A plan by a Hilo car dealership to relocate to a new location blindsided business owners who say they weren’t told that the building they sublease was being sold.
Over the past few months, Aloha Kia in Hilo has been working through the permitting process necessary to move its dealership from its current location on Kanoelehua Avenue to a new location at 92 Kalanianaole St.
The Windward Planning Commission in September approved applications from Aloha Kia for a special management area use permit for the new location, and a change-of-zone request converting the property from its current resort-hotel zoning to limited industrial.
According to the dealership’s plans, an existing building on the site would be converted into the new dealership showroom.
At the September planning commission meeting, a county planner said the current occupants of that building — Millie’s Deli and Snack Shop, New Saigon Vietnamese Restaurant and medical equipment wholesaler R &M Reyes Enterprise — had been notified of the plans and that they would need to make “other arrangements.”
But at Wednesday’s meeting of the County Council, where the council was set to discuss whether to approve the commission’s zoning changes, owners of the current businesses testified in outrage, saying they were never informed and had only learned of the plan earlier in the week.
Millie’s Deli owner Laurie Tavares told the council she only learned of the plans “by accident” and that the property’s owner, Chris Tamm, had not communicated with her or any of his other tenants about his plans to sell the building.
Without that prior notice, Tavares said the fate of Millie’s is up in the air.
“We can’t just move a whole kitchen,” Tavares said. “We’d have to close up shop.”
Alison Herzig, manager at R &M Reyes Enterprise, told the Tribune-Herald that she had only heard about the plan on Wednesday and said she hopes that the council will not approve the rezoning, but was not optimistic.
“Money talks, right?” Herzig said.
“I know the landlord is older, and it’s his decision, so if he wants to get the money and spend it while he still can, I get it. But it’s too bad we couldn’t stay open.”
Herzig added that the loss of Millie’s and New Saigon would be a loss for the entire neighborhood.
“It’s sad, because we hardly have any good places to eat around here, but we have so many car dealerships,” Herzig said.
During the council meeting, land consultant John Pippin said that Tamm had told him and Aloha Kia he had notified the tenants about the plans, and Pippin had simply taken him at his word.
Pippin added that it is not the buyer’s responsibility to tell the current tenants what is going to happen.
He said that given the length of time necessary to begin construction, the current tenants still have ample time to get their affairs in order, and that they will be allowed to continue subleasing the building until the site is shovel-ready.
Still, council members reacted to the situation with distaste.
Puna Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz said she was “very uncomfortable” with such conversations between landowners and tenants being hashed out on the council floor, and moved to postpone decision making on the matter until the next meeting in two weeks, urging Pippin and Aloha Kia Regional Vice President Russell Wong to speak with all relevant parties so they are all on the same page.
Tamm did not respond to an email request for comment. Tavares declined to comment to the Tribune-Herald.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.