HomeMy WebLinkAbout04/14/2010 Public Hearing Transcript re: BILL#2350PUBLIC HEARING
APRIL 14, 2010
A public hearing of the Council of the .County of Kauai was called to order by
Jay Furfaro, Chair, Planning Committee, on Wednesday, April 14, 2010,
at 1:49 p.m. at the Council Chambers, Historic County Building, 4396 Rice Street,
Lihu`e, Kauai, and the presence of the following was noted:
Honorable Tim Bynum
Honorable Dickie Chang
Honorable Jay Furfaro
Honorable Daryl W. Kaneshiro
Honorable Lani T. Kawahara
Honorable Derek S. K. Kawakami
Honorable Bill "Kaipo" Asing, Council Chair
The Clerk read the notice of the public hearing on the following:
BILL NO. 2350 - A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING
CHAPTER 8, KAUAI COUNTY CODE 1987, RELATING TO ZONING
DESIGNATION IN WAIMEA, KAUAI (C. Ahko Inc., et al., Applicant),
which was approved on first reading and ordered to print by the Council of the
County of Kauai on March 17, 2010, and published in The Garden Island
newspaper on March 25, 2010.
The hearing proceeded as follows:
WALTON HONG: Thank you Mr. Chairman and members of the
Council. For the record, my name is Walton Hong, representing the Applicant, C.
Ahko Inc. With me in, the audience is Dr. Ahko, who is the president of C. Ahko
Inc., and his wife Diane. We really don't have anything to say. I think the record
speaks for itself. What we're trying to do is have this lot owned by the Ahko family
for literally decades rezoned from Open to R-4. For some reason in 1972 when the
comprehensive zoning ordinance was enacted, this lot is immediately next to the
Waimea Park, and this lot and the park were the only parcels of record left Open
zoned. Everything around there was zoned residential R-4. I suspect the reason for
that was in case the park needed expansion, it will be easier to expand the park
with an open zoning designation than to condemn, if you will, a residential zoned
lot. The record will show the parks and recreation has indicated that they have no
plans or desire to expand the park, because of its limited use at the present time.
And all we're asking is that we get the same zoning as everybody else in the area,
and that's about it in a nutshell. I'll be glad to respond to any questions which. you
may have.
Mr. Furfaro: Thank you: I think some of us have in fact read the
planning commission's review, and references this as continue as a passive park.
This is a public hearing, so we won't be going through the particulars, but let me see
if there is any councilmembers, for the public hearing before this goes back to my
committee, that have any questions. None? Thank you Mr. Hong. Is there anyone
else in the audience .that would like to speak on this item? Okay, please come
right up.
JUAN WILSON: My name is Juan Wilson. I live in Hanapepe
Valley. I'm somewhat aware of this project in that I was trying to assist some
people with...were looking into the benefits and disadvantages of rezoning this area
R-4. The use of this land is as open space land. There's a horse on it, there's
grazing areas, there's rural type uses of it. It's the kind of use I would want to see
happening in Hanapepe Valley... excuse me, in Waimea Valley, in that it is
something that could easily be... something we'll need more of, and that is land that
is useful for growing food, it's in a valley, it's near water. Making this a dense
urban area will be very profitable to the family that owns it. I don't think it will be
in the benefit of the community in general to have more hard surface in that area.
There is a flooding issue there. It's low land, there are neighbors that have
problems when water is high, and this will require more runoff and more fill and
less natural use of the landscape than there is now. Thank you very much.
Mr. Furfaro: Thank you Mr. Wilson. Anybody else in the
audience? If not, I'm going to call this public hearing to a close, and this will be
reposted in the planning committee- in a future date.
There being no further testimony on this matter, the public hearing
adjourned at 1:55 p.m.
Respectfully submitted,
.~
PETER A. NAKAMURA
County Clerk
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