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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2015-07-16 Leeward Exh D (REZ 15-187) LEEWARD PLANNING COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I HEARING TRANSCRIPT July 16, 2015 CHARLES E. LIPPS, JR. AND JANET S. A regularly advertised hearing on the application of LIPPS TRUST (REZ 15-187) was called to order at 10:37 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, Scott Church, Collin Kaholo, Barbara Nobriga and Keith Unger ABSENT AND EXCUSED: Sonny Shimaoka and Thomas Whittemore ALSO PRESENT: Danny Patel (Counsel to the Commission), Duane Kanuha (Planning Director), Daryn Arai (Planning Program Manager), Jeff Darrow (Planner), Maija Jackson (Planner) and Noriko Sauer (Commission Secretary) And approximately twelve people from the public in attendance. APPLICANT:CHARLES E. LIPPS, JR. AND JANET S. LIPPS TRUST (REZ 15-187) Continued hearing on the application for a Change of Zone from an Agricultural-3 acre (A-3a) to a Family Agricultural-1 acre (FA-1a) zoning district for approximately 3.039 acres of land. The property is located on Hiona Street, approximately 1,000 feet west of its intersection with rd Māmalahoa Highway, Keopu 3, North Kona, Hawai‘i, TMK: 7-5-024:078. BEAUDET: Next item on today’s agenda, Charles E. Lipps, Jr. and Janet S. Lipps Trust, rezone application, 15-187. JACKSON: Excuse me, Mr. Chair, I’m not sure whether or not you need to take a vote to defer the hearing \[on the previous application, Agenda Item No. 4, RT’s Service, LLC (Amend SPP 1247)\]. BEAUDET: I believe we don’t need to. ARAI: Good morning, Commissioners. As you may recall, this particular application for a Change of Zone for Charles E. Lipps, Jr. and Janet S. Lipps Trust, was presented to you last month on June 18. At the hearing all of you, all of the Commissioners currently present witnessed a presentation by the Planning Department staff, which introduced to you its unfavorable recommendation on this particular Change of Zone application. Accompanying and supporting the position was the Department’s PowerPoint presentation, which I believe all of you saw. And with that, I will defer from doing the presentation once again unless the Commission feels compelled to ask that I go through the PowerPoint presentation once again. 1 EXHIBIT D As you may recall, after receiving testimony, I mean after receiving the Department’s presentation, after receiving testimony from the applicant and after receiving testimony from members of the public, the Commission entered into discussion and voted to defer action on this particular application in order to allow the staff to prepare findings and proposed conditions of approval in support, and what I mean by support, a favorable recommendation on the Change of Zone application. The Planning Director’s original unfavorable recommendation is contained on your goldenrod, and I should note that the Planning Director’s unfavorable recommendation has not changed; it is still presented before you. And as directed by you, your staff has prepared findings and proposed conditions in support of the Change of Zone application, and that is contained on just the bright yellow sheets that were distributed to all of you. I should note that the recommendation was crafted by your staff based on information presented by the applicant and discussions held by the Commissioners and incorporated within these draft findings for your consideration. Since your meeting last month we have not received any additional correspondence or documentation or information; so I believe aside from the draft favorable recommendation that you have before you, we have nothing else to offer for the Commission’s consideration at this time. So with that, I stand ready to answer any questions. But before we get into discussion, we do have a suggestion, or recommendation; because all of the discussions that occurred at your last meeting have been incorporated in the draft findings, we think it would be prudent for you to approve the minutes in order to confirm the information and discussion that occurred, and then once approved, then we can be assured that the information is applicable to the draft findings. So you have to take it out of order, the approval of the minutes I should say. BEAUDET: Okay. Commissioners, I’d like to ask for a motion for approval of minutes of June 18 meeting. th CHURCH: I move that the minutes of the 18 of June meeting, 2015, be approved. NOBRIGA: I second. BEAUDET: All those in favor? COMMISSIONERS: Aye \[unanimously\]. BEAUDET: Daryn, just for the record, absent from the June 18 meeting was Commissioner Nobriga, but she has confirmed that she has reviewed the notes and the minutes of this application. ARAI: Thank you very much. CHURCH: Mr. Chairman, I would like to withdraw my motion. BEAUDET: Yeah, we can do that, but we’ll go through the process first --. CHURCH: Okay, very good. 2 EXHIBIT D BEAUDET: -- prior to the motion for action. Any comments or questions of staff, Commissioners? If the applicant or its representative would like to come forward, if you have any further comment after review of the conditions that were presented by the Director, please come forward. Please raise your right hand first. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth now and before the Leeward Planning Commission? C. LIPPS: I do. J. LIPPS: I do. BEAUDET: If you could please just state your name and your address. C. LIPPS: I am Charles Lipps. I live on Hiona Street in Hōlualoa. J. LIPPS: Janet Lipps, Hiona Street, Hōlualoa. BEAUDET: Mr. Lipps, you indicated that you did, you had the opportunity to review the conditions as recommended by the Planning Department. C. LIPPS: Yes, yes, I did. BEAUDET: Are you in agreement? Do you want to discuss any of those items? C. LIPPS: There were just a couple of questions I had. I thought about calling Christian, but I thought until we get further into this I wouldn’t bother him. I see there is an impact fee, which I don’t have a problem with that, but I was unsure whether it’s, would there be one impact fee or would you consider, now there’s two lots, so there would be two impact fees applicable? That was one of the questions. ARAI: We will apply the impact fee