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HomeMy WebLinkAboutPlanning 080817 MinutesKAUA`1 PLANNING COMMISSION REGULAR MEETING August 8, 2017 The regular meeting of the Planning Commission of the County of Kauai was called to order by Chair Keawe at 9:04 a.m., at the Lihu`e Civic Center, Mo`ikeha Building, in meeting room 2A - 2B. The following Commissioners were present: Chair Kimo Keawe Vice Chair Roy Ho Ms. Kanoe Ahuna Ms. Donna Apisa Mr. Wade Lord (entered at 9:05 a.m.) Mr. Sean Mahoney Ms. Glenda Nogami Streufert The following staff members were present: Planning Department — Director Michael Dahilig, Chance Bukoski, Dale Cua, Leslie Takasaki, Marisa Valenciano; Office of the County Attorney — Deputy County Attorney Jodi Higuchi Sayegusa; Office of Boards and Commissions — Commission Support Clerk Darcie Agaran Discussion of the meeting, in effect, ensued: Chair Keawe called the meeting to order at 9:04 a.m. ROLL CALL Chair Keawe: Roll call. Mr. Dahilig. Planning Director Michael Dahilig; Commissioner Apisa. Ms. Apisa: Here. Mr. Dahilig: Vice Chair Ho. Mr. Ho: Here. Mr. Dahilig: Commissioner Ahuna. Ms. Ahuna: Here. Mr. Dahilig: Commissioner Lord. Commissioner Streufert. Ms. Nogami Streufert: Here. Mr. Dahilig: Commissioner Mahoney. Mr. Mahoney: Here. Mr. Dahilig: Chair Keawe. Chair Keawe: Here. Mr. Dahilig: Mr. Chair, you have six (6) members present this morning. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Mr. Dahilig: Next item for the Commission is Approval of Agenda. The Department would recommend taking the agenda as is this morning. Mr. Mahoney: Chair, move to approve the agenda. Ms. Apisa: Second. Chair Keawe: Moved and seconded to approve the agenda. All those in favor? (Unanimous voice vote) Any opposed? (None) Motion carried 6:0. Mr. Dahilig: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Commissioner Lord entered the meeting at 9:05 a.m. Mr. Dahilig: Just for the record, Commissioner Lord has arrived. MINUTES of the meeting(s) of the Planning Commission Regular Meeting of June 13, 2017 Regular Meeting of June 27, 2017 Contested Case Calendar of June 27 2017 Contested Case Calendar of Julv 25. 2017 Mr. Dahilig: Item D. This is Minutes of the Meetings of the Planning Commission. We do have regular meeting minutes of June 13th and June 27th, and contested case calendar minutes from June 27th and July 25th for the Commission's approval this morning. Chair Keawe: Can we take the meetings as a whole as far as the minutes are concerned? I will entertain a motion. N Ms. Nogami Streufert: I move to accept the minutes of the meetings of the Planning Commission; regular meeting of June 13th and June 27th, and the contested case calendars from June 271h and July 251H Chair Keawe: Is there a second? Mr. Mahoney: Second. Chair Keawe: It has been moved and seconded to accept the meetings [sic]. All those in favor? (Unanimous voice vote) Any opposed? (None) Motion carries 7:0. Thank you. Mr. Dahilig: Thank you, Mr. Chair. RECEIPT OF ITEMS FOR THE RECORD Mr. Dahilig: We are now on Item E, Receipt of Items for the Record. We do not have anything else to transmit. Actually, we have one (1) item to transmit this morning. It is a Supplemental No. 2 to the Director's Report for John Hluboky and Beatrice Ricart. That would be just to receive for the record, Mr. Chair. Chair Keawe: Did everybody get a copy of the additional General Business Matters on Hluboky? I need a motion to receive. Ms. Apisa: Motion to receive. Chair Keawe: A second. Mr. Mahoney: Second. Chair Keawe: It has been moved and seconded to receive this item. All those in favor? (Unanimous voice vote) Any opposed? (None) Motion carries 7:0. Thank you. Mr. Dahilig: Thank you, Mr. Chair. HEARINGS AND PUBLIC COMMENT Continued Agency Hearing Mr. Dahilig: We are now on Item F.1. This is Continued Agency Hearing. We do not have any continued agency hearings this morning. New Agency Hearing Class IV Zoning Permit Z -IV -2017-16 to develop 134 affordable housing units, containing a combination of 4-plexes and 6-plexes, and associated site improvements on a parcel situated on the eastern side of K61oa Road in K61oa, situated immediately across the K61oa Estates Subdivision, further identified as Tax Map Key 2-6-004:019, and containing a total area of 11.204 acres = Mark Development, Inc. [Director's Report received 7/25/17.1 Mr. Dahilig: Item F.2., New Agency Hearing, Class IV Zoning Permit Z -IV -2017-16 to develop one hundred thirty-four (134) affordable housing units, containing a combination of 4-plexes and 6-plexes, and associated site improvements on a parcel situated on the eastern side of K61oa Road in K61oa, situated immediately across the K61oa Estates Subdivision, further identified as Tax Map Key 2-6-004 Parcel 019, and containing a total area of 11.204 acres. Mark Development is the applicant and there is a Supplemental No. 1 to the Director's Report pertaining to this matter. Mr. Chair, the Department would recommend opening the agency hearing at this time. Chair Keawe: We will open the agency hearing for this item at this time. Mr. Dahilig: Mr. Chair, I do not have anybody signed up to testify on this particular agenda item. The Department would recommend making a final call for this agency hearing and closing the agency hearing. Chair Keawe: Is there anyone in the audience that wishes to testify on this particular item? If not, I will entertain a motion to close the hearing. Mr. Mahoney: Chair, move to close the agency hearing. Ms. Apisa: Second. Chair Keawe: It has been moved and seconded to close the hearing. All those in favor? (Unanimous voice vote) Motion approved 7:0. Mr. Dahilig: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Continued Public Hearing Mr. Dahilig: We are now on Item F.3. This is Continued Public Hearing. We do not have any continued public hearings this morning. New Public Hearing Mr. Dahilig: Item F.4., New Public Hearing. We do not have any new public hearings this morning. All remaining public testimony pursuant to HRS 92 (Sunshine Law) C! Mr. Dahilig: Item F.5. is any further Sunshine Law testimony on any other agenda item on the calendar. Mr. Chair, I do not have anybody signed up to testify on any other agenda item this morning. The Department would recommend making a final call for any Sunshine Law testimony. Chair Keawe: Final call for any Sunshine Law testifiers. Anybody want to testify on any item? If not, I recommend closing... Mr. Dahilig: No need close. Okay. Thank you, Mr. Chair. CONSENT CALENDAR Status Reports 2017 Annual Status Report (7/7/17) from Milton Arakawa, Wilson Okamoto Corporation for Special Management Area Use Permit SMA(U)-2005-8 Project Development Use Permit PDU-2005-26, Use Permit U-2005-25, and Class IV Zoning Permit Z -IV -2005- 30, Tax Map Keys 3-5-001:027 (Por.), 168, 169, 171 (Por.), 175 and 176, Lihu`e Kauai = Kaua `i Lagoons LLC. & MORI Golf (Kaua `i) LLC. Director's Report(s) for Project(s) Scheduled for Agency Hearing on 8/22/17 (NONE) Mr. Dahilig: We are now on Item G. This is the Consent Calendar. We do have one (1) status report for the Consent Calendar this morning. This is for (Kaua`i) Lagoons for their annual status report. If there are no questions, Mr. Chair, on this item— Chair Keawe: Are there any questions regarding this item to receive? If not, I will entertain a motion to receive. Ms. Apisa: Motion to receive. Mr. Mahoney: Second. Chair Keawe: It has been moved and seconded to receive this report. All those in favor? (Unanimous voice vote) Any opposed? (None) Motion carries 7:0. Thank you. Mr. Dahilig: Thank you, Mr. Chair. EXECUTIVE SESSION Mr. Dahilig: We do not have any executive items this morning. GENERAL BUSINESS MATTERS Request to amend Condition No. 4 of Class IV Zoning Permit Z -IV -2015-14 and Use Permit U-2015-13, Tax Map Key No. (4) 4-6-016:063, Kapa`a = John H111boig and Beatrice Ricart. [Director's Report received 5/12/15, hearing closed 5/26/15.1 Mr. Dahilig: We are moving on to General Business Matters. This is Item I.1., request to amend Condition No. 4 of Class IV Zoning Permit Z -IV -2015-14 and Use Permit U-2015-13, Tax Map Key (4) 4-6-016 Parcel 063 in Kapa`a. John Hluboky and Beatrice Ricart are the requestors as part of this zoning permit amendment, and Marisa Valenciano will provide the report on behalf of the Department. Chair Keawe: Okay, Marisa. Staff Planner Marisa Valenciano: Good morning, Chair and members of the Commission. Ms. Valenciano read Supplement No. 1 to the Director's Report for the record (on file with the Planning Department). Ms. Valenciano: This concludes my presentation of my report. Chair Keawe: Okay. Any questions for the Planner? We would like to hear from the applicant. Are they here? Lorna Nishimitsu: For the record, Lorna Nishimitsu on behalf of both John Hluboky and Beatrice Ricart who are the permittees in this situation. Marisa correctly gave you the chronology of what happened. They purchased the property from the Hempey's who had already secured the bed and breakfast, or homestay, pen -nits. John, Mr. Hluboky, received a property survey and attempted to fill it out to the best of his ability. He was most concerned about making sure that they fell under the right category for taxation purposes, so he checked that they were operating a vacation rental to some extent so that they get taxed at that rate. But there was another category that he should have checked that said it was both their primary residence and a commercial use. By the time they discovered that the form had been incorrectly filled out, the deadline of September 30th had passed. They attempted to file a corrected application to show that it is their residence and a commercial use but were unsuccessful in getting that filed. The exhibits that we submitted with this petition — Exhibits K, L, and J — are all consistent with establishing that they are residing at the property on Pelehu Road. They have been penalized; they didn't get the homeowner's exemption for 2017, they've had to pay our law firm, and there is a recommendation, I believe, that they also pay a fine. So although they have done what is necessary to have a homestay, the technical failure on their part means that they have to pay the consequences. Based on everything that you have seen and the Staff's recommendation, we are requesting that this commission agree that Condition No. 4 can be modified to show occupancy by means other than the homeowner's exemption. The homeowner's exemption, as Marisa pointed out, was approved for Tax Year 2018. Thank you. If you have any questions of the owners, they are here. Chair Keawe: Commissioners, do you have any questions? I have a few. Lorna, the seller in this case was very familiar with what needed to be done and I would assume that the buyer would have checked with them with regard to the operation and the permits needed to continue to operate. What happened? Ms. Nishimitsu: The use permit approval letter that is issued after Planning Commission action was provided to the buyers, but there is this form that the Real Property Assessment Division sends out for completion and there are about four (4) or five (5) blocks that you would check to fall into the proper category. The category that they checked — but shouldn't have — showed that they were in vacation rental mode, which means that their tax assessed value would increase. If they checked a box that is to the left of it that showed that they were residents and operating a commercial operation, then they would have gotten the benefit of some of the homeowner's exemption. Chair Keawe: Right. Ms. Nishimitsu: So that is what went wrong. It had nothing to do with a failure to communicate on the part of the sellers to our clients. It had to do with— Chair Keawe: Checking the wrong box. Ms. Nishimitsu: Yeah. Well, when I looked at the form the first time, I was thinking wow, this is a little complicated, and you would have had to spend a lot of time trying to wrap your head around how to complete it properly, so that is the failure on their part. They didn't set out to fail, you know? They didn't want to be in the position where they are going to be in a higher assessment bracket. Chair Keawe: Yeah. That gets