2015-03-19 Leeward Exh A (SPP 15-177)

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LEEWARD PLANNING COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I HEARING TRANSCRIPT MARCH 19, 2015 KONA CASTLE RANCH, LLC (SPP A regularly advertised hearing on the application of 15-177) was called to order at 9:38 a.m. in the West Hawai‘i Civic Center, Community Center, Building G, 74-5044 Ane Keohokālole Highway, Kailua-Kona, Hawai‘i, with Chairman Brandi Beaudet presiding. COMMISSIONERS PRESENT: Brandi Beaudet, Thomas Hickcox, Collin Kaholo, Barbara Nobriga, Keith Unger and Thomas Whittemore ALSO PRESENT: Danny Patel (Deputy Corporation Counsel), Duane Kanuha (Planning Director), Jeff Darrow (Planner), Christian Kay (Planner) and Noriko Sauer (Commission Secretary) And approximately 60 people from the public in attendance. APPLICANT: KONA CASTLE RANCH, LLC (SPP 15-177) Application for a Special Permit to establish a 5-bedroom bed and breakfast operation within an existing dwelling and additional bedrooms and the use of portions of the dwelling and surrounding area for special events, all of which will occur on approximately 5 acres of land situated within the State Land Use Agricultural District. The property is located east (mauka) of Old Māmalahoa Highway approximately one (1) mile north of the intersection of the Old Māmalahoa Highway and Hawai‘i Belt Road in Honalo, North Kona, Hawai‘i, TMK: 7-9-002:005 (portion). BEAUDET: First item on today’s agenda is Applicant, Kona Castle Ranch, LLC, application for a Special Permit to establish a five-bedroom bed and breakfast operation. Staff? KAY: Thank you, Mr. Chair. We’ll start off, the subject parcel is located in the North Kona District outlined here in red. Sorry, it’s a little difficult to see. Just for context this is Hawai‘i Belt Road running north-south and Māmalahoa Highway again running north-south parallel to Hawai‘i Belt Road. The subject parcel is situated roughly a mile north of the intersection here close to the village of Honalo. And the parcel itself is approximately 596 acres in size, and the applicant is proposing to use five acres for these uses. A little bit close view here, again, we see Māmalahoa Highway here running north-south. The permit area, and again I’m sorry, it may be difficult to see, is outlined here in blue showing the approximation of the five acres. The zoning for the parcel itself is Agricultural-20 acres with surrounding zoning of Agricultural-5 acres and Agricultural-1 acre, and there is a mix of farms and scattered single-family dwellings in the area. The entire parcel and the surrounding area is in the State Land Use Agricultural District, and our General Plan LUPAG designates the entire parcel and much of the surrounding area as Important Agricultural Lands with a small node of Low Density Urban here heading more toward the village of Honalo. This is the Kona CDP Map showing that the subject parcel is outside of both the Kona Urban Area, as well as outside of the Rural Town TOD area, again, the parcel outlined in red. And access to the site is actually off of Māmalahoa Highway here, and it’s on a driveway across, within easements, across both the subject parcel and the adjacent Parcel 22, which the applicant also owns, and again, here, kind of showing the easements, as well as the project area indicated on the map. 1 EXHIBIT A