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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-01-15 Leeward Exh A (REZ 14-181) LEEWARD PLANNING COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I HEARING TRANSCRIPT JANUARY 15, 2015 ROBERT HIND III AND MARGARET A regularly advertised hearing on the application of HIND (REZ 14-181) was called to order at 9:37 a.m. in the West Hawai‘i Civic Center, Community Center, Building G, 74-5044 Ane Keohokālole Highway, Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i, with Chairman Brandi Beaudet presiding. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Brandi Beaudet, Thomas Hickcox, Collin Kaholo, Barbara Nobriga, Keith Unger and Thomas Whittemore ALSO PRESENT: Bobby Command (Deputy Planning Director), Jeff Darrow (Planner), Christian Kay (Planner) and Noriko Sauer (Commission Secretary) And no one from the public in attendance. APPLICANTS: ROBERT HIND III AND MARGARET HIND (REZ 14-181) Application for a Change of Zone from an Agricultural-1 acre (A-1a) to a Single Family Residential-20,000 square feet (RS-20) zoning district for approximately 35,414 square feet of land. The property is located west of Spencer Road, approximately 500 feet southwest of the Spencer Road-Hoku‘ula Road intersection, Waimea Homesteads, South Kohala, Hawai‘i, TMK: 6-5-011:030. BEAUDET: Looking at the crowd behind the applicant, I don’t think there is anyone to sign up for testimony. So we’ll proceed. So with that, would the applicant like to -. Are you going to do your presentation? DARROW: Yes. BEAUDET: Okay. Staff will do the presentation. DARROW: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, Members of the Planning Commission. Our first and only item on the agenda this morning is a Change of Zone application submitted by Robert Hind, III and Margaret Hind. The area of this subject request is within the South Kohala District. More specifically, we are looking in the area around Waimea Park, Parker School. The actual area of the subject application is identified with a red outline. The black outline is also kind of part of this because of the original configuration of the lot currently consists of both the red and the black line. The colors on the map again represent the different zonings, County zonings, in the area. The green represents Agricultural-1 acre, the yellow represents Single Family Residential-10,000 square feet, and that’s mainly consisting in the area that we are looking at here. We do have some Commercial, and that makes up the urban core of Waimea. This is the General Plan Designation for the area; the subject application property area is within the Low Density Urban General Plan Designation. And it is also located within the State Land Use Urban District. 1 EXHIBIT A This is an aerial photo. Again, the subject property is identified with a red outline. Access will be from Spencer Road. The current property access is from – I’ve got to remember what road that is – Hoku‘ula Road. And so the new property will be accessing from a different location. The applicant is requesting a Change of Zone from Agricultural-1 acre to Single Family Residential-20,000 square feet for a 35,414-square foot portion of a 2.358-acre parcel. The applicant is requesting the Change of Zone in order to create a two-lot subdivision, with one 1.546-acre lot and one 35,414-square foot lot, or 0.8 acre. The larger lot will retain its Agricultural-1 zoning, and the smaller lot will be rezoned to Single Family Residential-20,000 square feet and will be given to the applicant’s daughter to build a residence. Just to give you an idea of the reason why the applicant didn’t go forward and just subdivide with the current zoning, because they do have enough room and enough land area to be able to do that; being zoned Ag-1 acre, they could have created two lots. The problem is is that to be able to get a full acre in this area, there would have been having to be a configuration around the existing residence. So rather than do that, they decided that this would be a better option. And again, this kind of shows what the proposed layout will be, again, access from Spencer Road, and the current dwelling, and then the proposed dwelling on the new property. These are some site photos that were taken of the area. This is looking at the proposed newly created lot area; the existing residence is in behind the trees back here. This is from the main lot area, looking out of the flag pole, or the pole, towards Spencer Road. And again, this is a similar photo. And this is Spencer Road, with access on the left of the map. And this is Spencer Road, with access on the right of the map. The Planning Director is recommending that the Planning Commission send a favorable recommendation to the Hawai‘i County Council for this Change of Zone request. I do have just one item I’d like to bring to your attention. After the recommendation and conditions were sent to the applicant, it was, we came across similar situations where because of the fact that the original zoning allowed for two new lots to be created, if it remained as it is, that it was, in the past we haven’t put on the condition of fair share for the newly created lot because the applicant currently had the ability to have two lots from their existing zoning. So in this situation we felt it would be fair to also do that same type of allowance, and, therefore, we are asking that the fair share condition, which is Condition I, be deleted from the conditions. With that, that concludes our presentation. Thank you. BEAUDET: Thank you, Jeff. Commissioners, any comments or questions of staff before we proceed with the applicant? Okay, with that, would the applicant and/or its representatives please come forward. And if you could all raise your right hand, I’d like to swear you in. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Planning Commission? APPLICANTS: Yes. BEAUDET: Thank you. Starting with Bill, if you could introduce yourself and speak into the mike just for recording. 2 EXHIBIT A MOORE: Sure. Is it on? My name is Bill Moore. Address is 159 Halai Street, H-A-L-A-I, in Hilo. I’ve been assisting the Hinds on this matter. I’m here, if there is technical information, but as you notice, they are here; they can answer their own questions, if there is any questions. R. HIND: Robby Hind. P. O. Box 750, Kamuela, Hawai‘i. And I’m the applicant, one of them. M. HIND: Marty Hind. P. O. Box 750. BEAUDET: Thank you. Go ahead. MOORE: Yeah, I just want to say that we have received the Background and Recommendation, and are very appreciative of the staff in listening to our arguments, or discussions, regarding the fair share and their flexibility in recommending that. We’ve reviewed the other conditions and have no objections and can comply with them. So, yeah, we have no problems with what the staff has done and are really appreciative of their flexibility. R. HIND: Yeah, this is the first time Marty and I have been through anything like this, and it was really overwhelming at the start, as far as the process and what not to go through. And I’d just like to reiterate what Bill said, the patience the staff has had with us going through the process. And so, anyways, I’d just like to thank them and to recognize them for that. MOORE: And I just want to reiterate one thing. When we were looking at the zoning, we really tried to structure the zoning, so, it, they, you could only do two lots, and it wasn’t in trying to increase the density. So the RS-20 zoning was specifically picked, a less than 40,000-square foot lot was developed, and so it really was the strategy from the start to not change the character; even though we’re rezoning it to urban, or RS, Single Family, trying to keep the two-lot to two-lot density. So that was very much a part of what the family tried to do from the start. BEAUDET: Thank you. And as a commission, you know, that is one of our primary concerns, and the surrounding community’s concerns, too, is that when we go through these processes, it’s typically to increase density. So we can appreciate, and I’m sure your neighbors appreciate the same, that that wasn’t the focus with this application; it was more to accommodate, you know, the numbers within the family, rather than to create, you know, or enhance, economic value. So we appreciate that as well. Any comments or questions from the Commissioners? Being that there is nobody in the audience for testimony, I don’t know, do I need to close that, or? It hasn’t even been technically opened. Okay. So we’ll just proceed. Okay, thank you. We appreciate that. Commissioners, with no further discussion or comments of the applicant, any more for staff? With that, I’d like to ask for a motion, motion for action. WHITTEMORE: Chair, I’d like to make a motion. I’d like to move for a favorable recommendation to be forwarded to the County Council on the application of a change of zoning, Docket No. REZ 14-181, based on the Planning Director’s findings and recommendations and proposed conditions, which shall be adopted, which would include the deletion of Item I in the original recommendation. HICKCOX: Second. 3 EXHIBIT A BEAUDET: Thank you. It’s been moved by Commissioner Whittemore for a favorable recommendation to be forwarded to the County Council, and seconded by Commissioner Hickcox. Staff, would you like to take a roll? DARROW: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Before we take the roll call, I just want to also acknowledge Maija Cottle; she was the planner that actually worked very closely with the applicants. I’m just the fortunate one that gets to present today. So all those kind words that were said were actually directed towards her hard work on this application. Thank you. With that, we’ll take the roll call. Commissioner Whittemore? WHITTEMORE: Aye. DARROW: Commissioner Hickcox? HICKCOX: Aye. DARROW: Commissioner Kaholo? KAHOLO: Aye. DARROW: Commissioner Nobriga? NOBRIGA: Aye. DARROW: Commissioner Unger? UNGER: Aye. DARROW: And Mr. Chairman? BEAUDET: Aye. DARROW: The motion passes, six to zero. BEAUDET: Thank you. The discussion ended at 9:48 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Noriko Sauer, Secretary Leeward Planning Commission 4 EXHIBIT A