back to my original question. You know, the seller should have told thein if this was an issue. Just my own opinion, obviously, because the sellers are very familiar with the process, and so he is getting penalized because he checked the wrong box not knowing what to do. Is that accurate? Ms. Nishimitsu: In a nutshell, that is what happened. Chair Keawe: Okay. Well, it is kind of refreshing to see this as opposed to people that are just trying to skirt the whole system. They tried and made an effort to try to make it right and they just checked the wrong box; as simple as that, as far as I am concerned. Mr. Hluboky. John Hluboky: I was just going to support what Lorna and what yourself just mentioned. I mean, this truly was a case of checking the wrong box. We were trying to be diligent in this case. One of the stipulations on the permit was that the people who stay with us has to be transients and no longer than six (6) months. In reviewing the form that Lorna mentioned, I saw "transient vacation rental" and we naturally thought that was the appropriate one to check; not realizing that the repercussions of having this ... you know, where we are today, by having that check box missed. Chair Keawe: Any other ... Mr. Ho. V] Mr. Ho: Lorna, are you seeking to add language to Condition No. 4? Or to amend it in some way? Ms. Nishimitsu: Yeah. It is a retroactive amendment to go back to the original permit to show that the operators were able to establish their occupancy and their operation by means other than the homeowner's exemption so that the pen -nit doesn't lapse, basically. We just didn't want the permit to lapse because that is a really egregious penalty for the — what I think is — innocent mistake. Chair Keawe: Mr. Ho. Mr. Ho: I guess this question would be for Mr. Dahilig. Condition No. 4 as it reads now, that would be the Planning Department's procedure on how you proceed? And if you adopt Lorna's amendment or language, would that change the way you proceed? Or is it just a one-shot deal? Mr. Dahilig: This is insulated for each permit, so it is not as if this is a standard permit that is issued by the Planning Department for an already approved use via the Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance. Every pen -nit condition is treated uniquely as we would any other commission -level permit. So that being said, I would say that most, if not all, the ... because of the change in the way the law was done by the County Council concerning how to evidence homeownership and, again, the key is the Council wanted to ensure that the homeowner was living on-site, not somebody you are leasing it out to. They wanted to ensure there is a homeowner on-site. That is the only guidance that they give, so we had always put in this homeowner's exemption as a means to provide ease of verifiability — if that's a word — to try to just make sure that we are in compliance with what the County Code says. However, the County Code does not say "homeowner's exemption", right? What it says specifically is shall be the homeowner or have shall live in the property. So that level of interpretability — I'm using "ability" a lot today — how you can interpret it is what we are suggesting as, and agreeing with, the proposed amendment to the condition because it does provide that ability for the Department to say okay, we have realized you are living in the home. Overarching, that is the main goal of trying to enforce permits like this is to ensure that the people operating the use are also living in the home at the same time. We just use homeowner's exemption because it was a very easy way for us to verify because of our sister agency. They have a database to go ahead and check the box off. But in situations where you don't check the boxes off right, then it flows downhill like this, right? So we think it is a reasonable request based on that. Mr. Ho: Your recommendation would be that it is acceptable? Mr. Dahilig: We believe it is acceptable in this case. Ms. Apisa: I am familiar with that fonn and I can understand how it could be checked off incorrectly. Chair Keawe: Yeah. I think the whole issue is just ... you know, sometimes it gets so difficult when you are trying to do the right thing. Ms. Apisa: It all sounds legitimate. Right. Chair Keawe: Yeah. We— Mr. Dahilig: I just want to also mention (that) we also don't believe that issues like this should be without consequence and so that is why you see a recommendation from our department to institute a $2,000 fine for this. Now, whether the Commission believes that is too little or too much, I think that is a discussion point around the table concerning whether that is an appropriate levy of a fine for this type of, I guess, mistake. We just want to make clear that it is not a fixed fee or a fixed fine. It is something that is a discretionary amount that can be levied. Chair Keawe: How do the Commissioners feel about the fine amount? Ms. Ahuna: Technically, they have been paying a ... have they been paying a higher tax all along? The last two (2) years? Mr. Dahilig: Yes, they have been paying a higher tax. Ms. Ahuna: What is the difference in higher tax? Mr. Dahilig: It really depends on ... it is the rate. Commercial Home Use is what they get taxed at. The tax office has been going through a number of use classification amendments progressively over the past few years. What this would fall under now is what is called "Commercial Home Use" and that is differentiated from "Residential" and differentiated from "Homestead". Ms. Apisa: I don't have the tax rate memorized, but I think Commercialized Home Use is like five something a thousand and the other one is eight something a thousand of assessed value; just ballpark. So there definitely is a ... Vacation Rental is the highest and best use which gets allocated and it is definitely higher than Commercial Home Use. Chair Keawe: Any other questions or— Ms. Nogami Streufert: I do. Chair Keawe: —input regarding the fine and this whole issue? Ms. Nogami Streufert: Not the fine, per se, but ... this is a homestay, it is not in a VDA, but it was certified in 2015 and recertified in 2016, so the certification runs with the property. Is that correct? Mr. Dahilig: That is correct. Ms. Nogami Streufert: Thank you. Chair Keawe: Any other ... Donna. Ms. Apisa: I don't know. I think the penalty is ... maybe there should be a penalty. I feel it is a little stiff because of the fact they are paying a higher tax base and legal fees, I know, aren't... (Laughter) you know, so I mean— Chair Keawe: I have a tendency to agree with you. Ms. Apisa: They have already been penalized. Mr. Hluboky: It was a very expensive check box. (Laughter) Ms. Apisa: And I appreciate the fact that they tried to do it right. Chair Keawe: Alright. We have ... oh, Mr. Ho. Mr. Ho: Did you agree to pay the fine? You have agreed to pay the $2,000? Mr. Hluboky: We did agree to pay the fine in order to be able to move to this point, yes. Chair Keawe: We have one (1) person that unfortunately was a little bit late and wanted to testify on this particular item. Felicia. Felicia Cowden: Not this item. The next two. Chair Keawe: Oh, okay. Felicia Cowden: Not this one. Chair Keawe: Not this one. Okay. Mr. Dahilig: Coco Palms and Steelgrass? Ms. Cowden: Yes. Chair Keawe: Okay. Alright. Mr. Ho. Mr. Ho: One last one. Are we going to debate the fine now? Chair Keawe: Well, that is the issue. I think the fine is a little excessive. I would think $1,000 may be more appropriate for somebody that tried to do the right thing and checked the wrong box. Ms. Apisa: I concur with that. Chair Keawe: But that is just my opinion. Any other opinions? Ms. Streufert. Til Ms. Nogami Streufert: Not an opinion, but just a question. How did the Department come up with the $2,000 fine? Mr. Dahilig: Anything that is vacation rental or transient -related outside the Visitor Destination Areas, we tend to augment the fine in proportion to what we believe is the gain from the use, as well as understanding the overarching policy from the Council seems to be that these uses are unique and unusual and should be utilized with great caution and great sensitivity. So that is why we ... you know, we do have a range of different fine amounts that we kind of...not as a schedule, but more as kind of understanding how to remedy somebody's actions and compel compliance. But I would say that in the calculus of this, part of that relates to the fact that this is an extraordinary use outside of our Visitor Destination Area. Chair Keawe: Mr. Mahoney, any opinion? Mr. Mahoney: Well, it is one of these cases (where) it is buyer beware, too. When you get the forms and you know you are in a tough situation, you got to check, recheck. Maybe the $2,000 might be excessive, but I think ... you know, some penalty probably. Chair Keawe: Mr. Wade. Mr. Lord: I tend to agree. I think the fine amount might be excessive given that they have paid a higher tax rate than they would have otherwise had they checked the correct box, and they have incurred legal fees to try to clean up their mess. Chair Keawe: Right. Commissioner Ahuna. Ms. Ahuna: I am in agreement with that as well. I think they have already paid high taxes. Chair Keawe: Okay. Can I have a motion? Ms.AApisa: I would move that — I might need some help here (laughter) — we take the Planning Department's recommendation with the exception of making it a $1,000 penalty fine. Chair Keawe: Okay. Do we have a second? Mr. Lord: Second. Chair Keawe: Okay. Should we do roll call? Mr. Dahilig: Up to you. Chair Keawe: Yeah, let's do roll call. Mr. Dahilig: Motion on the floor is to amend Condition No. 4 of Class IV Zoning Permit Z -IV - 2015 -14 and Use Permit U-2015-13, including the payment of a $1,000 fine. 11 Commissioner Apisa. Ms. Apisa: Yes. Mr. Dahilig: Vice Chair Ho. Mr. Ho: Yes. Mr. Dahilig: Commissioner Ahuna. Ms. Ahuna: Yes. Mr. Dahilig: Commissioner Lord. Mr. Lord: Aye. Mr. Dahilig: Commissioner Streufert. Ms. Nogami Streufert: Aye. Mr. Dahilig: Commissioner Mahoney. Mr. Mahoney: Aye. Mr. Dahilig: Chair Keawe. Chair Keawe: Yes. Mr. Dahilig: Seven (7) ayes, Mr. Chair. Chair Keawe: Motion passed 7:0. Ms. Nishimitsu: Thank you so much for your consideration (inaudible). Chair Keawe: Thank you. Mr. Hluboky: Yes, thank you all. Ms. Apisa: Thank you for your attempt to do the right thing. I just want to put on record that the Planning Department is very diligent in investigating and enforcing the vacation rental issue, so— Chair Keawe: Yeah, they are. Ms. Apisa: —I can speak firsthand (that) they are very diligent on that. Mr. Dahilig: Thank you. 12 Status on Class IV Zoning Permit Z -IV -2015-8, Project Development Use Permit P.D. U- 2015-7, Variance Permit V-2015-1 and Special Management Area Use Permit SMA(U)- 2015-6 MA(U)- 2015-6 = Coco Palms Hui LLC. Mr. Dahilig: We are now on Item I.2. This is status on Class IV Zoning Permit Z -IV -2015-8, Project Development Use Permit PDU-2015-7, Variance Permit V-2015-1, and Special Management Area Use Permit SMA(U)-2015-6. This is for Coco Palms Hui. This was a request from the Vice Chair concerning ... he wanted to have a status on this matter. However, there is one (1) individual that would like to testify on this item and that is Felicia Cowden. It would be appropriate for her to testify at this time, Mr. Chair. Chair Keawe: Okay. Felicia, can you come up? Ms. Cowden: Aloha. I am Felicia Cowden and I work as a community advocate. I have done quite a bit of insight on this particular property in the recent past since there has been somewhat of an occupation on that property. I have also sat through years of commission meetings here when ... this is a distressed asset that has been flipped and flipped and flipped, and an entitlement extension was not allowed. The reason that that entitlement extension was not allowed was because seemingly, nobody wants to have to clean up the mess of those buildings, but there is never a bond placed on cleaning up the mess so it changes hands and changes hands. And then in the process of interviewing some of these guys, I looked at the Tax Map Key and in all of these hearings, it has never come up that that is actually state land. It is