The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About2016-07-21 Leeward Exh C (Amend Zoning Code re Parking for Persons with Disabilities) LEEWARD PLANNING COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I HEARING TRANSCRIPT JULY 21, 2016 A regularly advertised hearing on the PLANNING DIRECTOR INITIATED AMENDMENT TO CHAPTER 25 OF THE HAWAI‘I COUNTY CODE, RELATING TO PARKING FOR PERSONS WITH DISABILITIES was called to order at 11:13 a.m. in the West Hawai‘i Civic Center, Community Center, Building G, 74-5044 Ane Keohokālole Highway, Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i, with Chairman Keith F. Unger presiding. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Keith F. Unger, Collin Kaholo, Nancy Carr Smith, Barbara Nobriga and Sonny Shimaoka ABSENT AND EXCUSED: Scott Church and Perry Kealoha ALSO PRESENT: Danny Patel (Counsel for the Commission), Duane Kanuha (Planning Director), Daryn Arai (Planning Program Manager), Jeff Darrow (Planner), Maija Jackson (Planner), Christian Kay (Planner) and Noriko Sauer (Commission Secretary) And two people from the public in attendance. INITIATOR: PLANNING DIRECTOR An ordinance amending Chapter 25, Article 4, Division 5, Section 25-4-55 of the Hawai‘i County Code 1983 (2005 Edition, as amended), relating to parking for persons with disabilities. The purpose of the proposed amendments is to update accessible parking requirements in favor of compliance with applicable Federal and State requirements applicable to parking for persons with disabilities. UNGER: Item No. 3, Initiator Planning Department, Planning Director, an ordinance amending Chapter 25, Article 4, Division 5, Section 25-4-55 of the Hawai‘i County Code 1983, 2005 Edition, as amended, relating to parking for persons with disabilities. The purpose of the proposed amendment is to update accessible parking requirements in favor of compliance with applicable Federal and State requirements applicable to parking for persons with disabilities. JACKSON: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Good morning, Commissioners. The next item on your agenda is a request by the Planning Director to amend the Zoning Code, that’s Chapter 25 of the Hawai‘i County Code, relating to parking for persons with disabilities. In 2010, the U.S. Department of Justice published new accessibility standards. They are called the 2010 ADA Standards for Accessible Design. And these standards went into effect in 2012. The document is about 200-plus pages, and it includes updated standards that govern how accessible parking is provided for persons with disabilities. This is what the new guidebook looks like. As I said, it’s about 200 pages. The current Hawai‘i County Code, Zoning Code, requirements differ a 1 EXHIBIT C little bit from these U.S. Department of Justice standards, so the Director is requesting that we update our Zoning Code to be consistent with those new standards. So as I said, our current Zoning Code has a section related to parking for persons with disabilities. This section of the Code discusses the number of parking spaces required, the dimensions of the parking spaces, signage, and pavement markings. And rather than amend the Zoning Code and add in the entire new language with the new accessibility requirements, the Director is recommending that we just include a simple compliance statement, and I’ll show you the language in a minute. And in addition to changing the standards, the Department will post any references and links to our website. The State Department of Health, Disability and Communications Access Board, they are called DCAB for short, they have a website, and what they did, they actually took the 200-page document that the Department of Justice created, and compressed that down into nice eight-page guidelines. So that eight-page guideline booklet is what’s on the DCAB website that the Planning Department will be referring landowners and developers to. This is the DCAB website that has links to a lot of the resources. And this just shows you the eight-page guidebook that I mentioned that DCAB created: “How to Design an Accessible Parking Space.” So the Director is recommending the following language be added to our Zoning Code: It will say, “Parking for persons with disabilities shall comply with all applicable federal and state requirements for the facility or site.” And if I can just direct your attention to the proposed bill that’s the very last three pages of your background and recommendation report. So you’ll see that we are recommending striking out all the existing language relating to parking for persons with disabilities, and then just adding the simple statement that says, “Parking for persons with disabilities shall comply with all applicable federal and state requirements for the facility or site.” The reason we are recommending that is in case in the future the state or federal government again update their parking requirements, rather than having to go back and completely amend our Code again, we can just work with DCAB to update those guidelines. And with that, the Director is recommending that you send a favorable recommendation to the County Council for this proposed request. UNGER: Thank you. Any questions of County? Are there any members of the public here to testify on this item? Seeing none, I need a motion to close public hearing. SHIMAOKA: I move. KAHOLO: Second. UNGER: All in favor? 2 EXHIBIT C COMMISSIONERS: Aye. UNGER: Oppose? \[None.\] Public hearing is now closed. Commissioners, the floor is open for a motion. NOBRIGA: I move that a favorable recommendation on the Planning Director initiated bill to amend Chapter 25, Article 4, Division 5, Section 25-4-55 of the Hawai‘i County Code, be forwarded to the County Council based on the Planning Director’s recommendation and findings, which shall be adopted. KAHOLO: I second. UNGER: We have a motion from Commissioner Nobriga, second by Commissioner Kaholo. Motion is on the floor for discussion. Any discussion? Roll call, please. JACKSON: Okay. Commissioner Nobriga? NOBRIGA: Aye. JACKSON: Commissioner Kaholo? KAHOLO: Aye. JACKSON: Commissioner Shimaoka? SHIMAOKA: Aye. JACKSON: And Commissioner Carr Smith? CARR SMITH: Aye. JACKSON: And Chair Unger? UNGER: Aye. JACKSON: Okay, the motion carries, five-zero. The discussion ended at 11:21 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Noriko Sauer, Secretary Leeward Planning Commission 3 EXHIBIT C