HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-03-19 NKCDP Minutes FinalHarry Kim
Mayor
County of Hawaii
PLANNING DEPARTMENT
Michael Yee
Director
Daryn Arai
Deputy Director
NORTH KOHALA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ACTION COMMITTEE
Aupuni Center • 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3 • Hilo, Hawaii 96720
Phone (808) 961-8288 • Fax (808) 961-8742
Monday, March 19, 2018
Meeting Minutes
CALL TO ORDER
Chair, Steve Hoffmann, called the North Kohala Community Development Plan (NKCDP) Action
Committee (AC) to order at 5:00 P.M. in the Hisaoka Gym Conference Room.
ROLL CALL
Action Committee Members Present: Steve Hoffmann, Keone Emeliano, Jeff Coakley, Jack Hoyt, Jack
Olson, Beverly Blake, Richard Elliot
Action Committee Members Absent -Excused: Lehua Ah Sam, Benjamin Ney
Staff: CoH Planners: LeAna Gloor, Keiko Mercado, and Eric Cook.
Members of the public: 9 Members of the public were in attendance.
ADDITIONS TO THE AGENDA: None.
ANNOUNCEMENTS:
PUBLIC COMMENT ON AGENDA ITEMS:
There was no testimony given from members of the public.
APPROVAL OF MINUTES:
Committee Member Jack Hoyt moved to approve the minutes of the January 8, 2018 meeting, as
submitted. Second by Committee Member Jeff Coakley. The motion to approve the minutes as
submitted passed with 6 votes aye, 0 votes nay. (Committee member Blake was absent during the time
of the vote).
REPORTS AND OTHER PRESENTATIONS:
Community Partner Group Reports:
Comm. No. 2018-09 North Kohala CommunitV Access Group Report: Group member, Toni
Withington presented a summary of the January and February meetings for the group, as well
as recent progress. Ms. Withington stated that the group had put in a CIP request for
maintenance work on the Pololu trail and lookout. The group is also working on efforts to get
an additional parking area at the Pololu Lookout.
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She announced that the county purchase of the Hapu'u land has been in escrow, but should be
finished in the near future. The group still has three public access easement projects in the
works. Ms. Withington stated that the group had made an effort to purchase the Hono'ipu land
from Parker Ranch but the property has been sold to a new private owner.
The group has nominated several parcels to PONC. Committee Member Coakley inquired about
the status of the potential parking lot at the Pololu lookout. Ms. Withington responded that the
parking lot initiative has come to a halt at this point. Committee Member Coakley also inquired
about natural resource protection in relation to the newly established shoreline access
easements. Ms. Withington answered that the maintenance fund is %% of the property taxes
collected, and is intended to provide for the stewardship and maintenance of the parcels
purchased by the County.
Chair Hoffmann asked who manages and administers the maintenance funds for such projects,
and if will there be enough funding to continue to maintain these properties. Ms. Withington
replied that currently there is about 6 million in the fund, but that she cannot be certain of
future funding.
Please see the group reports below for further details regarding shoreline access and PONC
submissions.
Comm. No. 2018-09: http://records.hawaiicounty.gov/Weblink/1/doc/92283/Pagel.aspx
Comm. No. 2018-10 Parks, Water, Roads Group Report: Group member, John Winter, provided
a summary of the February Parks, Water, Roads Group meeting as well as recent progress. Mr.
Winter stated that the group had discussed various issues regarding Pololu and that it is at the
top of the CIP list and the group is currently waiting to see if the CIP list will be approved in July.
He announced that if it is approved, the group will hold another public meeting to discuss the
issues at Pololu. The group is looking into ways to acquire the mauka land from the highway for
a potential parking lot. Mr. Winter stated that no action will be taken on securing or
implementing the parking lot without first consulting with the public and listening to the
opinions of the community.
The group reported that it gave a presentation before the Farmer's Union at the recent
agricultural water study meeting regarding the water report produced by the NKCDP
subcommittee a couple of years ago. Additionally group member Lisa Andrews met with the
Friends of the Park, and one of the main issues discussed at that meeting was safety of the
existing infrastructure.
Comm. No. 2018-10: http://records.hawaiicounty.gov/Weblink/1/doc/92326/Pagel.aspx
Comm. No. 2018-13 & 2018-14 Growth Management Group Report and Work Plan: Group
member, Richard Elliot provided a summary of the February and March Growth Management
Group meetings. The group reported that issues involving signage and the potential of creating
design guidelines for the North Kohala community were topics of discussion at the meetings.
The group also discussed their goals and working plan for 2018. The group announced it would
be reviewing permits regarding subdivision.
