County of Hawaii 1996 - 1997 Annual Report: Planning Department

A Hilo native, Planning Director Virginia Goldstein has more than twenty years of land use planning experience, sixteen years of which were spent as a senior staff planner for the Department. In addition to specializing in long-range planning, Ms. Goldstein's training and field experience has been in the area of archaeology, particularly Hawaiian historic sites and cultural resources. Some of her Departmental projects while on staff have included: the 1989 update and revision of the Hawaii County General Plan; the Northeast Hawaii Community Development Plan; the County's Bikeway Plan; and the restoration of the Kuemanu Heiau in North Kona. More recently, Ms. Goldstein served as supervisory archaeologist for the consulting firm of Paul H. Rosendahl, Ph.D., Inc., where she conducted an inventory of cultural and archaeological resources on the island of Okinawa for the U.S. Navy. Ms. Goldstein has worked as a legal assistant and land use specialist for the Hilo law firm of Carlsmith, Ball, Wichman, Case, Mukai, and Ichiki. Ms. Goldstein holds a B.A. degree in Anthropology (archaeology emphasis) from the University of Hawaii at Manoa.

Russell S. Kokubun, Deputy Planning Director, is a graduate of Punahou School and received a BBA degree from Southern Methodist University in Dallas, Texas. He now resides with his wife and two daughters in volcano. He was elected to the Hawaii County Council in 1984, was re-elected in 1988, and was selected by his Council colleagues to serve as Council Chairman. From November 1992 to September 1995 when he was appointed Executive Assistant, he was Project Manager for the Hilo Main Street Program. He also serves as a representative on the National Board of Advisors to the National Trust for Historic Preservation.

The Planning Department provides technical advice to the Mayor, Planning Commission and County Council on all planning and land use matters. The department is also charged with the administration of the subdivision and zoning codes. The major divisions of the department are:

The Administrative Services division provides clerical, mapping/graphing and accounting support services.

The Ministerial division has a number of responsibilities, some of which include: Plan Approvals, plan reviews, subdivision and lot consolidation, street naming, variances, building permits, ohana dwelling permits, grading and grubbing permits, agreements, planned unit developments (PUDs), cluster housing, sign permits, occupancy permits, condominium property regime applications, Conservation district use application reviews, Capital Improvements Program review, agricultural dedication, violations inspection and code enforcement. This division also provides staff to the Board of Appeals and the County Arborist Committee.

The Long-Range Planning division is responsible for Legislative review and testimonies, General Plan Amendments, Code and Rule amendments, community development plans, ordinances and resolutions, the Land Use Inventory, consultant services contracts and implementation of the Geographic Information System. This division is also in charge of reviewing documents processed under Chapter 343, HRS (EIS). This division also administers the County's Coastal Zone Management (CZM) Program, which is supported by the State and Federal CZM Programs through federal and state funds. The County's CZM Program processes Special Management Area (SMA) Use Permit Assessment Applications and issues SMA Minor Use Permits, enforces the County's Shoreline Setback regulations, implements the county's shoreline public access programs, and participates in the development of various state CZM-related programs such as its non-point source pollution and riparian area management programs.

The Planning Section is responsible for staff support to the Planning Commission and the processing of several land use permits and approvals. These include: Use Permits, Special Management Area (SMA) Use Permits,

Geothermal Resource Permits, Special Permits, Shoreline Setback Variances, State Land Use Boundary Amendments, Change of Zones, General Plan Amendments, and reviews of Environmental Assessments and Environmental Impact Statements.

The West Hawaii Planning Office conducts a variety of assignments for plans and approvals in South Kohala and North and South Kona. These include Plan Approvals, construction plans, agreements, variances, grading and grubbing, inspection, sign permits, SMA violations and shoreline setbacks, design review for the Kailua Village Special District, and staff support for the Kailua Village Design Commission, and Planning Commission matters.

The Department provides staff administrative support to several appointed bodies, the foremost being the County Planning Commission whose members are appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the County Council and who represent all geographic areas of the Island. The Planning Commission has decision-making powers for Use Permits, Special Permits, SMA Major Use permits, Shoreline Setback Variances, Geothermal Resource Permits, and Appeals on variances. The Commission makes recommendations to the County Council on General Plan Amendments, rezonings, and State Land Use District Boundary Amendments fifteen acres or less. Planning Commissioners in the past fiscal year include: Kevin Balog (Chair), Eddie Alonzo (1st Vice Chair), Leonard Tanaka (2nd Vice Chair), Richard Baker, Mildred Mosher, James Santos, Mary Katayama, Melvin Martinson and Lin McIntosh. Issac Fiesta and Wilton Wong served as Planning Commission until the first half of the fiscal year.

The County Board of Appeals renders decisions on appeals of actions of the Planning Director and the Planning Commission. The Board of Appeals also hears appeals from the actions of the Chief Engineer of the Department of Public Works, as well as reviews variances from certain codes administered by the Chief Engineer (i.e., Housing and Building Codes). Board members in the past fiscal year include: Deanna Hammersley (Chair), Janet Fujioka (Vice Chair), Geraldine Giffin, H. Peter L'Orange, Harold Tanouye, Jr., B. Jean Rivera and William Green.

The Kailua Village Design Commission (KVDC) advises the department on matters affecting development in Kailua-Kona and provides architectural and design review of proposed projects in the Kailua Village Special District. Commissioners for FY 1996-'97 include: Terry Dunlap, Lyall Kuma, James Schleiger, Leimana Damate, Diana Nui and Stephen Bobko-Hillenaar, Vonnie Lyons, Garrett Webb, and Lloyd Nakano.

The Department is responsible for more than 25 land use permits, reviews and approvals. The following Table compares the activities of the past two fiscal years.

A major continuing project of the past year was the preparation of a public draft revision to the County's Zoning Code prepared by Attorney Sandra Pechter Schutte who serves as the county's consultant. Attorney/planner Roy Takemoto has been hired to prepare a draft Subdivision Code update. The Zoning Code draft has been reviewed and adopted by the County Council. The draft Subdivision Code is being reviewed by the County Council.

Another important project in the past fiscal year was the County's initiation of a major State land use boundary amendment petition to convert approximately 955+ acres of land in the Kailua to Keauhou region from the Agricultural designation to Urban. The purpose is to ensure sufficient lands for future urban expansion to serve the needs of the West Hawaii community and to plan for future infrastructure. The petition is pending with the State Land Use Commission.

The Kailua Village Master Plan produced for the department by R.M. Towill Corporation was adopted by the County Council. The draft of the Puna Community Development Plan prepared by Community Management Association is also under review by the County Council. A draft Roadway Plan developed by consultant Townscape, Inc., in conjunction with the Implementation Strategy for the Keahole to Kailua Development Plan was also produced for the department.

The Planning Department routinely reviews applications for permits issued by other agencies. These agencies often route the following permit applications: Grubbing, Grading, Stockpiling; Certificate of Occupancy; Soil & Water Conservation Program; Horizontal Property Regime (HPR) Review; Taxicab; Gun; Liquor License; and Real Estate Sales Office.