CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU
PLANNING COMMISSION
NOTICE IS HEREBY GIVEN of a public hearing to be held by the Planning Commission of the City and County of Honolulu:
PLACE: In-person and Remote Meeting at Fasi Municipal Building, 6th Floor
Conference Room, 650 South King Street, Honolulu, Hawai’i 96813
DATE: Wednesday, June 26, 2024
TIME: 1:30 p.m.
The meeting of the Honolulu Planning Commission will be conducted as follows:
Remotely by interactive conference technology and in-person meetings, with Planning Commissioners, Planning Department staff, parties to agenda items and resource individuals may appear via WebEx remote technology (details below)
A recording of the meeting will also be posted at a later date
If any major and insurmountable technical difficulties are encountered during the meeting, the Planning Commission will automatically recess for up to thirty (30) minutes to restore communication. The meeting will reconvene when either audiovisual or audio-only communication is established with the same WebEx link below. If it is not possible to reconvene the meeting as provided within thirty (30) minutes after an interruption to communication, the Planning Commission will continue all matters and reconvene at the next scheduled Planning Commission meeting
PUBLIC HEARING
Public hearing notice published in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser on Monday, May 27, 2024. The Commission will take action on each agenda item after public hearing is closed.
‘EWA DISTRICT – STATE SPECIAL USE PERMIT (SUP) – 2020/SUP-7 (FK)
MAHI SOLAR, LLC
Applicant: Mahi Solar, LLC.
Landowner: Monsanto Technology, LLC; Bayer Production Supply, LLC; Mahi Land Holdings, LLC; and Fat Law’s Farm Inc.
Location: 94-520 and 94-880 Kunia Road beginning approximately 10,000 feet north-northwest of the intersection of Kunia Road and the H-1 Freeway, Honouliuli, ‘Ewa
Tax Map Keys: 9-2-001:020 portion, 9-2-004:003 portion, CPR Units 1, 2, and 4, and 9-2-004: 010 portion
Existing Use: Diversified crops, cultivation of seed corn, fallow fields, open space
Existing Zoning: AG-1 Restricted Agricultural District
Area of SUP: Approximately 620.0 acres
Request: Pursuant to Condition No. 4 of the Land Use Commission (LUC) Docket No. SP21-412, the Applicant is required to establish the 120-megawatt solar energy generation facility and 480-megawatt- hour battery energy storage facility (Project) within three (3) years of the date of the LUC’s approval, or by September 17, 2024. Construction of the Project has not yet begun due to unforeseen circumstances that were beyond the control of the Applicant. Accordingly, the Applicant is requesting to modify Condition No. 4 to extend the deadline to establish the Project by three (3) additional years.
The SUP Application and Director’s report can be downloaded from: www.honolulu.gov/dpp/public-input.html
This hearing is to be held under the provisions of Chapters 46, 92, and 205, Hawaii Revised Statutes, as amended, Articles VI and XIII, Revised Charter of the City and County of Honolulu, 1973, as amended, Sections 2-40, 2-43, 2-44 and 2-49 of the Rules of the Planning Commission, City and County of Honolulu, and Chapter 15-15 of the Hawaii Administrative Rules.
The particular sections of statutes and rules involved include
Sections 205-2(d)(6)(B), 205-4.5(a)(20), and 205-4.5(a)(21) of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, as amended, and Subchapter 4 of Chapter 2 and Section 2-45 of the Rules of the Planning Commission. The issue involved relates to whether to grant a Special Use Permit pursuant to Section 205-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, for solar energy facilities on land with soil classified by the Land Study Bureau as overall master productivity rating Class B, C, D and E.
Any party may retain counsel if the party so desires, and an individual may appear on his own behalf, or a member of a partnership may represent the partnership, or an officer or authorized employee of a corporation or trust or association may represent the corporation, trust, or association.
Any person or agency wishing to intervene as a party in the proceeding shall file a petition with the Commission within fourteen (14) days after this notice is published in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. The petition must conform to the requirements of Subchapter 5, Chapter 2 of the Rules of the Planning Commission, which are available at the Department of Planning and Permitting. A contested case hearing may be held on the matter pursuant to action by the Planning Commission to grant the petition.
PUBLIC PARTICIPATION AND TESTIMONY
The public may also join the public hearing and offer testimony from a computer, smartphone or telephone as follows:
Join the public hearing from a computer or from the WebEx smartphone app: (Please mute your devices except to testify)
https://globalpage-prod.webex.com/join
Meeting Number: 2483 115 7558
Meeting Password: dpp1
Join the public hearing from a telephone (audio only):
408-418-9388 (USA Toll)
Access code: 2483 115 7558
Numeric meeting password: 3771
Oral testimony via phone or Webex: To provide oral testimony during the online meeting via phone or Webex, we suggest you register in advance by 4:30 p.m. on Tuesday, June 25, 2024, by emailing your name, phone number, and include in the subject line “register to testify” to dpp@honolulu.gov
Attendance at the public hearing is not necessary to submit written testimony. Written testimony may be submitted by one of the following options: 1) Email: dpp@honolulu.gov, 2) Fax: (808) 768-6743, or 3) Mail: Planning Commission, 650 South King Street, 7th Floor, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813. While the Commission requests that written testimony be submitted by noon, two business days before the meeting to ensure distribution and thorough review by the Commission, testimony submitted after such date and time will still be accepted by the Commission.
MATERIALS AVAILABLE FOR INSPECTION
Meeting materials (“board packet” under HRS Section 92-7.5) are available for public inspection at the office of the Department of Planning and Permitting,
7th Floor, Frank Fasi Municipal Building, 650 South King Street, Honolulu, Hawaii 96813; contacting the Planning Commission, telephone (808) 768-8007; or on the DPP website at www.honolulu.gov/dpp/dpp-calendar
If you need an auxiliary aid and/or service or other accommodation due to disability to participate in this event (i.e., sign language interpreter, interpreter for language other than English, or wheelchair accessibility), please call (808) 768-8000, or email your request to dpp@honolulu.gov at least five (5) business days prior to the meeting. Requests made as early as possible will allow adequate time to fulfill your request.
PLANNING COMMISSION
PANE MEATOGA III, Chair
by Dawn Takeuchi Apuna, Director
Department of Planning and Permitting
(SA1456212 5/27/24)
