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HomeMy WebLinkAboutSC Minutes 19December2016 DRAFTWilliam P. Kenoi Mayor County of Hawaii PLANNING DEPARTMENT Duane Kanuha Director Joaquin Gainiao-Kunkle Deputy Director HAMAKUA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN STEERING COMMITTEE Aupuni Center • 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3 • Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Phone (808) 961-8288 • Fax (808) 961-8742 Monday, December 19, 2016 DRAFT Meeting Minutes All documents relating to in the December 19, 2016 meeting can be viewed and downloaded from the CDP Website: http://www.hawaiicountVcdp.info/hamakua-cdp/steering-committee/steering-committee-meetings/2016/december-19-2016 CALL TO ORDER: Vice Chairperson Farrah -Marie Gomes called the Hamakua Community Development Plan (HCDP) Steering Committee to order at 6:03p.m. at the North Hawai'i Education and Research Center (NHERC) — Honoka'a. ROLL CALL: Members Present: Brad Kurokawa, Farrah -Marie Gomes, Glenn Carvalho, Lorraine Mendoza, Jason Moniz, Craig Neff, and Ka'iulani Pahi'o. Members Absent -Excused: Scott Enright. Staff: LeAna Gloor— Hamakua CDP Planner, Ron Whitmore — COH Senior Planner, Keiko Mercado — Hamakua CDP Planning Assistant, Bob Agres — Hawai'i Alliance for Community -Based Economic Development (HACBED). Members of the public: 28 ANNOUNCEMENTS: None MEETING OVERVIEW: Ms. Gomes provided a brief overview of the purpose and scope of the CDP, Steering Committee roles, responsibilities and reminders, meeting overview, and Aloha Etiquette. She then turned the floor over to Mr. Whitmore, Senior Planner with the Hawai'i County Planning Department in the Hilo office. Mr. Whitmore - We normally go straight into public comment of this point but we thought it'd be useful to soy o few things before we did that in light of some of what's been in the news leading up to this meeting. Before I do that, I wont to quickly introduce the CDP Team that's here tonight. Most of you know most of us of this point, but in case you don't. LeAna Gloor is the CDP Planner for the Hamakuo CDP. Her principal role of this lost series of meetings is to provide information — to be o technical resource. Bob Agres from HACBED is hereto help facilitate the conversations os Hawai'i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer Page I 1 needed and will be providing the process overview later in the meeting. I'm here wearing multiple hats as needed and then Keiko, as always, taking care of a lot of the details, welcoming people, doing sign -in, etc. So, thank you staff. I want to thank also the Steering Committee for your longstanding commitment and dedication to this process. Thank you also to members of the public. I see many familiar faces. I appreciate people's interest and dedication to their community. We, as planners really in these sort of community planning processes, try to play an impartial role facilitating a communities' deliberation over the best ways to community objectives, helping people understand what their options are, the s1tategNe s they can employ and the tradeoffs that are associated with them. And in that light, I wanted to cover these four quick points tonight as a starting point to kind of set the context for tonight's meeting. The first one is about the integrity of the CDP process. The second two are related but are kind of flipsides of the same coin. One is to talk a little bit about the scope of the CDP in terms of the land use maps. The third point is also about the pe in terms of —the extent to which the CDP can go in terms of land use — not getting into realm of she -specific projects, specific refinement. And finally, I want to review —remind everybody where we're at in the process and where we're heading from here in terms of CDP adoption. Now, I'm excited to share this information now, prior to public comment just to clarify some things that have been floating around in the press and we know social media, whatnot —just to get some facts straight right off the bat, okay, in part for the public and part also for the Steering Committee so as you may hear a number of things during testimony, part of your job tonight is to ask yourself, am I hearing anything new? Is this new information? Is this accurate? And so, we want to present the facts to you up front so you can have that in mind as you may hear things Aduripublic c ent. So, thefirstwanted to touch on was the integrity of the CDP and really relates primarily to one State Statut , ne State Law, another guidance document the Steering Committee has been using. As many of yare familia there's a State Law — there's also a County version of this — it's called the Sunshine aw typically. It's really about open meetings and open public process. The whole point is to have public —government processes be open to the public giving ,00 them the opportunity to speak, right. What that means in practice, because the Steering Committee, like all County Boards and Commissions, is governed by this Sunshine Law. What that means is, you have got have open discussion, open meetings, and people have to be aware of what's going to be covered at meetings in advance to decide whether they want to participate or not, and people will come and participate through public testimony at these meetings. So questions have been raised recently about that process. I wanted to review a little of the history leading up to this point, as it relates to the Sunshine Law, just to be very clear about it. And I want to talk about this in the context of Hakalau Point because I know some — there's a lot of information going around about Hakalau Point as it relates to the CDP process. So, in terms of the Sunshine Law, back in May, during the community review process at a focus discussion specifically about coastal development, members of the public brought up concerns about the land use guide map at Hakalau Point. So, the original concerns about what the CDP draft had on Hakalau Point were raised at a public meeting, it was not at a Steering Committee meeting. So, staff, as they did with all the public comment during that phase, summarized all of Page 12 it and presented it to the Steering Committee. So, then it was raised again, both during public testimony and then during the