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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2018-09-06 Hearing Transcript - Suisan Company SMA 06-11 Revoke SMA 172WINDWARD PLANNING COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAII HEARING TRANSCRIPT SEPTEMBER 6, 2018 A regularly advertised hearing on the requests of SUISAN COMPANY, LTD (AMEND SMA 06-000011 AND REVOKE SMA 172) was called to order at 9:02 a.m. in the County of Hawaii Aupuni Center Conference Room, 101 Pauahi Street, Hilo, Hawaii with Chairman Joseph Clarkson presiding. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Gilbert Aguinaldo, Joseph Clarkson, Donn Dela Cruz, Thomas Raffipiy, John Replogle. ABSENT & EXCUSED: Donald Ikeda. ALSO PRESENT: Michael Yee (Planning Director), Daryn Arai (Deputy Planning Director), Amy Self (Deputy Corporation Counsel to the Windward Planning Commission), Malia Ho Hall (Deputy Corporation Counsel for the Windward Planning Commission), Maija Jackson (Planner), Shancy Watanabe (Planner), Esther Imamura (Planner), Kim Tanaka (Secretary), and Sarah Hata-Finley (Commission Secretary). And 14 members from the public in attendance. APPLICANT: SUISAN COMPANY, LTD. (AMEND SMA 06-000011) Application to amend Special Management Area Use Permit No. 06-000011, which was issued in 2006 to allow the replacement of two existing warehouse buildings, an existing office/warehouse building, maintenance storage building and a chill box with two new warehouse buildings, a new office building, parking and related improvements on 1.43 acres of land identified as TMK (3) 2-1-006:039. The proposed amendment includes a time extension to comply with Condition No. 2 (Construction Timeline), amendment of Condition No. 13 (Administrative Time Extension), and the addition of two parcels to the permit area identified as TMK 2-1-006:021 and 088. The properties are located between Kalanianaole Street and Kamehameha Avenue, Waiakea, South Hilo, Hawaii, TMKs: (3) 2-1-006:021, 039 and 088. APPLICANT: SUISAN COMPANY, LTD. (REVOKE SMA 172) Request to revoke Special Management Area Use Permit No. 172, which was issued on December 18, 1981 to allow the construction of a freezer and cold storage facility and related improvements, including parking and landscaping on 2.04 acres of land in the Special Management Area. The property is located between Kalanianaole Street and Kamehameha Avenue, Waiakea, South Hilo, Hawaii, TMK: (3) 2-1-006:021. [Note: Item Nos. 1 and 2 were consolidated into one hearing.] EXHIBIT A CLARKSON: And, with that, we'll start with the first items on the agenda. We're going to consolidate the first two items into one presentation although we will have two votes because they are separate permits. And, with that, I'd like Shancy to begin her presentation, please. WATANABE: Aloha mai kakou. Good morning, everyone. Jeff apologizes he couldn't be here this morning. He is at an LUC meeting, and he's asked me to do his presentation. So, if you could turn your attention to the back, we have the presentation on the board there. The Applicant is Suisan Company, Ltd. This is for amendments to Special Management Area Use Permit No. 06-011 and revocation of SMA Use Permit No. 172. This is the location map. The three subject properties are outlined in black and are just between Kalanianaole Street and Kamehameha Avenue. Kamehameha Avenue runs in the east to west direction, and Kalanianaole is at a parallel to the coastline and intersects with Kamehameha Avenue. And, this is in the South Hilo District. The Applicant is requesting the following amendments to SMA Use Permit No. 06-011: A time extension to comply with Condition No. 2 which is for the construction timeline; an allowance for an additional administrative time extension which is Condition No. 13; and the inclusion of two adjoining parcels to the permit area which are identified as TMK Nos. 2-1-006:021 and 088. For SMA Use Permit No. 06-011, originally approved on June 2nd, 2006, to allow the renovation of the existing Suisan Company, Ltd. complex, the proposed project included the replacement of two existing warehouses, an existing office/warehouse building, a maintenance storage shed, and a chill box with two new warehouses, a new office building, parking and related improvements on Parcel 39. The Applicant is also requesting that SMA Use Permit No. 172 be revoked as SMA Use Permit No. 172 was approved on December 17, 1981, to allow for a freezer and storage facility and related improvements on Parcel 21. The Applicant is in the process of requesting that all properties within the Suisan