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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-06-21 KCDP Minutes FinalHarry Kim Mayor County of Hawaii PLANNING DEPARTMENT KONA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ACTION COMMITTEE Aupuni Center • 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3 • Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Phone (808) 961-8288 • Fax (808) 961-8742 Wednesday, lune 21, 2017 Meeting Minutes Michael Yee Director Daryn Arai Deputy Director CALL TO ORDER Vice -Chair Charles Young called the Kona Community Development Plan (Kona CDP) Action Committee (AC) to order at 2:08 p.m. in the West Hawaii Civic Center Council Chambers. KONA CDP AC MEMBER AND STAFF INTRODUCTION Action Committee members Present: Charles Young (Vice -Chair), Kari Kimura, Janice Palma- Glennie, Douglas Payne, and Arnold Rabin. Action Committee Members Absent -Excused: Barbara DeFranco (Chair), Hiram Rivera, Shirley David, and Shane Palacat-Nelsen. Planning Department Staff: Michael Yee, Planning Director, April Surprenant, Long Range Division Manager, Keola Childs, Kona CDP Planner, and COH Planners: Bethany Morrison, Heather Bartlett, Hans Santiago, Keiko Mercado, and Kevin Sullivan. Members of the public: Eight. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC REGARDING ITEMS ON AGENDA: Two people signed up to provide comment. Both chose to speak at the beginning of the meeting. 1. Ken Melrose, representing himself, testified on agenda item 1 and 2 [although agenda item 2 was later postponed for the next meeting]: Mr. Melrose said that the next General Plan should focus on infrastructure and [road] connectivity. He noted that there have been no new development of any scale since the CDP was adopted in 2008, said that the General Plan should focus on increasing the "inventory" of housing, and how to make it happen. He noted that some county agencies do not have "functional plans," citing Dept. of Water Supply as not having plans to provide water transmission systems to the sites where the CDP is encouraging development to occur. He said that the County needs to build at least segments of the dormant Kahalui to Keauhou (Ali'i) Parkway to provide badly needed additions to the Kailua-Keauhou road network in areas where other infrastructure is in place to accept development now. He suggested that an important tool for getting desirable development done in Kona would be through Hawai `i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer Page I coordination with other government agencies (in particular for water, wastewater, and environmental management). He stressed that in order for this to happen effectively we would have to incorporate this idea into the next General Plan update. In his testimony he used the example of Kamakana Villages as a project which due to the need for a new well, and expansion of the sewage treatment capacity has seen stifled development. He also briefly touched on the subject of open space and the concept of reinforcing the benefits of the vast open space set -asides already effectuated between Kailua and the Honokohau Transit Oriented Development (TOD) node by environmental preservation areas, national park, county regional park and Honokohau boat harbor. He advocated focusing on "the edges" of that expanse in planning for open space, rather than concentrating on "new ways of taking other people's land." 2. Kimberly Crawford, representing Hui Ola Ka Wai / Hui Kaloko-Honokohau, testified: Ms. Crawford introduced herself to the Action Committee as a Kia'i [watchperson] local for Kaloko-Honokohau, and an intern studying anchialine pools at the Palamanui — University of Hawaii campus. She expressed her concern for the state of the native ecosystem surrounding the anchialine pools. She cited an observation that higher salinity of the water is leading to an influx of invasive species of fish, jellyfish and damsel flies in the Kaloko-Honokohau area. She cautioned those present about the unsustainable practice of building new wells higher up the mountain in the event that water becomes scarce. She described this concept as stealing from our future resources. Ms. Crawford assured the Action Committee that she wasn't strictly against development (she described the importance of, for example, schools and hospitals) but stressed the unnecessarily large amount of resources that go towards the development of resorts and military facilities on the island. Ms. Crawford stated: "I think it's important that we take these precautionary measures now just to ensure smart development." ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS 1. Minutes of the May 17, 2017 Action Committee meeting. Committee member Douglas Payne moved to approve the minutes of the May 17, 2017 meeting as submitted. Second by Committee member Kari Kimura. The motion to approve the minutes as submitted passed with unanimous consent. Final minutes of the May 17, 2017 Action Committee meeting can be viewed and downloaded here: http://records.co.hawaii.hi.us/weblink/1/doc/88922/Pagel.aspx NEW BUSINESS: 1. General Plan Comprehensive Review: Ms. Morrison, Mr. Childs and other members from the Planning Departments Long Range Division provided the Action Committee an overview of scenario planning as it relates to the General Plan Comprehensive Review. The planning team introduced the Action Committee to CommunityViz software which is used as a planning tool to map various regions of the island and used scenario planning to explore the Kona CDP planning area. Action Committee members and members of the public asked clarifying questions of the team and engaged in discussion. www.cohplannin,-dept.com plannin�ahawaiicounty.,-ov Page 2 The Planning Department staff began their presentation with a discussion of the waste- water system capacity and how this gets measured and recorded in the CommunityViz software. A question was raised over whether or not the software accounts for additional hook-ups to an already established system. Planning Department staff replied that while