HomeMy WebLinkAbout2017_0427_KHPRC_Minutes_DraftKAUA'I COUNTY HISTORIC PRESERVATION REVIEW COMMISSION
Mo'ikeha Building, Liquor Control Meeting Room 3
MINUTES
A regular meeting of the Kauai County Kauai Historic Preservation Commission (KHPRC) was
held on April 27, 2017 in the Mo'ikeha Building, Liquor Control Meeting Room 3.
The following Commissioners were present: Chair Victoria Wichman, Vice -Chair Deatri Nakea,
Larry Chaffin Jr., James Guerber, Charlotte Hoomanawanui, Stephen Long, and Anne Schneider.
The following Commissioner was absent: Althea Arinaga - excused.
The following staff members were present: Planning Department — Myles Hironaka; Ka'aina
Hull, Shanlee Jimenez; Office of the County Attorney — County Attorney Mauna Kea Trask;
Office of Boards and Commissions — Commission Support Clerk Sandra Muragin.
CALL TO ORDER
The meeting was called to order at 3:13 p.m.
SWEARING IN OF NEW COMMISSION MEMBER
Mr. Eddie Topenio, Administrative Assistant to the County Clerk conducted the swearing in of
new Commission member Mr. James Guerber.
ROLL CALL
Chair Wichman: We will now commence with roll call.
Deputy Planning Director Ka'aina Hull: Commissioner Arinaga is excused. Commissioner
Chaffin?
Mr. Chaffin Jr.: Here
Mr. Hull: Commissioner Guerber?
Mr. Guerber: Here
Mr. Hull: Commissioner Hoomanawanui?
Ms. Hoomanawanui: Here
Mr. Hull: Commissioner Long?
Mr. Long: Present.
Mr. Hull: Commissioner Nakea?
Ms. Nakea: Here.
Mr. Hull: Commissioner Schneider?
Ms. Schneider: Here.
Mr. Hull: Chair Wichman?
Chair Wichman: Here.
Mr. Hull: Chair, we have quorum.
APPROVAL OF THE AGENDA
Chair Wichman: I need an approval of the agenda.
Mr. Hull: The department request, being the applicant is in house, that agenda J(a) move to right
after G, Announcements and General Business Matters.
Ms. Schneider: I make a motion to approve the amended agenda.
Mr. Guerber: I second that.
Chair Wichman: All those in favor? (Unanimous voice vote). Nays? Motion carried 7:0.
APPROVAL OF THE MARCH 23, 2017 MINUTES
Mr. Hull: Next on the agenda is approval of meeting minutes of March 23, 2017.
Chair Wichman: Everyone had a chance to read the minutes?
Ms. Schneider: I make a motion that we approve the March 23, 2017 meeting minutes.
Ms. Nakea: I second.
Mr. Chaffin Jr.: I have a question on page 10, first paragraph, about "Immediate repairs are
going to be bid out within the next few weeks." What is the status?
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Mr. Hull: We did not get any updates from the applicant on this but we will follow up and
transmit them to the Commission.
Chair Wichman: Any discussion? All those in favor? (Unanimous voice vote) Any opposed?
Motion carried 7:0. Thank you.
PUBLIC COMMENT
Mr. Hull: Next agenda item is F, Public Comment. Are there any members of the public here
that would like to testify prior to the individual agenda item being discussed? That opportunity
is afforded at this time. Seeing none, the next agenda item is G.
ANNOUNCEMENTS AND GENERAL BUSINESS MATTERS
Mr. Hull: There are no announcements and general business matters at this time.
NEW BUSINESS
Re: Duane A. Girard
3716 A Hanapepe Road
TMK: 1-9-005:004
Hanapepe, Kauai
Reconstruction of Existing Building and Storage Addition.
