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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-02-05 HearingTranscript - Lance Moe REZ 14-183 WINDWARD PLANNING COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I HEARING TRANSCRIPT FEBRUARY 5, 2015 LANCE MOE (REZ 14-183) A regularly advertised hearing on the application of was called to order at 9:03 a.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, Gregory Henkel, Donald Ikeda, Raylene Moses, and Stephen Ono. ABSENT & EXCUSED: Charles Heaukulani. ALSO PRESENT: Duane Kanuha (Planning Director), Danny Patel (Deputy Corporation Counsel for the Windward Planning Commission), William Brilhante (Deputy Corporation Counsel for the Planning Director), Jeff Darrow (Staff Planner), Christian Kay (Staff Planner), and Sarah Hata-Finley (Commission Secretary). And approximately 4 people from the public in attendance. APPLICANT: LANCE MOE (REZ-14-183) Application for a Change of Zone from Single-Family Residential-10,000 square feet (RS-10) to Neighborhood Commercial-10,000 square feet (CN-10) for 22,500 square feet of land. The property is located on the southwest corner of the intersection of Kekūanaōa Street and Laukapu Street, Waiākea House Lots, Waiākea, South Hilo, Hawai‘i, TMK: 2-2-036: 042. MIYASATO: The first item on today’s agenda is Applicant Lance Moe. DARROW: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. Good morning, Members of the Planning Commission. Welcome, beautiful day. MIYASATO: Good morning. DARROW: I went through Ka‛ū yesterday, oh man, that’s God’s Country out there. MOSES: You’re right. DARROW: Our first agenda item is Lance Moe as mentioned. They are requesting a Change of Zone. The area of the subject application is within the South Hilo District of Hawai‛i. More specifically, we’re looking in the area of the Waiākea House Lots. The subject properties are identified with a black outline. Currently, it shows two properties, but they are now consolidated, so it’s actually just one property. 1 EXHIBIT A This is, for reference running through the middle of the map, we have Kekūanaō‛a Street. And, running perpendicular, we have Laukapu and Hīnano Street. The subject application is located on the corner of Kekūanaō‛a and Laukapu Street, right across from Big Island Candies. The main road, Kanoelehua is to the right side of your map. This is the General Plan Land Use Pattern Allocation Guide Map for the area. The subject property is located within the Medium Density Urban area which is identified in orange. The red identifies High Density uses, and the gray represents Industrial. This is an aerial photo. The subject appli—property is identified with a red outline, and again for reference running through the middle of the map, we have Kekūanaō‛a and we have Laukapu Street. Again, you have Big Island Candies. You have the Hawaiian Style Café area and all the different restaurants and businesses that have moved in off of Mānono and Hīnano Street. This area is in transition at this time from residential to more commercial and industrial type uses. This is a close-up view of the subject properties, as well as the different zonings in the particular area. For reference, the yellow color is Single Family Residential. The light pink is Neighborhood Commercial zoning which is being requested by the Applicant. The dark red is General Commercial which is made up of Big Island Candies. And, the purple and gray are industrial type uses or mixed. Again, a close-up view showing you the different uses in the area. Laukapu Street and Kekūanaō‛a for reference. Subject property is currently vacant of uses and structures. The Applicant is requesting a Change of Zone from Single Family Residential – 10,000 square feet to Neighborhood Commercial – 10,000 square feet to construct a medical office. The medical office is to be occupied by Dr. Gutteling and possibly by another physician. The proposed medical facility would consist of an approximately 3,150 square foot, single-story structure, and there will, for access, there will be a right-in, right-out off of Kekūanaō‛a, and the full movement access will be on Laukapu Street. This is the site plan submitted by the Applicant. For reference, Kekūanaō‛a would be on, located on the top portion of your map. And Laukapu Street would be on the right side of your map so again the access from Kekūanaō‛a would be a right-in and a right-out. And full movement access would be on Laukapu Street. You have the identified structure that will be placed in the back portion of the property with parking on the identified--. This is a single-story structure, so these are the elevations of the facility, and this is the floor plan that is proposed by the Applicant. These are some site photos. This is on Laukapu Street, across perpendicular from the Applicant’s property. And this is Kekūanaō‛a running towards Hilo. The airport would be behind me. This is Laukapu Street. The proposed access would be in this general location with the Applicant’s property on the right side of the