Steering Committee meeting on September 10th, and at that point, in response to that testimony, 1 believe it was Craig Neff, we checked the records and it was Craig Neff, that in response to a suggestion from the public, suggested the Steering Committee consider changing the land use designation of Hakalau Point. At that point, at that September 10th meeting, the Steering Committee voted to make that change from — to make it Open. We then realized after the fact that the agenda as written probably didn't accurately reflect the fact that that vote, that type of decision would be considered. So, recognizing that we had made an error, that decision was re-agendized at a future meeting and reconsidered by the Steering Committee. And so, at a subsequent meeting, it was reconsidered — I forget the exact date — it would've been either late September or early October right where it was on the agenda again, the Steering Committee considered again, heard public testimony again. At that point, Brad Kurokawa expressed - shared that he had a conflict of interest — this is where the guidelines of the Steering Committee came into play. Brad pointed out that he had done some work related to Hakalau Point and therefore, this conflictof "nterest policy that the Steering Committee has been using this from the get-go came into play and from here forward on any issue related to Hakalau, he recused himself, including the discuAton that day and any subsequent votes. And we've discussed this internally and discussed it with Brad and tonight he will also be recusing himself if it coVet"trying a vote about the final recommendation for the CDP. We share this just to be clear that to be as open ancran parent and clear and fair as possible during this process eliminating (inaudible) conflicts of int rest. We're following Sunshine Law. We're doing our best to give everyone equal say and be perfectly upfront and clear about who does and doesn't have a t%eres in any particular issue considered in the CDP. So, that's the first point/ wanted to cover. IV The second one was related to the scope of the CDP. There's been a lot of confusion about this and we knovirthot land use gets very confusing very quickly but it — these are direct quotes straight out of the Chapter 15 of the General Plan where the scope of Community Development Plans is described. So, it's well within the scope of the CDP to designate development patterns to.provide regional policies for land use, direct physical development, manage growth and provide land use guide maps. And that's exactly what Policy 1 and the associated land use guide maps from the CDP do. They don't change zoning. They don't amend the General Plan. They simply express the communities' preferred future uses for land use in the Hdmdkua planning area. Ff So, the flipside of that just — you've seen these slides before so we're reiterating a lot of what we've told you before, but its relevant again because the issue came up again recently in the Press. So, the CDP does not affect zoning and we've all covered this before. Zoning is what determines permitted uses. The General Plan, in contrast, provides future guidance, it is not zoning and the CDP does not amend the General Plan. The CDP recommends amendments to the General Plan but upon adoption, the CDP does not change the General Plan, okay. And, it will be a subsequent step taken potentially through the current ongoing review of the General Plan or future action by Council. And also very importantly, when there is a direct conflict between a Community Development Plan and the General Plan, the General Plan is controlling. And so, what that means specifically for Hakalau Point is that the CDP, as all it does with Page 13 Hakalau Point is recommend a change to Open, has absolutely no impact whatsoever on permitted uses for Hakalau Point and certainly — also not for any Special Management Area permit that may be submitted for that Point. That being said, if the General Plan were amended, then there might be an issue, but the CDP does not amend the General Plan. So, the CDP, on adoption, if adopted as written, will have no impact on the permitted uses of the current landowner or of an SMA application if that landowner wanted to submit. And I should emphasize that the Planning Director recently has put this in writing to the landowner in response to a specific request for clarification on that point, okay. 1'll be happy to answer any additional questions about these points, but we've said this all before but we're reiterating it right now because it's been raised again recently in the Press, raising people's questions and concerns once again, okay. So, that being said, a CDP does not — it is not within the scope of the CDP to make specific fine-tuned site-specific plans for projects. We've heard in testimony at different points, people have specific proposals for different sites but that's well outside the scope of the General Plan. Those sorts of negotiations are done at the level of Change of Zone, or a very site-specific project, specific types of permit applications and that's outside the scope of the CDP. And, that relates also to the role of the Steering Committee — it's not your role — you're not a regulatory committee. You're an advisory committepresenting recommendations to the County for a plan that best achieves the communities' objectives. The CDPs are not regulatory plans in the sense that they say yay or nay to a particular project, they provide guidance for preferred future uses, okay. And I say that in part to the, Steering Committee because you don't need to feel this burden that you're making a decision tonight or any other time about yes or no on a particular project or proposal. You're simply conveying through policies and through land use guide maps what the preferred future use for different areas in a planning code. Then finally, 1 just want to reiterate the steps from here because there's been some confusion about that as well. So, the agenda item tonight is for the Steering Committee to make a formal and final recommendation to approve the CDP that's revised — it's a revised version of what was presented for community review back in January, alright. And, there are many more steps to follow through the CDP adoption process, all of which