state land; almost fifteen (15) acres of it. When I looked at what they pay, it's like $1,100 a year in taxes, which has been raised to, and it is now valued at, $6,100 for the fifteen (15) acres. There was a comparable that was $12 million that was there. So when I look at it, this distressed asset is able to squat on fifteen (15) acres of highly culturally -sensitive land. When you look at the history of that land, it is profound. I looked at the lease and then I looked at the Board of Land and Natural Resources' meetings, and what I see is that the cultural survey on that property, which was done in 1984, does not scratch the surface of...you know, that is one of the most intense pieces on this entire island. There are at least hundreds of burial sites on that place. When I look at what is happening now, which works as almost like spiritual rehabilitation for some of the people who are there and are taking care of the land, none of this has come up. I don't know how this has come up and how we can just allow such a powerful piece of land that is in the flood zone where we have a traffic problem, and then when I see that these guys are still yet in business news, trolling for EB -5 monies that is like Chinese investment money, immigrant monies; it is not even fully funded. So I hope that that comes up in the status hearing. We've got beautiful, young people ... any age — but it happens that they are young — in court for trespassing, in court on this civil rights, and when I look at it, there are violations on what should have been handled with the Board of Land and Natural Resources. Mr. Dahilig: Three (3) minutes, Mr. Chair. Chair Keawe: Can you wrap it up, Felicia? Ms. Cowden: Okay. So that's it. I just don't want this to pass without an acknowledgement of the stress and the conflict over the land — state land. I just want everybody to know that is state IR land. There is a little piece that is purchased — where the building is — but the rest of it is state land. Thank you. Chair Keawe: Thank you. Mr. Dahilig: Okay. Mr. Chair, just to provide some background in terms of where Coco Palms is at this point, the Commission — back in October — approved a settlement to changes in conditions as part of an Order to Show Cause for them not meeting the initial set of deadlines and part of that related to the fact that the demolition work that was supposed to occur had not occurred. So ultimately, parallel to the negotiation to settle out the contested case hearing to revoke the permits, they did, in fact, start demolition activities and bring down the wooden structures and scrape the concrete structures of all the asbestos items and other fixtures. If you drive along that stretch of Kuhio Highway, you will notice that what is there now is just the concrete structural elements of the buildings. That was supposed to be completed by this spring and, in fact, it was completed on time and on schedule. The only other benchmark that has passed since then was the payment of an in lieu fee concerning the widening of Haleilio Road heading eastbound, or mauka to makai, to facilitate the queuing that is going on along that right -turn lane in the mornings. We have sent them notice concerning dedication of a wider right-of-way that is their property to lengthen that right -turn lane so that it is freeing up that left -turn lane for people that are trying to get over to, I guess, the middle school. What we realize is that because that is the only point of ingress and egress for the Houselots, that queuing with the right -turn lane, because of the southbound traffic on Kuhio Highway, is also queuing up those people that want to turn left and drop their kids off at the school sites that are north of that intersection. We have tried to explore an additional connection to the Houselots area through Agroking Road, but that seemed to be untenable by the community, so we are still set with this. But they have paid the in lieu fee; what we believe is a proportional and right cost. That money is being held right now in trust and the Public Works Department is aware of it and is working on the metes and bounds descriptions that will probably come to the Planning Commission for subdivision approval sometime shortly. What is also transpiring at this point is that there is some discussion that we may come back to the Planning Commission concerning changing both the timeline and structures of a couple of the buildings. The reason why we are entertaining this is because this could help facilitate — quicker — the widening of Kuhid Highway; to add that block -length long right -turn lane to go up towards Kuatmoo Road. As you notice right now, that is probably the biggest bottleneck on the island and we are looking at best efforts to try to facilitate, as quickly as possible, the Department of Transportation's ability to lengthen that right -turn lane the length of that block. However, we are running into issues concerning where the powerlines are going to be, as well as the placement of that current commercial building that literally abuts the property line over there. We are having a meeting on Friday that will discuss whether there are changes to the permit that may be needed to facilitate that quicker implementation of DOT's, I guess, construction efforts. We are aware that there have been funds appropriated by the Legislature for this particular construction, so while the iron is hot, we want to make sure we strike on it. 14 Ultimately, you notice that some of the conditions have already been earmarked as either being paid or being recorded. These are things that are related to cultural items, as well as items related to affordable housing. So they have been making steady progress on the site. They are in for building pen -nits at this point and our department, as well as the other agencies, are reviewing the vertical construction permits for that. As to the testifier's question concerning the ability for the developer to actually fund the full construction of the project, that is something that we have been aware of as a concern from the general public. However, given the fact that we are in a land use permitting mode, the ability for a property owner or a developer to pay does not bear upon our ability to enforce. The enforcement has to be based off of what is written, not whether there are questions concerning their economic viability. But from the Department standpoint, we are aware of it and have stated the Department's position concerning enforcement. Chair Keawe: So, Mike, what is the next benchmark timeline that they need to meet as part of the conditions of that approval? Mr. Dahilig: If you look at Condition No. 15 — that is the building permit one — that is the vertical improvements by August 2017. Pretty much the only other benchmarks at this point are going to be triggered based off of the vertical construction. So if you look at Condition No. 17, that really is ... if they do not complete and incorporate the concrete structures into the vertical improvements by 2021, they have to be demolished. If they do get full building approval, the vertical construction timeline is supposed to be three and a half (3 %) years, essentially. Chair Keawe: Any questions for Mike? Ms. Nogami Streufert: Yes. Chair Keawe: Ms. Streufert. Ms. Nogami Streufert: To date, are there any stipulations that have not been met? Mr. Dahilig: The only thing that they have not met — I will point out — is Item No. 29, which is the fact that they didn't submit a written status report. So they have been made aware of that. Ms. Nogami Streufert: Is there a reason for that not having been submitted? Mr. Dahilig: I could only guess. Ms. Nogami Streufert: Okay. Chair Keawe: So, (inaudible)? Mr. Dahilig. Huh? Chair Keawe: No, you said you can only guess. 15 Mr. Dahilig: I can only guess. Chair Keawe: Oh. Ms. Apisa: He would rather not guess. (Laughter in background) Chair Keawe: Mr. Ho. Mr. Ho: On Item No. 17, they are to complete their work by June 30, 2021 and if not, they are going to remove the building structures that are there now? Mr. Dahilig: Yeah. The concern from the Commission, from what I recall last October, was this issue related to having these open, concrete structures exposed to the elements and if the project fails, what to do about them, right? And I think that needed to be balanced with the fact that vertical construction was looking at a certain timeline to go on, right? So that is where the June 30, 2021 date comes in. It's essentially you know what, you don't complete the vertical, those structures are still there, you got to take it down, and that's it. And that is all I can kind of gather from what the condition is saying at this point; is that we do need to provide an allowance for thein to try to do the vertical. i Ms. Nogaini Streufer: Can I ask one more question? Are you anticipating getting a status report on this anytime soon? Mr. Dahilig: I will. I will get one. Chair Keawe: I think it would be something that we would all want to hear; is basically a status of where they are. And even — I know it is not our kuleana — but it does affect the viability of the property with regard to the land rights/use issue. Ms. Apisa: I just want to make one clarification and that is regarding the state land lease. The bulk of that — because I was very heavily involved in it fifteen (15) years ago — the bulk of that is the coconut grove, which is an amenity but it is not the development site. It is the amenity that needs to be maintained. Chair Keawe: Right. Mr. Dahilig: I do also want to add — because of the coconut grove issue — our department has not been engaged in any of the criminal trespass items that are going on between the Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Prosecutor's Office, and the Police Department. But we have been consulted on it, but pretty much have made very clear our position that the trespass is not related to any ongoing permit enforcement items that are on the table. Mr. Lord: Mike, has your office been in communication with the developer? Mr. Dahilig: Yes. �oi Mr. Lord: Have they given you any verbal updates or any progress? I know you don't have a written report, but are they making headway on work that is required of them? Mr. Dahilig. It seems like they are on top of it with respect to what they are obligated to do. So the big ticket item, which is, again, the building permit submittals are in and they have been engaging with us on changes to it. We have actually bounced back the plans a couple of times because of certain issues we had with the design. Those are the types of things that we are kind of, at this point, in direct communication on. The stuff that relates to, again, the Kapa`a highway widening is the stuff that, more so, is taking more of my time to help facilitate with State DOT. We are working with Larry Dill on it, specifically, and we ... just again to mention, we are meeting again on Friday to discuss how all the parties can try to help facilitate this quicker. Chair Keawe: So the process is active, Mike? Mr. Dahilig. Yeah. Chair Keawe: There are no roadblocks or— Mr. Dahilig: Yes. Chair Keawe: So it's between yourself and the developers and State and everything else? Mr. Dahilig. Yeah. Well, and as I will acknowledge that we do not ask questions concerning, again, their financial viability, everything at this point has been, I guess, to our satisfaction, with the exception of Condition No. 29 related to where they are progressing on the project. Chair Keawe: Okay. Mr. Lord: And I would think that the investment and having plans done is significant; that's my experience. Mr. Dahilig: It's a significant amount of...there are seventeen (17) buildings that have been submitted; seventeen (17) sets of plans that have been submitted. Mr. Lord: So the written report would be very helpful. Chair Keawe: Yeah. Just one last thing on the permit, there are twenty-eight (28) individual permits, or...? Mr. Dahilig: It's less than that actually. Chair Keawe: Less than that? Mr. Dahilig: Yeah. Chair Keawe: Okay. Any other questions, Mr. Ho? 17 Mr. Ho: I'm good. Chair Keawe: You're good. Anybody, any other questions? Okay. Moving on. Mr. Dahilig: Thank you, Mr. Chair. Request to amend Condition No. 2 of Class IV Zoning Permit Z -IV -2015-10, Use Permit U-2015-9 and Special Pen -nit SP -2015-1 to increase the number of tours from three days per week to five days a week, 5730 Olohena Road, Kapa`a, Tax Map Key (4) 4-4-03:45- 0003 = Steelgrass Farm. Mr. Dahilig: We are now on Item I.3. This is a request to amend Condition No. 2 of Class IV Zoning Permit Z -IV -2015-10, Use Permit U-2015-9, and Special Permit SP -2015-1 to increase the number of tours from three (3) days per week to five (5) days per week at 5730 Olohena Road in Kapa`a, Tax Map Key (4) 4-4-003 Parcel 045, CPR 0003. The applicant is Steelgrass Farm. Mr. Chair, I believe there is one (1) individual that would like to testify on this particular agenda item. Chair Keawe: Do you want to do it now? Mr. Dahilig: Yeah. Felicia Cowden. Ms. Cowden: Felicia Cowden for the record. On this case, I deeply support what the applicant is asking for. I have gone and seen what they do there and it's beautiful. There seems to be plenty of parking, seems to be a really light impact. It's a family that is continuously contributing in so many different ways to the community well beyond the farm. I think that as a person who is an advocate for locally -produced food and farming on property that can cost a million dollars or more, it is important that we are able to facilitate having another venue of income. I think that they do such a really responsible job and I have watched the education that happens there. I think we have better visitors on the way home for what they've learned, so it is—anyway, I have full support. Chair Keawe: Thank you. Mr. Dahilig: Mr. Chair, Mr. Bukoski will be providing the report on behalf of the Department. Chair Keawe: Mr. Bukoski. Staff Planner Chance Bukoski: Aloha, Chair and Commissioners. Mr. Bukoski read the Summary, Project Data, Project Description and Use, Applicant's Reasons/Justification, and Tentative Preliminary Evaluation sections of the Director's Report for the record (on file with the Planning Department). Mr. Bukoski: That concludes my staff report. I will hold off on my recommendation. Chair Keawe: Okay. Any questions for Mr. Bukoski? No? If not, can we hear from the applicant, please? Can you pull the mic up and give us your name? Will Lydgate: Good morning. Mr. Lord: Good morning. Ms.AApisa: Good morning. Chair Keawe: Good morning. And you are...? Mr. Lydgate: Will Lydgate. Chair Keawe: Alright. Mr. Lydgate: Aloha, members of the Planning Commission and Planning Department. My name is Will Lydgate and I manage Steelgrass Farm located behind Sleeping Giant on Olohena Road in the Waipouli area of the Kawaihau District. We are the largest chocolate farm on the island of Kauai, in the Top 10 largest chocolate farms in the state and the United States, and we are also the largest producer of vanilla on the island. We raise honey, tropical fruits, spices, and vegetables. I brought some of our farm products so you guys could see. This is a bag of cocoa beans; this is ten (10) pounds. These come off the trees (and) they get processed. This is a product called "chocolate tea". It is the roast shells of the cocoa beans. You steep it in hot water (and) it makes a delicious tea. It smells like hot chocolate. We have vanilla beans; largest producer of vanilla on the island. This is the brewing chocolate, also, which you mix with your coffee grounds; another byproduct of producing cocoa. We bag that and sell it. The visitors love it. Of course we make chocolate bars; we have dark bars, milk bars, bars with different inclusions — Hawaiian coffee, handcrafted sea salt from Molokai, milk chocolate with salt. One (1) pound blocks of chocolate. I would give you guys this stuff, but I don't think I'm allowed (to). (Laughter in background) Chair Keawe: I think the audience would argue with you. (Laughter in background) Mr. Lydgate: (Inaudible) this Palm Blossom Honey. We have award-winning honey. We won the all -Hawaiian honey challenge for a couple different years. So just to demonstrate, we are really busy up there growing stuff and these are cocoa nibs. This is the raw ingredient of chocolate, so maybe the chocolate smell will waft towards you. Thank you for taking the time to review my request to amend my use pen -nit for farm tours because I think that ag-tourism will play an important role to give life back to the land and to help make agricultural ventures more profitable. I am happy to report that I come before you with strong support from my community and my immediate neighborhood. I have, here, copies of twenty-one (21) letters of support I have received. If it is possible to circulate these, that would be great; this is two (2) different copies. Seventeen (17) of these letters are from my 19 neighbors who speak in strong support of my farm and support agriculture, and nine (9) of those are from neighbors that share the easement to my fann and also support my amendment request. Those two (2) are both identical for easier passing around ability. Although I am not sure if it counts, I was also happy that I got the verbal "OK" from five (5) other neighbors on my driveway who didn't write letters. I would like you to look at them because I want you to see what people are saying about us. Also included behind the letters are unedited printouts from TripAdvisor, Google Plus (Google+), and Facebook because I want you to see what visitors are saying about us and how much they love visiting the fann. I also have sixteen (16) color photos of our farm tours; entranceway and fann that I would like you to take a look at, if it is possible, as I speak because I want you to see what we do. Chance. Thank you. As you all may well know, making fanning work on Kauai can be tough. High costs of land and mortgages and lease rent, and the fact that I pay my people well — I don't use the migrant labor that so many other fanners in the U.S. do — make my monthly expenses staggering. Ag -tourism enables me to pay the bills as a fanner because it increases the revenue that I can earn from my farm products. In addition to revenue from a wonderful activity — chocolate tastings, chocolate education — did you know that chocolate is health food? I sell all of my fann products straight to retail, to the well-educated visitors who come on my fann tour. And, after they head home, these visitors purchase my farm products from my online gift shop as my mainland farm `ohana. These visitors who come on my fann know that they are directly supporting me to do ag on Ag lands and they love it. I am able to earn gross product sales in the low six figures selling my chocolate bars, chocolate tea, vanilla beans, vanilla powder, and honey to this small group of people who are educated about my fann. Ag -tourism enables me to do this. My original fann was eight and a half (8 %2) acres. About four (4) years ago, I leased an additional thirty-eight (3 8) acres for a total of fifty-six (56) now under my management. With an increase in fann tours, I will be able to invest more in my land and expand plantings, hire more farmworkers, and give back more to the community. The upside is big and there is very little downside to speak of. Remember, these are quiet tours; there are no loud speakers, there is no amplified music, they are walking tours, very low impact. Visitors come in brand new rental cars; driving very slowly because they have never been to my fann before. Traffic from paid attendees is very light; eight (8) to twelve (12) cars per tour with an average of nine (9) to ten (10) cars at a convenient time of the day, so it is a very low impact. As Chance mentioned, we have been in careful compliance with the nine (9) conditions of our original permit, receiving no complaints over the last two and a half (2 %2) years, and we love to give back. In addition to my twenty-five (25) paid guests per tour, I also welcome children — 12 and under — free of charge, concierges and a guest to attend for free, many locals and those interested in ag also attend for free, as well as anyone in my neighborhood or their guests who are always welcome to attend for free. You will also see some letters in that packet — in the back — and some of the photos that represent our "give back" program where we host free school and community groups to do chocolate tastings and learn about farming; note the letters from Chelsea Chock and St. Catherine's and Patti Hawkinson at Hanalei School in your letters packet. This last season, we hosted Hanalei School, St. Catherine's, Kanuikapono, Hina Mauka, and multiple groups from Easter Seals. I am hopeful that we will inspire some of these young people to become interested in what is possible in agriculture. I live here, I plan to raise my kids here, my father lived here, 20 my grandfather lived here, my great-grandfather lived here, my great -great-grandfather came to Hawaii in 1867 to work for the sugar plantations. I want to create something wonderful for Kauai because I care about this place. I am confident that if we can define what ag-tourism is, then we can create a powerful new income stream for farmers; make agriculture a lucrative sector on Kauai again and provide opportunities for young people in ag. This hearing is a part of that process and I thank you for taking the time to hear my message. I am available to talk story. Chair Keawe: Thank you. Any questions for Mr. Lydgate? I have one. The optimum size of your farm now, with the additional two (2) days, I mean, how large do you want to get? The other part of that is, you know, you are looking at expanding. You have been, from what you have indicated, fairly successful. Mr. Lydgate: Yeah. Chair Keawe: You are going to go from three (3) days to five (5) days, which will probably increase your revenue and a lot more of your expenses and maintenance costs. Are you looking at the potential of leasing other places? Mr. Lydgate: Yeah, that's a good question. I feel like, for this property, five (5) days a week is about the right size. We have a lot of demand from visitors who want this kind of activity, so in time, I would like to see other parcels that I could put into ag-tourism. I know now that the most important thing — the key to ag-tourism — is support from the neighborhood. So if I can get that, I can ... you know, if people see that these visitors are giving life back to the land and giving to the community, then people are going to want to support me. So for this piece of property, I think that this is enough; however, I would be certainly interested in the future in other kinds of ag-tourism operations to create new ag ventures. Chair Keawe: One other question. Apparently, chocolate seems to grow well in Wailua. I live up there and it rains all the time. I've got to mow my grass every seven (7) days. So does that preclude certain areas of the island from expanding? Mr. Lydgate: No. Drainage is the most important thing. Chocolate actually would grow great on the west side if we could get it watered. Chocolate doesn't like a lot of exposure, so too much wind is no good. You need windbreaks and you want a little bit of protection from (the) sun. Wailua can be great. If the soil doesn't drain, there is something called Phytophthora that the trees are going to get. It's called black pod rot. As long as it drains okay, it is fine. I mean, finding the right ag parcel is sort of the biggest thing, Mr. Chair, that the price is right and they are small enough or to not be too big of a chunk of change to manage. Chair Keawe: Okay, thank you. Mr. Lydgate: Thank you. Chair Keawe: Any other questions for the applicant? Donna. 