just to the additional lot. We recognize the fact that you have an existing lot of record that has in this particular instance an existing home, so we will not in essence retroactively apply it to your existing home. C. LIPPS: Okay, great. And then the only other thing is if it would be approved, it says the impact fee, in lieu of paying that you can contribute to different things, and it’s got a list in here, parks, recreation, fire and stuff like that. So I would like to explore that further. BEAUDET: Upon approval, if you were to go in the direction, then the direction of which you would go would not be confirmed here, but would be on further discussion and negotiation with the Planning Department. C. LIPPS: Okay, great. So that’s all I have. BEAUDET: Thank you. There have been four individuals from the audience who wish to testify on this application, and I’d like to call you up all together at one time, so, Barry Friedman, Vera Zwick, Randy Phillips and Robert Trubell. So before we proceed with the swearing in, just in 3 EXHIBIT D respect of time and the opportunity for everyone to speak along with any comments from the applicant or from staff, I would like to limit the testimony to three minutes, if that’s okay. Okay, so if you could all please raise your right hand. Do you now swear or affirm to tell the truth now and before the Leeward Planning Commission? TESTIFIERS: Yes, I do. BEAUDET: I’d like to just start with introduction of each of you, starting with you, ma’am, and then we’ll go back with the testimony and start. ZWICK: Vera Zwick, 75-5388 Māmalahoa Highway, Hōlualoa. FRIEDMAN: Barry Friedman. I’m on the same easement road. I have the property just south of the Lipps. TRUBELL: Robert Trubell. I’m on Hiona Street. I am Lipps’ mauka neighbor, adjacent neighbor. PHILLIPS: Randall Phillips, 75-5382 Māmalahoa Highway. I’m two houses above the Lipps on Māmalahoa, and I also, my property fronts on Hiona Street. BEAUDET: Thank you. We’ll start testimony with you, ma’am. If you can speak in the mike. ZWICK: I just want to say in 1994 when I bought my property, those two properties were not supposed to be rezoned or subdivided. That’s it. FRIEDMAN: Again, Barry Friedman. Thank you for letting me witness this today. I came early, talked to the staff, I got much more information than when I walked through the door. I found your book in the back, very informative; it got me up to date. In fact, I found that interesting enough that I’m not sure why this isn’t part of Hawai‘i Revealed. So – that’s the book they sell in Costco – I have had the opportunity to meet the Lipps; they are great neighbors. And basically, while I would rather look out on 1,000 coffee trees, I’ve got 700 on my property, I understand what they are doing and what they are trying to do. And I look forward to all the information the Commission has, and I think you’ll come to the right decision. There is kind of a rile-up with the culture and the way property uses in the agricultural belt, but I understand what they are trying to do with their family. And it will be interesting to see how it all comes out. Good luck. TRUBELL: Good morning. Again, I’m Robert Trubell, and I just want to say that I support what the Lipps are trying to do. My lot happens to be the same size, three acres, and it’s really not practical to do agriculture; I had coffee on my lot, I tore it all out because it was too hard for me to do on my own. So I just, again, just want to say I support the Lipps. PHILLIPS: Good morning. Again, Randy Phillips, two lots above the Lipps. I am a coffee farmer. I have 2,000 trees. I support the Lipps’ rezoning of their property. I certainly don’t have any issue with it. Coffee farming is hard. But I think the tenor of the neighborhood is not going to be changed by having another house on the property, and it certainly would offer, I can see no 4 EXHIBIT D objections from my point of view, and they have been very good neighbors to us. And so I support their application. Thank you. BEAUDET: Thank you all for your testimony. If there are any other members within the audience who wishes to speak on the applicant, please sign up in the back. With that, I’d like to close this portion of the public comment period. Commissioners, any questions or comments? Oh, before we move forward, just for the applicant, if you feel that you need to come and comment after the testimony, if there is anything that you want to clarify, this is now your opportunity. C. LIPPS: No, thank you. BEAUDET: Okay, thank you. Commissioners, any comments or questions of staff? Before we move forward with a motion for action, since this was a carryover from the last and we had ended discussions of this application on a motion, I think it would be best for us to remove the original motion that was made on the original application from the Planning Director. CHURCH: All right. I would move to withdraw my motion that was made at the end of the 18 June hearing, and make a new motion. BEAUDET: So all we have to do is note that Commissioner Church has removed his original motion, yeah, and we can move forward with a new motion of action. CHURCH: All right, Mr. Chair, I would move that a favorable recommendation be forwarded to the County Council on the application for a Change of Zone, Docket Number Romeo Echo Zulu \[REZ\] 15-187, based on the proposed findings and conditions prepared in accordance with the Commission’s discussion at its June 18, 2015 meeting. BEAUDET: Is there a second? UNGER: Second. BEAUDET: It has been moved for a favorable recommendation by Commissioner Church and seconded by Commissioner Unger. Any discussion prior to roll call, Commissioners? Staff, if you could proceed with the roll call. ARAI: On a motion for a favorable recommendation, Commissioner Church? CHURCH: Aye. ARAI: Commissioner Unger? UNGER: Aye. ARAI: Commissioner Kaholo? KAHOLO: Aye. 5 EXHIBIT D ARAI: Commissioner Nobriga? NOBRIGA: Aye. ARAI: Commissioner, oh, Chair Beaudet? Sorry, my apologies. BEAUDET: Aye. ARAI: Mr. Chairman, motion for favorable carries with five aye votes. BEAUDET: Thank you, Daryn. The discussion ended at 10:54 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Noriko Sauer, Secretary Leeward Planning Commission 6 EXHIBIT D