| Posted on |

NORTH KOHALA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ADVISORY GROUP

DATE:  Monday, June 1st, 2026, 4:30 pm

PLACE: Kohala Senior Center (behind the statue)

AGENDA

CALL TO ORDER – Please put all cell phones on silent mode. 

ANNOUNCEMENTS

PUBLIC COMMENTs ON AGENDA ITEMS: Members of the public are welcome and are invited to speak to any items on the agenda. Public comments and input are welcome at designated periods at the beginning and end of each meeting. People may, however, speak during AG discussions, if the situation warrants. Please raise a hand to be recognized. Comments should be limited to three (3) minutes in length per agenda item, subject to the discretion of the chair. We typically have a lot of information to get through, so please respect everyone’s time. The chair may table lengthy discussions to be continued after the meeting officially closes. Recommendations for agenda additions for the next meeting should be made during the input session at the meeting end.

APPROVAL OF THE MINUTES OF THE PREVIOUS MEETING.

SUBCOMMITTEE REPORTS

Affordable Housing 

Keep Existing Housing Stock Local. 

Kohala Community Land Trust (KCLT) is developing a selection matrix to distinguish people “in need” of housing and working on ground leases. The members of the trust are the trustees, and therefore, it functions differently from a regular non-profit. KCLT would hold the title to property in the name of the Trust. 

There will also be workshops and educational sessions for distressed homeowners coming up!

Development & Planning

Senior housing, Jeremy McComber clarified that the empty units are not filled immediately due to financial issues. There are also important obligations for finding tenants. Jack Hoyt agreed to learn more about the Kohala Senior Housing project, including communicating with the other property managers and finding out if it is owned by the County of Hawaiʻi.

Hawi Nani: No new updates. If not building houses, these parcels will likely not be considered “affordable” by our community, and wouldn’t be of interest to this group. 51% need to be affordable, that means 25/ 24 the 1st time around, and 40/39 lots in the second presentation. 

Donations & Fundraising

Letter & cover letter complete

Our group might agree that steering significant contributions toward KCLT would be beneficial, whereas our group welcomes small donations (less than $1,000) for travel to testify.

New Items

Seeking the organizer of the KHS Anniversary to find out the schedule and if our group could have a presence at the event to ask residents to fill out our survey.

We discussed revisiting the mission of the Affordable Housing Group and how we can leverage public land as the CDP showed access off the highway, connecting Hawi & Kapaʻau, and being close to services as priorities for future housing developments. 

The Hawaii County General Plan for 2045 Article Section 6.2 states that public land is a long-term community asset, and there exist dedicated funding tools, as well as special zoning and permits for these types of properties.

Rascha agreed to attach Strategy 3.3 “Non-profit housing corporation(s)” from the 2008 NKCDP Chapter 4, Section 3 on Affordable Housing.

Mike Kier reported 97 visitors over 6 Sundays to his container home model at the base of Kynnersly, and we discussed ways to improve the external appearance of the homes. 

The next meeting will be June 10th, 9 am at Pomaika’i Café.

Agriculture 

No meeting in May.

Next meeting June 25th, 5 pm at the Resource Center office.

Community Access (see maps on last page for locations)

Pololu Lookout. 

6th annual “E Lei O Pololu” was held May 16th, lookout closed to the public.

A proposed $1 million budget package for trails is in the state legislature but we’re not sure if it passed. It is separate funding from the green fee program.

A proposed law to avoid procurement for stewards didn’t pass.

The land donation for the parking lot is still waiting for the landowner to finish rezoning and the donation.

A grant for the trail head restoration could have a contract executed soon.

Engineering for the parking area needs Governor’s approval before construction begins.

Kohala Shoreline. A wildfire group is trying to get in touch with the landowners to access their properties to get a wildfire survey.

Announcement. Holomua Marine Resources needs public input

Next meeting June 3rd, 4:30pm Senior Center.

Growth Management

Old Coast Guard Road status remains the same. Toni is still trying to get with David Tarnas and Tim Richards to convince the State to resurface so that the County would be willing to take it over.

Surety subdivision near Kynnersley Road to take 94 acres and divide into 4 parcels which is appropriate for current zoning. Discussion regarding water and CDP hopes for changing this site to residential zoning for future affordable housing. Recent communications from Planning Dept. states the final decision is being “deferred” indicating the request is being reviewed.

