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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-02-07 Kailua Village Design Commission Minutes KAILUA VILLAGE DESIGN COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I MINUTES Meeting Date: February 7, 2017 Time: 5:15 p.m. Place: West Hawai‘i Civic Center nd Planning Department Conference Room – Building E, 2 Floor 74-5044 Ane Keohokālole Highway Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i, 96740 CALL TO ORDER Commissioners Present: Peter Dahlberg, Alvin Akina, Jr., Theresa Andreae, Fanny Au Hoy, Zon Sullenberger and Mark Van Pernis Absent and Excused: Ann Kern and Shaun Roth Planning Department: Michael Yee (Planning Director), Terry Dunlap (Planner), Keola Childs (Planner) and Noriko Sauer (Commission Secretary) Applicant/Representative: Jeffrey Foster (Foster’s Kitchen) Public: None A quorum was present. Chair Dahlberg called the meeting to order. The Commissioners introduced themselves. APPROVAL OF MINUTES 1. Minutes of the Meeting of January 10, 2017 Chair Dahlberg asked if there were any corrections to the minutes. No corrections were offered. The Chair assumed the motion to approve and the motion passed by unanimous consent. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS There was no one from the public in attendance. NEW BUSINESS 1. Application for two signs at Coconut Grove. One sign is a projecting double sided sign on Alii Drive; and the other sign is a double sided hanging sign at the rear of the property at the stairs. Each sign is 2’-0” x 3’-0” or six (6) square feet in area, with maximum letter size of 9 inches, and is not illuminated. Applicant: Foster’s Kitchen Landowner: LSREF2 OREO (DIRECT), LLC TMK: (3) 7-5-009: 028 Location: Coconut Grove, Kailua-Kona HI 1 Mr. Dunlap displayed site photographs to familiarize the Commissioners with the subject property, and described the designs and locations of the two proposed signs. He noted that according to the Department of Public Works, the proposal generally complied with the Sign Code. The applicant’s representative, Jeffrey Foster, introduced himself as the owner of the business. He stated that he had chosen aluminum because of the termite problem, and mentioned that he knew of a wooden sign that had been damaged by termites in eight months. In response to Commissioner Andreae’s inquiry about existing banners, Mr. Foster said that the banners were temporary and would be removed when the proposed signs were ready for installation. Commissioners Au Hoy and Andreae expressed their support, and said that the signs looked clean and classy. Chair Dahlberg pointed out possible glare on the metal surface. Mr. Foster responded that the reflection of light was the reason why he had chosen brushed surface, which should alleviate the concern. The Commissioners repeated their disapproval of banners in the Kailua Village. Mr. Foster stated that he also did not like banners, which in his opinion made the Kailua Village look tacky, and that he wanted to give his business a neat look. It was moved by Commissioner Van Pernis and seconded by Commissioner Sullenberger that the Commission recommend to the Director of the Department of Public Works that the proposed signs be approved as submitted. Commissioner Sullenberger commented in support that the signs were nicely done. A roll call vote was taken and the motion carried with five ayes (Van Pernis, Sullenberger, Akina, Andreae and Au Hoy) and two absent and excused (Kern and Roth). 2. Discussion with Planning Director Michael Yee on possible future initiatives for the Kailua Village Special District Director Yee began discussion by asking for input from the Commissioners to create lists in three topics: 1) Community Assets, 2) Big Ideas, and 3) Challenges to those Big Ideas. He said that he had been meeting with various individuals and organizations in the community, including Riley Smith and Debbie Baker from the Board of Directors of Kailua Village Business Improvement District (“KVBID”), with whom he was to meet the following morning, and that it would be helpful for him to have the lists and see what resources we could bring together to solve problems. As a result of a brainstorming session, the following were identified by the Commissioners and staff: 1) Community Assets  Chamber of Commerce  KVBID  Lions Club  Rotary Club  Adopt-A-Highway program  Kona Outdoor Circle (or reactivation of which)  Churches such as Moku‘aikaua Church, St. Michael’s Church and Mormon Church  Daughters of Hawai‘i  Elks Lodge 2  The Veterans of Foreign Wars  Banks such as Bank of Hawai‘i, First Hawaiian Bank, Central Pacific Bank and American Savings Bank  PATH Hawai‘i  Ironman  Peaman  Canoe clubs  Swimmers at the County pool  Kupuna