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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-01-07 Hearing Transcript - Sidney Mizukami RLT SPP 09-096 WINDWARD PLANNING COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I HEARING TRANSCRIPT JANUARY 7, 2016 SIDNEY T. MIZUKAMI REVOCABLE A regularly advertised hearing on the application of LIVING TRUST (SPP 09-096) was called to order at 9:01 a.m. in the County of Hawai‘i Aupuni Center Conference Room, 101 Pauahi Street, Hilo, Hawai‘i with Vice Chairman Gregory Henkel presiding. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Gregory Henkel, Donald Ikeda, Myles Miyasato, and Raylene Moses. ABSENT & EXCUSED: Donn Dela Cruz and Charles Heaukulani. ALSO PRESENT: Duane Kanuha (Planning Director), Danny Patel (Deputy Corporation Counsel for the Windward Planning Commission), Daryn Arai (Planning Program Manager), Jeff Darrow (Staff Planner), Christian Kay (Staff Planner), and Sarah Hata-Finley (Commission Secretary). And approximately 6 people from the public in attendance. APPLICANT: SIDNEY T. MIZUKAMI REVOCABLE LIVING TRUST (SPP 09-96) Amendment to Special Permit No. 09-000096 to allow for a 10-year extension to the life of permit to allow for the continued use of the property and existing agricultural building for the parking, deployment and storing of equipment and materials associated with a telecommunications cable installation business located in the Wainaku Farms Subdivision, approximately 650 feet south of the intersection of Kulana Kea Drive and Kaohu Lehua Place, Wainaku, South Hilo, Hawaiʽi, : 2-6-032:015. TMK HENKEL: And with that, we’ll come to the first agenda item which is SPP 09-96, Sidney Mizukami Revocable Trust, Revocable Living Trust. So, Christian, would you give the presentation, please? KAY: Thank you, Mr. Chair, and Happy New Year to all of the Commissioners. MIYASATO: Happy New Year. KAY: All right, so as Chair Henkel said, the application is an amendment for a Special Permit that was approved back in 2010 by the Planning Commission. So, this 8.205-acre subject property is located in the South Hilo District of Hawaiʽi Island; more specifically, located in the Wainaku area. The subject parcel is outlined here in yellow. For reference, this is Highway 19 running north-south, and little difficult to see in here, but Wainaku 1 EXHIBIT A Street also running parallel to Highway 19, north-south. And, running east-west is Kulana Kea Road. Zooming in a little bit here, so, again, we’ve got Kulana Kea Road here for reference running east-west. You can’t see Wainaku Street—just this little portion of it here. In this case, the subject parcel is outlined in blue. Zoning for the subject parcel is Agricultural – 20 acres, for the subject parcel, and many of the surrounding parcels, but also we see closer into Wainaku Camp here residential zoning. There’s some Residential and Agricultural zoning here indicated in brown. And, this is Kaiwiki Homesteads here. Again, a Residential zoning and some Agricultural – 3a zoning indicated in the light blue. The State Land Use designation for the subject parcel is Agricultural. There is some Urban and Rural State Land Use designations in the surrounding area indicated in red and yellow, respectively. The General Plan designation for the subject parcel is a split between Important Agricultural Lands indicated in green and Low Density Urban indicated in this mustard color. Here are a couple of aerial photographs of the subject parcel. The one on the left here is just zoomed out a little bit more and shows the entire parcel and then the—what we call the Special Permit area—and that’s outlined in yellow. I just wanted to show that aside from the Special Permit area, most of the rest of the parcel is in Agricultural use, and macadamia nuts, more specifically. On the right, you see zoomed in a little bit more showing the Agricultural structure as well as parking areas, and the Special Permit area is approximately 28,704 square feet. And, again, the remainder of the property is again used for agriculture, a macadamia orchard. This particular request is an amendment to Condition No. 2 of Special Permit 09-06 \[sic\] in order to extend the life of the permit an additional ten years. The original Special Permit allowed the use of the existing agricultural equipment building and surrounding area for parking, deploying, and storing of non-agricultural equipment and materials used in the applicant’s telecommunications cable installation business on approximately 28,704 square feet of land. th Condition No. 2 initially required that the permit sunset on March 24 of 2015, which was five th years from the original date of the permit. This amendment would extend that to March 24, 2025. This is the applicant’s site plan, and actually, this was the original site plan from the 2009 application, but again, just showing the permit area outlined in blue here--the rest of it or the orchard uses and then here in these