21 Ms. Apisa: I have a question. There was one (1) letter of opposition and it had to do with traffic and noise. It asked if there was any other ingress or egress. Are there any other options? Mr. Lydgate: No, there are no other options for ingress or egress. I do lease another parcel of land next to me and there is an access from that road, but there is no easement. Per the Right to Farm Act in HRS 205, I have an easement from my property; that one is undeveloped and I don't have easement rights across it, so it is not an option at this time. Ms. Apisa: Thank you. I know most of the letters of neighbors were supportive, but I did have to address that (inaudible). Mr. Lydgate: Yeah, no, thank you for asking. And, certainly, I feel that the traffic impact is very light and I did really listen to that concern and I don't think that ... it is not an option. Chair Keawe: Commissioner Lord. Mr. Lord: Hi Will. Mr. Lydgate: Hey. Mr. Lord: I got to say that some of the creative approaches that I see coining out of some of the ag folks like yourself and Fred Atkins and the Koloa Rum folks ... I really think you folks are on the right track to finding ways to make agriculture here ... be able to find a way to make it successful and to snake it wanted and needed. I think that's great. Can you just walk us through what a tour is like? Mr. Lydgate: Sure. Absolutely. You come in, we welcome you. If there is fruit in season, like apple bananas — my friends have some mac nuts they grow — we will greet people with a little starter of that. We do a chocolate right off the bat. As you all know, chocolate has mood elevating health benefits, so it makes you feel good. We feed people chocolate just right away. Mr. Lord: That's why I'm always happy. (Laughter) Mr. Lydgate: Yeah, we feed people chocolate right away, get them stoked, and then we take them through the farm. There is a tropical fruit aspect. We share tropical fruits in season with them. We taste our honey. They see vanilla growing on the vine. We talk about vanilla pollination, how to make your own vanilla; that whole process. We feed them all ripe chocolate fruit, which is delicious if you have never had it. The fruit is excellent and the seed inside is very bitter, a little bit of stringent; that is going to become the chocolate. Then we do a big chocolate tasting. They taste even more chocolate from our farm, some other chocolates from Hawaii. We turn everyone into chocolate connoisseurs, so similar to wine or coffee, chocolate is undergoing a revitalization in the value of the crop. Remember coffee thirty (30) years ago, certainly in the United States, diner coffee, but now you have ... you know, coffee has distinctive flavors and it is not all just the same thing. Or the wine industry in the `50s and `60s in California — you can still get your boxed wine or your wine coolers, or you can get a nice bottle of wine. So this is what we are doing to chocolate right now. We basically educate people about NN that and by the end of the tour, people are stoked, they are filled with joyful feelings because they are happy to be on a farm on vacation and also, they just ate about three (3) ounces of chocolate so they are feeling good. Then we take them ... I have a little farm gift shop and they buy products from my farm. I have a mailing list and then people go home and they use my `ohana discount and get products from me when they go home. It's a sweet little model; vertically -integrated. Chair Keawe: Thank you. Any further questions? Commissioner Ahuna. Ms. Ahuna: I just think it is great. Mr. Lvdgate: Thank you. Ms. Ahuna: It is definitely a sustainable thing for ... ecotourism should be more on Kauai; we need more of that. It is nice to see Ag land being used as ag, especially that supports tourism in that regard, so I think it is awesome. Mr. Lydgate: Thank you. Chair Keawe: Commissioner Streufert. Oh, Commissioner Ho. Mr. Ho: Your gift shop, does that close for the day when you shut the tour down? Mr. Lydgate: Really, the gift shop is a pop-up that opens up at the end of each tour. Sometimes people who can't come on the tours because we are full will come to the gift shop. We will have it open between 11:30 (a.m.) and 12:30 (p.m.). Per HRS 205, I also do have people come up to my gift shop to buy products from my farm. It is not something that we are doing a lot of, but as we increase, we may do more of that. But it is almost always daytime or early afternoon. Are you asking about the hours of operation? Mr. Ho: Right, right. Mr. Lydgate: Yeah. Chair Keawe: Okay. Any further questions? Commissioner Streufert. Ms. Nogami Streufert: In the future, do you anticipate that more of your income is going to be coming from your agriculture or from the tourism portion of it? Mr. Lvdgate: Well, the agriculture is growing. My fields are growing and producing more. I am going to be developing more of a wholesale program, which is going to sell more of my farm crops at some point. I will probably max out my retail. Retail goes straight to the visitors and you make a little bit more money on that. I mean, it is really hard to say. The ag is absolutely happening. It is also seasonal, so some years you get better years than others; you might make a little more on tours, a little more on ag. But, I want to do ag. I want to grow stuff. IN Ms. Nogami Streufert: Great. That is what I wanted to hear. Mr. Lydgate: Yeah. (Laughter in background) There are some photos in the photo packet of the land that was in pineapple in the `50s and then the chocolate fields today. Chair Keawe: Right. Mr. Lvdgate: It is really cool to see this land that was basically just sitting for ... (inaudible) some horses on there. Chair Keawe: Thank you. Commissioners, are we ready to make a decision? Chance, do you want to give us your recommendation? Mr. Bukoski: Certainly, Chair. Tentative Preliminary Recommendation. Based on the foregoing evaluation and conclusion, the proposed amendments to Use Permit U-2015-9, Special Pen -nit SP -2015-1, and Class IV Zoning Permit Z -IV -2015-10 can be considered for approval. Chair, would you like me to read through the recommendations? Chair Keawe: No, I think it is ... the main one is just changing Condition No. 2, I believe, to five (5) days instead of three (3). Mr. Bukoski: Correct. And I would also like to amend the condition as well to ... the hours of operation shall be from 8:00 a.m. to 6:00 pan. Chair Keawe: Alright. So those are the two (2) changes to the conditions? Mr. Bukoski: Correct. Chair Keawe: Okay. Commissioners, do we have a motion? Ms. Nogami Streufert: I move to amend Condition No. 2 of Class IV Zoning Permit Z -IV -2015- 10, Use Permit U-2015-9, and Special Permit SP -2015-1 to increase the number of tours from three (3) days a week to five (5) days a week, as well as the hours of operation, I believe, for Steelgrass Farm. Chair Keawe: Do I have a second? Ms. Ahuna: Second. Chair Keawe: It has been moved and seconded. All those in favor? (Unanimous voice vote) Any opposed? (None) Motion carries 7:0. Congratulations. Mr. Lvdgate: Thank you very much. Thank you. WE COMMITTEE REPORTS S ubdivision Mr. Dahilig: Mr. Chair, we do have a Subdivision Committee report that has been circulated. Chair Keawe: We got the Subdivision Committee report. Mr. Ho, if you could give us that, and then we are going to take a break before the next item comes up. Mr. Ho: Three (3) items were on the agenda for the Subdivision (Committee) All three passed; D.R. Horton -Schuler, Helen Martin, Aukahi Farm. All passed 3:0. Chair Keawe: Okay. Can I have a motion to accept the report? Ms. Apisa: Motion to accept the Sub [sic] Committee Report No. 2. Chair Keawe: Do I have a second? Ms. Nogami Streufert: Second. Chair Keawe: It has been moved and seconded to accept the report. All those in favor? (Unanimous voice vote) Any opposed? (None) Motion carries 7:0. Thank you. We will take a break for about fifteen (15) minutes. Thank you. The Commission recessed this portion of the meeting at 10:09 a.m. The Commission reconvened this portion of the meeting at 10:30 a.m. Chair Keawe: Call the meeting back to order. Mr. Dahilig: Thank you, Mr. Chair. UNFINISHED BUSINESS (For Action) Mr. Dahilig: We are on Item L, Unfinished Business. We have none for this morning. NEW BUSINESS Class IV Zoning Permit Z -IV -2017-16 to develop 134 affordable housing units, containing a combination of 4-plexes and 6-plexes, and associated site improvements on a parcel situated on the eastern side of Koloa Road in K61oa, situated immediately across the K61oa Estates Subdivision, further identified as Tax Map Key 2-6-004:019, and containing a total are of 11.204 acres = Mark Development, Inc. [Director's Report received 7/25/17.1 25 Mr. Dahilig: We are on Item M. This is New Business. Referring back to Class IV Zoning Permit Z -IV -2017-16 to develop one hundred thirty-four (134) affordable housing units at TMK: 2-6-004 Parcel 019 in Koloa. Mr. Chair, the agency hearing is closed on this matter and Dale will be doing the report on behalf of the Department. Chair Keawe: Dale. Staff Planner Dale Cua: Good morning, Mr. Chair and members of the Commission. Mr. Cua read the Summary, Project Data, Project Description and Use, Applicant's Reasons/Justification, and Additional Findings sections of the Director's Report for the record (on file with the Planning Department). Mr. Cua: That concludes the Director's Report. I also wanted to note that there are two (2) supplements to the Director's Report also handed out to you. Chair Keawe: Okay. Any questions for Dale? If not, can we hear from the applicant please? Paul Watase: Good morning, Commissioners. My naive is Paul Watase. I am with Mark Development, Inc.; the vice president. Thank you for allowing us to bring this project that we are doing for the County Housing Agency. Koa`e Workforce Housing, as the introduction of the property, basically gave a good summary of what we are providing. Our goal is to provide quality affordable housing for the people of Kauai; that has been Mark Development's goal and my father's reason for forming the company, was to provide affordable housing for the people of Hawaii. With me, I have Marc Ventura who is our architect for the project. He is a Kauai boy and he practices here on Kauai. Behind me is Bill Bow of Bow Engineering and Erni Tanitomi. They are the civil engineers for the project. Also, Kanani Fu from the County Housing Agency is also here. For this housing project, it came to us via the RFP process with the County Housing Agency and we were fortunate to be awarded it. Our goal was to really minimize the density of the project because it could have gone up to one hundred eighty (180) units for the site; so an 11 -acre site, roughly, and about 7.8 of it is buildable. Our goal was really to provide as much housing and also as much parking; we have two (2) stalls per unit, minimum. And also to accommodate how we feel is a connection to the street and to really make this a desirable community for the working people of Kauai. Marc, did you want to go over the architectural elements? Marc Ventura: Yeah. Good morning, Chair Keawe and members of the Commission. Again, my name is Marc Ventura, an architect here in Lihu`e and I have been practicing on Kauai for almost twenty-five (25) years now. I have a couple of images that I will show you and I will briefly go over them. 26 First off, I will orient you to the project site. This is an overview of K61oa Town and kind of the Po`ipu area. The project site is here in the middle. Po`ipu Road is this yellow dotted line that comes across and I'm sort of highlighting that up to the roundabout. There's the roundabout. North is pointing this way, so here is north; the coast and the roundabout to the south of the site. We are on the east side of Po`ipu Road here. Here is Kiahuna Golf Course behind the project. Koloa town proper is over here. There is the Big Save. This orange line represents about a mile of distance. The actual route is a little bit longer to Big Save, but that gives you an idea of size and distance from everything. I've got a couple of images representing the site. This is a view from the northwest, so we are kind of looking up here looking back. Po`ipu Road comes here. The entry to the site (is) approximately at the middle of the property. The ingress to the site ... the site access location was dictated by a Traffic Impact Analysis and Study that was done. They looked at various scenarios and we went with their recommendation on the ingress location along here. Part of the improvements is a continuous sidewalk on the property that runs down along Po`ipu Road here. We've got a variety, as mentioned in the Staff Report, of 4-plex units, which are two (2) units on the ground floor