Mr. Avery Youn: Good afternoon Commissioners my name is Avery Youn, I am an Architect,
next to me is Duane Girard owner of Girard's Quality Cleaners. These plans started with a
draftsman who had no idea that he would have to come before this Commission, so he brought
this to me to do the big building in the back and the structural engineering. The first picture
shows the building and what you see is not the original fagade and roof, PS&D was in there
previously and they made renovations. The second picture shows demolition started and the
contractor didn't think a permit was needed so they removed the canopy. The contractor
stopped, got the permits in order and now we are here before you. The third picture shows the
wood rot behind the fagade, so even if the canopy was still there the wood would eventually
deteriorate. The fourth picture is a side view and the black line that I drew on there is where the
hollow tile wall behind this building will protrude out from the side. These are the construction
plans that we submitted for building permit. This is the view showing the existing fagade and as
you can see in this picture there is an existing front lanai by the entry, but because the owners
needed more room the existing lanai is now part of the office space. This view shows the west
side fagade replaced to match what's there now. The height of the back building is about 40 feet
but at street level you will not to see the back building part; this is just for building permit
purposes. What you will see is the extension on the side which is made of hollow tile. The
major difference from what you see today and what you will see in the new building is that the
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front lanai has been removed. We're here to see what your comments are and make any
adjustments that we have to, if necessary.
Mr. Girard: The front lanai railings were taken off during demolition for safety reasons because
it started to collapse during demolition. The Fire Department required us to have so much space
between the two buildings and because we needed the square footage we moved the wall
forward.
Chair Wichman: Are there any questions from the Commissioners?
Mr. Hull: As a point of clarification, because it wasn't clear on the profile that was transmitted
to the Commissioners, the structure before you was originally constructed in 1926 which puts it
into the historical classification. It's non-residential, over 50 years old and it has that
classification. I apologize I wasn't clear when we transmitted it but our historical inventory
survey classified this property as lost integrity. That can be attributed to the fact that there were
significant alterations made to the building in 1992, which for better or worse, didn't come
before this body. It is historical because it's 50 years old and has lost integrity, so I hope I didn't
confuse the situation.
Mr. Girard: That's why we took off the roof line and put it back to the way it was. We want our
building to still look like part of Hanapepe Town.
Mr. Long: I understand the need to satisfy zoning requirements, spaces between buildings, and
maximizing the square footage but you essentially took the front of the building and moved it
out?
Mr. Girard: Basically, right where the railings are is where the wall is. We left the original
steps and it walks into the office foyer. We are not demolishing anything in the front, the cement
lanai is still there.
Mr. Long: Is your new building 30" above grade that is needed for a railing around the lanai?
Mr. Girard: There is no lanai anymore.
Mr. Youn: It's probably lower, there's only four risers so it will probably be closer to 30".
Mr. Long: When was the original building built?
Mr. Hull: 1926.
Mr. Long: How similar is this building to the 1926 building?
Mr. Girard: The only thing still there from 1926 is the front.
Mr. Long: Any of the windows?
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Mr. Girard: The doors are remodeled and they added space to both sides of the building and
covered it with vinyl siding. I'll give you a little history on that because I've been renting the
back property now for over 23 years and every year the structural engineer reports the building
has deteriorated and the walls are giving way.
Ms. Nakea: Is there a specific purpose for the hollow tile wall extension?
Mr. Girard: The back building is hollow tile.
Mr. Youn: That's to meet Fire Code which requires a two hour fire wall and a parapet going 30
feet above the roof line.
Mr. Hull: We've had discussions about the new rules with this body as far as recommendations
and the Department is attempting to incorporate those as conditions of approval for building
permits. The example is the former Oki Diner, a historic structure, and they wanted to change
the roof type. The proposed roofing material was not consistent with the historic roofing material
and this body took the position that original shingles or something similar should be used. That
was the position of this body to the applicant as well as to the Planning Department. When the
building permit came in with an old and different type of roofing material we denied that permit
based on comments this body made. We held them to the standard of using original shingles or
something similar in nature. When they came back with something similar in nature we approved
it. That is how we intend to keep moving forward to maintain the historic preservation program.
The only potential impact that one can see in this building is the projection of the hollow tile
structure which does impact the fagade. Should this body take that position it would be an
advisory remark made solely to the applicant and not something the Department would hold as a
condition of approval because it has lost integrity. I wanted to make it clear in this situation we
won't hold conditions here for historic preservation purposes, because it has lost integrity. We
don't think it would be appropriate, but any comments on the historic nature that this body wants
to make to the applicant would be appropriate.
Mr. Long: I hear from you that the only original elements from the original 1926 building is the
front lanai and railings. I just want to comment that for me, the railings on the lanai lends a sort
of residential detailed articulation to the Hanapepe street scape. I would recommend that the
railings be incorporated into the new building design around the lanai that existed in the original
building.
