so I move that a, for a continuance with the condition that the Planning Department Director, Duane Kanuha, also submit a letter as soon as possible to the Board of Ethics explaining our position. MASUNAGA: To expedite. HENKEL: To expedite the, their decision. Is that good? GONZALES: Any second. 13 EXHIBIT E DARROW: Clarification, prior, do we have a date that we’re continuing it to? To the May Windward Planning Commission or open ended? HENKEL: Yeah, to the next Planning Commission meeting if the Board of Ethics can expedite their reply. DARROW: Ok. ISHIBASHI: Second. ARAI: I just want to make sure I understand. It’s the, the letter from the Director is not to request a back up opinion, but it’s to help encourage and facilitate the decision-- GONZALES: Urge them to get this done— ARAI: Ok— GONZALES: at their very next meeting— ARAI: Sure, sure, ok. HENKEL: That’s, that’s correct, that’s what I meant. ARAI: Ok, I appreciate that. Thank you. MASUNAGA: Daryn, excuse me, and of course that would be dependent so that you can get the agenda out after, you receive, you know the Board of Ethic’s decision you know in terms of what month that would be for this to be continued. Cause I know you have timeframes as to when you have to put it on the docket, I mean get it ready, right? ARAI: Right. Well, in order to schedule this item for your April meeting, I would have to probably complete the agenda by next week Monday, so I, right and then the Board of Ethics will not meet till later in the month of April, so what I could do is I could just put it on the agenda and if we end up not being to get the opinion then we can just defer, defer the particular matter. I can put a cancellation notice in the newspapers. GONZALES: Ok, I believe we’re aiming for the May agenda, right? ARAI: Ok. GONZALES: Cause, cause the Ethics doesn’t meet till after our April meeting. ARAI: Right. MASUNAGA: Is that ok with— 14 EXHIBIT E HENKEL: Yeah, I’m ok. MASUNAGA: Ok. ARAI: Ok, May. Thank you. GONZALES: Any further discussion from the Commissioners? DARROW: I’m sorry, who is the Commissioner who made the second? Oh, thank you Commissioner Ishibashi. Just to reiterate, the motion before us is to continue this hearing until the May Windward Planning Commission meeting and to request that the Planning Director also submit a request to the Board of Ethics, correct? MASUNAGA: To expedite. DARROW: To expedite this matter. MASUNAGA: Their decision. DARROW: Ok. With that, we’ll take the roll call. Commissioner Henkel? HENKEL: Aye. DARROW: Commissioner Ishibashi? ISHIBASHI: Aye. DARROW: Commissioner Heaukulani? HEAUKULANI: Aye. DARROW: Commissioner Moses? MOSES: Aye. DARROW: Commissioner Ono? ONO: Aye. DARROW: And Mr. Chairman. GONZALES: Aye. DARROW: The motion passes six to zero. 15 EXHIBIT E GONZALES: Thank you. The discussion ended at 12:12 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sarah Y. Hata-Finley, Secretary Windward Planning Commission 16 EXHIBIT E