provide an opportunity for further comment from the public and other stakeholders, right. So then, if it takes the action tonight, the Steering Committee will be putting forth a recommended CDP, which then goes to the County and it'll go through agency reviews. It's going to go out to State, Federal agencies, County agencies, including the County's attorneys, the Corporation Counsel which has weighed in on critical issues so far, where we stopped and look at the whole thing comprehensively and asked again the question, is everything in this recommended CDP legal? Is it appropriate? So, it'll go through that review. Then, it'll get to the Director's desk where he will review all that agency comment, look at the CDP itself and then make recommendations to the Windward Planning Commission. The Planning Commission has public hearings where the public can again weigh in. They make their own recommendations to Council which again has public hearings and they make the final call. However, if the Steering — if the County Council does consider any substantive changes in the CDP, it comes back to the Steering Committee and to the Planning Commission again for —before they make their final decision. Okay, so 1 share this just to emphasize, this is not the end of the process. This is really the end of a phase in the planning process and the beginning of the next phase which is the adoption process, followed then by the implementation phase which will be covered a bit later in the evening as well. So Page 14 again, we understand a lot of this is confusing sometimes and complex but we presented this to try to clarify some things, avoid any further confusion on the presentation of information may not be true or accurate, okay. The final thing I wanted to say is to kind of in preparation for public testimony, this is specifically to the Steering Committee members, is again your job throughout this final review process, in particular tonight, is to ask yourself as you're listening to public testimony: is what I'm hearing within this relevant to the scope of the CDP? Is it substantially new or different? Can I verify it? Does it change anything that we've otherwise previously heard about this issue? Is it consistent with the community objectives as adopted? Is it consistent with other decisions that may be similar in nature to this thatwe've considered before? We're really at the final stages where nothing new is on the agenda tonight. Everything you're looking at and considering for final vote is what you've already made preliminary decisions about so it's nothing new. So the only reason why you want to discuss or rehash anything tonight is if there is some new verifiable information. Ms. Gomes reviewed the guidelines for providing public testimony before inviting members of the public up to the microphone. PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS: Five people submitted written testimony. 1. James Weldon, Laupahoehoe 12.21 2. Janet Lindsey— 12.16.16 3. Debra Toledo-Ebreo, Honoka'a — 12.1 4. Helen Baptista, Honoka'a — 12.19.16 5. June Kaye, Hakalau — 12.19.16 Written testimony submitted to Steering Co ittee memberftpn be viewed and downloaded from the following website: 2016/written-public-testimony There were seven people who signed up to testify. (Please note that all testimony has been recorded exactly as E 1. Pam Elders, representing herself, providing testimony on agenda item 1:1 just wanted to say ,00 how much I appreciate your stewardship and all of the time and energy that you all on the Steering Committee have spent on this process. I know that it has been very challenging in many ways with lots of competing agendas and interests and I commend you for following the values that you set forth out in the beginning of your meetings. Also, I want to appreciate the staff for all the great support they have provided, in being available for one thing, and providing great materials for everyone to look at and think about. Lastly, I'd like to say I'm really grateful for living in a place where we have government activities that are transparent and open to the public. So, thank you very much. 2. Michael Johnson, representing Ono Gardens, providing testimony on Hakalau Point: Thank you. Thank you Committee for the years of work that you put into this and your pledge to be fair. My name is Michael Johnson. I'm a resident of Hakalau community. I wanna protest the findings of the vote that the Committee took to take away all Industrial Zoning for Hakalau Point. And the 62 people that have signed this petition, many are from Hakalau Point, are protesting the vote to take away Industrial Zoning from Hakalau Point. And the ancestors, the people who worked Page 15 there, for the last hundred and thirty years — hundred and fifty years, since 1876, the Japanese, the Chinese, those people, I'm sure would protest to see this not be Industrial anymore. The Hawaiians before that would protest because it was their main source of industry and commerce on the Big Island for centuries before that, they would protest. As far as what happened on September 10th, I was at that meeting and there was two things to vote on: 1) to keep the Point Residential and Industrial, 2) to keep the Open lands and Industrial. And then, Craig and Brad brought up a third vote which was not announced at the (inaudible), it was just brought up, and that was to remove all Industrial Zoning for Hakalau Point. And then, we got into some conflict because there was no compromise. There couldn't — there could easily be Open lands, a park, and Industrial in the same area and that's what I've been pushing for, that's what a lot of people want in this area. So, the — when I was here in 1994 and the C. Brewer Company was saying what are we gonna do with all this sugar cane land? And they laid it out, they said there's gonna be subdivisions and strip malls. That's the Honolulu style of development, that's not what we're talking about for Hakaau Point. We're t&king about an opportunity for the farmers and for this community to grow%k,noically at Hakalau Point and — and contrary to what's said here about thi of changing z it does influence the issuance of permits at this very Point. The County drags itsfeet becausere's controvsy over Hakalau Point and the permits aren't