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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2003-11-07 TDLNR PLANNING COMMISSION COUNTY OF HAWAI`I HEARING TRANSCRIPT NOVEMBER 7, 2003 A regularly advertised hearing on the application of STATE OF HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF LAND & NATURAL RESOURCES, DIVISION OF STATE PARKS (SMA 03-013) was called to order at 3:45 p.m. in the Ohana Resort, Kahaluu Ballroom, 78-6740 Ali`i Drive, North Kona, Hawai`i, with Second Vice- Chairman Hannah Springer presiding. PRESENT:Hannah SpringerABSENT AND EXCUSED:Earl Fujikawa Bill Graham Fred Galdones Florence KubotaAurelio C. Mina, Jr. Jeffrey McCall Francis Smith Bill Thibadeau Patricia O'Toole, Esq., Deputy Corporation Counsel Christopher J. Yuen, Planning Director Norman Hayashi, Staff Planner Phyllis Fujimoto, Staff Planner Jeff Darrow, Staff Planner Kiran Emler representing Department of Public Works (Left 4:15 p And approximately 38 people from the public in attendance. APPLICANT: STATE OF HAWAII DEPARTMENT OF LAND & NATURAL RESOURCES, DIVISION OF STATE PARKS (SMA 03-013) Special Management Area Use Permit to allow the development of the Kekaha Kai State Park Phase I improvements, which include the construction or installation of a park access road, gates, and signage; parking related improvements; comfort station and storage facility; landscaping, pathways, and trail improvements; and associated utility improvements. The property is located makai of the Queen Kaahumanu Highway and nd includes the area adjacent to Kua Bay, Maniniowali and Kukio 2, North Kona, , TMK: 7-2-4: portions of 3, 17 and 19. HawaiŒi SPRINGER:We now move into Agenda Item 6, for which the Applicant is the State of Hawaii Department of Land & Natural Resources, Division of State Parks (SMA 03-013), a Special Management Area Use Permit to allow the development of the Kekaha Kai State Park Phase I improvements, which include the construction or (Hawaiian words done phonetically.) EXHIBIT D intallation of a park access road, gates, and signage; parking related improvements; comfort station and storage facility; landscaping, pathways, and trail improvements; and associated utility improvements. The property is located makai of the Queen Kaahumanu nd Highway and includes the area adjacent to Kua Bay, Maniniowali and Kukio 2, North Kona, Hawaii, TMK: 7-2-4:portions of 3, 17 and 19. Jeff? DARROW:Thank you, Madam Chair. As you had mentioned, the Applicant in this case is the State of Hawaii Department of Land & Natural Resources, Division of State Parks. TheyÓre requesting a Special Management Area Use Permit to allow the development of the Kekaha Kai State Park Phase I improvements. attention to the location map, the area that is before us is located specifically where this red dot is but this whole particular area in green here is identified as the Kekaha State Park area. ItÓs approximately 1,642 acres. For planning purposes, they have divided it into three sections, the Mahaiula area, the Awakee area and the Maniniowali/Kukio area. WeÓll be looking at the Maniniowali/Kukio area. The site plan, the improvements that will be associated with this particular permit request will be beginning with the improvements to the intersection located on Queen Kaahumanu Highway, across from the West Hawaii Veterans Cemetery, thereÓll be full improvements to the intersection. There will be a park access road that will be a paved two-lane road that will travel from Queen Kaahumanu Highway all the way to Kua Bay area. And in the Kua Bay area we will have parking areas, we will have a comfort station that will have restrooms, showers, storage area. There will be more, identified more clearly in this particular map here. The camping area is identified in this area. The parking area and the comfort station is located in this area; and at this area identified in blue is the Kua Bay area. There will be also trail improvements, as well as landscaping and other related improvements. Part of the conditions also allow for future expansion of parking areas. The proposed improvements also are subject to the requirements o regarding environmental impact statements. And a development, p report and final environmental impact statement was submitted; a the Governor on August 20, 2003. The Planning Director is recommending approval of this request with conditions by the Planning Commission. Are there any questions? SPRINGER:Commissioners, any questions or comments to staff? Commissioners, I would like to disclose at this time that I have sat on the task force which is mentioned in our background materials, as well as I have served as a resource, person with kamaaina knowledge of this area. These consultations have occurred before I came to sit on the Hawaii County Planning Commission. I disclose these for your consideration. I have received no compensation, monetary compensation for any of the work that I have done or interviews I have given in consultation with the Kekaha Kai State Park. 2 I ask now for the, are there any questions or comments regarding Thank you. I invite the ApplicantÓs representative to come forward? Will the Applicant and the representative and all of those who have signed up to testify or who wish to give testimony on this matter, please stand so that I may swear you in at this time. Please raise your right hands? Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Hawaii County Planning Commission? TESTIFIERS:I do. SPRINGER:Thank you. You may be seated. If the ApplicantÓs representative could please give his name and address for the record and proceed with your testimony. TAGUCHI:Thank you, Madam Chairman, members of the Commission. M name is Glenn Taguchi, IÓm the Hawaii Parks District Superintendent. My address, my residence address is 1661 Haleloke Street in Hilo. Together with me is Mr. James Leonard, heÓs the principal and managing director of the Hilo office of PBR Hawaii, a planning consultant firm. And IÓll give you a little overview of some of the items that have led up to today. Mr. Leonard will give you the particulars on the plan. As your staff indicated, Kekaha Kai State Park is 1,642.548 acres. It was formerly called the Kona Coast State Park. But after a lot of research by very knowledgeable people, the name was changed to more correctly reflect the area. The park is in two sections. The south section includes Kaulana, Mahaiula, Kaelehuluhulu. Some local residents refer to that area as MagoonÓs, the name of the previous landowner in that area. The north sections include Awakee, Kahoiawa, Maniniowali and Kukio 2. People refer it to commonly as Kua Bay. Its most prominent landmark in that area is Puu Kuili. The two parts of the park is separated by the lands of Makalawaena, which is owned by the Kamehameha Schools. The SMA Use Permit application is for Phase I improvements at the Maniniowali and Kukio 2 section. These improvements, together with the monies for the planning phase is a part of a $2.5 million commitment of private funds as a result consummated in the early 1990s. Some history on that land exchange, it was authorized by the Board of Land and Natural Resources in 1990. The land exchange was initially with a company called North Kona Development Group LLP, Limited nd Partnership, and it exchanged lands at Awakee for lands at Maniniowali and Kukio 2 above the 1,000-foot line or 1,000-foot from the ocean, mauka of The land exchange was subject to a number of conditions, among t developer of the Maniniowali lands would plan and construct improvements to the Kua Bay section of the Kekaha Kai State Park; and that was to the tune of $2.5 million. 3 There were subsequent submittals that the Board approved. It allowed portions of the $2.5 million to be used for planning, the development plan and the EIS process. Another action by the Board also allowed the developer to use the proposed park entry road as the developmentÓs primary or secondary access. In return for that right, developer will construct at their own expense all of the required intersection work at Queen K. ItÓll be all at their expense, the accel/decel lanes and whatever else that needs to be done, as well as they will pay totally at their expense that section of the access road that will connect to their development road. The planning, the conceptual design, the EIS process has involved the Kekaha Kai State ParkÓs Task Force, the Task Force which worked on this matter for about ten years. You know, as probably one of the longest running community action groups in the history of the State, we have been blessed with having some very knowledgeable, very hard- working and very dedicated people on that task force. Initially, the Task Force was quite structured. They had certain kinds of people representing government, business, the environment, family members who came from that area; but it ended up with people who, all of these people plus people who were interested in working on the park, working on doing things correctly. The last meeting was held just prior to the finalization of the Mr. Darrow indicated. Notice of Availability was published on May 23, 2003 in the OEQC Environmental Notice. The Governor formally accepted the E 2003. This is the first part of our permitting process to actually begin construction of these improvements. IÓll ask Mr. Leonard to continue and talk about those improvements. SPRINGER:Mr. Leonard, could you please give us your address as well? LEONARD:Sure. My name is James Leonard. My residence address i 1100 Ainalako Road, Hilo, Hawaii 96720. SPRINGER:You may proceed. LEONARD:Madam Chairperson and Commissioners, Jeff went over the components of the project. I just wanted to highlight some details here. Hopefully, you can see from where youÓre sitting right there. But the access road goes from Queen K Highway, from Queen Kaahumanu Highway, alongside Puu Kuili; and itÓs designed to follow sort of the natural contours of the land and to avoid to the extent practical the known archaeology thatÓs in the area. So weÓve sort of highlighted where the archaeological sites are on this overall map. ItÓs a 20-foot paved road with 6-foot shoulders on either side, is whatÓs planned at this point. And as it approaches the area of Kua Bay or as Billy Paris points out that this is actually an area thatÓs better referred to as Maniniowali, known as Maniniowali. All the legends refer back to Maniniowali, but the common label on there is Kua Bay. 4 Where the parking is and the road terminates at a turn-around, it follows the general alignment of the existing access road thatÓs coming through the Maniniowali project area right here, and forks off in this area, and turns in this direction. The access road would follow, generally, that same alignment and join up with that. In this area youÓll see, in this diagram, if you can look here, the parking, the initial parking, paved parking for roughly 30 stalls is planned, including two stalls for persons with disability in the area of the turn-around and the comfort station, which is located just in this area. ThereÓs some slight adjustments from the plans th application in terms of the location of the comfort station, moved slightly mauka around the cul de sac just to open up the views as you arrive, open up the views to the ocean and to the bay. And it also put in a more flatter, easier to developed area right on this side of the cul de sac, but right adjacent to where the parking for persons with disability is located. There are areas for expansion of the parking. These will actually be graded out to allow for an additional 20 parking stalls along the road. And these have been sited to be in areas that are relatively flat, and so thereÓs relatively little ground disturbance associated with them. And if there should be a need for further expansion, an area has been designated right in here, another flat area in here away from the archaeology. So thereÓs minimal