The Kauai County Planning Commission met on March 11, 2025, at approximately 10:20 AM HST. The agenda was amended to move the public hearing on Bill 2942 (zoning amendment for farmers' and artisans' markets) to the first business item. The commission heard extensive public testimony, deliberated on multiple agenda items, and took actions including recommending approval of Bill 2942 with amendments, approving a composting facility use permit with conditions, deferring several zoning amendment items to April, and approving a warehouse-to-laundry conversion.
On Bill 2942 – Farmers'/Artisans' Markets Zoning Amendment:
On Compost Kauai – Composting Facility:
On Plantation Camp Zoning Amendments (Milla and Kawanui): No public testimony was offered.
On Warehouse-to-Laundry Conversion (Unfinished Business): No public testimony was offered at this meeting (public hearing was previously closed).
Bill 2942 – Zoning Amendment for Farmers'/Artisans' Markets: Commissioners discussed concerns about protecting cultural and historic sites, preventing permanent structures, and ensuring public access. Staff noted that the definition could be amended to clarify that permanent improvements are prohibited and that public access must be provided. Commissioners also discussed parking standards and the need for community input. A motion was made to recommend approval with amendments, including language to prohibit permanent structures and to require public access. The motion passed unanimously.
Compost Kauai – Class 4 Zoning Permit, Use Permit, and Special Permit: Applicants presented their vision for a small-scale, decentralized composting facility to divert food waste and support local agriculture. They addressed concerns about noise (small equipment operating 9 AM–5 PM, seven days a week), odor (following EPA and DOH guidelines), vermin (trapping and covered piles), and no burning. They noted they are working with the Department of Health and will install leachate catchment. Commissioners questioned about neighbor response (mostly supportive, one expressed home value concerns) and invasive species mitigation (covering with gill nets and tarps). The department recommended 10 conditions, with an amendment to condition 10 to include the word "revoked." The motion to approve with conditions and amended condition 10 passed unanimously.
Plantation Camp Zoning Amendments (Milla and Kawanui): The planning department presented proposed zoning amendments to allow for form-based codes that preserve plantation camp character and enable workforce housing. The department acknowledged an error: for Kawanui, a component was missing and would be added in April. Both landowners (Sean Smith for BBC Pernet for Milla, and Howard Green/Ken Robinson for Kawanui) expressed intent to provide workforce housing and preserve existing structures. Commissioners discussed wildfire mitigation and subdivision restrictions. A motion to defer all related agenda items to the April meeting passed unanimously.
General Plan Report (H1): The department requested a deferral to April due to the long-range planner being out sick. Motion passed unanimously.
Unfinished Business – Use Permit for Warehouse-to-Laundry Conversion: The department issued a supplemental report with recommended condition 11 to limit noise to 55–60 decibels in compliance with Hawaii Administrative Rules. The applicant accepted the condition, noting the facility will be fully enclosed with one commercial washer and dryer, and that employees live nearby. The motion to approve with conditions, including the new condition 11, passed unanimously.
I like calling the back of order there was an issue with the webcast streaming. I'd like to repeat that the meeting commenced at it two AM. All commissioners are present. The agenda was amended and approved to move item for the first item of business for today. Oh yeah. Okay. Hello, House Landing Commissioners. My name's Carl Imperado. I'm speaking on behalf of the Hanole Wendy Hub and a community association. I want to begin by pointing out that neither the sphere nor the letter of the CZO contemplates allowing scores of vendors to sell products in Koai's parks and neighborhoods. Those markets are completely unlike any of the other retail uses that are addressed in the CCO. And for the most part, they're incompatible with the compared character of our neighborhoods and parks. So if we're going to allow them, approval should require public hearings, community input, and deep consideration of each market's noise, traffic, parking, sanitation, and community disruption impacts. We should not enable undue commercialization of our neighborhoods of parks. Unfortunately, the zoning amendment as written proposes to allow weekly multi-day markets with no public hearings and almost no standards of requirements to protect the impacted neighborhoods and parks. So we recommend three major changes to the proposed zoning amendment. First, if commercial uses of our parks and neighborhoods are to be allowed, approval should not be a routine ministerial matter. It should be approval based on an exception basis and public hearings. Therefore, use permits should be required for all markets that would impact neighborhoods and parks. The use permit process would enable neighborhood concerns to be expressed, considered, and addressed, and provide some assurance that the approved markets would meet the standards of compatibility with non-detriment to the community. Second, the use permit approval should be conditioned on the support of the residents of the impacted neighborhood and on meeting standards to minimize the market's impacts on the impacted neighborhood or park. The permitting process should evaluate all impact and include restrictions and requirements as needed on the size and the hours of the market, noise and amplified music, bathrooms and waste, traffic and parking, and neighborhood disruption. It would be disastrous to leave it up to either parks and recreation or the owners of quasi public land to decide these standards, restrictions, and requirements because neither of them have the incentives or responsibility to protect the public interest. Finally, markets that would impact neighborhoods or parks should never be allowed to operate for more than one day a week. We shouldn't contemplate the approval of markets that would operate more than one day a week. So the zoning amendment should be changed to delete the definitions of artisans market two, farmers market two, and change the definitions of artisans market one, farmers market one to be redefined to no more than one day a week. I thank you very much for the opportunity to present these concerns, and I want to let you know, of course, that our community association board hopes to work constructively with the planning department to ensure that the final product adequately protects our neighborhoods and parks. Thank you. Thank you. Next we have sign up Billy Carter. Good morning, commissioners. My name is Billy Carter. I'm here representing businesses designated as culinary food artisans as well as micro businesses. Businesses such as mine, Coai Gorbaynuts, other businesses like Outpost Coffee, Midnight Bear Bakery. We're businesses that have grown out of farmers markets. I started my business solely at farmers markets, and over a year of attending those, I was able to grow to multiple markets and then finally open brick and mortars. We appreciate being included on this bill. Some people have said larger micro businesses like my own shouldn't have a place at the farmers markets because we have brick and mortars. However, there's three main points that I want to make to advocate for my style of business. One is that we employ locals, and so this allows us to you know pay people who maybe don't want to work in an inside environment, you know, thrive in these outdoor sales. We also we act as anchored businesses for the market, so much like uh larger shopping center that gets larger businesses to bring in customers. We act as these type of businesses, not only to bring customers to the market, but to bring crowds of customers in certain zones within the market, so that the smaller and startup businesses, the mom and pops, the woman-run businesses can draw up our crowds and make money on uh you know off of our customers as well. Um the last point is that um we shouldn't, as growing businesses, be punished for growing by saying now you're not allowed at the farmers markets as businesses grow, you don't cast off what made you grow, you build upon that. So I appreciate the consideration for micro businesses as well as a culinary food artisans, people come to eat. Thank you. Thank you for your testimony. Okay, next we have to find up the Michael Young. Sorry. Uh aloha, my name is Michael Young. Uh my wife and I have owned Holo Collective.