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Honorable James Y. Arakaki, Chairman <br />and Members of the County Council <br />Page 6 <br />landscaped buffer surrounding the site." The applicant believes that with the approved <br />mitigation, the archaeological impacts of the project will not be significant. The <br />applicant noted that should there be any inadvertent finds during construction of the <br />project, work will be stopped until clearance from the Planning Department has been <br />secured. The archaeological inventory survey prepared by PURI was originally <br />conducted in 1991 and was updated in July 2003. To date, there is no record that the <br />archaeological inventory survey had been submitted to the State of Hawaii Department <br />of Land and Natural Resources -Historic Preservation Division (DLNR-HPD) for <br />acceptance and/or that the DLNR-HPD has approved a preservation and mitigation plan. <br />In view of the recent Hawaii State Supreme Court's "PASH" and "Ka Pa'akai O <br />Ka'Aina " decisions, the issue relative to native Hawaiian gathering and fishing rights <br />must be addressed. These rights must be addressed in terms of the cultural, historical, <br />and natural resources and the associated traditional and customary practices of the site. <br />Investigation of valued resources: The applicant presented the following <br />information from which the Planning Commission can determine the valued cultural, <br />historical, and natural area within the sought for the rezoning: archeological <br />reconnaissance survey, including a historical survey of documentary records; botanical <br />study; and faunal study. According to the applicant, since the subject site is not adjacent <br />and/or nearby to the shoreline, and since there are no known identified trails going <br />through the site, fishing and/or coastal access should not be an issue. According to the <br />applicant, vegetation in this area consists primarily of introduced exotics. These include <br />kiawe (Prosopis pallida), `opiuma (Pithecellobium dulce), African tulip (spathodea <br />campanulata), koa-haole (Leucaena glauca), monkeypod (Samanea saman), lantana <br />(Lantana camara), guinea grass (Panicum maximum), bitter yam (Discorea bulbifera), <br />and other exotic grasses and weeds. During a field survey by the applicant's <br />archaeological consultant, one indigenous plant, ilima (Sida fallax) was noted. The <br />applicant stated that it would not be likely that rare or endangered plant life would be <br />found on the site, and that since the site and much of the surrounding areas have <br />structures or are being developed with structures, it did not appear likely that rare or <br />endangered animal life would be found on the site. <br />The valuable cultural, historical, and natural resources found in the area sou hght for <br />the Rezoning: Relative to the archeological and cultural sites on the subject property, the <br />archeological inventory survey concluded that 13 of the 14 sites as being significant <br />solely for their informational content and that no further work was recommended for <br />these sites. The remaining site (16116), which consisted of 2 burial platforms, was <br />recommended for preservation `as is,' with possible landscaping. <br />