being granted. They won't say why, but it's not too hard to figure out. Thank you for your tillo,- 1400- 3. Valerie Poindexter, representing herself, providing testimony on agenda item 1: Aloha. First of all, I wanna say thank you to the Comm"ttee because you've worked so long and hard and I remember being in these rooms of breaout sessions many years ago starting. I see a lot of you have added more white hair, some of youy have lost more hair, but thank you so much because I have been through the process, a up and down the coastline and here during the time of the demise of our sugar industry and in fear, born and raised here of what may happen, that we will l se ov&entity and our culture and our heritage. And, I've seen the people come out and testify and I thank you all for listening to the people at the grassroots level, who are here not for any private benefit, but for the care of their community and that is what this CDP is all about. It's about®the people at the grassroots level, working as a community and not self- interest projects or developers. So, I appreciate that throughout all of Hdmdkua because should we become isolated throughout our communities, can we survive as a community? Because as communities, we come together as all our individuals and building relationships and that's at the grassroots level and that's where it happens. So, for all of you to have listened to that through all of these years and respecting all of that — all of our people, I humbly say thank you. 4. David Lee, representing himself, providing testimony on Hakalau Industrial Zoning: Good evening everyone. My name's David Lee and I live in Pdpa'ikou. I'm new to the area. I'm a food baker first and foremost. I operate a business, 20 years of food manufacturing. I have 150 employees and we pay a living wage $25 and up — excuse me, $15 an hour in Seattle. And I'm just so blessed to be here, to see this beautiful land that you all have lived here longer than I have, but I come here tonight to support the Industrial Zoning of Hakalau because I believe in our community of food makers and I see this beautiful land, this agricultural land which is an incredible resource and there's been discussions that I've had in terms of just supporting enough through any financial and myself just supporting a way for farmers to have their foods Page 16 processed is such an important thing and I looked at the CDC here and I just — I was given this by someone and in terms of how this Industrial Zoning supports the objectives of the CDC. For example, preserving historic resources — guides the restoration of historic sites and buildings, direct retention of village and town character. I know the history of Hakalau, 150 years legacy of making food for people — supports the preservation of the village and town character and guides enhancement of communities' unique sense of place. And then the economics — preserves the opportunities to live off the land by giving farmers a way to process their — their fruits. Guides the implementation of regional economic development strategies. Guides the regional strategies to increase buying local. Guides the efforts to strengthen the local agriculture value chain. Allows for the diversification of agriculture -based businesses and rural uses of on agricultural lands and finally, guides the development of a place -based approach to community tourism. So, I think this is what people want and I think this is really a great project. So, that's what I have to say. I really appreciate you llowing me to speak you tonight. Thank you. 5. Robert Nishimoto, representing himself, providing testimony on section 4.2 - Protect Coastal Resources: Aloha, my name is Robert Nishimoto. I was born here. I am 72 years old. My ancestors came as sugar workers. I grew up here. We weathered all kinds of stripes but we always lived on the land. I'd like to thank you as a Committee, you've worked for over 7 years. We appreciate your willingness to listen. One thing that concerns me is, 1 want you all to look at the land from the ocean 'cuz we're all keiki o ke kai, not only keiki o ka 'dina. I'm a subsistence fisherman and/ also am a farmer. /give all my products away. I'm a subsistence fisherman. 1 boat. I fish from Hilo to Waipi'o Valley and /fish Orn Hilo to Cape Kumukahi. I've seen landslides over and over again but I want you to all understand, Cliffside development— there are many cases, Honoli'i is a case in point. There's a landslide, nobody is gonna clean up that dirt. Loss of my opihi grounds. More and more of this is happening. Nobody is willing to drop the hammer and say you need to clean the dirt out. Not only lost opihi grounds, there's loss of fishing, which I do as a su bsisWpce fisherman. Okay, I grew up in this stripe, we've gone and helped communities by giving things away, not selling things, we give things away. This is about aloha I think. And also, what bothers me is, the Honu'ea, the Hawksbill turtle is in danger, likewise with the monk seal. They both are friendly, protected species. Hdmdkua Coast is the prime grow up site for the honu'ea. I've approached some Senators about increasing our studies to see the effect. Those piles of sediments are constantly washing into — constant — it's like a toothache. What's happening? The State only —jurisdiction is only up to the high tide mark, who's thereafter? It's the County I think. I hope the County plan addresses this issue. So, I really like you to, I like to thank you for 4.2, you kind of went that step ahead. I wanted more, but I understand why this issue is - but Cliffside development ain't going nowhere, this why I hope you all keep it Open Space. Of course, we all like to see the view. More from me, who grew up here. My ancestors came as sugar workers and we grew up all my life and I refuse to leave this place. So, I thank you again so much for your hard work and I hope you listened because I'm not gonna go anywhere and again to me aloha is not selling, aloha is sharing. Thank you. 6. Steve Shropshire, representing himself: Aloha. I guess I'd like to also give a — recognize and acknowledge the efforts of this Committee, I know it's been a long process. I've been a part of Page 17 this process for the last 6 years and I've regularly attended these meeting and I