softball teams  Kona Coffee Festival  Kona Brewery  Farmers market  Large property owners such as Kamehameha Schools, Queen Lili‘uokalani Trust and Kimi family (Uncle Billy’s)  Kuleana Education  Crime Stoppers/Police Department  State Department of Land and Natural Resources, Historic Preservation Division and Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation  Catholic Charities  Hawai‘i Food Basket/Food Bank  Fire Department  YMCA  Salvation Army  YWAM University of the Nations  Councilmembers (Dru Kanuha)  Department of Public Works  Wealthy landlords such as Paul Allen  Cruise lines  Historical trees  Traffic study 2) Big Ideas, including problems in the Kailua Village  Old buildings deteriorating  Restrooms  Parking/build a parking structure  Traffic/Ali‘i Drive design/Kuakini Highway widening  Enforcement/sign inspector  Homeless/micro housing/solve homelessness  New sign ordinance  Implement the Old Airport Park improvement plan  Shoreline trail  Buy out Kimi property  Redevelopment of Hale Halawai/open the gate and collect parking fees  Unsightly farmers market/relocation of farmers market 3  Close Ali‘i Drive for pedestrian events  Historical celebration  Tree ordinance  Larger Kailua Village Special District  Update the 1994 Master Plan for Kailua-Kona In discussing the third topic, Challenges to those Big Ideas, Director Yee said that he could not ask for more money because of the County’s budget deficit, but that if he could get the ordinance changed so that the Department of Parks and Recreation could open up the gate to the Hale Halawai parking lot and collect fees, there would be funds available to do some study for community purposes. He said that he would like a parking and traffic study done, because his question was whether or not the County parking lot could be converted to a structure that would allow more parking. He said that in the absence of a stick, or enforcement ability, the additional parking could be the carrot that would entice KVBID to take on enforcement on signage and other things and get the community to play by the rules. He spoke of his work experience in revitalization of Seattle Chinatown International District, and said that part of his work was to show the community that even though some of them were doing okay, as a whole they were not thriving. He continued to say that what was best for a community was for the community to thrive as a whole. He also spoke about his involvement in development and preservation of Pike Place Market in Seattle, and said that its multi-story parking structure was a huge asset to the neighborhood. In making reference to one of the Big Ideas to purchase Uncle Billy’s Kona Inn, Director Yee said that although it might be difficult, it was a great idea. He said that what could be done was give the landowner a different vision and different legacy to leave behind before somebody else put their vision in front of them; the worst thing we could do would be to wait for them to sell it to a developer and wait for their application to build something along the shoreline that would keep everybody out. He said that there were grants available that would make design charrettes, competition, and that type of work possible. He added that he would suspect that the Kailua Village would be something that people would be interested in and fund for. In reference to the historical aspect of the Kailua Village, Director Yee talked about his vision of the Village becoming a historical sacred place. He said for example The Fish Hopper Seafood and Steaks restaurant on Ali‘i Drive could display plaques of historical photos and stories, and that could be done throughout the Village. He further said that there was money out there to do this type of project, if we were to work in a partnership. Director Yee expanded on his work experience with the Seattle Chinatown community during the downturn economy, and said that he had come up with the idea of a design center, which was eventually called an IDEA Space, to assist landlords by creating four labs: 1) Real Estate, which helped property owners with their building renovation process; 2) Design, which dealt with structural design and signage; 3) Public Safety, which systematically addressed and enforced homeless issues, and 4) Small Business, which helped small businesses from business plans to marketing. He said that the idea was to put forth something positive and not react to the speculative development and gentrification that was happening. He said that regardless of who the newcomers were, what was going to protect the neighborhood was to make sure that they understood the neighborhood and its values. He continued to say that that would be very important to the Kailua Village as well, and