Paid parking lots debate continues – Hawaii Tribune-Herald

The Hawaii County Windward Planning Commission voted unanimously Thursday to defer consideration of a bill banning new paid parking lots on the island after hearing input from the planning director and co-author of the measure.

Commissioner JoNelle Fukushima motioned for the deferral, saying it would give the body time to “allow us to do further research.” The vote was 6-0 in support with Commissioner Kanoe Wilson absent and excused.

Bill 154 would prohibit the opening of commercial parking lots and garages in a long list of land zoning categories, including general, village commercial, industrial-commercial mixed, limited industrial and general industrial, as well as in the Downtown Hilo Commercial District.

This would outlaw the practice of charging fees for use of privately operated parking services, except at commercial lots opened and operating before the bill’s passage. These formerly established lots would effectively be “grandfathered” in under the law and be allowed to continue functioning and charging drivers under “nonconforming use” rules.

According to the legislation’s text, paid parking lots “contribute to additional vehicle circulation, traffic congestion and land use patterns that are inconsistent with the county’s planning objectives, including the efficient use of land for housing, agriculture and community benefit.”

It distinguishes between publicly owned paid parking facilities and private ones, stating the former are operated for public purposes, providing access to government services and supporting policy-based transportation goals, while being subject to public planning and oversight.

The County Council’s Policy Committee on Planning, Land Use and Economic Development voted 6-3 on May 4 to refer the bill to the planning director and dual planning commissions for review. Hilo Councilman Dennis Onishi, Hilo Councilwoman Jenn Kagiwada and Ka‘u Councilwoman Michelle Galimba cast the three “no” votes.

The Planning Department has weighed in on the proposal, offering support for its encouragement of “efficient land use patterns” and reduction of “automobile dependency.” The department also praised how the bill would limit the expansion of large paved surfaces, which would “reduce impervious surface coverage, stormwater runoff and urban heat island effects.”

However, its recommendation report did suggest two exceptions to the ban: retain commercial parking lots as a permitted use within the Downtown Hilo Commercial District, and allow lots to operate in the Resort-Hotel District with a required Use Permit. The report explains that the need for this downtown Hilo carve-out comes from its “concentration of historic structures developed prior to modern parking standards,” which the department claims limits opportunities for on-site parking due to “constrained lot sizes and established development patterns.”

This concern is echoed in written testimony submitted to Thursday’s meeting by the Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce and the Japanese Chamber of Commerce and Industry of Hawaii, which said the bill could have “unintended consequences” for downtown Hilo and other commercial areas, and could “harm the economic interests of our members and residents.”

During the meeting, Commissioner Thomas Fratinardo asked Planning Director Jeff Darrow if he had read the submitted testimony and would like to offer a rebuttal.

”Yes, I have,” Darrow said. “Basically, that’s one of the reasons why we’re making the adjustments allowing commercial parking lots in downtown Hilo. Downtown Hilo does not have your typical requirements for onsite parking, whereas all the other districts do.”

County Council Chair Holeka Inaba attended the meeting via Zoom and recounted Bill 154’s backstory to commissioners. Inaba explained how the measure was an offshoot of fellow council member Rebecca Villegas’s push to rein in what she described as out-of-control parking fees at private lots in Kailua Village. Her initial efforts took the form of Bill 132, which died in committee in mid-May. Inaba admitted to commissioners that the previous bill “couldn’t proceed without causing some potential harm to the county in the future” in the form of lawsuits brought by lot operators claiming their property rights were being violated.

Saying he initially didn’t want to “piecemeal out different district areas,” the chair eventually accepted that certain exemptions — like those for downtown Hilo called for in written testimony — were needed.

However, he said the spirit of the bill remains the same — a long-term vision preventing Kailua Village’s parking woes from being exported into other Hawaii Island communities.

“Overall, what we’re trying to do here is prevent any future commercial paid parking,” he said. “It might exist in certain pockets in different districts of this island, but whether you’re thinking of Kohala or Pahoa or Pahala, thinking 20 years, 30 years down the line, (we’re) wanting to ensure that we require, first of all, development to have adequate parking, and that that parking be free. We don’t want to see the situation that’s happening down in Kailua-Kona happening elsewhere on the island.”

Email Stefan Verbano at stefan.verbano@hawaiitribune-herald.com.