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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2016-10-06 Hearing Transcript - Kristen Mahnke REZ 16-209WINDWARD PLANNING COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAII HEARING TRANSCRIPT OCTOBER 6, 2016 A regularly advertised hearing on the application of KRISTEN MAHNKE (REZ 16-209) was called to order at 10:00 a.m. in the County of Hawaii Aupuni Center Conference Room, 101 Pauahi Street, Hilo, Hawaii with Chairman Gregory Henkel presiding. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Gregory Henkel, Joseph Clarkson, Donald Ikeda, Myles Miyasato, and Raylene Moses. ABSENT & EXCUSED: Donn Dela Cruz. ALSO PRESENT: Duane Kanuha (Planning Director), Molly Stebbins (Corporation Counsel for the Windward Planning Commission), William Brilhante (Assistant Corporation Counsel for the Planning Director), Malia Ho (Deputy Corporation Counsel), Jeff Darrow (Staff Planner), Maija Jackson (Staff Planner), Christian Kay (Staff Planner), and Sarah Hata-Finley (Commission Secretary). And 15 members from the public in attendance. APPLICANT: KRISTEN MAHNKE (REZ 16-209) Application for a Change of Zone from a Single -Family Residential -10,000 square feet (RS -10) to a Neighborhood Commercial -10,000 square feet (CN -10) zoning district for 16,315 square feet of land. The subject property is located on the east side of Kilauea Avenue approximately 130 feet south of the Puainako Street- Kilauea Avenue intersection, Waiakea Homestead Houselots, South Hilo, Hawaii, TMK: 2-2-040:108. HENKEL: Next on the agenda is No. 5, Kristen Mahnke, REZ 16-209. Maija? JACKSON: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Okay, the next application is also a request for a Change of Zone. The Applicant is Kristen Mahnke, and the subject property is located very close to the one you just heard for Oshiro. It's a little bit further north, so I think Oshiro was right here, and the Mahnke property is located here. You have Kilauea Avenue running in a north -south direction, and then Puainako Street running east -west. And, this is a closer image. You can see Puainako Street at the top of the slide, and Kilauea is located just to the west of the subject property which is outlined in black. It's the second lot from the Puainako Street -Kilauea Avenue intersection. And, the property is currently zoned Single -Family Residential which is shown in yellow, and it's located just behind the KTA Super Store in this area here, which is on land zoned Neighborhood Commercial. You also have Kai Store located across the street. EXHIBIT D And, the General Plan designation for the property is Medium Density Urban as well as all the properties south of it along Kilauea Avenue on the east side. And, this is an aerial photo of the property. You can see there's a house kind of in the middle of the lot. That house has actually been demolished since this image was taken so the lot's currently vacant. The lot to the north is also currently vacant. This house was also demolished recently. So, you can see KTA Super Stores to the east. You have Kai Store to the northwest, and then the noodle factor is located just west of the property. The Applicant is requesting a Change of Zone from Single -Family Residential – 10,000 square feet to Neighborhood Commercial – 10,000 square feet for about 16,000 square feet of land. They're requesting a Change of Zone in order to construct a new single -story office building that will be about 3,000 square feet in size, and they plan to either rent the office building or use it for personal use. On-site parking and landscaping would be provided consistent with the Zoning Code. This is the Applicant's site plan. You have Kilauea Avenue on the left side of the slide and then a driveway into the property. You have parking up front and then the 3,000 -square foot structure is located, is proposed to be located at the rear of the property. Oops, let's see—this is a view of the property taken from Kai Store looking southeast, so you can see KTA in the background and then the property is located in this area extending all the way back towards KTA. So, the driveway would generally be located in this area here. And, this is a closer -up version of the road, Kilauea Avenue. You can see there's a left -turn pocket, left -turn lane that provides storage for vehicles turning onto Puainako Street. And then this is a view looking north towards the Kilauea Avenue-Puainako Street extensionI mean intersection. You have the property on the right side of the slide in this general location here. The Planning Director is recommending a favorable recommendation be sent to the County Council for the request. Are there any questions? HENKEL: Mr. Clarkson? CLARKSON: Yes, can we go back to the site plan slide, please? What, can you explain the heavy dotted line on the southern—it's got a slight break in it. JACKSON: Here? CLARKSON: That one, yeah. JACKSON: I believe that is the building setback from the property line. 2 EXHIBIT D CLARKSON: Okay, and where would the powerline be that is referred to in the letter from the manager of KTA? JACKSON: I believe the powerline of the pole is near Puainako, and then the line extends along the rear property line between the subject property and KTA. CLARKSON: Thank you. HENKEL: Are there any other questions for staff? If not, will the Applicant and their representative, and/or their representative come forward? FUKE: Good morning, Mr. Chair. HENKEL: Good morning, Mr. Fuke. For the record, can I sign you in again? Would you raise your right hand FUKE: Sure HENKEL: —And, do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Planning Commission? FUKE: Yes, I do. HENKEL: Okay, thank you. FUKE: Chair—good morning, Mr. Chairman and Members of the Commission. Again, my name is Sidney Fuke. I live in Hilo. My business address