and two (2) units up, and 6-plex units, three (3) units on the ground floor and three (3) units up. The idea was to try to, again, as mentioned, low -scale and really kind of find a residential scale for these units. It was a bit of a struggle to meet the density requirement because we kept the buildings at this 2 -story, low -scale. We did have some floodplain issues. The site generally slopes downwards towards the ocean from north to south. We know that there is a lot of rock in the area, so that has been an engineering challenge as to how we address that. We are essentially filling up the site to get our pad elevations up and out of that floodway. Our infrastructure — water and power being provided by Kukui`ula and waste lines ... our waste connection point is here going down to the H-3 Sewage Waste Treatment Plant out there on the Po`ipu side. Our water is coming in, I believe, up here and our power is coming in through the middle of the site as well. Our community center is right here in the middle, so centrally located and there is a community, sort of, gathering space. There is a common laundry facility in there. Our mailbox area is off in that area as well. So it is kind of the central location for the property. We have got a circular internal access pathway that comes through the site; through the middle and then back and around. We studied various options initially and in looking at the South Shore Development Plan, one of the key features of this site layout was to kind of address our buildings to the street frontage, which was countered to kind of...what we initially had looked at from an efficiency standpoint, laying out parallel with the grade, but we got, I think, nice street frontage out of that. We have solar water for each of the ... you can see on the rooftops there and we actually are having provisions for possible future PV, so energy efficiency was a big theme in what we are trying to do here. As Paul mentioned, I think affordable housing always sort of trigger these thoughts of cheap housing, but in fact, long-term, low maintenance... we are considering high-quality finish materials for the project, so we have a nice project and a project that will last long and I think the community will be proud of as well. I am going to jump to another image here. Within the ... sort of the middle of the project here, there are two (2) sort of central court areas right here that these buildings cluster around. So I am going to bring you to this image here. This is kind of a close-up image of this ... I'm calling it a south courtyard in here. We have a couple of gazebos throughout the project for gathering and shade and a playground area for the children, but this kind of gives you a sense of the scale. The architectural design is really a plantation -style that we looked at in Koloa Town. We have board and batten, and we are considering a hardy panel siding, which is really an upgrade from T1-11. It is a nice, stable material that should last long. Metal roofs and gutter systems as well with that. 27 And then we have some eyebrow features to introduce shade. We are looking at natural ventilation. All our bedrooms have windows; most of them have corner locations. And then there are a lot of other provisions we are looking at for these occupants, including options for air conditioning, if they choose to purchase that, as well as options for in -unit washer/dryers; although there is, again, a community laundromat within the facility. That kind of covers the overview of the architectural design of the project. If there are any questions, I can try and address them. Chair Keawe: Any questions from the Commissioners? Mr. Ho. Mr. Ho: For Paul, how did the county come to acquire that piece of property? Mr. Watase: I believe it was because Kukui`ula wasn't really complying with their requirements to provide the affordable housing and the county worked out a deal where they would get the land deeded to them and then the county could then pursue it in a more timely fashion. Mr. Ho: Excuse me for interrupting you, but I think Kanani has a comment that she would like to share, maybe. (Laughter in background) Mr. Watase: She knows all the details. Housing Director Kanani Fu: Good morning. Kanani Fu, Housing Director. To answer your question, the county acquired this parcel as a condition to an ordinance — 2004 — of Kukui`ula. The condition was to provide seventy-five (75) units of workforce housing through Kukui`ula. In discussion and a lot of working together, the county realized that we could actually build more units and deliver the product faster, so we went into negotiations with Kukui`ula and we came back to the Planning Commission to amend that condition of the ordinance. I think that where we are now is a better product for the county, as well as a better condition that we are receiving. Mr. Ho: This is workforce housing? Ms. Fu: Yes; workforce, affordable, interchangeable. Mr. Ho: Priority would be given to...? Ms. Fu: The priority for this project is those that work in the Po`ipu area, designated by the Tax Map Key, and then it would be those that work in the County of Kauai, and then it is open. Mr. Ho: Thank you. Chair Keawe: Any other questions? I had one, Kanani. These are rental units— Ms. Fu: Yes. 28 Chair Keawe: —if I understand, that the county owns and will appoint some management company to manage on their behalf or whatever, but they are rental units. They are not units for sale as far as conveying land or property. Ms. Fu: No. The proposed project is all rental units and due to the development agreement, as well as financing restrictions, the units are required to remain affordable for sixty (60) years, 6-0 Chair Keawe: Can you give us some indication of what those one-, two-, and three-bedroom units will rent for? Ms. Fu: Sure. Rental prices are dictated by rental guidelines published by HUD every year, so it could change depending on when the project comes online, and this particular project is required to serve specific median incomes, so we will read the rates that pertain to that income. Chair Keawe: Okay, yeah, Mr. Watase. Mr. Watase: A little bit of background — the project is being financed through the Low -Income Housing Tax Credit program, which is an IRS Section 42 program. It is the main vehicle that allows affordable housing to be built because it brings in private equity through the sale of the tax credits to basically offset your development costs, reduce your mortgage size, so your rents can actually support the mortgage. Okay? Our current pro -forma rents are for ... we are serving 60% of median income and we have 50% median income units, so we have two (2) income layers. The one -bedroom, 60% unit is currently penciled in at $960, two-bedroom at $1,152, three-bedroom at $1,331. For the 50% median income units, the one -bedroom is $800, the two- bedroom is $960, and the three-bedroom is $1,109. We are also going to be having some project... well, it's not ... the county will be dedicating some Section 8 vouchers to us so we will also have Section 8 households in the property, so that has a potential of serving a lot lower income levels. Chair Keawe: Is there a time limit on executing the project as far as the tax credits are concerned? Mr. Watase: Yes. We were awarded the tax credits this past July 17th; we got our award letter. We are currently in the syndication process, which is our ... selling the credits or getting an investor onboard through a syndicator, and we are in the process of doing all of our due diligence with them — or them with us — and that process we hope to have finished and completed in about two (2) months. Chair Keawe: Two (2) months? Mr. Watase: Right. But with the tax credit program, we have basically... from January 2018, we have two (2) years to complete the project; that is complete and have the units occupied or certificate of occupancy issued, or we lose credits. So the program is very strict and has specific timelines. Chair Keawe: That was the reason for my question. 29 Mr. Watase: Yes. Chair Keawe: Because you have a deadline that's got to be finished by a certain date. Mr. Watase: Yes. Chair Keawe: Okay. Any other questions? Ms. Nogami Streufert: I do. Chair Keawe: Commissioner Streufert. Ms. Nogami Streufert: Just a couple of questions and it is probably for both the Planning Department, as well as for the developers. According to this, you've got two hundred and sixty- eight (268) parking spaces; that puts approximately two hundred sixty-eight (268) cars on the road, on that one Po`ipu Road, which is a significant increase. I know that there is an analysis that was done in 2015 and that analysis was of Po`ipu Road to Koloa Road and then the Maluhia Road; that whole area. The analysis was done in 2015. I think there has been significant changes in traffic since then with the opening of Koloa Landing, as well as more in Kukui`ula. So I guess the question is, with two hundred and sixty-eight (268), potentially, cars going out and ... the peak times that were looked at were between 7:00 and 8:00 in the morning and 3:30 to 4:30 in the afternoon; that's really not even an 8 -hour day. If many of the people are going to be in construction, that doesn't really fit the peak hours of traffic. It does fit the peak hours for schools, so that may have been one of the reasons for selecting those hours. But if you are looking at peak workforce traffic hours, those are probably not the hours. And the question is, can another traffic analysis be done, not to stop the process or anything like that, but to ensure that those kinds of traffic concerns are built into any kind of road improvements that might be planned by the state or the county for Po`ipu Road, as well as for Maluhia (Road) and the Kukui`ula area? So the question is, how accurate do we think those analyses are right now? They were (done in) 2015 and it said there would be no impact. Ms. Fu: To clarify, the traffic analysis incorporated three (3) projects; the Village at K61oa Town, Shops at Kukui`ula, Island Country Markets at Kukui`ula, in addition to ours. The analysis used the base year 2020 and without the project, the traffic in 2020 goes from "E" to "F" and with the project, it stays at "F"; only at the K61oa and Po`ipu intersection, north. For reference, if you are turning left to go to the Oma`o Ranch area, so that was where the LOS, Level of Service, changed. As far as ingressing into Po`ipu Road and our intersection, the analysis would remain the same based on the counts and therefore, the recommendation to address our traffic coining in and out is to do the road widening with the left -turn lanes and the ingress/egress roads. Ms. Nogami Streufert: But that is only to the development. Ms. Fu: To the development, yes. WE Ms. Nogami Streufert: But I am looking at Po`ipu Road to K61oa Road and that area, and that's why I was trying to address the question to both the Planning Department, as well as to the developer. I understand that your responsibility is to the development and how you get into and out of the development, but the community may have some concerns about two hundred and sixty-eight (268) additional cars on that two-lane road — Po`ipu Road — and there is no other road that will service that right now in the plans. Or maybe there are other plans and that is the question; are there other plans? Mr. Cua: Speaking on behalf of the county, I can tell you that the Department has been working with another agency with the Department of Public Works in addressing future roadway improvements to serve the K61oa-Po`ipu area. Those plans are still ... I would say we have identified what the necessary improvements are in order to improve traffic in the area and there are several components that would help alleviate traffic, but I think, at this time, the county is still working with those property owners in terms of trying to, not only acquire the necessary lands to propose these roadways, but at the same time, design these roadways as well. Ms. Nogami Streufert: Thank you. Because that answers the question that at least those kinds of concerns are being addressed now so that we are not kicking the can down the road and two (2) years from now we have two hundred and sixty-eight (268) additional cars on a two-lane road that really has a hard time now supporting it and it is not in very good condition to begin with, so that was my concern. I think that this is a great project for the working workforce and something that is needed, but you also said you are going to be increasing the earth pad. Is that for the entire development? Or is that just where it is into the floodplain? Mr. Watase: The floodway... we can't build in, so what we do have to do is we have to raise the house pads to above flood elevations. Ms. Nogami Streufert: For all of them? Or just for those in that area? Mr. Watase: Well, for the whole site. Ms. Nogami Streufert: How high are they going to be? Mr. Watase: On average, I think we are raising the pads on the mauka side — so mauka of that bisecting road — I think we are increasing the house pads about 4 feet. On the bottom edge, more about 6 feet; the bottom side. And that is just to get the ... the required flood elevations that we have to get our house pads at, that is what is dictating where our building pad elevations are. It also helps that on the existing site, we've got only about 3 or 4 feet of top soil above the rock. Ideally, you don't want to have to dig into the rock, right? So it actually works out; beneficial for the project. Ms. Nogami Streufert: Will this have any impact upon Waikomo Stream? Because Waikomo Stream is the one that goes right behind it and that is where the floodplain is. Is that correct? 