complex be covered under one SMA Use Permit number which is SMA Use Permit No. 06-011. The reason for the request is that if an SMA amendment is needed for the Suisan complex, it would require one amendment to SMA Major Use Permit. For the original phasing plan, Phase I was for the warehouse renovation. The existing office and warehouse facilities were to be replaced by a warehouse of approximately 15,000 square feet known as Warehouse "E" to be constructed on the southern end on the Kamehameha Avenue side of the property. Warehouse "E" was meant to store an inventory of frozen and chilled products. Phase II for the warehouse renovation. Another existing warehouse was to be demolished and an approximately 5,600 -square foot warehouse known as Warehouse "F" was to be constructed on the southwestern portion of the property. Warehouse "F" was to be used to store an inventory of dry grocery and non-food products. EXHIBIT A 2 Phase III office building. An approximately 13,360 -square foot office building was to be constructed to replace the current office facility. This building, to be constructed on the southeastern portion of the property, would serve as the main office building for the business. The Applicant provided this site plan in the original plan which shows the Warehouse "E" towards the north part of the property, Warehouse "F" on the left side, and the new office building on the right side. For the new modified plan, Parcel 39, there would still be a new warehouse structure identified as Building "B" which is formerly Warehouse "E" in Phase I of the original plan. The new modified plan reflects a slightly smaller warehouse structure of 10,375 -square feet instead of the 15,000 square feet. There will also be a new single -story office structure consisting of about 3,600 square feet identified as Building "E" in the Applicant's Figure 5. The original plan called for a much larger 2 -story, 13,360 -square foot structure. On Parcel 88, an existing 5,255 -square foot warehouse would be expanded by an additional 2,500 square feet. These are identified as Buildings "D" and "D-1" in the new modified plan. As a result, the proposed 5,600 -square foot warehouse for which the variance was issued would be abandoned. However, in the event the lots cannot be consolidated, the Applicant would proceed with the new warehouse structure. And, on Parcel 21, as reflected in the new modified plan, the Applicant is also proposing some minor improvements to the existing warehouse fronting Kalaniana`ole Street such as a restroom addition, a will -call office, and similar improvements. The Applicant provided this site plan for the new modified plan. This is an aerial photo of the three properties, and this is a side-by-side view of the existing project on the right and the new modified plan on the left. This is the County zoning map. The subject properties are designated as Industrial. Parcel 21 is designated as ML -20. We would like to update the Background and Recommendation reports to reflect the correct zoning for that parcel. And, Parcel 088 and Parcel 039 are designated as MG - 1 a. Other zonings in the nearby area are Open shown in the green; Resort in the pinks; Commercial in the light pink on the left side; and Industrial -Commercial Mixed Use in the purple or the twilight color. This is the State Land Use Boundary Amendment map, excuse me, the State Land Use Boundary map which shows that the three properties are in the State Land Use Urban District, and that's shown in the pink. The State Land Use Conservation for the Ice Pond area is Conservation. This is the General Plan Land Use Pattern Allocation Guide Map. The subject properties are designated as Industrial with Resort shown in the pinks, Open in the green, and Medium Density Urban in the orange. EXHIBIT A 3 This is the Special Management Area or SMA map. The subject properties are within the SMA. This is a site photo of the existing road conditions looking towards the Keaukaha area on Kamehameha Avenue. This is a site photo looking directly towards Parcel 39. This site photo is showing the entrance to Parcel 39 on Kamehameha Avenue. This is a farther shot of the existing road conditions looking towards the Hamakua direction. This photo was taken on Kalaniana`ole Street looking towards Parcel 21's entrance. This is a closer view of the Suisan's vehicle parking area on Parcel 21. And, this is the existing road conditions on Kalaniana`ole Street looking towards Hilo. The Planning Director recommends approval of amendments to Special Management Area Use Permit No. 06-011 and the revocation of SMA Use Permit 172. This concludes my presentation. If you have any questions, I'd be happy to answer them now. CLARKSON: Any questions for staff from the Commission? RAFFIPIY: I have a question. Those two permits right now. Are they both Major? SMA Major? WATANABE: Yes, they are both Major permits. RAFFIPIY: So, it doesn't really matter if you combine them. Okay, that's good. Thank you. CLARKSON: Any other questions? Thank you. Will the Applicant or their representative please come forward? Please raise your right hands. