(BIVN) – A new Bank Of Hawaiʻi is planned for Hilo at the intersection of Kinoʻole Street and West Lanikaula Street.

Bank executives and planning consultant Sidney Fuke went before the Windward Planning Commission on Thursday, to present their Change of Zone application, which will consolidate two Single-Family Residential lots into a General Commercial zoning district in order to develop a new, 7,500 square-ft. office building. The four single-family dwellings on the property will be removed.

Bank of Hawaii is also proposing a 36-stall parking lot (including two handicapped stalls) to accommodate customer and employee parking, as well as a drive-through ATM along the northern boundary of the property.

Studies conducted by the bank concluded that “there really would not be any significant impact to the Lanikaula, Kinoʻole Street intersection by allowing left turn movement,” Fuke told the commission, while admitting that, “on the other hand, both the department and the Traffic Division said that, well, maybe not.”

The bank is proposing a one year trial of “full movement access” along Lanikaula Street, after which time the Hawaiʻi County Public Works’ Traffic Division can determine if changes to the traffic pattern need to be made.

Neighbor Martin McGuinn attended the hearing, and wanted to talk about “liveablility” next to the project, especially with the drive-through being “basically 10 feet from our property,” he testified.

“There would be cars constantly going through the drive-through and there’s no privacy barrier included in the plans,” McGuinn said, asking the commission to include the construction of a stone wall as a condition to the application.

The commission agreed. “Both of those property lines should have an acoustic barrier of a masonry-type wall of maximum height,” said commission chair Joseph Clarkson, who added that he sympathized with being a neighbor next to a high traffic area.

The Windward Planning Commission gave the application its approval.