Mr. Youn: Can you clarify? Are you asking that it be along the entire frontage or just at the new
entry?
Mr. Girard: There is no lanai and we do not plan to replace the lanai.
Mr. Long: I see, you are pushing the whole lanai front out.
Mr. Girard: No, we are pushing the building to the front of the lanai. The windows in the
drawing is the section where the railings were.
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Mr. Long: So there will be no lanai?
Mr. Girard: Yes. We start at 6:00 a.m. in the morning and there are 57 employees. We have a lot
of female workers and security is an issue because of the homeless. It's unpleasant and I don't
mind them using the facility but we clean up their feces, laundry and everything else. I have 57
year old ladies walking to work at 5:30 to 6:00 a.m. in the morning and it's scary. At one time
there were up to 19 homeless people sleeping on the lanai and that is another reason why we
moved the wall further up.
Chair Wichman: Any other questions?
Mr. Long: Chair, I'd like to make a motion that we accept the proposal as presented to the
Commission.
Chair Wichman: We have a motion on the floor.
Mr. Guerber: I second that.
Chair Wichman: Seconded by Mr. Guerber. Any discussion? All those in favor? (Unanimous
voice vote) Any opposed? Motion carried 7:0
COMMUNICATIONS
a. Letter (4/5/17) from Michael A. Dahilig, Director, County of Kauai Planning
Department to the Honorable Suzanne Case, Chair, Board of Land and Natural
Resources, State of Hawaii and the Honorable Ford Fuchiguami, Director of
Transportation, State of Hawaii Regarding the Potential Lease Renewal and
Assignment of DOT-A-09-0001; Smoky Mountain Helicopters, Inc., Port Allen
Airport, Tax Map Key (4) 1-8-08: Portion of 4.
Chair Wichman: Next on the agenda, we have communications and there is a letter from the
Planning Department.
Mr. Hull: The letter you have is from the Planning Director to the Department of Transportation
(DOT) regarding the potential renewal lease of the helicopter site out at the Hanapepe Airport.
This body has been closely watching the on -goings of the DOT, Parks Department of the
County, and Public Works grading improvements around the area and the impact it has on the
salt beds. There have been numerous problems caused by intensified airport use and park use
that have negatively impacted the salt bed production and cultural site. The Department got
wind of the renewing lease and the possibility of further intensified helicopter use in that area
and there may be issues. The Department has encouraged the DOT to adhere to the H.R.S. 6(e)
policy and to present those potential improvements to this body. We haven't received an
application or letter from them however I can announce that they have suspended the process of
renewing the lease. We don't officially have an application but we wanted to transmit this letter
for your receipt and discussion.
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Mr. Long: Will they be coming before this Commission?
Mr. Hull: Our position is renewal of a lease which could intensify use does require your review
under 6(e). The agency tasked with administrating 6(e) is the State Historic Preservation
Division (SHPD) and we haven't gotten official word from them as to whether or not the
proposal does in fact necessitate SHPD review, as well as KHPRC (Kaua`i Historical
Preservation Review Commission) review.
Mr. Long: I believe this Commission should review that.
Mr. Hull: Yes, we are in agreement and that is why we wrote the letter.
Mr. Guerber: It is my understanding they had troubles with Salt Pond and I don't recall when it
started. When the Humane Society was back there was there trouble then?
Mr. Hull: I believe so.
Mr. Guerber: When did the trouble start? Someone said when the road was paved.
County Attorney Mauna Kea Trask: It goes far back and there was even conflict within the salt
farmers themselves. It's like an on -going issue and I don't know if you will ever be able to go
back and identify the impetus for the beginning of the problem. But as far as problems with the
Government it probably started when they made the road or the territory made the airport, but it
could even be before that.
Mr. Guerber: Well, we all want that facility to continue producing salt for those families. I think
that's really important to Kauai and we don't know how to solve it. Obviously no one really
knows.
Mr. Trask: Yes, I don't know what the solution is or where to look. It's an issue to always be
aware of and monitor and do everything we can in order to preserve it.
Chair Wichman: So basically we're just accepting this letter in support.
