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HomeMy WebLinkAboutAC Minutes 9Dec2014 William P. Kenoi Duane Kanuha Director Mayor Bobby Command 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 Tuesday, December 9, 2014 DRAFT Meeting Minutes CALL TO ORDER Chairperson Patti Pinto called the Puna Community Development Plan (PCDP) Action Committee ' (AC) to order at 3:04 p.m. in the Keaau Community Center. The following persons were present: Action Committee: Sharon Daun, Patti Pinto, June Conant, Farris Etterlee and Oshi Simsarian. Susan Osborne arrived at 3:13p.m. Elmer Solis, Leila Kealoha and René Siracusa were absent. Staff: Larry Brown and Hans Santiago – PCDP Planners and Keiko Mercado – PCDP Planning Assistant. Members of the public: 7 ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA: None ANNOUNCEMENTS: 1.Oshi announced that she would be rejoining the Pāhoa Plan Subcommittee. 2.Oshi announced that a Legacy Land Grant for 1.3M has been secured towards the purchase of Wai’opae also known as the Vacationland Land Trust Property. The grant amounts to half of the purchase price, the hope is that PONC (Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Commission) will provide the remaining funds. PUBLIC TESTIMONY: One person signed up to testify and chose to testify at the start of the meeting. 1.Jon Olson testified on agenda item #9, Impact of the Lava. Jon believes the PCDP is what it is because it’s fundamentally based on a build out number (the number of buildable TMKs which translates into a population). He doesn’t believe people should be encouraged to build in Lava Zones one or two in the density that has been previously allowed. Money is being wasted on infrastructure and will continue to be wasted unless there are changes. APPROVAL OF MINUTES: June moved to approve the minutes of the November 18, 2014 meeting as submitted. Second by Farris. The motion to approve the minutes as submitted passed with 5 votes aye, 0 votes nay. (Susan was not yet present) NEW BUSINESS: 1.Communication No. 2014-79 - Connectivity and Emergency Response Subcommittee (CERS) Report: Marlene Hapai reported on the activities of the CER Subcommittee. While it Hawai‘i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer has been decided to not hold another PREP Fair in 2015, input on connectivity from the community will continue to be recorded as it comes to the subcommittee. The CERS has been th discussing the impacts of the June 27 lava flow on present and future traffic should Puna be divided. Also being discussed by the CERS are the possible priorities with the new lava flow challenges. These recommended priorities can be found on the PCDP Website under Communications to AC, Communication No. 2014-79. Please note that there will be no regular meeting of the CERS in December, regular meetings will resume in January. 2.Communication No. 2014-66.1 – CERS Letter to Kalapana Sea View Estates (KSVE) Residents: The PCDP AC considered a second draft letter to KSVE residents submitted by the CERS readdressing connectivity location #31 as presented in the Emergency Response Subcommittee of the PCDP Report on Prioritized Connectivity Locations, May 13, 2014. Susan moved to accept Communication No. 2014-66.1. Second by Farris. Discussion ensued clarifying that the next Prioritized Connectivity Locations report would be presented in May 2015 as it is an annual report. As stated in prior discussions, information that was collected and recorded in the first report cannot be removed as it is a part of the process and a report of community input. However, the next annual report will include the opposition from KSVE on connectivity locations in their community. Also discussed by the AC was the format of the letter. Farris moved to delete the VIA: section of the letter and add “Patti Pinto, Chairperson, PCDP Action Committee” as the first line under the FROM: section. Second by Susan. Motion passed with 6 votes aye and 0 votes nay. Original motion as amended passed with 6 votes aye and 0 votes nay. 3.Town Hall Subcommittee: Members of the Town Hall Subcommittee reported on their th December 6 informational booth at the Pāhoa Christmas Parade. Leila and Susan attended and although they passed out a few brochures and were able to answer a few questions, interest was not high and Susan believes it just wasn’t the right venue. 