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HomeMy WebLinkAboutmar42014 KAUAI COUNTY HISTORIC PRESERVATION REVIEW COMMISSION Lihue Civic Center, Mo ' ikeha Building, Meeting Room 2A/2B MINUTES A regular meeting of the Kaua` i County Historic Preservation Commission (KHPRC) was held on March 4, 2014 in the Llhu ` e Civic Center, Mo'ikeha Building, Meeting Room 2A/2B. The following Commissioners were present: Chairperson, Stephen Long, Vice Chairperson, Althea Arinaga, Danita Ain, Jane Gray, Kuuleialoha Santos, Patsy Sheehan, Anne Schneider, Pat Griffin The following staff members were present: Planning Department —Myles Hironaka, Ka' aina Hull, Shanlee Jimenez; Office of Boards and Commissions — Cherisse Zaima; Deputy County Attorney Jodi Higuchi CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 3 : 05 p.m. APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA Jane Gray moved to approve the agenda, Anne Schneider seconded the motion. No vote was taken on this item. APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES Danita AM moved to approve the February 6, 2014 meeting minutes, Pat Griffin seconded the motion. No vote was taken on this item. ANNOUNCEMENTS AND GENERAL BUSINESS MATTERS Ms. Griffin stated she sits on the Historic Hawaii Foundation ' s Preservation Awards committee, and announced that two. projects on Kauai have been awarded/recognized for their excellence. The first is the cultural, historical, and environmental signage that has been placed on the path from Lydgate to Kealia. The second is the Hui Maka` ainana o Makana, a curatorship project with the State of Hawaii and Ha` ena for the lo ` i; some of the walls of the lo ` i have been carbon dated at 1 ,000 years old. They, along with Limahuli are teaching children, and working with the State on responsible, sustainable fishing techniques . Ms. Griffin announced that tonight from 5 : 30 to 7 : 30 the district regional land transportation plan will be presented at the Kauai War Memorial Center. She is not sure how April 4, 2014 K.H.P.KC. Meeting Minutes Page 2 much of the presentation will be relevant to the Commission, but noted that too often roadways, bridges and public transit ways are ignored in looking at history and preservation. COMMUNICATIONS There were no communications. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Chair Long stated the CLG Status update would be moved after new business items . Planning Department Comment Request for Zoning Amendment ZA-2014-2, a proposed draft bill to amend the Chapter 8 (Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance) of the Kauai Counjy Code (K. C .C.), 1987 (as amended) to require street frontage design standards and reduced parking requirements for commercial developments . Staff Planner Ka` aina Hull stated based on a request at the last meeting, a draft letter has been generated and circulated to the Commissioners . Planning staff noted the letter was included in the last meeting' s agenda packet. Mr. Hull read the draft letter into the record. (On file) Ms. Griffin asked if any of the other responders have something different, or that would oppose what is suggested in the letter. Mr. Hull replied aside from the relevant State and County agencies, no other committee or commission have been contacted; the Department wished to approach the Commission first. There have been preliminary discussions with the Board of Realtors and the Chamber of Commerce, but nothing for official comment has been submitted yet. Mr. Long stated he feels the letter accurately reflects the sentiments of the Commission. On the motion by Danita Ain and seconded by Anne Schneider to accept the letter as presented, the motion carried by unanimous voice vote. NEW BUSINESS WaPoli Hui `ia Church TMK: 5-5-06:23 , 5-5363 Kfihio Highway, Hanalei, Kauai ADA Modifications to include removing existing bathroom fixtures and installing new fixtures, , grab bars and tile; removing and replacing existing roof section; install new sidewalk and roof support post; replace gutter and downspouts . Ms. Haunani Pacheco, representing the applicant explained the intent of the modifications is to be in compliance with ADA requirements. They would like to convert the April 4, 2014 K.H.P.R.C. Meeting Minutes Page 3 men' s bathroom to a unisex bathroom to allow for wheelchair accessibility with the least amount of impact to the structure. Ms . Sheehan asked for clarification that this modification is to the kitchen area, and not the church to which Ms . Pacheco replied yes. No modifications are being done to the church at all. Mr. Long asked if there will be any new physical construction with this proposal to which Ms. Pacheco replied they are just renovating. Though they will be changing part of the roof line to cover the entrance to that modified area, it has very little impact to the visual look of the entire project as it is in the