31 Mr. Watase: Well, per all the storm water quality requirements, we are not allowed to impact Waikomo Stream. We have to take care of all our storm water on-site and not increase any flow into the floodway. Chair Keawe: I have a question, Mr. Watase. How long do you think this project will take to actually build out, subject to getting all of the proper permits? Mr. Watase: If everything goes well and we don't have any unforeseen... the main things that could stop us is if there is ... when we are doing our earthwork, if we hit a cave or some underground item that we would have to address, that could delay us significantly. But if we don't have that and things run smoothly on our site work and with the powerline relocation, we actually hope to be built out by August of 2019. Chair Keawe: 2019? Mr. Watase: Yes. We need to build ourselves in that 4 -month slack, 5 -month slack just in case of any unforeseen conditions. Chair Keawe: Right. Mr. Ho. Mr. Ho: Mr. Ventura, that middle diagram there, Po`ipu Road going to the ... is there a possibility — yes — you could make a pullover for maybe the county bus or school bus that won't stop traffic flowing through it? Ms. Fu: We are working with the County Transportation Agency. With the condition of the road widening, it took out the buildable land, so siting the bus there can be a possibility in the future; however, currently at this time, Public Works and Transportation ... we are working on — through a grant through the State Transportation ... the STIP grant from the intersection of Koloa/Po`ipu all the way down to Kukui`ula — working on sidewalks, complete streets, and all of that jazz. So the siting of the bus stop running south and running the opposite direction hasn't been made yet. I guess the answer is we are still in the planning phases, though we will be contributing the fund to fund that stop; that's part of a condition where the Kauai Bus in working with the community and the Public Works where they decide to site that bus stop is yet to be determined. Chair Keawe: Okay. Any other questions? Mr. Lord. Mr. Lord: Yes. Mark, you had mentioned the wastewater system. Can you tell me where that plant is located on the map? That you are going to be taking the waste to. Mr. Ventura: I'm not exactly sure where it is. Ms. Fu: HOH is— Mr. Ventura: HOH is - 32 Ms. Fu: —passed the roundabout. Mr. Ventura: Here is the roundabout. Ms. Fu: On the left, right before Keoki's. Mr. Lord: So that is the one you can see from the roadway? Ms. Fu: Yes. So our capacity comes from HOH. It is located right about here; this area. On the left as you head into Po`ipu by Keoki's. Mr. Lord: And then I noticed the facilities charge on that was about $850,000. Ms. Fu: Yes. Mr. Lord: Was any consideration given to doing an on-site plant? Ms. Fu: Yes. Excuse me. Let me take a step back. Mr. Lord: Because in addition to the facilities charge, now you have a cost of transmission, right? Ms. Fu: Yes. The site conveyance with Kukui`ula also came with infrastructure, so the transmission of the wastewater is paid for or it will be done through Kukui`ula. The FRC's waiving cannot happen at a private ... I mean, it is a private sewer plant. The county could waive it, but we are hooking up to the private sewer plant, and that capacity has been planned into HOH from the inception of the project. Mr. Lord: So that was deemed as a better approach than an on-site facility? Ms. Fu: Yes. We are getting sewer hookup without having to build a package plant with adequate capacity for Koa`e. Mr. Lord: Okay. Do you know who owns the site to the east of the property? Ms. Fu: In reference... where? Mr. Ventura: This area? Mr. Lord: Yes. Ms. Fu: Marc, can you point? Let me see. Mr. Watase: It is all A&B. Chair Keawe: A&B. 33 Ms. Fu: Yeah, so there are two (2) large owners; McBryde, Alexander and Baldwin, as well as Knudsen. Chair Keawe: Again, the transmission cost was part of the package for Kukui`ula? Ms. Fu: Yes, it was. Chair Keawe: It was in a condition? Ms. Fu: Yes. Mr. Watase: The amount of land area to do a package plant, and given the subterranean conditions, would have been ... it makes it hard to do one in the Po`ipu-Koloa area, right, because if you dig into the rock and you are just busting rock to put in your leach fields and everything, so it is a difficult proposition. Chair Keawe: You had a question, Mr. Ho? Mr. Ho: Marc, the utility lines are all underground? Mr. Ventura: All underground. On site they are all underground. There is an electrical (inaudible). Once on site, all of our utilities will be underground to the individual buildings and whatnot. Mr. Watase: To expand on that, currently there is a high-voltage, 9469 kW line that runs overhead. Part of what we are doing is we are going to be working with Kukui`ula — they are responsible to relocate that powerline — but part of our site conditions was to provide an electrical easement, as well as an access easement to that box culvert to go across Waikomo Stream. It worked out well that we had this bisecting road because all of our easements are right there and that is where we are going to be relocating the high-voltage powerline. We are actually going to have that ... if you are all familiar with that giant, steel pole that is out there, that is going to be relocated close to the box culvert where�it is going to then come up and tie into the existing overhead. Mr. Ho: This is all at Kukui`ula's expense? Mr. Watase: The overhead relocation, yes. Chair Keawe: Commissioner Lord. Mr. Lord: One last question on the elevations of the buildings. What is the impact on the view plains? If you are in a car and you are traveling along Po`ipu Road, what does that look like? You are saying it is 4 feet at the top end and 6 feet at the bottom end, so is the whole site raising up? kil Mr. Watase: Yes. The whole site is raising up. Currently, there is 10 feet of brushes and shrubs and trees, or higher, so you can't really see anything except for the hills in the distance. The only time you really get an open view plain is when you hit the PV plant and the golf course, and then you've got open vistas. Mr. Lord: So that connection point from roadway to the property, that will be an embankment? Mr. Watase: Currently, we were having the retaining wall that varied within 3 to 6 feet in height along Po`ipu Road and one of the conditions is that we work with the Planning Department to reduce the impact of that and figure out a solution that Planning is happy with. Mr. Lord: Okay. Thanks. Chair Keawe: Any other questions? Commissioner Apisa. Ms. Apisa: I do. This is a county development project? Mr. Watase: It is a county RFP. The county is the landowner and Mark Development is the developer. We will also being doing the property management of the project. But the housing itself is considered privately owned because it is going to be owned by a nonprofit and basically the tax credit investors. Ms. Apisa: I ask because it is a 60 -year affordable project. What happens to it after sixty (60) years? Mr. Watase: In general, the way that most of these tax credit projects work is somewhere along the line it gets sold and what is called an "acquisition rehab" is done, and it is a tax credit program again. So it usually gets refurbished and the sixty (60) years get extended. It is basically going to stay in affordable housing forever, in perpetuity. Ms. Apisa: I would think after sixty (60) years it probably will need a rehab. (Laughter in background) Mr. Watase: The rehabs actually usually occur in about twenty (20) years. Ms. Apisa: Another question. There were options for an in-house washer/dryer and air conditioning. I mean, if it is an affordable project, who gets the option to pay for that? Mr. Watase: We are just providing the hookups. We are designing it into the project. So if someone... well, the one great thing about the Low -Income Housing Tax Credit program is that although it is based on income, it is your qualifying income. When you first enter the project, you cannot exceed 60% or 50% of the median income, but after that, if your income goes up, you are not penalized. Any other housing program, the more you make, the more rent you pay, right? So this one is basically, your income can increase and you don't have to vacate or you don't have to pay more so you can better your family. If you can afford that washer/dryer, you can put it in. If you can afford to do A/C, you can put that in. 35 Ms. Apisa: So the tenant would put them in? Mr. Watase: Yes, the tenant would furnish the home. And for those that can't afford washer/dryers, that is why we are going to have a coin -op facility at the community center. Ms. Apisa: Thank you. Chair Keawe: Mr. Watase, does that work well in other projects? Apparently, you have many similar kinds of projects as far as the community center with a Laundromat there and you've got a public space and, I assume, an office that your manager would have space, too. Mr. Watase: Yes. The community center currently has a maintenance facility. For all the projects we do, we build in a big maintenance facility because a lot of projects overlook that and then you end up with containers all over the site to just store your stuff. We have our management offices located there, a community room — I think it is about 20 by 40 — and then a small security office that we are hoping that we will get KPD out to use that at their leisure. They can use it to come in, write up their tickets, do their reports, or whatever, and we can have them on-site as free security. But the laundromat coin -op facility is really for those that are 50% or if they are on Section 8 vouchers, they could be even 40% of the median income, 20% of the median income. They could be very low income and they don't have the money to purchase laundry equipment. Some projects furnish laundry equipment. I just find that to be...it is really a luxury and it is a nightmare for the property management. So on the development side, you know, some developers say oh yeah, just put it in, and then guess what ... since we do property management, we're going, oh now I have to maintain a hundred thirty-four (134) washers and dryers; that is a nightmare for property managers, so that is why we are only doing the hookup options. Chair Keawe: And then it is the tenants' responsibility to maintain whatever he puts in. Mr. Watase: Right. Correct. Chair Keawe: Okay. One last question about the community area. You have a couple of gazebos, so to speak. Are you going to do any barbeques in there? Or that's something you don't do in your projects? Mr. Watase: The intent is ... we are still finalizing all of the amenities, but