the software does have the capability of estimating the cost of a linked versus a stand- alone system, those present should keep in mind that the program only offers an extremely rough estimate for budget. The software does not form the basis of planning recommendations without first doing an in-depth feasibility study. Former Action Committee member Ken Melrose brought up the Infrastructure Financing Plan which was completed in 2008 and suggested that as Planning Staff and Action Committee members look at the computer models being presented they should consider that many of the concepts that were being explored were already studied extensively in the past. He went on to say that perhaps even though a study done in 2008 may not be that relevant after this many years, it could still be a valuable information background for those interested. Committee Member Rabin questioned whether the software takes into consideration alternative means of waste disposal such as composting toilets or outhouses. The planning department staff replied by stating that the current software does not include that as a variable but took the information down for further consideration. The presentation then turned to talking about various roads within the district and what kind of information is available within the software to analyze those needs. Mr. Melrose informed that some of the potential roads in the CommunityViz model have already been addressed and shown to be currently unfeasible for various reasons. These included the proposed Hienaloli to Palani extension because of floodways. Additionally, existing rezoning conditions already require privately funded construction and dedication of the proposed Kamanu Street to Kealakehe Parkway extension. Palani Road was also commented upon in the context that the road should be widened, especially in the portion from Ane Keohokalole Highway up to where Keanalehu Drive is proposed to connect (as referenced in the Kona CDP). As a potential course of action for the Kona CDP Action Committee, Committee Member Rabin suggested that they look into the possibility of adding markers along the highway which state where each of the ahupua'a boundaries lie as a way to educate people on the Hawaiian land divisions. He also suggested providing proper parking spaces and street lights along roads where community events are often hosted and maintaining our roads by finding alternatives to pesticides. The presentation went on to talk about different mapping overlays that are available in the software, one of which is a walking mobility model which measures how far along a roadway the average person would be willing to walk to reach a destination. An issue was brought up that the software's mobility model does not take into account the slope of the ground which would be an important factor in a realistic scenario. The planning department staff agreed that this is an issue that should be taken into consideration in future conversations about realistic walking mobility models. www.cohylannin,-deyt.com plannin2Cahawahcounty.Qov Page 3 A concern was heard about the feasibility of using county funds to accomplish our planning goals for the region and what other options we have to produce funding. The idea was further elaborated that the target growth areas of the region could be potentially considered in the General Plan for "priority public funding" as an incentive to further develop in specified areas. Mr. Melrose brought up that another form of incentivizing development is the concept of Transfer of Development Rights (TDR) as a way to encourage growth in specific areas in the region. The consensus was that TDR should be an implementation tool included in the General Plan. The importance of observing and respecting natural ecosystems while planning out a TDR program was suggested as a priority measure. A community member noted the importance of both where development rights are being transferred as where they are being transferred to. Nancy Pisicchio made a reference to the CDP's Public Facilities Financing Plan which recommended that a TDR program be implemented. Planning Department staff requested the public provide suggestions on any additional topics to consider and how the Planning Team could improve these presentations in the future. Action Committee Member Kimura talked about accurately visualizing Kona's future as a whole to steer development towards a plan which meets the end goal of making the town a better place to live. Ms. Kimura wanted to encourage more use of mapping to develop a theoretical town plan that would include the earlier topics of discussion in the presentation (open -space greenways, transit oriented developments (TOD), the transfer of development rights, realistic walking distances, etc.) This point was reinforced with a reference by Mr. Melrose to the Honokohau TOD study which was done right after the CDP was adopted. Additional information on the General Plan Comprehensive Review, including resource documents can be found on the County of Hawaii Planning Department website: http://www.cohplanningdept.com/general- lan . The presentation slides that were displayed during this agenda item can be viewed and downloaded from the following website: http://records.co.hawaii.hi.us/weblink/1/doc/88541/Pagel.aspx 2. Open Space, Open Space Network Objectives, Formation of Subcommittee: Vice -Choir Chorles Young moved to defer this agenda item to the next Kona Action Committee meeting on July 19. Second by Committee memberJonice Polmo-Glennie. The motion passed with unanimous consent. [Janice Palma-Glennie then excused herself from the meeting] ANNOUNCEMENTS: 1. The next Kona CDP meeting is scheduled for Wednesday, July 19 , 2017 at the West Hawaii Civic Center - Building E, Planning Department Conference Room ADJOURNMENT: Vice -Chair Charles Young adjourned the meeting at 4:47pm. All Action Committee information can be viewed and downloaded from our website: http://www.hawaiicountvcdp.info/nor-th-and-south-kona-cdp www.cohylannin,-deyt.com Plannin2Cahawaiicounty.Qov Page 4