HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-08-13.PCDP.ACMinutes.DRAFTHarry Kim
Mayor
County of Hawaii
PLANNING DEPARTMENT
PUNA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ACTION COMMITTEE
Aupuni Center • 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3 • Hilo, Hawaii 96720
Phone (808) 961-8288 • Fax (808) 961-8742
1 Monday, August 13, 2018
2 Draft Meeting Minutes
Michael Yee
Director
Daryn Arai
Deputy Director
3
4 CALL TO ORDER
5 Chair Larry Brown called the Puna Community Development Plan (PCDP) Action Committee (AC) to
6 order at 5:01 p.m. in the Pahoa Neighborhood Facility.
7 ROLL CALL
8 Action Committee Members Present: Larry Brown (Chair), Leila Kealoha (Vice), Michael Bernard,
9 Frances Brewer, Dan Domizio, Mark Hinshaw, Brent Norris, Susan Osborne
10 Action Committee Members Absent -Excused: Yumi Kawano
11 Staff: Michael Yee, Planning Director; April Surprenant, Long Range Division Manager; CoH Planners -
12 Keiko Mercado and Eric Cook
13 Members of the public: 18
14 ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA: NONE
15 ANNOUNCEMENTS:
16 1. Committee Member, Mark Hinshaw, thanked Strato's New York Pizzeria and Kaleo's Restaurant
17 for providing food for the meeting.
18 PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS:
19 1. Community member, John Olson, provided testimony on business item #1.
20 Mr. Olson stated that he did not believe the County had a good plan for disaster response
21 when the eruption event occurred and that the County needs to create a better disaster
22 response plan for the next time an eruption event occurs.
23 APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
24 Committee Member Susan Osborne moved to approve the minutes of the July 5, 2018, meeting as
25 submitted. Second by Committee Member Dan Domizio. The motion to approve the minutes as
26 submitted passed with 8 votes aye, 0 votes nay.
27 BUSINESS:
28 1. Kilauea Eruption Recovery Efforts: Planning Department Staff gave a presentation with an
29 update on recovery efforts and an overview of the proposed legislative package. Ms. Mercado
30 provided a brief overview of the content of the presentation.
31 Planning Director Yee provided an overview of the impacts caused by the eruption event
32 including homes destroyed, jobs lost, destroyed or inaccessible parcels of land, and economic
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33 loss. He outlined the continued response and recovery efforts including sources of aid and
34 funding from State programs, presidential declaration of emergency, FEMA, SBA and many
35 others. Mr. Yee explained the structure of the response efforts, and clarified that there are
36 multiple task forces focusing on different areas of recovery including housing, tourism, and
37 businesses.
38 Director Yee explained that the recovery need is much greater than the County can handle
39 alone so the County is currently collaborating with the necessary entities to address the full
40 recovery need. He explained that State, Federal, County and Nonprofit funding are each a piece
41 of the entire recovery funding pool.
42 Director Yee addressed the special state legislative ask stating that the recovery team is
43 working on evaluating the total need for recovery funding. He explained the 6 recovery support
44 functions that would be managed under a redevelopment agency. These recovery support
45 functions include community planning, natural and cultural resources, economic development,
46 housing, health and social services, and infrastructure. He explained that the county is seeking
47 to fund a redevelopment agency though the state legislative ask and outlined the need for said
48 redevelopment agency. Director Yee talked through the 6 recovery support functions, what
49 actions for each function are currently in progress, and the desired long term outcomes.
50 Committee Member Domizio asked what would be mitigated with the mitigation grant.
51 Director Yee replied that those funds would be used to prevent the possible risk of further
52 losses.
53 Director Yee stated that one of the first priorities is to get people out of the shelters and into
54 more permanent housing situations. He outlined the case management system being utilized to
55 track displaced persons and help them find housing. County of Hawai'i Department of Research
56 and Development is also working on establishing a lava viewing area and securing grant money
57 to help with economic recovery and business development.
58 He ended the presentation by outlining the next steps in the recovery process which included:
59 finalization of the legislative package and the request for a special legislative session; further
60 analysis of the different funding mechanisms and possible splits; a draft resolution for a
61 redevelopment agency; and working with County Council and State Legislature on
62 policy/statute amendments as needed.
63 Following the presentation Director Yee opened the discussion to the Action Committee for
64 questions. The following questions were asked and answered during this portion of the
65 meeting:
66 Q: Will there be a new redevelopment agency formed separate from the existing one that the
67 County currently has or will they be combined?
68 A: There is chance that there will be two separate redevelopment agencies unless there is a
69 stipulation set forth that the County can only have one at a time, in which case the two would
70 be melded and managed as one agency.
71 Q: Does redevelopment include Puna Geothermal Venture?
72 A: No, it does not.
73
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74 Q: Is there a possibility of Puna Geothermal Venture reopening?
75 A: The owner still holds permits to operate and may continue to utilize those permits if they so
76 choose.
77 Q: Are agencies other than Planning involved with and working on recovery efforts?
78 A: There is a recovery team that consists of staff from several County agencies including but not
79 limited to Planning, Research and Development, Corporation Counsel, and the Mayor's Office.
80 Q: Is there a level of priority set for different aspects such as housing, infrastructure, etc.?
81 A: The need for recovery has not been presented in the legislative ask as a prioritized list, but
82 rather a comprehensive list of all the recovery needs.
