Communication No. 2021-02- KOSN Subcommittee Meeting with Mayor and Planning Director

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Communication No. 2021-02 Minutes for Kona CDP AC's Open Space Network Investigatory Subcommittee Meeting with Mayor Roth and Planning Director Kern Time/Location: April 27th 2021, 10am to 11am, Kailua Kona Civic Center Mayor's Office Participants: County of Hawaii: Mayor Mitch Roth, Planning Director Zendo Kern, Deputy Managing Director Bobby Command, Planning Acting Deputy Manager April Surprenant, Communications Cyrus Johnasen Subcommittee Members: Kari Kimura, Janice Palma-Glennie, Shirley David, Lele Kimball, Mary Metcalf Introductions and Background: The meeting began with introductions and Mayor Roth expressing his excitement about the Open Space Network (OSN) effort in the Kona urban area, and the County vision to expand this island wide. Members of the Subcommittee shared a brief background of the vast and diverse community input that went into the Kona Community Development Plan (CDP). Smart growth, preserving open space and helping people travel around Kona without cars are high priorities in the CDP. The ten-year effort to move forward the planning of the Kona OSN was summarized, including getting access to key GIS layers required for this effort. The formal planning of Kona's OSN was almost ready to proceed at the end of 2019, but was derailed by the pandemic. Importance and Benefits of Open Space Networks: Subcommittee members shared examples of highly successful open space networks in other communities, and the community benefits they provide including social, democracy, recreational, environmental, health and cultural benefits. Providing connection to nature and wellbeing, enhancing community connectivity, preserving natural resources and wildlife, mitigating hazards and climate change using natural resources and ecosystem services, and preserving "Sense of Place" and cultural and historical sites were also discussed as benefits of a Kona OSN. Developers also benefit by have a defined OSN as regional context for their development designs. OSN governance and funding models used by other communities to maintain their OSN were discussed and include non-profit Conservancy organizations, and semi -autonomous government organizations with board members elected by the community, all enhanced by public and private partnerships. Moving the Kona OSN Forward: Mayor Roth agrees with the importance and benefits of open space networks, and views it as supporting Hawaii's sustainability goal, where our keiki can live, grow and thrive for generations. He also sees great opportunities for public and private partnerships. His administration is working towards getting the Kona OSN planning effort back on track. Planning Department manpower will become more available once the Energov Planning & Permitting Program is online at the end of July. April shared that funds for the Kona OSN planning need to be re -appropriated, and this funding request has been added to the latest Planning Department CIP budget proposal. Allotment of the funds would be from the Fair Share Program. They are working towards assigning a planner for this effort, revisiting and refreshing the OSN contract scope, and reviewing professional service contractors. Policies, objectives and actions for supporting Hawaii Island -wide open space networks are included in the draft County General Plan 2040, under Community Place Making. County administration is focused on interdepartmental cooperation and the removal of road blocks that prevent forward progress on improving the quality of life on the island. After the Energov Program is online, the Planning Department expects to move more quickly on the Kona OSN planning. The Subcommittee members also requested the Planning Department look into hosting monthly CDP meetings again, as the current quarterly meetings inhibit timely forward progress. The meeting ended on time with the Subcommittee members sharing much gratitude and appreciation to the Mayor and the Planning Department for their support.