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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017-11-21 Kailua Village Design Commission Minutes KAILUA VILLAGE DESIGN COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I MINUTES Meeting Date: November 21, 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: Shaun Roth, Zon Sullenberger, Mark Van Pernis, Ann Kern and Jasmine Crusat Absent and Excused: Peter Dahlberg, Michaela Ikeuchi, John Hetherington and Bryant Ching Planning Department: Bennett Mark (Planning Program Manager), Deanne Bugado (Planner) and Terry Dunlap (Planner) County of Hawai‘i: Leinani Wessel (Legislative Assistant to Councilman Dru Kanuha) Applicants/Representatives: Linda Schatz, Matt Nakamoto, Stacy Armstrong, Lester Ng, Randall Monaghan, Colby Durnin and Thomas Reiter Public: Cameron Miculka A quorum was present, Vice Chairman Roth called the meeting to order at 5:15 p.m. and the commissioners introduced themselves. APPROVAL OF MINUTES Minutes of the Meeting of November 5, 2017 Vice Chairman Roth asked if there were any corrections to the minutes of the meeting of November 5, 2017, no corrections were offered, and the minutes were approved as circulated. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS There was no one from the public who wished to testify on any items on the agenda at this time. NEW BUSINESS The applicant is proposing a new commercial center, the Niumalu Market Center, located between Lanihau Center and Henry Street, makai of Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway, consisting of 185,650 gross leasable area within 14 buildings. The anchor tenant and six (6) surrounding buildings are all one story in height with some heights closer to two stories. These seven (7) buildings are all with flat roofs with no surrounding mansard roofing or other feature to hide the flat roofs. The remaining seven 1 (7) buildings include two (2) two-story structures with the balance as one-story structures. All of these seven (7) buildings include mansard roofing around all sides. These structures are primarily offices with one location for a series of gasoline pumps. The entire site includes 758 parking spaces. The mauka portion of the site is approximately 20-25 feet lower than Queen Ka‘ahumanu Highway and as the site extends makai, it eventually drops in elevation below the existing elevation of Alahou Street. The site is accessible from Henry Street (current inactive mauka traffic signal) and from the road that currently extends beyond Alahou Street to Lanihau Center. Landscaping Plan indicates significant planting around and within the proposed center. Applicant: Sentinel Development Landowner: PRII Westwood Lanihau Expansion LLC TMK: (3) 7-5-004: 007 Location: Street Address has not been assigned The Commission took up this item at 5:20 p.m. Mr. Dunlap displayed some site photographs, and gave a PowerPoint presentation of the applicant’s submittal. The team that presented the project consisted of: Mr. Colby Durnin, CEO of Sentinel Development, provided an overall concept of the development, stated that the development was geared for the pedestrian and let it slip out that the corner store would be Safeway, Lester Ng, project architect, Architects Hawaii LTD, presented the drawings and discussed the concepts of the design and Randall Monaghan, Monaghan Landscape Architects, presented the landscaping plan in detail to the Commissioners. Commissioner Van Pernis requested clarification for the rock walls being planned for the development since the location, types of rock walls and heights were not indicated on the drawings and part of the presentation indicated that the rock walls were to reflect the kuaiwi of the Kona Field System. Mr. Ng confirmed that there would be rock walls both retaining and decorative but that they were still in the design stage since not all of the land study reports have been completed. Randall Monaghan, Monaghan Landscape Architects, also confirmed that the rock wall system for the develop would reflect the kuaiwi of the Kona Field System the placement of necessary rock walls for this development along with some additional walls with decorative or practical use. Commissioner Van Pernis stated that the Commission needed the specifics of the rock walls in the submitted plans so the Commission can evaluate the proposed locations and the visual impacts of the rock walls to the community. Commissioner Sullenberger also articulated concerns about the retaining rock walls as well. He also noted the importance of the Commission having fully detailed plans before they can recommend approval on any project. He also noted that the articulation on the wall is bland and the flat roofs on the large structures are a problem as the flat roofs are inconsistent with Kailua- Kona Master Plan. Commissioner Sullenberger said that the developer should consider Mansard roofing around the building perimeter. 2 Commissioner Roth stated that the goals for architectural designs and public spaces, listed in the written presentation are appropriate, however, these goals are not carried out in the design. The project is mostly inward facing and does not take into consideration the goal of connecting to the residents of Kailua-Kona. The design does not meet the spirit of the “Kona Way of Life”. The project does not seem like a village since the scale in out of proportion in that the entrances are too large and not of human scale. Also, the two (2) story buildings do not indicate any roof overhang and the smaller buildings are out of scale with their large roofs. At this time Commissioner Roth read a letter from Commissioner John Hetherington with comments concerning this submittal into record. Commissioner Hetherington’s greatest concern was the flat roofs on the largest buildings with no visible roofing such as mansards around the perimeter of the flat roofing. This is not consistent with the Kailua-Kona Master Plan from 1994. Commissioner Van Pernis moved to accept the letter into record and Commissioner Sullenberger seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous by the Commission. .A copy of Commissioner Hetherington’s letter is attached to these minutes. Commissioner Crusat commented that there were no plans/designs for the proposed lighting for the project and also expressed concern of how the proposed plans are geared to the pedestrian. Commissioner Sullenberger also asked for clarification on the status of the project and questioned the location and space or square footage of the gathering tower as a place to have functions – he also expressed concern over the lack of plans/design elements for back of the buildings that face roadways/walkways/pedestrians. He also expressed that he would like to see more articulation of the plans towards being a village center. Commissioner Roth also commented of this lack of integration of these plans with the rest of the village – a specific point made was that the project let the letter and function of the requirements but not the spirit. Mr. Ng, architect, indicated that the trellis was to help break up the large scale of the buildings, but are not continuous along the walkway. Commissioner Roth said this is also a problem as the scale of the large building continues to dominate the pedestrian walkway where the trellis is missing Linda Schatz commented that they are trying to balance the design and function with budgetary restraints. Commissioner Kern said that the design criteria stated in the drawings shows good intentions, however, the design does not show execution of these criteria. Commissioner Kern further stated that she sees the research that was made into the Kona District/Area but that the plans need to reflect this better. Commissioner Roth also noted that the spaces as designed are not effective for public use. Also the bus stop is not safe since it is proposed adjacent to the large gasoline filling facility location. Commissioner Van Pernis also expressed concern over the location of the bus stop and the gas station. 3 Commissioner Van Pernis moved to defer for the applicant to submit a more detailed proposal which addressed all comments and concerns discussed and the commission would consider forthwith the resubmittal. Commissioner Crusat seconded the motion and the vote was unanimous by the Commission. ADMINISTRATIVE MATTERS Schedules for next year’s meeting dates for meetings of the KVDC were handed out to the Commissioners by Terry Dunlap. The Commissioners requested that discussion concerning the possible update of the Kailua-Kona Master Plan, 1994, be discussed at the next meeting and that the relationship of how this master plan will be coordinated with the Kona Community Development Plan. Terry Dunlap, planner, offered to request staff from the Department’s Long Range Division to attend the next meeting, if possible, to respond to these questions. Also a request that an outline be created to identify what the CDP does and what the Kona Master Plan does to encourage discussion. The discussion may include the formation of a subcommittee to address/follow-up on discussion items. ANNOUNCEMENTS Next meeting is scheduled for December 5, 2017. ADJOURNMENT There being no further business, Vice Chairman Roth adjourned the meeting at 6:45 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Terry Dunlap, Planner A T T E S T Shaun Roth, Vice Chairman, Kailua Village Design Commission 4