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Home My WebLink About2014-09-04 Hearing Transcript-OceanView Baptist Church, Inc. SPP 14-164 WINDWARD PLANNING COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I HEARING TRANSCRIPT SEPTEMBER 4, 2014 Ocean View Baptist Church, Inc. (SPP A regularly advertised hearing on the application of 14-164) was called to order at 1:04 p.m. in the County of Hawai‘i Aupuni Center Conference Room, 101 Pauahi Street, Hilo, Hawai‘i with Chairman Myles Miyasato presiding. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Myles Miyasato, Charles Heaukulani, Gregory Henkel, and Raylene Moses. ABSENT AND EXCUSED: Stephen Ono. ALSO PRESENT: Duane Kanuha (Planning Director), Margaret Masunaga (Deputy Corporation Counsel for the Windward Planning Commission), William Brilhante (Deputy Corporation Counsel for the Planning Director) from 1:02 p.m., Daryn Arai (Planning Program Manager), Jeff Darrow (Staff Planner), Maija Jackson (Staff Planner), to 6:30 p.m., Christian Kay (Staff Planner), Sarah Hata-Finley (Commission Secretary), Kim Tanaka (Secretary), to 4:30 p.m., and Melissa Dacayanan (Planning Commission Support Technician), to 4:30 p.m. And approximately 40 people from the public in attendance. APPLICANT: OCEAN VIEW BAPTIST CHURCH, INC. (SPP 14-164) Application for a Special Permit to allow the establishment of a church and related improvements on 4.057 acres of land situated within the State Land Use Agricultural District. The project site is located at 92-1416 Coral Parkway, approximately 175 feet northeast of the Ginger Blossom Lane – Coral Parkway intersection, Hawaiian Ocean View Estates, Ka`u, Hawai`i, TMK: 9-2-002:012. MIYASATO: Item number four on the agenda, under new business, Ocean View Baptist Church for a Special Permit application. JACKSON: Thank you, Mr. Chair. The next application on the agenda is a request for a Special Permit. The Applicant is Ocean View Baptist Church, Incorporated. The subject property is located in the Ka’ū District in the Hawaiian Ocean View Estates Subdivision. You can see the property circled in red in the middle of the slide. The Hawai‛i Belt Road runs in a general east- west direction through the middle of the slide. And you have the Ranchos Subdivision to the south, and the Hawaiian Ocean View Estates Subdivision to the north. Both subdivisions are zoned Agricultural. Hawaiian Ocean View Estates is zoned Agricultural - 1 acre. This is a close-up view of the property. You can see that it does have some frontage along the Hawai‘i Belt Road. The General Plan designation for the property is Rural, which does allow for community-type uses, such as a church, that’s shown in the light brown color. And then the core 1 EXHIBIT D commercial area for Ocean View is shown in this general area here. That’s where you, you have more of your existing commercial uses right now. This is an aerial view of the property and surrounding area. You can see the Hawai‘i Belt Road again running through the slide. The access to the property is off of Ginger Blossom Lane and then you turn onto Coral Parkway. This property is four acres in size, and the reason that is the case is because the Applicant recently consolidated four, 1-acre lots. So for this area it’s, it’s a pretty big property. There is a dwelling located just to the west, and there is also one located just to the east. But most of the other areas immediately surrounding the property are vacant. The Applicant’s proposing to establish a church and related improvements. The church would include an approximately 5,000 square foot church building that will have an auditorium, restrooms, kitchen, nursery, classrooms, storage room, and a janitor’s closet. Church services will be held on Sundays for about 200 congregants and that will take place between 9 a.m. and noon. Other activities will include Sunday evening meetings, church-related classes, and activities on some weekdays and evenings, weddings, celebrations, memorials and other activities and programs in support of the Ocean View community on an as-needed basis. Additional structures that may be added in the future, if finances allow, are additional classroom and administrative space as well as a detached restroom and shower facility that would be open for the community to use on a scheduled basis, as well as covered picnic facilities. This is the Applicant’s proposed site plan. You have Coral Parkway on the left side of the slide, and the Hawai‘i Belt Road on the right side of the slide. You can see they’re proposing one access, with a loop driveway through the property, some