4.Communication No. 2014-78 – Mass Transit Subcommittee (MTSC): June reported on the activities of the subcommittee. Stephanie Bath provided testimony via email (Communication 2014-80) in the form of a letter sent to Tiffany Kai of MTA (Mass Transit Agency). The MTSC invited Jesse Floyd, member of the Hawai’i State Council on Developmental Disabilities to their regular November meeting. He provided a number of suggestions and confirmed that transportation plays a big role in promoting jobs for the disabled. June announced that she will apply for a seat on the Transportation Commission. Please also note that there will be no regular meeting of the MTSC in December, meetings will resume in January. 5.Communication No. 2014-77 – Volcano Long Range Plan Subcommittee (VLRP) Report: Members of the VLRP summarized their subcommittee meeting minutes and reported on the activities of the Subcommittee. Dan Taylor expressed excitement about hearing back from the Planning Department on their Long Range Plan and went on to describe their proposal for a Historic District Overlay Proposal. Dan with Vikki Milon described to the AC the area being considered for the Historic District Overlay and also spoke of some of the opposition they’ve come across. Being stressed is the importance of keeping the character of the community and making sure that Volcano remains a beautiful destination and not become a “strip mall” type entrance to Hawai’i Volcanoes National Park. Discussion ensued regarding the acreage of the Overlay and whether or not that is in line with the criteria as stated in the PCDP. The proposal is such that in accordance with the PCDP, the Volcano Historic District be implemented following the PCDP criteria for a Community Village Center located within a Special Design District with regard to zoning, access and design. 6.Grubbing and Grading Brochure: Due to Elmer’s absence the AC decided to defer this agenda item to the January 13, 2015 AC meeting. 7.Communication No. 2014-63.2 – Support letter for Mālama O Puna: The AC considered a draft letter supporting Mālama O Puna’s draft Grubbing and Grading Bill. Susan moved to accept Communication No. 2014-63.2. Second by June. The purpose of the letter was questioned and clarification was given. The purpose of the letter is to express the AC’s support of Mālama O Puna’s efforts in regards to stiffer penalties for Grubbing and Grading violations. The AC will be sending the letter to Mālama O Puna for their use. Farris moved to strike the last sentence “We encourage passage of this draft amendment”, to change the word aina to ‘aina in the last paragraph and change the last sentence of the first paragraph to read “The reason to have a permit is to allow the County to set conditions that will avoid negative impacts before they happen.” Second by Sharon. Motion passed with 6 votes aye and 0 votes nay. Main motion as amended passed with 6 votes aye and 0 votes nay. 8.Election of Chairperson and Vice Chairperson: The Action Committee will nominate and elect the 2015 AC Chairperson and Vice Chairperson. Patti proposed that this agenda item be deferred to the January AC meeting due to the absence of members. Oshi disagreed, stating that members could again be absent in January. The AC decided to move forward with the election. Sharon moved to nominate Patti Pinto as Chairperson and Elmer Solis as Vice Chairperson for the 2015 PCDP Action Committee. Second by Susan. Motion passed with 6 votes aye and 0 votes nay. 9.Impact of the Lava: The PCDP AC discussed the impacts that the lava flow is having on the Puna Community and the potential short term and long-range effect it may have on ā implementing the PCDP. The Phoa transfer station was opened as viewing station for students. No announcement has been made about the transfer station becoming a public viewing station. Within Hawaiian Paradise Park, Railroad has been paved. The Railroad connection will only be opened in the event that the lava crosses HWY 130. Beach Road connection road is open. The Police Substation is near the Geothermal Plant and the Fire Substation is at the Community Center in Pāhoa. Traffic is still horrible, even on the connector roads traffic is getting heavier. UNFINISHED BUSINESS: None AGENDA FOR NEXT MEETING: (January 13, 2015) 1. Grubbing and Grading Brochure 2. Impact of the Lava 3. Budget Report Feedback 4. Subcommittee Guidelines 5. Pāhoa Steering Committee Report 6. VLRP 7. Letter from Tiffany Kai (Mass Transit) ADJOURNMENT: The Chair, without objection, adjourned the meeting at 4:36 p.m.