Mr. Trask: I think a motion to receive procedurally would be appropriate. I think we can all rest
assured that Planning has identified this as an issue and will advocate exactly what the position
of this body is and the community at large.
Ms. Schneider: Chair, I make a motion that we receive this information.
Chair Wichman: Ms. Schneider has made a motion to receive.
Mr. Guerber: I second that motion.
Chair Wicham: Mr. Guerber has seconded. Any discussion? All in favor. (Unanimous voice
vote) Any opposed? Motion carried 7:0.
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Mr. Chaffin Jr.: Can you clarify the motion and exactly what we're saying?
Chair Wicham: We moved to receive this from the Planning Department.
Mr. Guerber: I got this explained to me a couple of days ago. All we do is acknowledge
officially that we received this letter. We have to vote on it but for now we officially receive the
letter and it's in the record.
Mr. Chaffin Jr.: Have we taken a position on the motion?
Mr. Guerber: No it's just to receive.
Mr. Hull: For clarification, every time you have an agenda item there needs to be some action
taken on it. If there's not enough information available and the Department needs additional
time to provide it to you or the applicant needs additional time, there can be a motion to defer. If
you have all the information and there's no objection and there's no official position being taken,
it's standard to do a motion to receive. You're just receiving it for the record and in order to
dispose of the agenda item. Now if this body wants to take an actual position, then a motion of
some type of position in support of, opposition to, reasons why, that's the other type of motion
that can be made and acted upon.
UNFINISHED BUSINESS
1. Discussion on the status of the Certified Local Government
Mr. Hull: As many of you know, SHPD recently lost one of their primary Historic Planners,
Anna Broverman, who worked very closely with this body. We still have Kaiwi Yoon who is the
Architecture Branch Chief. I'm not sure if their funding dried up but we haven't seen SHPD
attend any of our meetings and in fact they haven't attended a single one since she left. They
have some staffing issues and we are trudging along in the shadow of Ms. Broverman's absence.
The only update I have is that Maui County, Hawaii County, and Kauai County just recently
submitted a CLG grant application for additional training purposes for the Commissions. That
was submitted for a preliminary review, not an Official wet copy document but a preliminary
review to SHPD last week Friday. That's the only real move we've made in the CLG process.
We still are awaiting word as to whether or not the CLG application for consultation purposes for
the nomination of the Hanapepe Bridge to the State and National Registry has been acted upon.
It was accepted as complete and deemed ready for review but we still haven't heard if it was
approved or denied. Those are the two updates we have at this time.
Mr. Long: Didn't we have another project slated for our CLG other than the Hanapepe Bridge?
Mr. Hull: Excuse me, there is also the archeological curator in limbo with SHPD and the last we
heard of that was when Ms. Broverman was still there. There was a concern over whether or not
the Parks Department could accept funds when the Planning Department is the official agency
tasked with running the CLG for Kauai. Ms. Broverman wasn't saying no, she said there is
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some concern and needed to check it out which is why that application was not accepted. We
have two applications, one for the consultation purpose for Hanapepe, and one for consultation
purposes for the curation site. They ultimately deemed the Hanapepe application complete and
accepted it for review. They didn't kick the curation application out, they just said they have
concerns and would get back to us. In Ms. Broverman's absence, I'm not sure how long it's
going to take, because it's been over a year.
Mr. Long: So this year are we going to take the total amount of funds and split it up equally
amongst the three Counties?
Mr. Hull: The last discussion I had with the CLG Coordinator is they are now looking at going
back to the process where funds rotate from island to island evenly. In the past few years they
reviewed each application and judged them on a competitive basis. The best one was going to get
the funds. Just because you didn't get it last year, didn't mean you get a cut this year or that
you're entitled to it. If Kauai submitted all the greatest applications then Maui and Hawaii
didn't get any funds. Since that time there have been discussions on whether or not they should
go back to the old system but I don't think they've made a decision on that yet. The Department
in the absence of an actual planner, is a bit hesitant to go after the robust projects. The fact that
we don't have a Historic Preservation Planner is why we tend to focus more on the applications
and educational opportunities for both ourselves and the Commissioners. Maui and Hawaii
County were somewhat in agreement. So over the past few months we've had discussions on the
sideline and decided to pool our resources together and go after monies for educational
opportunities. That's what is in the pipes.