parking areas, and then the church building is proposed to be located in the middle of the property. There is some existing vegetation on the property that does create a buffer between this property and the neighbors, as well as the highway. There is an ironwood hedge along here that I will show you in a few minutes. And then there are some ironwood trees along the west property boundary and some ironwoods and ‛ōhi‛a’s on the adjacent property to the east. This is a view of the highway intersection, Hawai‘i Belt Road at Ginger Blossom Lane, so people going to the church would turn right here. This is looking towards the Kona direction. This is a view of the highway intersection if you’re on Ginger Blossom Lane. This is the highway here in the front, and then this is Ginger Blossom Lane. And then this is a view of the property further to the east so the subject property is actually in this location here. So you can see the existing ironwood tree hedge. And this is a view of the property access. Currently, it’s just a somewhat narrow driveway but the Applicant will improve it for two-way access. This is on Coral Parkway looking east. And then a view of Coral Parkway looking west toward Ginger Blossom Lane, so vehicles leaving the church would, going to the highway, would turn left here, and then out to the highway which is over here. The Planning Director’s recommending approval of the Applicant’s Special Permit request with the recommended conditions. We haven’t received any additional testimony from the public. So with that, are there any questions? 2 EXHIBIT D MIYASATO: Thank you, Maija. JACKSON: You’re welcome. MIYASATO: Would the Applicant or representative please come forward? Please raise your right hand. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Hawai‘i County Planning Commission? GREEN: I do. LANDRY: Yes, I do. MIYASATO: Could you please both state your names and residence? GREEN: I’m Elbert Green from Ocean View Baptist Church. I’m, my residence is 92-1918 Coconut Drive in Ocean View 96737. LANDRY: I’m Mike Landry. I’m pastor of the church, and my residence is 92-1581 Donola Drive in Ocean View. MIYASATO: Would you like to make a statement? GREEN: No, though we appreciate the opportunity to come before you today and thankful for Maija’s assistance and presentation. And we just want to state that this is something that we feel in light of, of God to do, and to build a church in servi-, to serve our community and to point others to our Savior. LANDRY: Ocean View Baptist Church is very committed to community service with a back to school bash every year to give school supplies to all the children of Ocean View. Last year, we did 450 bags of school supplies with inflatables, hot dogs, shave ice, and we do a lot of other things in our community and right now we’re meeting at a community center, but we would love to have our own place to better serve our community. GREEN: One of the primary reasons for the building that we want to put there is just to provide a greater outreach tool to our community. We are currently doing food distribution, water distribution and other services to our community. This will give us a place to centralize and to do even more. MIYASATO: Thank you. Any questions, Commissioners? HEAUKULANI: Quickly. Gentlemen, thank you for coming this afternoon. Have you had an opportunity to review the proposed recommendations? GREEN/LANDRY: Yes. HEAUKULANI: Is that, is that something you are you comfortable with? 3 EXHIBIT D LANDRY: Yes, we are-- GREEN: --yes-- LANDRY: We’re very comfortable with the recommendations. MOSES: I just wanted to make a comment. Thank you very much, gentlemen, for what you do for our community, in Ocean View. MIYASATO: Thank you. We have no public testimony for this application. Do you have any discussion, Commissioners? If not, we’d accept a motion. MOSES: Chair, I’d like to make a motion. I move that the application for Special Permit, SPP 14-000164 be approved based on the Planning Director’s Recommendation and proposed conditions. HEAUKULANI: I’ll second. MIYASATO: Motion by Commissioner Moses and seconded by Commissioner Heaukulani. Is there any discussion on the motion? JACKSON: Okay, I’ll take the roll call. Commissioner Moses? MOSES: Aye. JACKSON: Commissioner Heaukulani? HEAUKULANI: Aye. JACKSON: Commissioner Henkel? HENKEL: Aye. JACKSON: And Chair Miyasato? MIYASATO: Aye. 4 EXHIBIT D JACKSON: Okay, the motion to approve passes four, zero. The discussion ended at 1:14 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Sarah Y. Hata-Finley, Secretary Windward Planning Commission 5 EXHIBIT D