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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-04-07 Hearing Transcript - County P&R SMA 16-064WINDWARD PLANNING COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAII HEARING TRANSCRIPT APRIL 7, 2016 A regularly advertised hearing on the application of the COUNTY OF HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF PARKS & RECREATION (SMA 16-064) was called to order at 9:27 a.m. in the County of Hawaii Aupuni Center Conference Room, 101 Pauahi Street, Hilo, Hawaii with Chairman Charles Heaukulani presiding. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Charles Heaukulani, Donn Dela Cruz, Gregory Henkel, Donald Ikeda, Myles Miyasato, and Raylene Moses. ALSO PRESENT: Duane Kanuha (Planning Director), Danny Patel (Deputy Corporation Counsel for the Windward Planning Commission), Maija Jackson (Staff Planner), Christian Kay (Staff Planner), Lucas Mead (Staff Planner), Sarah Hata-Finley (Commission Secretary), and Kim Tanaka (Secretary). And approximately 6 people from the public in attendance. APPLICANT: COUNTY OF HAWAII, DEPARTMENT OF PARKS AND RECREATION (SMA 16-064) Application for a Special Management Area (SMA) Use Permit to allow for development of a new multi -use sports field complex inclusive of a football/soccer/rugby field with goals, bleachers, dugouts, fencing and related amenities on 9.053 acres of land situated between Kuawa Street and Kamehameha Avenue, and bordered to the west by Manono Street, Waiakea House Lots, South Hilo, Hawaii, TMKs: 2-2-032:003, 004, 008, 019, 087 & 088. HEAUKULANL We will take up Agenda Item No. 2. On you, sir. MEAD: All right. Good morning, Commission. HEAUKULANL Good morning. MEAD: This is Agenda Item No. 2. It's a Special Management Area Use Permit Application. The Applicant is the County of Hawaii, Department of Parks & Recreation. So, this is, the zoning for the—the County zoning for the parcels. The project comprises of six contiguous parcels located right here. This is Kamehameha Avenue. This is the Wailoa River Bridge. This is Manono. And, this is Kuawa Street. So, it's right here on that corner of what we typically see there as Kamehameha and Manono. Again, this is six contiguous parcels. It is in the County Open zoning. It is adjacent to this right here. This parcel right here is Coqui's Hideaway, and this parcel down here is the Department of Health. EXHIBIT B The State Land Use is Urban on the subject properties and all surrounding properties, and the General Plan, again, is Open for the six subject properties. We do have Medium Density Urban LUPAG right here where Coqui's Hideaway goes, extends over on this side, but the rest of it is all Open. We do have that small Resort node here by Banyan Drive. Here is an aerial view of the project site. Again, this is the Wailoa River Bridge on Kamehameha Avenue right here to the north. Again, we do have six, six parcels here. This is Kuawa Street and Manono Street. The Wailoa Small Boat Harbor is on this side right here, Coqui's Hideaway, and the Department of Health. This is the street view which we typically see. Again, this is Kamehameha going towards Coqui's or Ken's going this way. This is Manono Street on this side, and so this is the corner view there of the, of the six parcels. And, this is the, looking down Kuawa Street, so Kuawa Street is right here on this side. This is going up Manono Street; again, another corner view of the subject properties. So, the Applicant is requesting a Special Management Area Use Permit for a sports field's development on approximately nine acres—it's a little over nine acres of land. The improvements are to include the removal of existing vegetation and some rubbish followed by the capping of contaminated soils, grading, and utility infrastructure and installation of new turf. It also includes the development of a multi -use football/soccer/rugby field and a multi -use baseball/softball/soccer field on the western, central, and eastern portions of the properties. It also includes the installation of movable goals and goal posts, bleachers, drinking fountains, fencing, a dugout, the backstop, and related amenities for the sports field's development. Here is a site plan. Sorry, it's kind of, kind of light here, but I'll show you, I'll orient you. This, again, is Manono Street here on the left. This is Kamehameha Avenue here on the topside here. And, we have Kuawa Street here on the bottom. The parking here is gonna be on the—the parking and access is on the Kuawa Street side. Here, we have a football/soccer/rugby field on this side, and the baseball/softball and a new soccer field on this side. There's also right here, there's gonna be area—we'll cover this in a little bit here, though—of some future infrastructure that's going to go in, including a comfort station. Future phases of development so the, this is a phased development—the future phases will include or are proposed to include field lighting, covering