83 Q: Why would the County create a new subdivision rather than spend the money to infill
84 existing subdivisions?
85 A: Building a new subdivision is an idea that is on the table but it is not the most favored
86 option.
87 Q: Will the County receive a lump sum of funding or will the State decide how funds are
88 allocated and where?
89 [This answer below was not provided during the meeting but is being included in the meeting minutes to provide clarity]
90 A: It is too soon to know how the funding will be distributed because it is still unknown what
91 funding the County would receive.
92 Q: Has the recovery team taken into consideration the creation of village and town centers?
93 A: Yes, there has been consideration for providing some infrastructure to key strategic areas,
94 but the appropriate locations still need to be determined.
95 Q: Who decides if progress moves forward or comes to a halt on the Pahoa Regional Town
96 Center Master Plan?
97 A: The Pahoa Regional Town Center Master Plan was paused when the eruption event began.
98 Recently there has been more interest in moving forward on the Pahoa plan. The Pahoa plan is
99 being considered but there are no guarantees that the plan will move forward currently.
100 Q: Is the County hiring a recovery consultant and will it be an internal or external position and
101 does the position already exist?
102 A: There may not be a need for a recovery consultant if a redevelopment agency is formed. It
103 would take a while to get the redevelopment agency going if one is formed so a recovery
104 consultant could assist during the time that the redevelopment agency is coming together.
105 Q: How long will it take to establish a redevelopment agency?
106 A: It would ideally take about 4-6 months to establish a redevelopment agency.
107 Q: Is it possible that the redevelopment agency could also manage the Pahoa Master Plan?
108 A: Yes, it is a possible option for the redevelopment agency to manage the Pahoa Master Plan.
109 At this time, Chair Brown opened the question and answer session up to the members of the
110 public.
111 Q: Will the community be involved in the creation of the redevelopment agency, and will the
112 community get to vote on who sits on the redevelopment agency.
113 A: Community input will be taken into consideration, but the public will not be able to vote on
114 who will sit as members on the redevelopment agency.
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115 Q: Can we get preapproved building plans for tiny homes, like the ones that are being used for
116 transitional housing currently, so that we can begin building them as a source for transitional
117 housing for those displaced by the eruption event?
118 A: Tiny homes are already allowed with the current zoning and permitting guidelines. The tiny
119 homes are required to have sewer, water, and kitchen hook-ups which the temporary units
120 currently being used do not. The plans for these units will not be permitted for the public to get
121 as they are intended to be temporary and will no longer be in use after they have served their
122 purpose. Having multiple tiny homes on one parcel is also not an option because then it would
123 technically qualify as a subdivision. It was also clarified that the Planning Department has code
124 to allow for mobile homes, but the Department of Public Works does not have code to allow
125 for mobile homes.
126 Q: Is the County planning to abandon the existing subdivisions?
127 A: The County cannot just abandon subdivisions but the County can choose not to invest
128 additional infrastructure in existing subdivisions. The County is considering every option when
129 it comes to recovery planning.
130 Q: Many people from Puna have had to relocate to other districts. Has there been any
131 consideration for expanding infrastructure in the districts where people have relocated?
132 A: The data is still being collected through FEMA and the Office of Housing to assess and
133 evaluate the relocation needs of evacuees to determine where to best spend resources and
134 improve infrastructure.
135 Q: Many people in Pahoa are calling for a lava viewing area as soon as possible. What is the
136 County's opinion on the creation of a lava viewing area in Pahoa?
137 A: The Department of Research and Development has been tasked with assessing the options
138 for lava viewing sites, and have been working on potential sites. An initial site was chosen but
139 then later rejected. The search continues for a suitable and safe location for a lava viewing site.
140 Q: What specific jobs were lost that were included in the 900 reported jobs lost?
141 A: The job losses were self-reported and we do not have accurate data on what specific jobs
142 were lost at this point in time.
143 Q: Who determines when the public will be allowed access to Pohoiki Beach again?
144 A: The Mayor has the final call over decisions of that type.
145 Q: How can we make it possible for people to live in mobile homes?
146 A: There will not be any way to have a permitted mobile home until the Department of Public
147 Works decides they want to move forward on mobile homes and make some code
148 amendments to make that possible.
149 This concluded the question and answer portion of the meeting. Use the following link to view
150 the presentation in its entirety:
151 http://records.hawaiicounty.gov/weblink/DocView.aspx?dbid=1&id=95806&page=1
152 Due to September 41h immediately following a long holiday weekend, Chair Brown suggested
153 that the next Puna CDP Action Committee meeting be moved from September 41h to
154 September 111H
155 Without objection from the Action Committee, the next Puna CDP Action Committee meeting
156 was rescheduled from September 41h to September 111".
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157 AGENDA FOR NEXT MEETING: (September 11, 2018)
158 1. Continued update on recovery efforts.
159 2. Increasing the reach into the community and getting the public more involved in the CDP
160 process. [Committee Member Brent Norris]
161 3. Discussion of economic and health care opportunities through hemp and medical use cannabis.
162 [Committee Member Brent Norris]
163 4. Update on the CERS subcommittee.
164 ADJOURNMENT: Chair Brown adjourned the meeting at 6:41 p.m.
165 All Action Committee information can be viewed and downloaded from our website:
166 http://www.hawaiicountycdp.info/puna-cdp/implementation/puna-cdp-action-committee
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