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HomeMy WebLinkAbout10-07-2009 PH Bills 2324, 2325, 2326 & 2327 PUBLIC HEARING OCTOBER 7, 2009 A public hearing of the Council of the County of Kauai was called to order by Jay Furfaro, Chair, Planning Committee, on Wednesday, October 7, 2009, at 2:37 p.m. at the Council Chambers, Historic County Building, 4396 Rice Street, Lihu`e, Kauai, and the presence of the following was noted: Honorable Tim Bynum Honorable Dickie Chang Honorable Jay Furfaro Honorable Daryl W. Kaneshiro Honorable Lani T. Kawahara Honorable Derek S. K. Kawakami Honorable Bill "Kaipo" Asing, Council Chair The Clerk read the notice of the public hearing on the following: 1) BILL NO. 2324 - A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING STATE LAND USE DISTRICT BOUNDARY IN NAWILIWILI, KAUAI (MORI Golf (Kaua`i) LLC., Applicant), 2) BILL NO. 2325 - A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. PM-2006-382, RELATING TO GENERAL PLAN DESIGNATION IN NAWILIWILI, KAUAI (MORI Golf (Kaua`i), LLC., Applicant), 3) BILL NO. 2326 - A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ZONING CONDITIONS IN ORDINANCE NO. PM-2006-383, RELATINGTO ZONING DESIGNATION IN NAWILIWILI, KAUAI (MORI Golf (Kaua`i), LLC., Applicant), 4) BILL NO. 2327 - A BILL FOR AN ORDINANCE AMENDING ORDINANCE NO. PM-2006-384, RELATING TO VISITOR DESTINATION AREA DESIGNATION IN NAWILIWILI, KAUAI (MORI Golf (Kaua`i), LLC. Applicant), which were passed on first reading and ordered to print by the Council of the County of Kauai on September 9, 2009, and published in The Garden Island newspaper on September 16, 2009. The following communication was received for the record: • JoAnn A. Yukimura, dated October 7, 2009 1 The hearing proceeded as follows: Mr. Furfaro: I might share with my colleagues that the maps as it relates to these bills and so forth are in the final environmental assessment prepared by Wilson Okamoto. I see some of you have them. On that note, may I ask if there's any written testimony, Mr. Clerk? Mr. Nakamura: No written testimony, Mr. Chair. We do have one registered speaker. Mr. Furfaro: And we have one registered speaker. May I ask who that is? JoAnn. JOANN YUKIMURA: Once again, Chair Furfaro, Chair Asing, members of the Council, my name is JoAnn Yukimura for the record. I appreciate the opportunity to speak on these bills, and I am speaking in favor of them. I'd like to give a brief history of some background, because those of us who have white hair have been around for a while. Mr. Furfaro: What happens to us with no hair? Don't leave me out. Ms. Yukimura: You're in-between. Sometime in 1989 or 1990, Chris Hemmeter proposed a golf academy and golf course on the 138 acres of coastal lands along the Ninini coastline by the Lihu`e Airport. The golf course greens would have stretched to the rocks along the coastline. Over 800 people showed up at DLNR's conservation use permit public hearing at the convention hall wearing "save Ninini coastline" t-shirts to oppose the development. I was mayor then and my office was opposed to the development. At that hearing, Kathleen Watanabe, then county attorney, announced that my administration would be intervening on the docket, and she requested a contested case. A few months later, Diane Plotts, an associate of Chris Hemmeter, called me and told me that they were withdrawing their application for a CDUA permit. With the imminent danger gone, all was quiet for a long time. A couple of years ago when the Kauai lagoons project was before the county council, I approached Ron Kouchi, representative of the applicant, to ask about the possibility of a donation of the conservation easement of those lands. I was very thankful when Ron was open to the idea, and very grateful when Kevin Showe, the developer and applicant, considered the request and considered... and consented to work on that possibility. I invited Council Chair Asing to participate in the talks, because he's fished along those coastlines and cares a lot about that place. And it was Chair Asing who suggested that an in-fee transaction, the whole thing rather than just an easement, would be cleaner. It was not enough time at that time to work out the plan, and Mr. Showe agreed... Although there was not enough time, Mr. Showe did agree to limit his density on the property, and that was 2 included in the zoning ordinance that was passed, and he gave us his word that he would work to try to make a transfer of values happen. The bills before you today would make this vision a reality if you approve them on behalf of the people of Kauai. I commend and thank Kevin Showe for keeping his word. I thank Mr. Showe and Mr. Kouchi for their work, which has been a lot of work, to get this done. And I thank Chair Asing for his vision and steadfastness. As expressed by speaker after speaker at the CDUA hearing years ago, Ninini is a coastline of untold beauty and value to the people of Kauai, especially the people of Lihu`e. (Inaudible). Thank you, I'm almost done. It has been used by fishermen for generations. In the future, while it won't be used as a place of active recreation like Kealia beaches, it will become a place of solace and relaxation where residents and visitors will be able to breathe the fresh air, exercise and stay healthy, and enjoy the beauty of the coastline just a short distance from downtown Lihu`e. It has to be developed and managed carefully, but nothing will happen unless the county first obtains ownership and control of the parcel. It is truly one the places of the heart for Kauai, and I urge your support and approval of this project. And if you haven't been on that coastline, like I grew up here on the island, but I was never at Maha`ulepu...we live in districts a lot...until after I came back from college. So if you haven't seen that coastline, I urge you to take a look. I mean, you know, there's some trash and old vehicles and stuff like that, but you can see that it's a place... an incredible coastline and something that is really worth protecting. Thank you. Mr. Furfaro: Thank you JoAnn, and thank you for your very positive comments on and support of these bills, and your recognition of Chairman Asing and his work with several others on securing this. Are there any questions for JoAnn Yukimura on her testimony? JoAnn, thank you very much. Ms. Yukimura: You're welcome. Mr. Furfaro: Are there any other speakers? There's no other speakers. Does the applicant need to address the group? If not, I'm going to close the public hearing. I believe we have completed all the public hearings within my committee, and we are therefore adjourned. There being no further testimony on this matter, the public hearing adjourned at 2:47 p.m. espectfully submitted, -~ PETER A. NAKAMURA County Clerk lao 3