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HomeMy WebLinkAbout07-23-2012 SKCDPAC Minutes SOUTH KOHALA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ACTION COMMITTEE MEETING MINUTES OF MEETING Held July 23, 2012 A regular meeting of the South Kohala Community Development Plan Action Commitee was held on July 23, 2012. The meeting was called to order at 5:05 p.m. at the Hokuloa Church, 69-1600 Puako Beach Drive, Kamuela, Hawai’i 96743, pursuant to notice. The following members of the Committee were present when the meeting was called to order: Mike Fischer John Hoover Margaret Horwatt Robin Inaba Chris Roehrig Jojo Tanimoto Committee member Achahn Schulze was not in attendance at the meeting at the time it was called to order. Also present was Project Manager Terry Dunlap from the Office of the Hawai’i County Planning Department and members of the public. The Chairman called the meeting to order and noted that a quorum of the Committee was present. Members of the public were asked to submit a form if they wished to address the meeting. Margaret Wille spoke about the relationship between the Action Committee and the Planning Department. Mike Price asked for a response to the questions raised at the June 2012 meeting of the Committee about the Aina Lea permit approval by the Planning Department and the variances granted in connection therewith. George Fry asked that Hapuna development plans be put on the agenda for the next meeting of the Action Committee. Action Committee member Schulze joined the meeting at 5:10 p.m. during the remarks from members of the public. The members of the Action Committee then considered the draft of the minutes of the meeting held on June 25, 2012, copies of which had been circulated to the members in advance of the July meeting. Several cosmetic changes were suggested and accepted and, in the absence of any further comments or proposed amendments or modifications to the draft, the Chairman deemed the draft approved and adopted, subject to the cosmetic changes that had been accepted. The Committee members next considered the Land Use Permit Activity Report that had been made available by Mr. Dunlap in advance of the meeting, which summarized recent land use permit activity. In response to the questions that had been raised at the June 2012 meeting of the 1 Action Committee concerning any concessions that might be required from the applicant relating to the Aina Lea submission (docket PUD 11-000020), Mr. Dunlap circulated a copy of the Planning Department’s ruling on the Aina Lea application. Ms. Tanimoto noted that she had observed bulldozers in operation at the Aina Lea site and asked if there had been a zoning change. She added that she had been asked why any work was being undertaken at the site at this time. Mr. Dunlap did not advise the members as requested at the June 2012 meeting of the Action Committee regarding whether the zoning of the Lalamilo lots (docket PUD 11-001141) is being changed. The next item on the agenda was Subcommittee reports. Mr. Hoover reported for the Puako Subcommittee. He indicated that the makai watch information booth is operating on an experimental basis. He also stated that work is continuing on the Puako fire break. Mr. Hoover added that he would be serving as the link between the South Kohala Conservation Action Plan and the Action Committee. He also stated that Ms. Tanimoto had called him to discuss the Puako forest issue that was on the Board of Land and Natural Resources agenda because she had concerns about the PLDC rules. Mr. Hoover stated that two private entities have leases in the area. There were no other subcommittee reports. The Chairman then called for New Business. Mr. Fischer reported that a request had been submitted to Lincoln Ashida, County Corporation Counsel, for an opinion relating to certain aspects of the powers and responsibilities of the Action Committee. Such action had been suggested by Mr. Roehrig at the June meeting of the Action Committee. Mr. Fischer indicated that Mr. Roehrig had advised him that, subsequent to the June Action Committee meeting, the desire for such an opinion had been raised by Mr. Roehrig with the Planning Department and that B. J. Leithead-Todd, Director of the Planning Department, had suggested that Mr. Roehrig request the opinion from Mr. Ashida, who in turn suggested that the request come from Mr. Fischer. Mr. Fischer indicated that he made it clear to Mr. Ashida in the request that it had not been authorized by any Action Committee resolution. Mr. Fischer added that he would send copies of the request to all of the Action Committee members and would of course share the response with the full Action Committee immediately upon receipt. Durting the ensuing discussion, Mr. Dunlap advised the members that he receives copies of all permit applications submitted to the Planning Department which relate to the South Kohala District and he submits his opinion for consideration by the Planning Department as to whether the granting of the application would be consistent with the goals and purposes of the South Kohala Community Development Plan. Mr. Fischer noted time constraint concerns in the process but requested that Mr. Dunlap nevertheless invite two members of the Action Committee (who would be designated by the Action Committee) to participate in Mr. Dunlap’s review for compliance of the applications with the purposes of the SK CDP so that the Action Committee might have input to the Planning Deopartment before it rules on such applications. Mr. Dunlap indicated that he had no objection but would seek approval from the Planning Department to do so. The Action Committee then received a presentation concerning the State and National 2 Registers of Historic Places. The presenters were Ross W. Stephenson, Ph.D., Historian, Architecture Department of the State Historic Preservation Division, and Mike Vitousek, State Historic Preservation Division Archaeologist. Mr. Vitousek discussed the role he plays in the process beginning with the point in time at which the state receives an applications for an addition to the Hawai’i Registry of Historic Places to determine if there are potential issues relating to achaeological sites in the area which is the subject of the application. Mr. Stephenson then discussed at length what makes a site worth preserving, and indicated that it is the intention of the Division to extend registration to all kinds of properties so as to achieve a wide representation of structures reflecting the culture and history of Hawai’i. Mr. Vitousek and Mr. Stephenson then responded to numerous inquiries from the Action Committee members and the public. Ms. Tanimoto asked how many County grading permits are subject to review for archaeological monitoring and are reviewed for Native Americans Graves Protection and Reinternment Act concerns. Mr. Vitousek indicated that there were not many grading permit applications subjected to such reviews and that the County requests for such reviews were discretionary. Ms. Tanimoto expressed the belief that there should be more community oversight of this process to ensure that there is no desecretion of native Hawai’ian burial sites and to avoid inadvertent disruption of such sites. Mr. Fischer and the members thanked Mr. Stephenson and Mr. Vitousek for a very informative and entertaining presentation, and moved to the next item on the agenda. There were no further statements from the public. The members then discussed the agenda for the next regularly scheduled meeting. The following items were suggested for inclusion in the agenda: 1. the legal opinion that has been requested from the County Corporation Counsel; 2. geothermal issues; 3. Samuela M. Spencer Beach Park permits for camping and use of the pavilion; and 4. Action Committee transition and continuity in light of changing membership in 2013. The Chairman then noted that the next meeting of the Action Committee is scheduled for 5:00 p.m. on Monday, August 27, 2012, at the Waimea Senior Center in Waimea. There being no further business to come before the meeting, the meeting was adjourned at 6:55 p.m. ______________________________ Michael B. Fischer Chairman 3