map. Again, Laukapu Street and Kekūanaō‛a, the right-in, right access would be in this general location, and the Applicant’s property is on the left side of the map. 2 EXHIBIT A And this is looking towards the airport from Laukapu Street with Kekūanaō‛a running towards the airport. The Planning Director is recommending that the Planning Commission send a favorable recommendation with conditions to the Hawai‛i County Council. I would like to just bring to your attention. We have received one correspondence since the Background and Recommendation was sent to the Planning Commission, and this is from Jeffrey Joseph and Theresa McCrary. And, the Planning Commission should have received that in email as well as this morning, in hard copy form. With that, that concludes our presentation. Thank you. MIYASATO: Commissioners, any questions for staff. Thank you. Okay, will the Applicant or representative please come forward? Could you please all raise your right hand? Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Hawai‛i County Planning Commission? FUKE/GUTTELING: I do. MOE: Yes. MIYASATO: Okay, before you speak, could you please state your name and residence. FUKE: Good morning, Mr. Chairman. My name is Sidney Fuke. I’m the planning consultant here assisting the Applicant. My business address is 100 Pauahi Street, Suite 212, Hilo. MOE: My name is Lance Moe. I’m a construction consultant for Edward Gutteling, and my address is HC1, Box 5029, Kea‛au, Hawai‛i 96749. GUTTELING: I’m Edward Gutteling. My address is 153 Honoli‛i Place, Hilo, Hawai‛i. MIYASATO: Okay, do you have a comment or presentation? FUKE: Sure. Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The staff’s Background Report and Recommendation as always is very comprehensive. Dr. Gutteling has had a chance to review both of them and have found, especially the conditions, to be fair and appropriate. As the staff had indicated, the primary intent behind this Change of Zone is really to enable Dr. Gutteling to relocate his existing orthopedic practice as well as the medical related activities you know surrounding his practice you know to this particular location. I’d like to, I’ll discuss the planning related aspect, but I think as far as the nature of, the nature and the reason for the relocation, I think that Dr. Gutteling would be better able to address that. I think he has a lot of interesting things that he’d like to share with the Commission. 3 EXHIBIT A GUTTELING: Thank you, Commission. I’ve been in practice in Hilo since 1992 as an orthopedic surgeon. I’m the longest, continuous serving orthopedic surgeon on the island in that regards. As you may be aware, we are facing a declining physician population and increasing physician shortage and more difficult access to care. There was a recent article in the Tribune Herald that pegs the doctor shortage for this island at 225. And, I think this is a continuing trend. The principal reason for this is because it becomes a less desirable practice location for the doctors. The expenses go up, and the reimbursements have gone down, and the squeeze makes it less and less attractive. More and more private practices are folding. Presently, I share rental office space with my orthopedic practice with the primary care clinic of the Hilo Urgent Care. We rent a fairly expensive space. By combining space, we have efficiencies of scale, both by allowing optimal use of the floor plan by combining an area for joint uses of administrative services, sharing an x-ray facility and such. The lease is expiring, and it is also very expensive, and it’s becoming prohibitively so. I have searched extensively for appropriate similar space in which we could transfer our operations. This requires minimum 3,000 square feet or more, and there is no such space available in Hilo, nor has there been for years. And it’s up to the doctors basically to construct their own if they wish to be in such a facility. With that in mind, my goal was to purchase these properties, combine them, which has been done, with the sole purpose of transferring both my orthopedic practice and the Hilo Urgent Care, primary care doctors, over there. There would be two to three doctors total, including myself working there. And, this transition would then allow us to stay in practice and be profitable. Without this project going through, I’m not sure it would be financially feasible for me to continue in practice quite frankly. And, it’s my hope that you, the Commission and the Council, would help to improve access to medical care by allowing us and other similar, to go forward in this regards. Thank you. MIYASATO: Thank you. FUKE: Mr. Chairman, then you know just from a planning standpoint, I think as the staff had indicated from an infrastructure standpoint, you know, basically, you know there all covered, the water, the sewer—sewer line fronts the property so you know, that’s not gonna be an issue. There’ve been some, as far as the General Plan, as the staff indicated also that this falls within the Medium Density area, but the kind of use that Dr. Gutteling is proposing to have on the property is kind of like from our standpoint rather consistent with the evolving change you know that’s in, going on in that area. You know, you have some mixture of commercial, mixture of light industrial, mixed commercial industrial as well as residential. Fortunately, the, because it’s a corner property you know it’s, it’s not a use that he’s proposing that’s heavily traffic inducing. For example, it’s not a gas station. If you have a gas station, then obviously you know you have a lot of traffic movement. If you have like a fast food establishment whether it’s a McDonalds or Wendy’s or whatever, you know, your traffic pattern changes. 