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter before the Commission today? FUKE: Yes, I do. CLARKSON: Please proceed. FUKE: Good morning, Mr. Chairman, Members of the Commission. For the record, my name is Sidney Fuke. I'm a planning consultant. I'm here to assist the Applicant, Suisan Company, Ltd. My residence address is in Hilo, Hawaii. TAIRA: I am Harvey Taira, properties manager for Suisan Company. FUKE: The staff s report is as always on point. We have really very little to add. We've had a chance to review the proposed conditions, and the Applicant found them to be acceptable. In a nutshell, what it is, is that there were like multiple—the Suisan operation is basically is already there, and it currently operates on three parcels. So, there was at one point in time on one of the parcels fronting Kalaniana`ole Avenue, they had an SMA, Major SMA Permit issued for that, and they constructed a new warehouse, you know, in that area. Then, they issued another SMA permit on the properties fronting the airport side, you know, on Kamehameha Avenue side, and so, and there was this one intervening parcel that was all still EXHIBIT A 4 part of the Suisan complex that was kind of overlooked. And, so, in the discussions with the staff, we said like you know, wouldn't it be better to just consolidate all of the different SMA permits and then just have only one SMA Permit and so that's the reason for this application in addition to seeking the time extension. That's the story, so if there is any questions, then we'd be more than happy to answer. CLARKSON: Any questions from the Commission for the Applicant or their representative? If not, thank you very much. FUKE: Thank you. CLARKSON: We have no one signed up to testify on this matter. Please be seated. So, in that case, is there a motion for the closing of public testimony? DELA CRUZ: Move to close public testimony. REPLOGLE: Second. CLARKSON: All those in favor? COMMISSIONERS: Aye. CLARKSON: Opposed? Motion carried. Public testimony is closed. At this point, if there's no further discussion on the Commission of this matter, I'll need a motion for action on Agenda Item 1. RAFFIPIY: I'll make the motion, Mr. Chair. I move that the application to amend Special Management Area Use Permit No. 06-011 be approved based on the Planning Director's recommendation, findings, and proposed amended conditions which shall be adopted. DELA CRUZ: Second. CLARKSON: It's been moved by Commissioner Raffipiy and seconded by Commissioner Dela Cruz. Staff? WATANABE: Yes, Chair. CLARKSON: Would you please do the roll call? WATANABE: Absolutely. Commissioner Raffipiy? RAFFIPIY: Aye. WATANABE: Commissioner Dela Cruz? EXHIBIT A 5 DELA CRUZ: Aye. WATANABE: Commissioner Aguinaldo? AGUINALDO: Aye. WATANABE: Commissioner Replogle? REPLOGLE: Aye. WATANABE: And Chair Clarkson? CLARKSON: Aye. WATANABE: The motion carries five to zero. CLARKSON: And since we consolidated discussion of the first two items, I'd now need a motion for action on the second item on the agenda, the revocation of SMA 172. RAFFIPIY: Mr. Chair, I'm going to, I'll make a motion. I move that the request to revoke Special Management Area Use Permit No. 172 be approved based on the Planning Director's recommendation which shall be adopted. DELA CRUZ: Second. CLARKSON: It's been moved and seconded that action be taken on the revocation of [SMA] 172, that the recommendation of the Planning Director be approved. Is there any discussion, further discussion? If not, please take the roll call vote. WATANABE: Yes, Chair. Commissioner Raffipiy? RAFFIPIY: Aye. WATANABE: Commissioner Dela Cruz? DELA CRUZ: Aye. WATANABE: Commissioner Aguinaldo? AGUINALDO: Aye. WATANABE: Commissioner Replogle? REPLOGLE: Aye. WATANABE: And Chair Clarkson? EXHIBIT A 6 CLARKSON: Aye. WATANABE: The motion carries five to zero. CLARKSON: So, you will be informed of the, in writing, of the action of the Commission soon. Thank you. The discussion ended at 9:17 a.m. Respectfully submitted, Sarah Y. Hata-Finley, Secretary Windward Planning Commission EXHIBIT A 7