for the bleachers, a comfort station and concessions facility, as well as a storage facility, bi-directional walking/jogging paths, a children's playground, full perimeter fencing, and a cultural interpretive site on the former Napeahi kuleana parcel on the corner of Kuawa and Manono. So, this is the site plan for some of the future improvements. So, it again, this yellow here would include field lighting around both fields, the football/soccer/rugby field and the baseball/softball use soccer field. There was comments by the Department of Transportation, Airports Division, 2 EXHIBIT B so there is a limitation on height of the tower's—or the height of the lighting to 85 feet. Future improvements, again, on this side will be the comfort station, a storage station, and a concession facility, and we have a full perimeter walking/jogging path. And, on this side, there is a proposed kuleana, or was a former, in the area of the former kuleana lot, and it's a proposed cultural interpretive site. There is one significant historic property or significant historic site on the property which is proposed to be preserved. It is the former Hawaii Consolidated Railway flagpole. Right now, it is just slated for preservation with future use to be restored and used as a flagpole for the sports field development. It's from 1926. You can see the HCR logo on it. So, the Planning Director's recommendation is approval of the Special Management Area Use Permit 16-64. There are 15 proposed conditions that the Planning Director has for your consideration, and that concludes this presentation. HEAUKULANL Thank you. Commissioners, any questions for Luke on this one? No? Thank you, sir. Will the Applicant or their representative please come forward? Good morning, gentlemen. TERRY: Good morning. HEAUKULANL While you're standing, would you please raise your right hand, and do you swear or affirm that everything you say before this Windward Planning Commission will be true? KOMATA/DRAKE: Yes. TERRY: I do. HEAUKULANL Please have a sat. Please use your microphones. Who's gonna take the lead here? KOMATA: I'll take the lead. HEAUKULANL Good morning. Please state your name, let us know where you're from, and what's on your mind. KOMATA: Good morning, Commissioners. Thank you for hearing us. My name is James Komata. I'm the Deputy Director for the Department of Parks & Recreation, County of Hawaii. To my left, I have Dr. Ron Terry who prepared a lot of the environmental documents that you have before you, and to my right, is Austen Drake. He's the lead consultant, design consultant for this project. The County is proposing the development of these sports fields in support of both the Mayor and the Council's pursuit of providing additional recreational facilities for our community. We 3 EXHIBIT B understand as a department that there is a lot of demand for youth fields for practices and games, so that's one of the big drivers for this. Also, we feel that the proposed location for this park is a, is a great site because of its proximity to both the Bayfront Soccer Fields as well as football use that goes on in the Downtown area, and it's immediately across Kuawa Street from our Ho`olulu Complex which consists of Wong Stadium and Walter Victor Baseball Complex, so it could be used in conjunction with those facilities for tournaments—youth tournaments, kupuna tournaments, and other appropriate sports activities. TERRY: State tournaments. KOMATA: State tournaments, too, yes. HEAUKULANL Thank you. Gentlemen, anything you want to add? TERRY: My name is Ron Terry. HEAUKULANL Good morning. TERRY: And, I just am available here if you have any questions about the environmental assessment process or the environmental documents we prepared as part of the application. HEAUKULANL Have you reviewed the Planning Director's Background Report and Recommendations? KOMATA: Yes. HEAUKULANL And the conditions that were mentioned by Luke? KOMATA: Yes. HEAUKULANL Are you folks okay with that? KOMATA: Yep, we're okay with those. HEAUKULANL Very well. Commissioners, any questions for the Applicant? IKEDA: I have one question. HEAUKULANL Commissioner Ikeda. IKEDA: Mr. Komata, what kind of baseball game you're gonna play in that field? It looks kind of small. 