4 EXHIBIT A When you deal with like a medical facility, it kind of stages over time, and—and I’ll discuss the traffic aspect little bit later—but you know it’s again, you know, you don’t, it’s not a night club, so you don’t have like noisy kind of atmosphere like that, so, so you do have some residents in that area and so generally the kind of use that he has, I think it’s so much compatible with the evolving change in that area. I know that the letter that you know your staff had indicated you know that was circulated to the Commission you know did talk about some concerns relating to the traffic. You know, obviously you know we can’t address the letter’s, comments regarding the lack of enforcement on the adjoining properties, you know by Green Tours, or like the traffic impact on, that’s Big Island Candies or the Aloha Petroleum gas station is causing, and all that. But specifically, more like, you know just kind of focusing on this particular project and then trying to address the traffic related aspect. You know, we all know that from the Zoning Code standpoint, that a traffic impact study is needed if a project generates during the a.m. or the p.m. peak anyway, more than 50 vehicular movements per, during the a.m. or p.m. peak. In this situation, you know, obviously, it doesn’t. Dr. Gutteling’s operation as he mentioned, he basically wants to relocate his existing operation over there. They’ve already, he did like an extensive, over the last couple days, trying to figure out exactly how many patients that you know their establishment had seen over the, you know, the year 2014, and it came out to like on a typical day between eight to five, 38 patients a day, and so, even from a cumulative standpoint, you know, you don’t reach that 50 threshold on an a.m. or p.m. peak, right, you know and so, when you have like 38 patients a day, then it kind of averages about like one vehicular movement every 13 to 15 minutes, you know. On a—they do operate also up until 9 o’clock, so when you look at the five to nine, which is you know, to some extent like the p.m. peak, you know, they have roughly about 12 patients you know during that period, and that’s the average about one car for every 20 minutes. So, as far as the you know the projected traffic use for the facility, they do have very accurate number based on, based upon their current practice. The staff had indicated like how the traffic movements is gonna occur. It’s gonna be like right turn in, right turn out, with deliberate cut off so that you can make, you cannot make a left turn exiting the property onto Kekūanāo‛a. It will be exclusively designed for right turn, right, right turn in, right turn out. Dr. Gutteling had asked me like can you give me an example of what Public Works meant by having some sort of barrier so that you know you don’t, you know cannot make a left turn. I think a classic situation would be the Ka Waena Lapa‛au project on Komohana Street. You know, as you try to exit that property onto Komohana, you’ll, you know, find it very difficult, although you could, but you would find it very difficult to make a left turn from the Ka Waena Lapa‛au project onto Komohana Street because just, they do have that, that berm that prevents or minimizes the chance to make left-turn movements in that area. The full movements obviously will occur within the, the Laukapu Street section. The staff’s proposed condition also suggests, and the Applicant has accepted, the setting aside of 10-foot wide, you know, road right-of-way, right-of-way along Kekūanāo‛a Street so that eventually as the remaining properties in that area get developed and be set up with the same 5 EXHIBIT A obligation that, you know, you’ll have like ultimately a full 60-foot wide right-of-way on Kekūanāo‛a Street. Laukapu Street is also required to set aside and dedicate to the County at no charge five additional feet so right now, Laukapu Street has a right-of-way of 40 feet so at some point in time with continued developments in this area then you’ll have like a full County standard 50-foot wide right-of-way. In addition to that, as you all know, that as developments have occurred in that area, there is also that obligation to provide the curb, gutter, and sidewalk and so that’s also an obligation that you know, he’ll have to provide. One of the comments