rear of the hall; changes will not be visible from the road. Mr. Long thanked the applicant for the thorough and complete set of drawings, and expressed the Commission ' s appreciation for the level of detail and professional, comprehensive drawings . On the motion by Anne Schneider and seconded by Patsy Sheehan to accept the proposal as presented, the motion carried by unanimous voice vote. Okabe Residence (Marie Perlman) TMK: 1 -9-005 :29, 3917 Koula Road, Hanapepe, Kauai . Proposed commercial kitchen additions and renovations to existing; building Avery Youn, representing the applicant, was present along with Maria Perlman. Mr. Youn explained all the applicant is requesting is to convert the existing garage/storage room into a commercial kitchen for the purpose of processing dehydrated bananas for her business. Mr. Youn distributed pictures of the property as it currently stands, pointing out the area of the proposed renovations . The left side of the garage will house the proposed bathroom, and the right side will be the dehydration area, both of which will simply be a shed roof extension. Mr. Youn stated he believes the reason Planning required the applicant to appear before this Commission is because the structure is over 55 years old, though it is not on the historic register. The renovations are small, consisting only of a bathroom, and dehydrator room; however, should the Commission feel the dehydrator room should not go there, it can be removed or relocated. In response to Ms. Aiu, Ms . Perlman stated she and her daughter own the house, and are co-owners ofNana's Bananas ; her daughter resides there, but Ms . Perlman lives at another residence. The property is zoned commercial, and the process of dehydrating the bananas requires constant monitoring. Ms . Schneider asked to clarify that there is no change to the front of the building to which Ms. Perlman replied no change to the front, just an ADA bathroom off to the side with the extension of a shed roof. They may add a fence to the side area to make it look nicer. Mr. Youn added that Ms. Perhnan' s daughter who resides at the house will be running the business April 43 2614 K.H.P.R.C. Meeting Minutes Page 4 operations . He also pointed out a hedge along the right side that needs to be removed in order to add parking. Ms. Griffin stated that there are certain standards in looking at historic properties, which do not necessarily need to be on the register; they just need to be eligible. She stated there is a difference between old, and historic, and she does not think this house falls under the historic category. She would recommend removing it from the inventory as an historic building, commenting that on a recent site visit she did, she noted some wonderful, historic houses on that road; however she feels this particular structure does not have the historic integrity that would warrant the questioning of the proposed changes. Ms. Santos is unsure about removing it from the register, and would not agree to that to which Mr. Long stated that is not an issue they are discussing today. Ms. Perlman stated they are redoing the plumbing and electrical to make the house more aesthetically pleasing, but it does not look as historic as some of the other houses on that street. Ms. Aiu stated there is a SHPD report on this which spoke of this structure' s lack of integrity due to the numerous changes that had already been made to it. Ms. Perlman stated most of the changes were made prior to their purchasing the house. Ms . Aiu agreed with Ms. Griffin that the new renovations would not be a problem as the structure has already lost its integrity. Ms. Griffin commented that there are a few bills before the State Legislature wanting to accept historic residences and neighborhoods, and because so many of our neighborhoods are turning 50 years old, SHPD is overwhelmed. She stated that once something loses its historic integrity, you don't get it back. She feels that the motion to approve the renovations should include a statement that the Commission judges this property as not falling within an historic structure and, therefore, considered outside of their purview. Ms. Santos states she does not feel they have a solid list yet, and noted that Hanapepe is a unique town. Though they have decided that the structure does not historically qualify, to remove anything from the list is premature at this time. Ms. Aiu pointed out that this structure was formerly an historic home, which is why she thinks it came before this Commission. Ms. Sheehan suggested for this specific case, since the structure is not up to the standards of what is considered historic, the Commission just approve the proposed renovations. Ms. Santos expressed her hesitation, stating that if the owner decides they want to paint the house an unacceptable color that should warrant a review by the Commission, which is why she feels removing