that it would be important to recognize the values of the Village that the community was trying to 4 strengthen, and also to help people to be active about it. He added that he was currently having internal discussions about expanding the idea of a design center throughout the island to make it a resource to the communities as a place to bring out that proactive visioning. Director Yee, acknowledging that the Commission had no funding, said that the Commissioners could help with the visioning and bring in the people who could aid the vision. He said that it had to be a vision put forth by the local residents who had deep roots in the community. Director Yee concluded his discussion by recognizing the Commissioners as the keepers and stewards of the Kailua Village, and thanked them for their ideas. OLD BUSINESS 1. Discussion on enforcement of the Sign Code within Kailua Village Special District. There was no discussion under this section of the agenda. 2. Review of draft letter regarding Sign Code enforcement to the Director of Public Works. A note of bullet points and a draft letter had been prepared by Commissioners Andreae and Kern, and distributed earlier for the Commission’s review. Commissioner Van Pernis said that the draft letter looked fine but with a couple of changes he would like to propose. He also suggested that the letter be addressed to all members of the County Council, the Mayor, all members of the Land Use Commission and the Planning Director. Commissioner Andreae opined that the letter should be addressed to the Director of Public Works and then be forwarded to the Planning Director and the County Council. Chair Dahlberg agreed and said that the letter should be addressed directly to the Director of Public Works since by this letter the Commission would be asking him or his representative to attend its future meeting to discuss the matter. He said, however, that it was a good idea to copy the Planning Director and all Councilmembers. He also clarified with Commissioner Van Pernis that he had meant the Planning Commission rather than the Land Use Commission, which the Chair noted was under the Planning Department anyway. Chair Dahlberg suggested that the letter specifically make reference to Resolutions 329 07 and 429 07 requesting the Director of Public Works to enforce the Sign Code and update the same, respectively, as noted in the bullet points. Commissioners Andreae and Van Pernis expressed their agreement. Commissioner Andreae, mentioning that she had thought that the Kailua Village was a historical district, corrected her first bullet point to read “Kailua Village Special District” instead of “Kailua Village Historical District.” Mr. Childs explained, with some examples, the process set by the State for a property to be recognized by the Hawai‘i Register of Historic Places. It was moved by Commissioner Van Pernis and seconded by Commissioner Sullenberger that the letter be finalized with the following revisions and be signed by all Commissioners at the next meeting: 5 1. Insert in a way that reads well the aforementioned two bullet points discussing Resolutions 329 07 and 429 07 after the first paragraph as a new second paragraph; and 2. Add new language at the end of what has now become the third paragraph to read, “A huge percentage of existing Kailua Village signs violate the Sign Code with no effort to comply.” Mr. Van Pernis said that the additional language was important because there seemed to be a misperception that existing signs were all approved. There being no further discussion, a roll call vote was taken and the motion carried with five ayes (Van Pernis, Sullenberger, Akina, Andreae and Au Hoy) and two absent and excused (Kern and Roth). Chair Dahlberg offered to finalize the letter accordingly and submit it to the staff prior to the next meeting. He said, however, that he would not be in attendance at the meeting. Mr. Childs suggested, and all Commissioners in attendance agreed, that the Chair submit the letter with his signature signifying his endorsement and entrust the other Commissioners with the task of either executing or further revising the letter at the next meeting. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS None. ANNOUNCEMENTS 1. Next meeting tentatively scheduled for February 21, 2017 Mr. Dunlap announced that the regularly scheduled meeting of February 21, 2017, tentatively had one design review application on the agenda. Copies of the application were distributed to the Commissioners in attendance. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, at 6:50 p.m., Chair Dahlberg declared the meeting adjourned. Respectfully submitted, Noriko Sauer, Secretary A T T E S T: Peter Dahlberg, Chairman Kailua Village Design Commission 6