started this process, I had very high expectations of what the outcomes would be and I was hoping that this effort would provide a roadmap for smart growth along the coast. Six years later,/ have to tell you, I'm very disenfranchised and really disappointed in the outcome. As members of this Committee, you agree to adhere to specific guidelines and attitudes as a requirement for participation. One of those, is that you would act on behalf of the Hdmdkua Coast and not in your own self-interest and I disagree with Mr. Whitmore. You had a situation where the Chair of this Committee was serving as a consultant for the park, recommended that my property be — that the land use designation be changed from Industrial to Open, as o spokesperson and as a consultant for that park. If he didn't step forward, my lawyer basically wrote a letter asking him to recuse himself so I wanted to clarify that point. It has already been mentioned that, that was not the objective of the Steering — of the community. It never came up through this community planning process, it was something that w i lly brought up by the Steering Committee. You also agreed to appreciate participation inolvement of comrRunity stakeholders, working together with people of different poirs of view to seek win-win solutions and find compromise when necessary. I have to tell you as a stakeholder — as o major stakeholder, a major landowner in this area, I feel very disenfranised by this. I've been treated as an outsider and I can assure you I've never been asked by any of you — anyone in this room for that matter, to sit down a to work — show my perspective to create win-win solutions that can benefit the comm ity. 1 think the most impor ant art is the — is the big picture item (inaudible) you need to take into consideration. Yes, en Space is important but so is economic development. Read the plan that was developed waback in 2000. Read it if you haven't, if you have, read it again. It talks about the loss of sugar and the need for economic growing. Yes, we lost sugar, but most importantly, we lost the industry. That's why you see boarded up stores up and down the coast. What's happening is, there's a land use pattern that's happening — wealthy people buying up the land, putting up gates and fences and people — young people are moving off -island into other areas. You don't believe me? Take a drive up and down the coast. Those aren't —you know, I didn't make that up. So, I think the real problem here is we have a missed opportunity to work together. The reason — remember, this is community and development somehow the development aspect got left out of this onversation. Thank you. 7. June Kaye, representing herself, providing testimony on the LUPAG map of Hakalau Point: I'm June Kaye. I live in Hakalau and I also wanna thank the panel for 7 years of hard work. It's incredible that you've shown up, volunteered for such a huge job and I appreciate it and I support your designation of the coastal area in Hakalau as Open. You have weighed the expressed desire of hundreds of community members to protect the Point from future development and you have also weighed the objections from the land owner, his son and his supporters. The first factor when you decide to change a LUPAG map is to minimize new coastal development. It's based on the community objective which is to protect, restore and enhance watershed systems. Seven years is long enough. You have listened to all the parties and you've voted to designate it Open on the LUPAG Map. That doesn't change the Industrial Zoning and everyone who has alluded to a change in zoning knows that and they're trying to misrepresent what's happening here. Any legal argument can be left to the law department for the County and it's not appropriate to raise them here. So, thank you. Page 18 APPROVAL OF MINUTES: Ms. Mendoza moved to approve the October 22, 2016 and the November 2, 2016 draft minutes as submitted. Second by Mr. Kurokawa. Motion passed with 7 votes aye and 0 votes nay. BUSINESS: 1. Recommendation for Approval of a Revised Hamakua CDP: Mr. Agres provided a review of the CPD planning process and reminded both the Steering Committee and community participants about the path that the CDP has followed up to this point, including: • Values and Vision Talk Story Events throughout the Hamakua Planning Area (2009-2010) • Community Information Gathering Workshops in Hamakua, North Hilo, and Rural South Hilo (Fall 2010) • Regional Workshops in Hamakua, North Hilo, and Rural South Hilo (Spring 2012) • Steering Committee Preliminary Review of Draft CDP (Fall 2015) • Community Review of Draft CDP — SpeakOuts, Focused Discussion, CDP Roadshows in Hamakua, North Hilo, and Rural South Hilo (Spring 2016) Mr. Agres continued to explain that revisions were made to the Draft Hamakua CDP based on the feedback received throughout the community review process. These preliminary revisions have been agreed upon by the Steering Committee during their last four CDP meetings. Documents pertaining to these meetings can be found on the website. September 10, 2016 http://www.hawaiicountycdp.info/hamakua-cdp/steering-committee/steering- committee-meetings/2016/september-10-2016-steering-committee-meeting September 28, 2016 http://www.hawaiicountycdp.info/hamakua-cdp/steering-committee/steering- committee-meetings/2016/september-28-2016 October 22, 2016 http://www.hawaiicountycdp.info/hamakua-cdp/steering-committee/steering- committee-meetings/2016/october-22-2016 November 2, 2016 http://www.hawaiicountycdp.info/hamakua-cdp/steering-committee/steering- committee-meetings/2016/november-2-2016 Mr. Agres also explained that when the CDP is adopted and implemented it will become a County Policy Document and guide Federal and State Agencies as well as Community -Based Action. He explained that the vision that we talk about for the future of Hamakua cannot be done just by one entity; it will take all of us moving forward and that's the reason why the document reflects those things. Another key aspect to this is you cannot look at just one part of the CDP. It is intended to be a comprehensive plan - it has interdependent components. You cannot isolate economy from protecting natural and cultural resources or strengthening infrastructure and facilities and