it from the list is premature. It should be left as is, and the Commission should just approve the renovations being proposed. Ms. Sheehan stated that is what she is saying, just to approve their current request, and have discussion about the list at a later time. Ms. Griffin noted the problem with accepting this request is that they are setting a precedence of accepting this level of changes on the next historic structure, and jeopardizing the April 4, 2014 K.H.P.R.C. Meeting Minutes Page 5 Commission ' s credibility if they are not consistently utilizing standards across the board. Because of that, she feels the motion to approve the renovations should state that the house has lost its historic integrity. Ms . Sheehan commented that could be stated without actually removing it from the list to which Ms . Griffin agreed. Ms . Gray stated that Mr. Youn commented earlier that he was unsure why this item had been required to be considered by this Commission. She commented that she is also surprised that it has appeared before them, and asked if the house is on the inventory list. Ms . Griffin stated it was on the inventory in 1994, but even back then Spencer Mason declared it had many alterations and additions; that was 20 years ago. Staff Planner Myles Hironaka clarified the reason the request is before the Commission is because it is currently on the County' s historic listing. Ms. Arinaga stated that comparing the original residence to what it is today shows major improvements have been done. Ms. Sheehan stated the picture taken in 1994 does not reflect the original structure, and they have no way of knowing what it originally looked like. On the motion by Patsy Sheehan and seconded by Anne Schneider to approve the proposed renovations on the basis that the structure has lost its historical integrity due to its previous numerous alterations and , therefore, does not fall under the Kauai Historic Preservation Review Commission 's purview, the motion carried by unanimous voice vote. UNFINISHED BUSINESS Certified Local Government (CLG) Status Mr. Hironaka stated that he, along with Ms. Griffin, and Ms. Aiu attended the workshop presented by the Hawaii Historic Foundation on basic historic preservation . At that workshop, they had the opportunity to speak with Mike Gushard of SHPD who mentioned there may be funding available for training. The Department is looking to that for future trainings for the Commission. Ms. Griffin stated the Maui Cultural Resources Commission holds quarterly mini- workshops during their monthly commission meetings, which she suggested this Commission consider doing as an opportunity for on-going training as opposed to long, multiple-day workshops . Mr. Hironaka stated the Department will get in touch with Maui County to see how they conduct their workshops . April 4, 2014 K.H.P.R.C. Meeting Minutes Page 6 Ms. Sheehan requested an update on the follow up to the work done by the consultant, a timetable, or any information on where they are at. Mr. Hironaka replied his understanding is the consultant is essentially finished with most of the field work, which consisted of reviewing structures around the island and documenting them. The subsequent database and GIS component that was created had certain State requirements that they are currently working with SHPD to get it to a state that SHPD is comfortable and happy with. Ms. Sheehan asked what the deadline is for the consultants to complete their work to which Mr. Hironaka replied their deadline was based on the federal fiscal year, which he believes was in October of 2013 . Ms. Sheehan asked if they will be getting the information by the end of the year to which Mr. Hironaka replied the deadline is being worked out between the consultant and SHPD, but the Department is hoping to receive it before summer. Ms. Griffin stated the Lihu` e District Community Development Plan is moving along, as is the South Shore Development Plan. She acknowledged the deadline is between the consultant and SHPD, but asked if there is a way to express their desire to see it. Mr. Hironaka will ask Mr. Gushard if the identification of properties and buildings can be released for the purpose of working on those development plans. Mr. Hironaka noted that upon completion of the study, the consultants will return to the Commission to present their findings. Ms. Griffin stated the Legislative session is ending in about a month, and asked when the Commission could again formally invite Alan Downer to a meeting. Mr. Hironaka replied the Chair just signed the letter of invitation today. Mr. Gushard has also expressed to Mr. Downer the Commission' s desire to meet with him. SELECTION OF MEETING DATE AND AGENDA TOPICS The next meeting is scheduled on May 1 , 2014. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 3 : 55 p .m. Respectfully Submitted, Cherisse Zaima Commission Support Clerk Date: