PD RECOMMENDATION REPORT (PL-REZ-2021-000008)

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RAguinaldoREZ.crk.12.20.2021 COUNTY OF HAWAII PLANNING DEPARTMENT RECOMMENDATION AGUINALDO 4, LLC CHANE OF ZONE APPLICATION (PL-REZ-2021-000008) Upon careful review of the request against the guidelines for granting a change of zone, the Planning Director is recommending that a favorable recommendation of the change of zone request be forwarded to the County Council. Since this recommendation is made without the benefit of public testimony, the Director reserves the right to modify and/or alter this recommendation based upon additional information presented at the public hearing. This favorable recommendation is based on the following findings: The applicant is requesting a change of zone from a Single-Family Residential (RS-10) zoning district to a Village Commercial-20,000 square feet(CV-20) zoning district for the subject, 1.545-acre property. Although not proposed by the applicant, the maximum number of lots that could be created by subdivision of the property should the change of zone be approved is three (3) and the total number of multiple-family dwellings that could be permitted on the property is 53. The applicant secured a Use Permit in 2013 to allow the construction of a 13,520 square foot medical facility and related improvements on the subject property. However, while the applicant has taken steps to comply with the conditions of the Use Permit, they have not constructed the permitted medical clinic due to lava flows affecting Pahoa and lower Puna in 2014 and 2018,where the subject property was used as a community hub during the 2018 flow and was subsequently developed as the Pahoa Cultural Center, including the construction of four(4) community buildings under an emergency proclamation. With the lava flow subsiding and timeframes for completion of the medical clinic imminent, the applicant determined that limiting the site for only a medical facility has made its development less financially feasible and therefore more difficult to construct. Having the ability to entertain non-medical uses increases the financial viability of the proj ect. -1-