services and how that all impacts land use patterns: it has to be looked at in that intermingled way. While the CDP process represents a shift in the County's approach to planning, it is important to keep in mind that the CDP cannot solve all the issues of Hamakua. We have to recognize that there are some issues that are too controversial for a CDP and that some recommendations by the Steering Committee may be challenged. This is not the end, this is the beginning of the next phase. Page 19 Opportunities for the community to testify on the CDP continue at Planning Commission and County Council hearings. Mr. Agres reiterated that there have been four facilitated discussions regarding options and proposed revisions and four meetings with incremental preliminary approvals. Today, the goal is for the Steering Committee to be satisfied that the CDP is an overall reflection of the community's preferences, and for the committee to vote on recommending approval of the Draft CDP. As stated earlier by Mr. Whitmore, testimony from this evening should be evaluated to ensure that what is heard pertains to issues within the scope of the CDP, is new information that is verifiable, is supported by the established Community Objectives, and is consistent with other preliminary decisions. Steering Committee members discussed the Summary of Proposed Revisions that were preliminarily agreed upon during the previous four CDP meetings and considered approval of the revised version of the January 2015 Draft of the Hamakua Community Development Plan. Ms. Gomes — As stated on the agenda, our main objective is the vote, so what 1 wou like to do is propose at least some language for us to consider and whoever feels so compelled to move the motion can do so after 1 introduce that draft language. So, it�ould be to -move to recommend the approval of the January 2016 Draft Hamakua Community Development Plan amended to reflect the revisions in the document, "Summary of Proposed Revisions to the Draft Hdmdkua CDP November 15, 2016" which summarizes revisions preliminarily agreed on by the Steering Committee during its September 10th and 28th, October 22nd and November 2, 2016 meetings. 1 know that was a mouthful and that's why we took the initiative to at least propose the draft language. If anyone is in agreement with the draft language you can so move without having to repeat that and we'll go ahead and just document it on our own. When we have a second, we can open it up for discussion. Alternatively, you can feel free to propose another motion as w Ms. Mendoza moved to recommend the approval of the January 2016 Draft Hdmdkua Community Development Plan amended to reflect the revisions in the document, "Summary of Proposed Revisions to the Draft Hamakua CDP" dated November 15, 2016 which summarizes revisions preliminarily agreed on by the Steering Committee during its September 10th and 28th, October 22nd and November 2, 2016 meetings. Second by Mr. Carvalho. Ms. Gomes opened the floor for discussion. Mr. Kurokawa pointed out that Honomu Gym was already re-roofed so it can be deleted on page 9 of the Summary of Proposed Revisions document, second bullet under Policy 101. [It was confirmed later in the meeting that this type of editorial update can be initiated by the Planning Team for this, and any similar actions in the Plan that are determined to be obsolete by the time it is being reformatted/packaged for adoption.] Mr. Carvalho strongly recommended that the Steering Committee vote in favor of the motion. He feels that the plan is definitely a reflection of the community's preferences. The community held similar preferences during processes prior to this CDP. Mr. Moniz expressed his concern about the limited amount of industrial zoning along the coast. He is concerned about what kind of impact this will have on farmers, ranchers and others in related Page 110 fields and questions if other areas off of the coastline will be identified for future industrial use. Mr. Moniz asked for clarity on how the revisions relating to the industrial area on Hakalau Point came back to the Steering Committee. Mr. Whitmore clarified that staff had researched previous meeting minutes, audio files and public comment to be clear on this point. He reiterated that concerns were first raised by community members back in May at a Focused Discussion on coastal development in Pepe'ekeo at Kula'imano Community Center. There were only a few Steering Committee members in attendance and the property owner of the area in question was not in attendance. These community comments were put forth by staff to the Steering Committee during their subsequent review of community comment. The idea of changing the land use map of Hakalau Point to the Open designation was brought up during public testimony at the September 10, 2016 meeting. It was Mr. Moniz who questioned whether the idea to consider other options regarding Hakalau Point was agendized properly for the September 10, 2016 meeting. Staff was in agreement with Mr. Moniz and re- agendized Hakalau Point on September 28, 2016. During the September 28, 2016 meeting, Mr. Kurokawa recused himself from the vote to be consistent with the guidelines the Steering Committee had been using from its start. Mr. Whitmore again stated that the CDP as written, the land use map of the CDP, does not affect the current uses of Hakalau Point. It does not change the zoning. Ms. Gloor shared that while in many cases legacy industrial uses (not zoning) near rivers or on coastal properties were removed during the initial evaluation process, this was not the case for the Hakalau Point property due to its industrial zoning. The CDP is not recommending a change of zone for any of the industrial zoned areas within the planning area. Prior attempts to try and "relocate" industrial areas further away from the coastline proved difficult and are really not within the scope of the CDP. Ms. Gloor clarified that contrary to statements made during Public Testimony, there are no Special Management Area (SMA) Permits waiting on the CDP. Mr. Kurokawa apologized for his mistake and explained a little about what brought about the conflict of interest — During the process with the Public Open Space (PONQ - the community, and I'm part of the community, had asked me to help them - help visualize so they would have a graphic for what could be. I was very hesitant, and so - but I did, just to help that process, the public process which went through the PONC process and it ended up number three. I agreed to help them just put down some ideas, and that was the mistake that I made, and it's sort of come around to taint this process, and I don't want it to taint the whole CDP process. I did help them draw something up but I did also make very clear that it's just an idea for the PONC process and that if we were to move forward in the negotiations with the land owner that — I stipulated that it would be very important that the community - the landowner and the community — if the negotiations proceeded, that we would have a very transparent and open community process to determine what that might end up being. That unfortunately, I've watched through this public process, the newspapers -the media, kind of get twisted it in a way. I did agree to an interview with the Tribune Herald, and then it came out — it's not quite the way that I had shared all of this stuff, and I don't really care to get into all of that stuff. But, the bottom line is for me — our role as Steering Committee members is to be active proponents and advocates for the community's voice. Page 111 Ms. Gomes shared that she initially had difficulty separating agricultural from industrial. As a rancher, she knows the importance of having resources available on a local level. She acknowledged that many times she and other members asked questions that dug deeper than they needed to, in an attempt to answer questions that are out of the CDP scope. Pulling back, and looking at agriculture and industrial within the scope of the CDP and looking at the larger umbrella helped to define things for her. She encouraged the County to work with community members and major stakeholders in the area to find solutions that are imbedded in the intent of the CDP document. Ms. Gomes re -read the motion on the floor before calling for the vote: It has been moved and seconded to recommend approval of the January 2016 draft Hdmdkua Community Development Plan amended to reflect the revisions in the document, "Summary of Proposed Revisions to the Draft Hdmdkua CDP" dated November 15, 2016 which summarizes revisions preliminarily agreed on by the Steering Committee during its September 10th and 28th October 22, and November 2, 2016 meetings. Motion passed with the following votes: 1. Ms. Pahi'o — aye 2. Nr. Neff — aye 3. Mr. Kurokawa — recused 4. Ms. Mendoza — aye 5. Mr. Moniz —aye 6. Mr. Carvalho — aye 7. Ms. Gomes - aye The Summary of Proposed Revisions can be viewed anYownloaded from the following website: htt records.co.hawaii.hi.us webIink 1 doc 82366 Pa e1 x PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS: There were two people who signed up to testify. Valerie Poindexter, representing herself, providing testimony on the recommendation of approval: I wanna thank all of you again for voting in favor of this and I heard about the concern about Industrial and when we look back at the demise of the sugar industries and what had happened with the Industrial -zoned areas on our coastline properties, they destroyed our ecosystems. So, if you look back at history, how do we move forward? And I think, a beautiful thing that has happened many years ago, even before I was in office is the Hakalau people already started to look at the closure and how it impacted them and how can they move forward as farmers.' If you look at Hakalau, every Tuesday, their Food Share, the farmers that come out. I asklall of you to come and visit them on Tuesdays at 3:OOpm and see what the farmers are coming together and doing and their produce, whether it be bartering like Mr. Nishimoto said, giving away, bartering what you have and if you don't have, you can still buy. However, investing in the community like you have done with the Community Development Plan, that's where it's at. So, we talked about the incubator kitchens or the certified kitchens, that's all happening up in Hakalau and so the people who have not known this, I ask you from the Hakalau area, please speak to our local grassroots people who have been working for over — Page 112 from 2004 or even before, working on the project with the Hakalau gym trying to get farmers to be able to process their vegetables or their farm produce there. Also, working with the old Hakalau School to get it back into the hands of the people so we can use it for classes and looking at that whole area of Wailea — so that whole area, we are not forgetting about our farmers and our people. The Industrial -zoned areas don't have to be Industrial -zoned to be —for our people to survive and be sustainable. So, thank you for that and thank you for all the Committee has done. The people — we are so humbled. Thank you. Michael Johnson, representing himself: Ok, the—first of all, opening Wailea is — is good and it's not so good. It's good that you're opening up the school, cleaning it up and making it available for classes and education, things like that. It's not so good when the Hakalau gym is condemned and it'll cost millions of dollars to recreate. It's not so good for - a 2 -hour Food Share once a week isn't gonna support any farmers and - it supports a lot of Woofers and people, we need thing on a larger scale. We have dozens of farms right now losing a quarter to half of their crops because there is no processing. There is no zoning for processing, no warehousing. There's no facilities in —on Hamdkua coast to serve the farmers. This is an opportunity that we have to move forward economically in this area so our children can stay hereon this island and not move to L.A. These are high paying jobs. Food processing is a high paying job. Taking care of our equipment and welding is a high paying job. You can't do that in a Wailea School. You can't do that in a Wailea gym. You can't do that on someone's private property 'cuz they're not willing to put up the millions of dollars that it would take to create the warehouses. We have an opportunity now to work on a private, public adventure and make this happen in the next year. And to think that it can happen without your approval is not happening. /know that— I'm involved in