the gazebos would have (inaudible) park -type barbeque pits installed. Chair Keawe: Right. Yeah. Mr. Watase: I am even trying to look into where we can site all of our bike racks and put bike racks at every building. Chair Keawe: Okay. Good. Oh, I'm sorry. Go ahead, Commissioner Apisa. Ki Ms. Apisa: On the gazebo, you mentioned that there will be various gazebos around and then you mentioned a playground. The playground is at one of the specific sites or multiple? Mr. Watase: Well, in Marc's site planning, we have one (1) primary one that is located in the renderings between ... it is our biggest open space, but I also want to ... in my planning, I want to also put another smaller one on the mauka parcel, so like a more tot lot playground version, and a little bigger kid version on the makai side. Ms.AApisa: The bike rack is a great, great plus. Mr. Watase: Yeah, I am installing bike racks in most of the properties we manage, so there is a need for that. Ms. Apisa: Yeah. It helps traffic. Chair Keawe: Any other questions? Ms. Nogaini Streufert: One question. Chair Keawe: Yes, Commissioner Streufert. Ms. Nogami Streufert: According to the report that you submitted, there were five hundred and eighty-three (583) archaeological sites in the Kiahuna... in this whole area with a hundred and seventy-five (175) stone enclosures and stone house platforms. Are any of those still around in that area? Or do you anticipate finding them? And how would you deal with that? Mr. Watase: Well, in our EA, there were no significant findings on our site for any archaeological items. Ms. Nogami Streufert: But there must be a lot of stones and stuff there — I would think — or even heiau, and you've got water channels. Ms. Fu: Through SHPD through the permitting process, there are steps you have to take should you encounter artifacts, burials, and those kinds of things, so we are required to have that. Particularly with this site, there is best management practice being required, specifically not cutting trees or creating fence lines during the hoary bat season, so that was one thing and we are not going to hit that season — thankfully — without delay. The second is because the site was ... no artifacts found, we do not have to have an on-site archaeologist until such event occurs, so it cleared the NEPA and it cleared SHPD. Ms. Nogami Streufert: There was a suggestion at one point about a biological monitor. Ms. Fu: Yes. We will have the biological monitor on-site during the grading or the clearing, yes. And it is dependent on the season of whether or not ducks decide to use the stream as their nesting ground, so we do have that requirement. 37 Chair Keawe: Okay. Any other questions? I need to ask a few questions, so any one of the three of you could answer these. This is a water issue with regard to public trust. Is the proposed use of the project to serve domestic water use? Mr. Watase: Do you want to answer those, Marc? Mr. Ventura: Yes, domestic water use on-site. Chair Keawe: Who will be the primary user of the water? Public, private, or commercial? Mr. Ventura: Public. Chair Keawe: Okay. Have you examined other public or private uses in the area? Ms. Fu: No. Chair Keawe: How will this application affect other public and private uses? Or will it? Ms. Fu: I don't have that answer readily available. Our water is coming through the county allocation with sufficient storage, transmission, and capacity. Chair Keawe: Okay. Mr. Dahilig: Does this particular use propose an increase in any draw from any existing water sources other than that which is already allocated to the Department of Water to be drawn? Ms. Fu: No, it does not. Chair Keawe: Okay. Ms. Fu: Thank you for clarifying. Chair Keawe: Are there any other alternative water sources for servicing the area? Mr. Ventura: I don't think so. Ms. Fu: Not that I am aware of. Not that we are aware of. Chair Keawe: Alright. And then I've got some questions about Native Hawaiian and traditional and customary practices. Have you reached out to any Native Hawaiian Aha Moku Council, the Burial Council, kupuna, or other cultural practitioners or historians to examine any claims to cultural, historical, and natural resources in the subject area? Ms. Fu: Yes, that was done through the cultural impact analysis [sic]. Chair Keawe: Okay. Do you know if there are any land court awards provided on the property? M-1 Ms. Fu: No, there are not any land court awards. Chair Keawe: Any historical/anecdotal accounts of any resources that were valued in the area? Ms. Fu: Yes. Particularly with Waikomo Stream. Chair Keawe: Yeah. Those would be covered with the survey. Ms. Fu: The cultural impact analysis [sic], yes. Chair Keawe: Any historical/anecdotal accounts of any practices going on? Locals or any others within the area? Ms. Fu: Currently on the project site, no, but in conjunction with Waikomo Stream, which passes through our property, yes. Chair Keawe: Okay. Are you aware of any evidence of any resources in any subsurface? TUMIM10061 Chair Keawe: Are you aware of any evidence that trails were in existence on the property? Ms. Fu: Again, through the Waikomo Stream flowing through our project, there could have been those that traversed the edge of the streamline to access or gather. Chair Keawe: Okay. What existed in the area in the past? Was it pasture or...? I mean, depending on how far you want to go back. (Laughter) Mr. Ventura: Sugar cane cultivation went on and apparently it is fallow now. Chair Keawe: Okay. And then, have any individuals ever requested access to the property for any reason since you have obtained ownership? Ms. Fu: No, they have not. Chair Keawe: Alright, thank you. Ms. Fu: Thanks. Chair Keawe: Okay. Commissioners, any other questions? Ms. Apisa: Could I ask one more question? Chair Keawe: Yes. 39 Ms. Apisa: Just out of curiosity, is there a connection between Mark Development and Marc Ventura? (Laughter in background) Ms. Fu: That is Marc with a "c". That is Mark with a "k". Ms. Apisa: Oh, okay. (Laughter in background) Because I was wondering if that was a typo. Okay. Mr. Watase: Do we look like brothers? (Laughter in background) We did work together in Honolulu doing corporate architecture, though; that is how we know each other. Ms. Apisa: Maybe hanai. (Laughter in background) Chair Keawe: Okay. Any other questions? Ms. Ahuna: I just had one. Chair Keawe: Go ahead. Ms. Ahuna: In reference to Waikomo Stream, but I think Kanani answered it all. Is there going to be access to the stream from the property? Like will you be able to walk through, or is there going to be a fence line or anything? Mr. Watase: Well, the access will be primarily from the bisecting road and then when you get to the box culvert that is there, you would have access on our side of the property to the stream. Ms. Fu: Just a follow up, the adjacent property — east of the bisecting road — is out of our property ownership, so perhaps that is an A&B/Knudsen... Ms. Ahuna: But there won't be fencing or ... you guys don't plan any fencing or walls in the back. Ms. Fu: The backside will have retaining walls to mitigate the flood elevation— Ms. Ahuna: Oh, right, right. Ms. Fu: —and the drainage. Chair Keawe: Okay. Are we ready to make a decision? Deputy Attorney Jodi Higuchi Sayegusa: Could I just follow up? I'm sorry. A couple more questions. You mentioned that the archaeological survey identified certain traditional/customary practices. Did you folks analyze that and determine the extent of...that the proposed action is going to be affecting those rights and how you are going to mitigate any affects to the practices that exist there? M Ms. Fu: Without the impact analysis, I can't recall all of the traditional rights or access that was occurring. What we are looking at of cultural use for that particular project currently — and by current, within the past fifty (50) years — there was none; however, again, because Waikomo Stream crosses through the project, there are historical stories and recollections of people using that to go back and forth. Presently, that was not observed and that was not recorded, and there has been no one that has come forth to discuss or share that they are currently using that project site for cultural practices when we conducted the CIA. Ms. Higuchi Sayegusa: And there won't be any ... like any fencing or anything to prevent access to the stream should people come forward wanting access. Ms. Fu: No, I don't believe so. Our project, as well as the adjacent landowners, would be amicable to access. It is, again, a matter of asking or giving notice to the property manager. Ms. Higuchi Sayegusa: Thank you. Chair Keawe: Okay, Commissioners, are we ready to make a decision? Mr. Mahoney: Yes. Chair Keawe: Mr. Mahoney. Mr. Mahoney: I move to approve Class IV Zoning Permit Z -IV -2017-16 to develop a hundred and thirty-four (13 4) housing units. Chair Keawe: Okay. Do I have a second? Ms. Nogami Streufert: Second. Chair Keawe: It has been moved and seconded. All those in favor? (Unanimous voice vote) Any opposed? (None) Motion carries 7:0. Congratulations. Move forward. Ms. Fu: Thank you. Mr. Watase: Thank you very much. Mr. Dahilig: Thank you, Mr. Chair. ANNOUNCEMENTS Topics for Future Meetings The following regularly scheduled Planning Commission meeting will be held at 9:00 a.m., or shortly thereafter at the Lihu`e Civic Center, Mo`ikeha Building Meeting Room 41 2A-213, 4444 Rice Street, Lihu`e, Kauai, Hawaii 96766 on Tuesday, September 12, 2017. Mr. Dahilig: Future announcements [sic]. I will circulate the on deck sheets for your entertainment. It looks like we are kind of light coming in to the next few meetings. Just as a heads up, the next scheduled Planning Commission meeting will be done on September 12, 2017, so that is not a typo. We do not have a second meeting scheduled for August given the intake that we are having right now. We consolidated a lot of the items, so we will see you in the fall, I guess. Ms. Apisa: I will just let you know I will not be here in September. I have a mainland trip meeting. Mr. Dahilig: Okay. Chair Keawe: Okay. Mr. Dahilig: And then, also, as I mentioned at the last meeting, we do have the Hawaii Congress of Planning Officials meeting coming up. Again, you can please let Leslie know. I know in your case, probably not available. Ms. Apisa: When? Mr. Dahilig: The Hawaii Congress of Planning Officials meeting; HCPO. Ms. Apisa: What is the date? Mr. Dahilig: In September. Ms. Apisa: Oh. Mr. Dahilig: Yeah. It is going to be in Honolulu and that is the ... just double-check again. It's the 20... Ms. Ahuna: 20, 21, 22. Mr. Dahilig: Yeah, 20, 21, 22. If you can just let Leslie know, again, if you are able to make that meeting. And then, just as another heads -up, the Rice Street Block Party or pa`ina or Rice Street Gathering — we are still massaging a name for it — will be that following Saturday, September 23rd. It is part of our on -street efforts to build community in the commercial strip of that area, and also, formally introduce the Rice Street brand that we are using as an open source opportunity for the businesses to brand their work. So that will be from 5:00 to 9:00 p.m. on September 23rd: We are intending on having the streets closed for that, along with food vendors, live entertaimnent, and there will also be a kids' basketball tournament at Kalena Park. So if you are available to join us for that, we can get you shirts to wear for that meeting. 42 Other than that, Mr. Chair, that is all I have for this meeting. Mr. Ho: Mike, for that conference in Honolulu, could you get us an agenda or topics to be discussed? Mr. Dahilig: Yes, we can definitely circulate that around. ADJOURNMENT Chair Keawe: Okay. Anymore business before the Commission at this time? If not, I will entertain a motion for adjournment. Ms. Nogami Streufert: I move to adjourn. Mr. Ho: Second. Chair Keawe: Moved and seconded. All those in favor? (Unanimous voice vote) Motion carries 7:0. Alright. Chair Keawe adjourned the meeting at 11:28 a.m. Respectfiilly submitted by: OD&c�ieAga:Van, Commission Support Clerk ( ) Approved as circulated (add date of meeting approval) ( ) Approved as amended. See minutes of meeting. 43