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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-02-21 Kailua Village Design Commission Minutes KAILUA VILLAGE DESIGN COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I MINUTES Meeting Date: February 21, 2017 Time: 5:45 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: Shaun Roth, Theresa Andreae, Fanny Au Hoy, Ann Kern and Zon Sullenberger Absent and Excused: Alvin Akina, Jr., Peter Dahlberg and Mark Van Pernis Planning Department: Terry Dunlap (Planner), Keola Childs (Planner) and Noriko Sauer (Commission Secretary) Applicants/Representatives: John Hetherington, Abraham Kim, Eric Kim and Min Shin Public: None At 5:45 p.m., a quorum was present. In the absence of Chairman Dahlberg, Vice Chairman Roth called the meeting to order. The Commissioners introduced themselves. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes of the Meeting of February 7, 2017 Vice Chairman Roth asked if there were any corrections to the minutes. No corrections were offered. The Vice Chairman 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. New 5418 sq. ft. restaurant located in the interior of existing Kamehameha Mall; 2572 sq. ft. exterior patio area and new storage area within area enclosed by a new 4’-0” high painted wood slat fence, replacing existing 6’-0” high fence. Repainting of the Kamehameha Mall and K’s House. Applicant: Kim Kang LLC, dba K’s House Landowner: Lanihau Properties LLC TMK: (3) 7-5-005: 005 Location: 75-5626 Kuakini Highway, Kailua-Kona 1 Mr. Dunlap displayed site photographs to familiarize the Commissioners with the subject property, and described the proposed project. Mr. John Hetherington, the architect for the project, introduced himself, and said he was representing Mr. Eric Kim, one of the partners of the applicant, who was also in attendance. He also introduced Mr. Abraham Kim who was representing JKV Kona LLC, which had recently purchased the subject building. Mr. Hetherington said that the new owner was planning a lot of capital improvements, as the building had been built in 1970’s. Mr. Hetherington said that one of the capital improvements would be repainting of the entire exterior, which was presently included in the application. He displayed color samples of “Sleigh Bells” and “Webster Green” for the siding and the primary trim, respectively, which he said were either from or similar to the Benjamin Moore Historic Color Collection recommended for the Kailua Village. Also displayed was a color sample of “Nova Scotia Blue”; he said that it might appear bolder than what was typically used in the Kailua Village, but that it would only be for the window trim of K’s House for branding, as sky blues and light blues would be used for the interior of the restaurant. He said that the patio fencing, which would be stained redwood, would be brought down lower to make the dining activities more visible and create a welcoming atmosphere. He added that movable umbrellas would replace the existing trellises in the outdoor area. Speaking to the flat roof of the proposed storage area behind the patio, Mr. Hetherington acknowledged that flat rooflines were typically discouraged in the Kailua Village; he said, however, that since most of the storage area would be underneath the existing roof above, only the fascia would be visible from Kuakini Highway. Mr. Hetherington also explained the floor plan of K’s House, and said that the restrooms were designed to be accessible from both the restaurant dining area and the outdoor patio, as the bar and the patio would stay open later at night than the restaurant. Commissioner Au Hoy asked whether the restrooms would satisfy the need of all the businesses and customers in the mall. Mr. Hetherington clarified that the restrooms in question were not intended to serve the entire mall, and that some businesses, such as the Chinese restaurant, had their own restrooms. He further clarified that even though there was a correlation between the two, the proposal before the Commission was specific to K’s House and separate from renovations of the entire mall. He agreed, however, that the existing restroom facility at the upper floor was outmoded, and said that the need would be addressed. In response to Commissioner Andreae’s question regarding access to the restaurant, Mr. Hetherington said that customers could enter from inside the mall or from the back parking area through the patio. Commissioner Andreae asked whether there was any possibility of providing a second driveway onto Kuakini Highway. Mr. Hetherington responded that he had already received disapproval from the authority. He explained that because of the close proximity to the Kuakini Highway-Palani Road intersection, no more driveway connections to Kuakini Highway were permitted. In response to the Commissioners’ questions regarding their landscaping plan, Mr. Hetherington said that they did not have a landscape designer on board for this particular project, and that their intention was to carry over the existing scheme, which was to have foliage about four-foot high with some palm trees. Commissioner Au Hoy recommended trees with a large canopy in place of palm trees to 2 provide additional shade. Mr. Hetherington responded in agreement, and said that that would echo canopy trees across the street and create a feel of shade-corridor. Vice Chairman Roth asked about outdoor lighting. Mr. Hetherington responded that there would be no landscape lighting, that they intended to utilize the existing fixture under the eaves, and that they would comply with the lighting code. He noted that they were proposing to place some traditional style, bronze color streetlamps in the fenced patio area, which would be down lighting and would not be glaring. This information was not included in the application package that had been submitted to the Commission earlier, but Mr. Hetherington was able to show it on his presentation drawings. The Commissioners gave positive feedback on the streetlamp design. Mr. Eric Kim commented that although their intention was to make it a family style restaurant and not a sports bar, there would be television screens for patrons. Commissioner Andreae advised the applicant that the television screens be positioned so as not to distract motorists on Kuakini Highway. Mr. Kim responded in agreement. Mr. Hetherington mentioned that as part of their long-term property improvement his clients were in the process of acquiring the former County pump house, which parcel was contiguous to the subject property, and that their plan was to turn it into a walk-up food vendor. Mr. Abraham Kim introduced himself, and said that he had lived in Kona for a few years, and among all places he had been to, he considered Kona to be his home. He spoke of a book he had read, “Lost Kingdom” by Julia Flynn Siler, which talked about kōlea that came to Hawai‘i every winter season and took everything away when it was time to leave; he said that he did not want to be like the bird, and that he wanted to put some roots down and contribute his effort toward building a better community. He said that he and his affiliates appreciated the Commissioners’ opinions, as they were learning the process and wanted to carry through with their plan the right way. He concluded by saying that the proposed project would be a great addition to the Kona community. It was moved by Commissioner Andreae and seconded by Commissioner Sullenberger that the Commission forward to the Planning Director a recommendation for approval of the proposed project, with a specific recommendation to provide shade trees along Kuakini Highway. Vice Chairman Roth said that while signage was not part of the proposal at this time, he wished to inform the representatives that the Commission had been trying to address and improve the signage situation in the Kailua Village. He suggested that they think of their signage plan comprehensively for the entire mall just as they had planned improvements for the whole building. There being no further discussion on the motion, a roll call vote was taken and the motion carried with five ayes (Andreae, Sullenberger, Au Hoy, Kern and Roth) and three absent and excused (Akina, Dahlberg and Van Pernis). OLD BUSINESS 2. Discussion on enforcement of the Sign Code within Kailua Village Special District. Vice Chairman Roth suggested that the Commission postpone finalizing its letter to the Director of the Department of Public Works regarding enforcement of the Sign Code, for the reason that there 3 were only five members in attendance. He said that he would like more Commissioners to participate in this important discussion. It was moved by Commissioner Kern and seconded by Commissioner Sullenberger that the Commission postpone finalizing the letter until next available meeting. The motion was unanimously carried by a voice vote of all Commissioners in attendance. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS None. ANNOUNCEMENTS Next meeting tentatively scheduled for March 7, 2017 Mr. Dunlap announced that there were no applications to be agendized for the March 7, 2017, meeting; therefore, the meeting was cancelled. He said that the following scheduled date was March 21, 2017. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, it was moved by Commissioner Sullenberger and seconded by Commissioner Kern that the meeting be adjourned. The motion was unanimously carried by a voice vote of all Commissioners in attendance. Vice Chairman Roth adjourned the meeting at 6:32 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Noriko Sauer, Secretary A T T E S T: Shaun Roth, Vice Chairman Kailua Village Design Commission 4