this permitting process and it doesn't get approved. It's been going on for months because there's a controversy here. That's the excuse that we get from the Planning Department and it's — your decision is crucial to the development of this coastline and to keep our families here and to keep our children here, it has to happen. The approval has to happen. That's all — all I've got to say. Thank you. STEERING COMMITTEE REFLECTIONS: Steering Committee members were given the opportunity to reflect on the CDP process and their personal thoughts relating to the CDP. Ms. Gloor disclosed that the Planning Department has learned many lessons and will continue to find ways of improving the CDP process. Ms. Pahi'o expressed thanks for being able to be a part of the Steering Committee and stressed how important it is to continue to ask the right questions moving forward. She also shared thanks from Ms. Badua who had a difficult time stepping away from the Steering Committee because she wanted to make sure her beloved Hamakua was taken care of. She was able to do so because she trusted the other Steering Committee members and the decisions they would make. Mr. Neff thanked staff, former staff, the Steering Committee and their'ohana. When he thinks back to the first meeting, he wondered what he had gotten himself into. You have to be able to take care of your house before you can take care of anything else - he got involved based on that, he needed to take care of his community. He decided at that first meeting that he would base all of his decisions on the idea that what is good for the land is essentially good for the people. And so the Hamakua CDP Page 113 motto was born: '0 ka mea kupono'aina ka mea kupono kanaka — What is good for the land is good for the people. Mr. Moniz honestly admitted that the reason he wanted to become part of the Steering Committee was because he was really upset about other processes and decisions that were being made. Through the course of the CDP he began to understand and appreciate the process. He is thankful for the experience and thanked the Steering Committee and County staff for all the hard work that everyone put in. Ms. Mendoza conveyed thanks to the CDP team and Steering Committee members for the quality of support and also for the great leadership provided by Ms. Gomes and Mr. Kurokawa. Her reason for becoming a Steering Committee member was to be an example for her children — if you want something done, you get your feet in there and do what you need to do. She wants her children to get involved in their communities, to know the importance of the people who came before, and to understand that the community helps to provide your identity. What better way to teach this than to lead by example. Mr. Carvalho believes that you have to speak up for what you believe in. You also have to speak up for the people who, for whatever reason, cannot or will not speak up for themselves. He's enjoyed his time with the committee and appreciates that he was able to be a voice for the Hamakua Community. Ms. Gomes communicated that for her, it has always been about the community and being able to be the voice for those people who will not or cannot be their own voices or be a part of the process. She expressed her gratitude to Steering Committee members and their determination to see the process through to the end. She also thanked the CDP planning team. Ms. Gomes acknowledged that here were many struggles the committee had to work through. There were many difficult discussions, some adversary moments, and often times the lack of clear guidance, whether that was in terms of policy or the interpretation of policy between the different parties, proved arduous. She recommends that the County try to find a way to reduce the level of confusion in terms of policy. Find a way to break it down so that everyone can understand the how and the why. Ms. Gomes expressed confidence in the future of the CDP and suggested that incoming Action Committee members should be encouraged to sit down with Steering Committee members to learn about the foundation of the plan. Mr. Kurokawa talked about how this milestone is a stepping stone of sorts. He thanked the CDP planning staff for the journey which was has been a process of learning for not only the County and the Steering Committee but also for the community. He believes that the community, that all of us, have to continue to hold up the peoples vision so that the CDP will continue to be the community's roadmap. He recognizes that there will inevitably be changes along the way and stressed the importance of continued community engagement - the foundation is the people. Mr. Kurokawa stated that the State of Hawai'i is a special place, as is the Big Island, as is Hamakua and we all have a responsibility to take care of our communities. Ms. Gloor thanked all of the Steering Committee members for their hard work and commitment. Each Steering Committee member was presented with a certificate and lei. At their very first meeting, each member brought soil from different parts of Hamakua and all of the soil was put in a bowl together. As a memento, this soil was given back to each member as a reminder of the work that they set out to do Page 114 and the work that they accomplished. It also serves as a reminder of each other and why they continue to work so hard for their communities. NEXT STEPS: Ms. Gloor briefly explained that once the CDP was adopted an Action Committee (which is a proactive community-based committee) would be formed to steward the CDP's implementation. The Action Committee would be comprised of 9 members and will be selected from various areas throughout the Hamakua planning area. Having members represent different areas allows for a broader perspective. The qualifications and selection process will be very similar to the Steering Committee selection process. Ms. Gloor reminded Steering Committee members that they qualify to apply if they are interested in helping to implement the CDP. Unlike the Steering Committee, Action Committee appointments are staggered and will likely involve two, three, and four year terms. ANNOUNCEMENTS: None. ADJOURNMENT: Mr. Carvalho moved to adjourn the meeting. Second by Ms. Pohi'o. and - Motion passed with 7 votes aye Page 115