yellow ovals is just showing some landscaping buffer that was a requirement of the Special Permit and also was installed subsequently. Here’s a view of the permit area. Again, I didn’t go all the way into the property, but just from the entrance, this shows the agricultural building, some of the landscaping that’s on this side to, to buffer it from view. 2 EXHIBIT A Just some photographs of Kaohu Lehua Place, I’m sorry, which is the access, is a private access, gravel mostly. This is looking north toward Hāmākua, and this is looking south toward Hilo. This is the—from Kulana Kea how the trucks access the property. The Planning Director is recommending approval of the, of the extension request, and also just a note, if you look at the recommendation, we cleaned up some of the older conditions that were already met by the applicant, so that’s why some of the, some of them are, are crossed out and changed. That is all I have for the presentation. I’m happy to answer any questions the Commission may have. HENKEL: Thank you, Christian. Commissioners, any questions of staff? MIYASATO: I have a question. HENKEL: Yes. MIYASATO: Christian, you know for Condition No. 6, it appears that they do already have a buffer I guess established— KAY: —That’s correct— MIYASATO: —or is it in the process of being established here? KAY: So, if you look at Condition No. 6, that’s why I struck out “the required landscaping shall be installed within ninety days from the effective date of this permit.” It was already done, and we sent the letter to the applicant. Basically, they sent us proof that it was completed, so really, just keeping the rest of that condition there—making sure that it is maintained and established there for the duration of, of the permit. But, yeah, it was already installed. MIYASATO: Okay. And, Condition 7? I guess there’s no lighting, that’s why it’s not involved? Exterior lighting? KAY: No, see the condition was originally was if there is any exterior lighting, it shall be shielded, so as to avoid, you know, shining lights on surrounding properties. MIYASATO: Okay, thank you. HENKEL: Commissioners, any other questions of staff? Okay, will the applicant or the representative please come forward? Good morning. Will you raise your right hand, and do you swear to affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Planning Commission? FUKE: Yes, I do. 3 EXHIBIT A HENKEL: Please state your name, the area you reside in and proceed. Speak directly into the microphone. FUKE: Sure, good morning Mr. Chairman and Members of the Commission. My name is Sidney Fuke. I’m a planning consultant. I’m here assisting my classmate, Sidney Mizukami. We’re both Class of 1963, Hilo High School, and I was just explaining to one of your staff that it’s kind of ironic that, you know, Sidney is not a very common name, but in our high school graduating class, there were three of us. So, anyway, and we all live in Hilo. So, I think the staff’s report is pretty much straightforward. You know, it’s very comprehensive. There’s very little that we can add to that, but on the other hand, if the Commissioners or the public have any questions, then we’d more than happy to respond to them. HENKEL: You got the Planning Director’s Background Report and Recommendation Report, Mr. Fuke? FUKE: Yes, the, you know, the applicant has had a chance to review the staff’s Background Report and the proposed conditions, and has found them to be acceptable, and found them—is appreciative of the staff’s favorable recommendation for a ten-year extension. HENKEL: Okay, thank you. Commissioners, any questions of the applicant? Thank you. You may be seated. Nobody has signed up for public testimony, so I guess I need a motion to—or does anybody wish to testify? Okay, can I have a motion to close public testimony? IKEDA: Move to close public testimony. MIYASATO: Second. HENKEL: It’s been moved by Commissioner Ikeda and seconded by Commissioner Miyasato. All in favor? COMMISSIONERS: Aye. HENKEL: Opposed? Public testimony is closed. So, I’m looking for a motion for action now. MIYASATO: Mr. Chair, I’ll make a motion. I move that the application for amendment to Special Permit, SPP 09-96, be approved based on the Planning Director’s recommendation, findings, and proposed conditions which shall be adopted. IKEDA: Second. HENKEL: It’s been moved by Commission, Commissioner Miyasato and seconded by Commissioner Ikeda. Discussion? Staff will restate the motion and do a roll call vote. 4 EXHIBIT A KAY: Okay, the motion was to approve the request as recommended by the Planning Director. And, I’ll start—Commissioner Miyasato? MIYASATO: Aye. KAY: Commissioner Ikeda? IKEDA: Aye. KAY: Commissioner Moses? MOSES: Aye. KAY: And Chair Henkel. HENKEL: Aye. KAY: All right, the vote passes four, nothing. Thank you. HENKEL: Thank you. The discussion ended at 9:11 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Sarah Y. Hata-Finley, Secretary Windward Planning Commission 5 EXHIBIT A