made by, you know, that letter also indicated that well, you know, the, along Kekūanāo‛a Street, you know, you really don’t have enough room for cars to stop on the side you know, if there’s an emergency vehicle coming, you know, along Kekūanāo‛a Street. Well, with the provision of this additional right-of-way at least for this particular area, there will be opportunities for vehicles to you know get on the side and allow these emergency vehicles to, to go through. I think the other telling to is like you know while the Applicant is generally aware of, you know, we all travel in that, in that area, so we’re sensitive to you know some of the traffic issues associated with that area, but the ones that really would like to accede to, to the comments would be primarily like two agencies, and you know one of ‘em is the Police Department, and as the, you know, your Background Report will indicate is, the Police basically concluded that when they reviewed the application and I quote, “does not anticipate any significant impact to traffic and/or public safety concerns.” The other comment is of course the Department of Public Works, Engineering, and Engineering did not offer any comments aside from the fact that they would want to see the setting aside of the right-of-way, curb, gutter, sidewalk as well as putting in the, the required curb, gutters, so, with that if there’s any question that, we’d be more than happy to respond. MIYASATO: Commissioners, any questions for the Applicant? Thank you. We have one person signed up for public testimony. Theresa McCrary? MCCRARY: Thank you for seeing me today. MIYASATO: Excuse me— MCCRARY: My name is Theresa McCrary— MIYASATO: Theresa, could you please raise your right hand? MCCRARY: --oh, I’m sorry— MIYASATO: Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Hawai‛i County Planning Commission? MCCRARY: Yes, I do. 6 EXHIBIT A MIYASATO: Okay, please state your name and residence. MCCRARY: Can you hear me? Yes-- DARROW: Mic— MCCRARY: Okay—okay, my name is Theresa Ann McCrary. My husband and I have owned the property at 63, 630 Hīnano Street for 25 years, and we’ve loved our home. The area has not seen, sort of an old area—and I also—that we’ve enjoyed. I also need to let you know that I am a registered nurse of 35 years, and still acting in that function, and I am acutely aware of the physician shortage in, in this County or the State of Hawai‛i for that matter, and deal with it often. I think I don’t need to go through a lot of the things in this letter cause it looks, I hope everybody has read it. I will say that we, the main thing that we would like to see happen--there’s a lot of discussion about the traffic in the area that something is going to take care of it by putting in curbs or whatever. It’s not just in front of the Gutteling proposal property. It’s that entire area there, okay? And you can’t just sit in a room and say oh, there’s enough room, well go ahead and do this. You need to have a traffic pattern study. Okay, and it needs not to just to be in front of the Gutteling proposed property. It needs to be all up and down that area. I think you read there that I totaled my Prius right there within 60 foot of my home. Okay, the traffic is horrendous there, all up and down that area, okay. Big Island Candy [sic] went in and I didn’t do, I didn’t say anything, cause I, I’m not against—I may be old but I’m not against improvements in an area and commercialization. I own a business. Very much for it. It actually increases the value of my property, my home, if it’s done correctly. Basically, when, and I’m not really here to speak about Green Tours, but when they, their property went in, I came and spoke. I was against it, but I didn’t think about, I knew that those two entries on that property was going to have an impact in the area, but I didn’t think to request a traffic pattern study. Let’s really take a look at what the difference is, what is going on here. I think you’ll see that from 2 o’clock to about 8 o’clock, in the evening, you know, particularly, well in the morning, too. I think there might be a lag between 10 and 11 or so. It’s horrendous amount of traffic in there. It’s bumper to bumper. And, I don’t think my opinion and my husband’s opinion is, you know, if you do address right in front of the Gutteling area, that’s not gonna help that area. You’re still gonna be congested. They’re talking about turning to the right. Well, guess what? I don’t think anybody did a traffic pattern study or looked at what was going on with Aloha Gas Station. That’s a mess down there. You never are able to turn left. Okay, you always have to turn right and go down Laukapa [sic] to get back on the road. You know, so I may not be in a commercial mode here for this, but I think that as a resident of the area for so long, based on the information that I have here, I really would like to see, you know, some of these, some of my requests honored. Also, I did not, I’m busy, so I did not think to talk about Manono Street Marketplace. Okay, I went down