is 100 Pauahi Street. The Applicant, Kristen Mahnke, is also over here. I'd just like to initially acknowledge that she has had a chance to review the staff's Background Report and the recommended conditions and found them to be acceptable. However, in light of what has transpired in the other application, then I guess in the interest of consistency, you know, she would want to respectfully request similar consideration for proposed condition proposed condition number [sic] F. Just to kind of like back track just a pit partially to answer Commissioner Clarkson's question, you know, on the Ogasawara one, on the Pahoa Village, part of the reason why Public Works came about with that recommendation is that the alignment within the Pahoa Village area is not really fixed. You know, sometimes the road could be encroaching within the private property. Then again, it may not. We had a similar situation, not in Pahoa, but also up in the Kaumana area where the road actually wasn't a private property, and so there was conditions to make that kind of accommodation. Here on the Kilauea Avenue area, like in the House Lot's area, you know, where you have a grid -like type of, you know, subdivision, the road alignment is pretty fixed so people know where the centerline is unlike the Pahoa Village area. And, thus, like the Planning Director's initial recommendation is that in situations where you know that there is gonna be growth, that it 3 EXHIBIT D becomes more prudent to have the Applicant in conjunction with the actual occupancy of the building, you know, put in their respective, do their respective share of improvements way up front. You know, at that time, and not kind of like defer it at some point in time. So, if you look at, as Director Kanuha accurately pointed out, if you look at the House Lots area, particularly on Manono Street, you know, there was a generally commitment or understanding, you know, based on the General Plan that the whole area will be eventually commercialized, and so there were conditions imposed on all of the respective developers in that area that you put in curb, gutter, sidewalks. As you can see, on Manono Street and even portions of like where Big Island Candies is for example, and even on Kanoelehua not Kanoelehua but Kekuanao`a Street where the new Urgent Center is gonna be, you can see curb, gutter, sidewalks coming up over there. And that that, the curb, gutter, sidewalks section was imposed and made as a condition of the zone change and part and parcel of the occupancy of the building. And, so the theory behind that approach was that if there is a clear understanding that there's gonna be commercial activity, you know, in that whole area even though the zoning is currently residential, that at some point in time, it will be commercial, and so over a course of time, you will have curb, gutters, and sidewalks, you know, in that whole area unlike the Pahoa Village area, is kind of questionable. I think the Director accurately pointed out, and as you look at the General Plan map, there is some question as far as whether there should be further commercialization on the mauka side of Kilauea. On the mauka side of Kilauea, the staff pointed out on the General Plan Land Use Map, it's Low Density Residential, and so while you do have like one or two commercial zoning in that area, there is still an issue relative to the General Plan as far as a continued pattern of commercialization—commercial zoning rather, you know, on the mauka side, and so perhaps that's the reason why the Council came up with that type of alternative versus a clear standard of putting a curb, gutter, and sidewalk. Having said that, the Applicant, you know, is, was prepared to accept the, you know, the condition as proposed by the Director. However, in the light of consistency, it would be more prudent to go along with what the Commission had just recommended for the other application. HENKEL: Thank you. Are there any questions of the Applicant? Thank you, Mr. Fuke. And, I have no one signed up for public testimony, so I'll look for a motion to close public testimony. MIYASATO: I make a motion to close public testimony. CLARKSON: Second. HENKEL: It's been moved and seconded to close public testimony. All in favor say, "aye." COMMISSIONERS: Aye. 4 EXHIBIT D HENKEL: Opposed? Okay, that portion is closed. So, I would look for a motion for action with any amendments of the conditions included. My thoughts are that for consistency and to be fiscally responsible that improvements like this should be done all at once instead of piecemeal. CLARKSON: I agree. HENKEL: So, do we have a motion? CLARKSON: Okay. HENKEL: Thank you, Mr. Clarkson. CLARKSON: I move that a favorable recommendation be forwarded to the County Council on the application for Change of Zone Docket No. REZ 16-209 based on the Planning Director's recommendations and findings which should be amended to be consistent with our previous two rezone considerations such that the road widening strip be subdivided and dedicated but that the improvements be delayed to the—until requested by the Department of Public Works at which time a pro rata share will be owed by the Applicant. HENKEL: Thank you. Is there a second? IKEDA: Second. HENKEL: It's been moved by Commissioner Clarkson and seconded by Commissioner Ikeda. Any discussion? Do we need to restate the motion or are we ready to roll call? Call the roll, please. JACKSON: Okay. Commissioner Clarkson? CLARKSON: Aye. JACKSON: Commissioner Ikeda? IKEDA: Aye. JACKSON: Commissioner Miyasato? MIYASATO: Aye. JACKSON: Commissioner Moses? MOSES: Aye. JACKSON: And Chair Henkel. 5 EXHIBIT D HENKEL: Aye. JACKSON: Okay, the motion carries five, zero. The discussion ended at 10:13 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Sarah Y. Hata-Finley, Secretary Windward Planning Commission EXHIBIT D