4 EXHIBIT B KOMATA: It's a regulation Little League baseball field, so I think it's up to about ten, ten years of age or twelve years of age, but it also would support kupuna softball and girls' softball. It's a regulation size field for that. IKEDA: As compared to Carvalho Park, is it about the same? KOMATA: No, Carvalho Park is a Pony League field I believe, so it's a little bigger. IKEDA: Little bigger? KOMATA: Yeah, so if you, like the middle field at Walter Victor, the Little League field. IKEDA: Yeah, I was kind of concerned because I remember when I was a kid and I played at Mo`oheau Park, I used to put the ball on the Kamehameha Avenue so I was wondering, is it about that distance? KOMATA: Well, Mo`oheau, the softball or the ball fields that used to be at Mo`oheau Park are no longer in service because of just that reason. There were kids as well as kupuna that could put the ball on the highway, so, this field is slightly larger and does have larger buffer zones then what you experienced at Mo`oheau. IKEDA: You know, that was my biggest concern. Thank you. HENKEL: Mr. Chair? HEAUKULANL Oh, I'm sorry, Commissioner Henkel. HENKEL: I applaud, applaud the County's, you know, efforts to increase recreational areas and green space there, but I was wondering, is there any way to add covered basketball or volleyball courts to that area? Could that be part of the future of it because, you know, in inclement weather and just those two sports seem to be underserved. You know, there's the gymnasium on, you know, over by Bayfront, but other than that, you know, there's baseball and soccer and football areas already, but there's not—basketball or volleyball. KOMATA: We understand that there is also a demand for covered courts, and our administration's commitment to that is shown in the improvements we did at Pana`ewa Park. The three covered courts that were installed there, I think, prove that we recognize there's a need there. However, we really want to minimize how much money we invest in this particular site because of its proximity to the coastline and the history of it having been inundated by prior tsunami. HENKEL: I see. KOMATA: So, we really want to minimize how much money we put in. There have been requests, I guess, in the past to do a full-blown sports stadium here, and that's something that 5 EXHIBIT B we've not been supportive of because of the commitment of funds to do something on that scale, you know, and having it susceptible to a tsunami or something on that order wouldn't be prudent in our minds. HENKEL: Thank you. That answers my question. HEAUKULANL That does make sense. Commissioners, any other questions for the Applicant? MIYASATO: I have a question. HEAUKULANL Commissioner Miyasato. MIYASATO: Is this State land or County land? KOMATA: This is State land. MIYASATO: So is it gonna be under a lease or dedicated to the County? KOMATA: As it is stated in the application, I believe, it's in the process of being set aside to the County by a Governor's Executive Order. The process has been started. It's been approved by the Board of Land and Natural Resources. In the interim, we're operating under a Construction and Management Right -of -Entry granted to us by DLNR. MIYASATO: Okay, thank you. Oh, one more thing. The comfort station—and it's gonna be a youth facility and when I take my kids to the park, the first thing they gotta do is use the restroom, yeah? Is that going to be like temporary facilities? KOMATA: Well, right, right now, we were looking at doing just the fields. In working with our prospective low bidder on the project, there's a chance that they are willing or they've offered to construct comfort stations as a donation to the County. So, that's something that we're entertaining right now because they have expressed their concern over having fields and not having access to bathrooms, for kids especially. I think the comment was, you know, to take your kid across the street to Walter Victor, you're not gonna make it, depending how old your kid is, so that's something we're trying to pursue right now. MIYASATO: Okay, thank you. HEAUKULANL Commissioners, any other questions? Thank you, gentlemen. I do not have anyone signed up to testify on this matter. Is there anyone here that would like to be heard on this agenda item? Hearing none, Commissioners, could I get a motion to close public testimony, please? MIYASATO: I make a motion to close public testimony. HEAUKULANL Thank you. 6 EXHIBIT B IKEDA: Second. HEAUKULANL Second by Commissioner Ikeda. Thank you. I will now entertain a motion for action on this agenda item. MOSES: I move that the application for Special Management Area Use Permit Docket No. SMA 16-064 be approved pursuant to the Planning Director's recommendation, findings, and proposed conditions which shall be adopted. HEAUKULANL Thank you, Commissioner Moses. DELA CRUZ: Second. HEAUKULANL I'm sorry, second Commissioner Dela Cruz? Thank you. Commissioners, discussion? Hearing none, Luke, could you please roll call for the vote, please? MEAD: Yes, okay, Commissioner Moses? MOSES: Aye. MEAD: Commissioner Dela Cruz? DELA CRUZ: Aye. MEAD: Commissioner Henkel? HENKEL: Aye. MEAD: Commissioner Ikeda? IKEDA: Aye. MEAD: Commissioner Miyasato? MIYASATO: Aye. MEAD: And Chair Heaukulani. HEAUKULANL Aye, absolutely. MEAD: Motion passes, six -none. HEAUKULANL Gentlemen, thank you. You'll be notified of the Commissioner's decision in writing. Appreciate it. 7 EXHIBIT B KOMATA (from audience): Thank you. TERRY (from audience): Thank you, Commission. The discussion ended at 9:43 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Sarah Y. Hata-Finley, Secretary Windward Planning Commission EXHIBIT B