there. I drove the streets before I wrote this letter one evening at about 8 o’clock in the evening. There were probably close to 75 or 80 cars parked at the Manono Marketplace right 7 EXHIBIT A there, and those people come down, come by Manono, and come down, come down by Big Island Candy [sic]. They also park out on the road out there, so that helps to congest the area, too. I don’t think that the County has taken a look at this small, little neighborhood that has been there so long as we’re adding in all these commercial properties. And, I will say another thing. You know, Dr. Gutteling mentioned here that there’s no property available. Okay, well there’s no property available at this price, okay. The price of the property in this neighborhood is down because we have no infrastructure there, very little. The streetlights, my own streetlight right above my property was taken away. Okay, the streetlight on Hīnano has been, it’s moved, okay, so it’s not right there in the, in the street, in the cross, okay, and as I said in my letter here, how many streetlights, stoplights, no that was a streetlight above, I’m talking about. It’s moved down, okay. It’s not there at the corner. But, then also stoplights—there’s only a stoplight at Manono, and when you come down that road, when you’re coming either way, it, it all gets backed up there. So I, I humbly request that you take a look at what I’m talking about. I am not against growth, you know, at all. But I think in this area because the property sells cheaper, I think that a lot of people would like to get in there, okay, and put up—and they have. You know, Dr. Lee-Ching on the other end of Laukapa [sic] has had a beautiful place down there for years. I walk my dogs down there, or used to, walk my dogs around there. They’ve got a nice little parking lot. This facility that’s being proposed here, just look at the parking lot. Doesn’t matter that they’re turning right only, okay, it’s going to impact what’s going on up by Aloha Gas Station. So, whether I’m right or wrong, I could be wrong, I have studied this because it’s important to me, because I screwed up when Green Tour went in there, okay, by, by the request I made. I think that my request of really taking a real hard look at the traffic, at that building, at the sidewalks, you know, those pictures were very flattering, okay, up there, it’s-- MIYASATO: Ms. McCrary— MCCRARY: --yeah—who took those-- MIYASATO: Could you please use the, could you please use the mic and— MCCRARY: --oh I’m sorry—I’m sorry-- MIYASATO: --and summarize, I’m going to have to ask you to summarize-- MCCRARY: --okay the pictures were very flattering okay. They showed very, it was almost like it was wide angle. I don’t know whether it was or not, but there is not but about that much room on the sides of the road, okay, to get out of the way. And, I guess that’s all about all I want to say. I’m not really a public speaker. I think the letter, I took the time here. I beseech you to really, really take a look at this before you move forward on it. I don’t know that’s in the interest of this small aging community. I think that we have enough growth over there until everybody takes a real good look at the roads, okay? 8 EXHIBIT A Thank you so much, and I’m sorry of course if I stuttered around— MIYASATO: Thank you, Commissioners any questions— MCCRARY: --oh, any questions— MIYASATO: Okay, thank you. MCCRARY: Okay. MIYASATO: Is there anyone else wishing to testify on this matter? If not, could I have a motion to close public testimony? IKEDA: I’ll make the motion. I move that a favorable recommendation be forwarded to the— MIYASATO: Excuse me, I’d like to close the, a motion to close the public testimony first. IKEDA: Oh, I’m sorry, okay go ahead. Close it. MIYASATO: Second? HENKEL: Second. MIYASATO: All in favor? COMMISSIONERS: Aye. MIYASATO: Any opposed? Okay, I’d like to close the public testimony for this matter. Commissioners, any discussion on this matter? If not, I’ll accept a motion— IKEDA: Okay, I move that a favorable recommendation be forwarded to the County Council on the application for a Change of Zone, Docket No. REZ 14-000183 based on the Planning Director’s Recommendation and proposed condition. MIYASATO: I have a motion. Do I have a second? HENKEL: Second. MIYASATO: Motion by Commissioner Ikeda, seconded by Commissioner Henkel. Do I have any discussion on the motion? If no discussion, could you call the roll? DARROW: Thank you, Mr. Chairman. The motion before us is to send a favorable recommendation to the Hawai‛i County Council. With that, we’ll take the roll. Commissioner Ikeda? 9 EXHIBIT A IKEDA: Aye. DARROW: Commissioner Henkel? HENKEL: Aye. DARROW: Commissioner Moses? MOSES: Aye. DARROW: Commissioner Ono? ONO: Aye. DARROW: And Mr. Chairman. MIYASATO: Aye. DARROW: The motion passes five to zero. MIYASATO: You’ll be notified in writing. The discussion ended at 9:30 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Sarah Y. Hata-Finley, Secretary Windward Planning Commission 10 EXHIBIT A