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Comm. No. 2018-13: http://records.hawaiicounty.gov/Weblink/1/doc/92349/Pagel.aspx
Comm. No. 2018-14: http://records.hawaiicounty.gov/Weblink/1/doc/92352/Pagel.aspx
BUSINESS:
1. Comm. No. 2018-07 and 2018-15 Review and Discussion of Progress Reports:
Chair Hoffmann introduced the progress report written by former chair, John Winter, as well as
the progress report prepared by Planning Department staff. Chair Hoffmann opened a
discussion regarding the goals of each community group as well as the community as a whole.
Mr. Hoffmann announced to the Action Committee members that he would like for each
community group to have an Action Committee member as the liaison for the group.
Former Chair, John Winter, presented a summary of the progress report that he put together
for the Action Committee, providing an overview of the actions taken by the Action Committee
during 2017.
Chair Hoffmann requested that a member from each of the groups provide an overview of
what priorities each group had as well as what their future goals and priorities are for the
group.
John Winter provided an overview and 2018 priorities for the Parks, Water, and Roads Group.
Mr. Winter stated that the group is prioritizing park maintenance for Pololu. The group also
prioritized working on establishing Pratt Road as an emergency bypass as well as moving
forward on an Agricultural Water Program. Chair Hofmann discussed with members of the
community groups the general process they adhere to when communicating with various
County Agencies. The process of agendizing and writing letters and submitting to the Action
Committee and communicating with additional County Agencies was discussed.
The Action Committee also discussed the rationale behind converting the subcommittees to
community groups. The purpose was to make rules of operation easier for the groups as the
Sunshine Law does not adhere to them as a community group, whereas subcommittees must
abide by Sunshine Law.
Group member, Toni Withington provided an overview of progress and future priorities for the
North Kohala Community Access Group. Ms. Withington stated that the main priorities for the
group were preserving coastal trails and acquiring more coastal lands to establish shoreline
access easements.
Group Member, Richard Elliott, provided an overview of priorities for the Growth Management
Group. Mr. Elliott stated that the main priorities for the group moving forward are reviewing
land use permit applications, to act as a liaison to the Historical and Cultural Preservation
Group, and addressing public signage.
Group Member, Jack Hoyt, provided an overview of priorities for the Affordable Housing
Group. Mr. Hoyt stated that the main priorities for the group are acquiring more land to make
available for housing projects, developing pocket neighborhoods, and advocacy for affordable
housing in North Kohala. Tiny homes and cohousing were discussed options for affordable
housing. CDP Planner, LeAna Gloor provided some insight on permitting for cohousing
developments. Ms. Gloor suggested that applying for a P.U.D. (Planned Unit Development)
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rather than seeking to change the zoning may be an easier process to form an affordable
cohousing development.
Comm. No. 2018-07: http://records.hawaiicounty.gov/Weblink/1/doc/91643/Pagel.aspx
Comm. No. 2018-15: http://records.hawaiicounty.gov/Weblink/1/doc/92427/Pagel.aspx
2. Discussion of 2018 Action Committee Priorities: Chair Hoffmann asked the members of the
Action Committee to consider their preference as to which community group they would like to
participate in. He stated that he would then assign a Committee Member as a liaison for each
community group.
Planning staff, Keiko Mercado, presented a brief overview of the prioritization of actions and
objectives exercise, as it was used for the Puna Action Committee, to provide context for how
the exercise would be conducted for the North Kohala Action Committee.
Chair Hoffmann suggested to the Action Committee to hold off on the 2018/2019 prioritization
of actions and objectives exercise until after the May 21st meeting, to allow the new Action
Committee members to become more acquainted with the various topics and issues within the
CDP before prioritization takes place.
Committee Member Coakley proposed to get influential members of the community involved
in the CDP process that are not part of any particular group. Former Chair, John Winter, stated
that he had already compiled a list of such influential people within the community, and that he
would share that list with the Action Committee. Chair Hoffmann suggested that the liaison of
each community group could be tasked with involving and communicating with outside groups
who are working toward the same goals as the community groups.
Comm. No. 2018-16: http://records.hawaiicounty.gov/Weblink/1/doc/92468/Pagel.aspx
Comm. No. 2018-17: http://records.hawaiicounty.gov/Weblink/1/doc/92518/Pagel.aspx
AGENDA FOR NEXT MEETING: (May 21, 2018)
1. Organization of community groups.
ADJOURNMENT: Chair Hoffmann adjourned the meeting at 7:00 P.M.
All Action Committee information can be viewed and downloaded from our website:
http://www.hawaiicountvcdp.info/north-kohala-cdp
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