Mr. Long: My comments for this Commission would be it would be wonderful if we could
participate with the Big Island and Maui on any educational advancement. Over the last 5 years
I've been to a number of these with members of this Commission and it's been really outstanding
and an excellent use of funds.
Mr. Hull: Well taken Commissioner. That is exactly how the Department and the other counties
discussions evolved around getting our Commissioners to training with Commissioners from the
other counties together. It's about networking, being able to exchange ideas and things that you
deal with or struggling with and how other Commissions are handling it. In particular, this
Commission over the past several years and through its own ordinance is more heavily focused
on the architecture side of historic preservation. Hawaii County is the opposite, they are much
more archeological focused. They asked how they could make a more robust architectural
program and my response was how can we get a more robust archeological program. It's in the
best interest for all of us.
Chair Wichman: The Hawaii Island CLG has (inaudible) on their board and she was the lead
archeologist for SHPD. Any other questions or comments.
COMMISSION EDUCATION COMMITTEE
Mr. Hull: The Commission Education Committee hasn't met and the Resource Inventory Update
Committee hasn't met.
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Mr. Long: The Resource Inventory would like to meet as soon as possible, we only have one
more afternoon in the car.
Chair Wichamn: Can Myles let us know if we can go by email?
Ms. Nakea: Do you typically do those on weekends?
Chair Wichman: Yes, it's on week days.
KAUA'I HISTORICAL RESOURCE INVENTORY UPDATE COMMITTEE
Re: Update on the Permitted Interaction Group (PIG) for updating the Kauai
Historical Inventory.
Mr. Hull: The Kauai Historical Resource Inventory Update Committee, there is no report
HISTORIC PRESERVATION PUBLICITY COMMITTEE
Chair Wichman: The Preservation Publicity Committee has had nothing on it ever, maybe once.
I guess there is nothing to report? So how long do we keep committees on here that don't meet?
How do we take them off the agenda if they are not active?
Mr. Hull: These are permitted interactive groups.
Mr. Trask: They were formed via Chapter 92 and created via motions so you could disband via
motion. If you would like to cancel them you just move to terminate.
Mr. Hull: Does that have to be on the agenda?
Mr. Trask: The purpose of the Sunshine Law is to notify the public, it is important. I would
encourage you to do it.
Mr. Hull: We will work with the Chair to put it on the next meeting's agenda. The Publicity
Committee was specifically left on there because Commissioner Griffin wanted to see if there
was any potential further discussion. I think the discussion might not have happened at the last
meeting she attended. The Publicity Committee has not met for a couple of years now so the
Department would have no objection to disbanding it.
Mr. Long: I believe that publicity and public relations is an on -going issue and things come up
all the time. If we disband then what happens when we want to do something?
Ms. Schneider: I think we should leave it on.
Mr.Long: Marketing and PR should be on there all the time.
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Mr. Trask: I hate to stifle the discussion but before you debate the merits of getting it out you
should agenda this. It is important that you have discussions but you should agenda that
discussion not only for you but also for the members of the public.
Mr. Hull: We'll work with the Chair to get the specific items on the agenda. The Inventory
Committee is still on -going but the Education and Publicity Committee will be on the agenda. I
believe the Publicity Committee doesn't have any members.
Mr.Long: I'm still a member.
Mr. Hull: Commissioner Long is the only one left, the other members of the committee are no
longer on the Commission.
Chair Wichman: We will leave that discussion for the next meeting.
Ms. Nakea: Chair, in regards to the Education Committee, which Commissioner Schneider and
myself are still on, may we request a current list of educational opportunities?
Mr. Hull: We'll have that on the next meeting's agenda.
DATE AND AGENDA TOPICS (May 25, 2017)
Chair Wichman: The next meeting is May 25th.
Mr. Hull: We don't have any current applications for the May 25th meeting however some may
come in over the course of the next few weeks. The only thing for the May 25th agenda is the
public hearing for the adoption of KHPRC Rules and Regulations.
ADJOURNMENT
Chair Wichman: Meeting adjourned. Thank you.
The meeting adjourned at 3:46 p.m.
Respectfully Submitted,
Sandra M. Muragin
Commission Support Clerk
Date:
() Approved as circulated.
() Approved with amendments. See minutes of meeting.
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