Pololu subdivision: Roadway and water variances have been approved. There appears to be a discrepancy because the EPIC file does not contain the time extension request letter or the Final Approval by the planning director. However, work has begun on the access road.

Hawinani update. Developer, Mark Lester, has communicated with Jack Hoyt that he has hired a consultant to address issues. Discussion about how the consultant should work with the three neighborhoods being highly impacted. Rascha offered thoughts on rural planning committees and Heritage Planning Work by Kamuela Plunkett, archeologist and planner.

Next meeting is June 10th, 5pm, Senior Center.

Culture & History Advisory Group (KCHAG).

Did not meet in March or April due to weather.

Next meeting will probably be June 11th.

Health and Wellness/WRK

Report from Kohala Hospital. Brian Alejandro RN  says the hospital plans to offer inpatient dialysis soon. It will be operated by MidPacific Hospitalists, the new inpatient physician team

Radiology hours are expanding and are now available from 7am to 3.30pm Monday to Friday.

The emergency room waiting area has reopened to the public for the first time since the covid pandemic.

Report from Hamakua-Kohala Health. Focus is on expanding dental services particularly in Kohala and in an alternative location to the existing clinic.

Keiki day camp will be held June 1,2 and 3. 30 children only with a focus on fun and creative activities including first aid.

June night market will feature food trucks and a concert in the barn

The Saturday market is under new management, the Hawaii Farmers Union Foundation.

The food program formerly called Kohala Kares is now sponsored by St. Augustine’s Church Food Pantry and is held at 4pm each Friday

Pickling and fermentation workshops are scheduled for June 6 or 26th from 8 am to 4.30 pm

A health and wellness summit is being held on June 12 and 13 in Hilo. There will be six tracks – Medical response, Mental health and psychosocial support, volunteer and donation management, shelter support, long term recovery support and food security.

Next meeting June 19th, 4:00pm. Senior Center.

Utilities

MicroGrid Update– The committee is working on a visit to the HECO Operations Center in Hilo for our next meeting.

Greenwaste Update- Neither Karl nor Barbara have received responses from the Solid Waste office to their queries regarding the volume and/or cost of transporting the greenwaste from our Transfer station to the main dump. John suggested an in-person visit to the office in Hilo.

General Plan Update– The 2026 County General Plan is before the County Council for approval but an Alternative General Plan has been introduced. It is doubtful legally that an Alternative General Plan drafted by one council person could be approved with no public process. Instead, a better process would be to approve the existing General Plan with amendments where appropriate.

Next meeting is June 17th, 3:30pm Senior Center.

Parks, Roads, Erosion Control and View-planes (PREV)

The high- and elementary school drop-off and pick-up congestion proposal will be the subject of the June meeting.

Mountain Road still has stretches needing resurfacing. Particularly m.p. ~6.5 – 8 (south of the lookout) and 13 – 14. Work is presently being done on the road, hopefully addressing these two spots.

Next meeting is June 17th, 5:00pm Senior Center.

NEW BUSINESS:

ANNOUNCEMENTS:

Report From Our Council Representative, James Hustace.

  • Bill 157 – Committee (6/2); establishes a disaster recovery program.
  • Bill 163 – Committee (6/2); establishes an Aina Kūpuna real property tax program.
  • Bill 164 – Committee (6/2); proposes Council confirmation for Housing administrator.
  • Bill 165 – Committee (6/2); initiates charter amendment regarding PONC maintenance fund.
  • Bill 66 – Council (6/3); ongoing General Plan review with multiple amendments pending.
  • Bill 152 – Council (6/3); initiates charter amendment regarding County Auditor staffing authority.
  • Bill 156 – Council (6/3); updates nonprofit grant eligibility requirements.
  • Bill 158 – Council (6/3); initiates charter amendment regarding County Manager system.
  • Bill 159 – Council (6/3); initiates charter amendment regarding biennial operating and capital budgets.
  • Council will also be holding our final reading of the County Budget on Thursday, June 4.

PUBLIC INPUT AND AGENDA SUGGESTIONS FOR THE NEXT MEETING

The Next Advisory Group Meeting will be held on Monday, July 6th, 4:30pm, Senior Center.

Adjournment

NOTICE: The purpose of the public hearings is to afford all interested persons a reasonable opportunity to be heard on the above items. They may also bring up another item for consideration by the AG. A person wishing to submit written testimony may email winterj@whitman.edu. 

John Winter, Chair NORTH KOHALA CDP ADVISORY GROUP