impact to the archeology if thereÓs further expansion needed to the parking. The comfort station, which I pointed out right here, is a, this is a detailed diagram of the comfort station. ItÓs sort of modeled after the comfort station that was built at Kikawa Point Park. It includes the menÓs and womenÓs restrooms, outdoor showers, area for changing. ItÓs really just a bench and some hooks for putting up clothing, for hanging clothing, or towel bars, and outdoor showers and, out in the front. In the back is a storage area as part of the comfort station, and a trash enclosure. Some landscaping is proposed in association with the comfort station to sort of buffer the visual impact of that structure. Also, as part of the proposed improvements, a ADA accessible pathway is planned from the, the pathway would come from the area of the parking, the handicapped parking, around the cul de sac down in this direction, and through the, a lawn area or open picnic area, and then down to the area of the beach to bring people as close to the beach as possible. And these plans for ADA accessibility will be reviewed with the Disabilities Communication Accessibility Board for compliance with ADA requirements. But weÓve also talked to Mr. Hartman and weÓll review those plans with him as well. He has expressed some concerns about the ADA accessibility in this area. So we want to work with those who are concerned about that and make that as accessible as is possible, given the budget that we have. ThereÓs also planned a utility corridor in this area. This is to bring the utilities down from the Maniniowali development. Associated with that would be a connector trail. ItÓs really to provide service access to those utilities and pedestrian connection between the development here and the improvements down at Maniniowali. ThatÓs it. 5 Really, the only trail improvement thatÓs proposed as part of this, other than the trail, are the pathways that are shown on the diagrams, and the ADA pathways here. This pathway connection here is the existing road that is in place. And weÓre just showing that it will eventually become a pedestrian trail connection. And in the application there was a pathway connection shown in this area; that really isnÓt an improvement that weÓre proposing. There is a sort of natural pathway that follows the lava flow in this area. And so weÓre just showing that as another potential connection or pathway down from the Maniniowali development area down to the park. So that summarizes pretty much the overall, the extent of the development and, thatÓs being proposed right now. If there are any questions, IÓll be glad to answer. SPRINGER:Commissioners, any questions either for Mr. Taguchi or Mr. Leonard? Okay. Do you have anything more to add? TAGUSHI:Oh, no. SPRINGER:Okay. Thank you, gentlemen. At this time -. LEONARD:We will have amendments to the conditions. I donÓt know whether we want to handle that at this time or at a later time. SPRINGER:WeÓll take that up after the public testimony. LEONARD:Okay. SPRINGER:Thank you, Mr. Leonard. LEONARD:Thank you. SPRINGER:At this time, IÓd like to call forward John Hartman, Lunakanawai Hauanio, Bobby Camara, Marni Herkes, William J. Paris, Jr. and J If thereÓs anyone else who would like to make testimony on this with the staff. Thank you and welcome to the table. Will each of you, in your t name and address clearly into the microphone for the purposes of the record. And at this time IÓll like to begin with the right-hand side of the table. Could you please give us your name and address, and your testimony. HARTMAN:My name is John Hartman. I live at 78-6715 Alii Drive, just up the street here, Kailua-Kona. And the testimony -. I guess, is it on? DARROW:Yes. 6 HARTMAN:Okay. I have a big concern from the standpoint that when theyÓre doing these projects, they refer to them as ADA projects. Now ADA to a lot of people they just all of sudden throw up their arms and say, ÐMy God, wh they use what is called ADAG facility requirements, guidelines, building guidelines. So the ADA, basically, refers to the building guidelines. But all governmental agencies, Federal, State, City and County come under Section 504 of the Am Disabilities Act in 1973. And that basically relates to what is called ÐProgrammatic Access,Ñ not necessarily strictly physical access. And as I read through the review there, I see everythingÓs almost relegated to physical access and not programmatic access. And that concerns me because if we donÓt do programmatic access, the disabled community is going to miss out on a lot of very valuable information if they get down there as to whatÓs there, what can they do, what itÓs all about and what does it mean. So that is my big concern. Also, I donÓt see in the plans, of course, I realize these arenÓt all detailed plans. But a pathway theyÓre going to build down to the water, thatÓs fine. But I donÓt see anything in relation to what is the slope of it. If they go by the guidelines of ADA, itÓs 5 percent. How long is the pathway? If the pathwayÓs a quarter of a mile or half a mile, anybody going up in a wheelchair at 5 percent is just isnÓt going to make it. And so depending upon how long the pathways are there could be and probably should be some cut-outs to where a person can rest. Now, also, we have to address issues related to visually-impaired people. That may sound strange but visually-impaired people can really see if theyÓre given the opportunity to, someone to tell them or they can read themselves what theyÓre looking at. And, so, there should be signage along these trails and along these pathways in Braille. To be a little more sophisticated, there could even be audio; but I donÓt think theyÓre going to be running audio through there. But those are the kind of improvements that really need to be addressed so that when a disabled person goes down there they can experience everything that the community of non-disabled people are experiencing. And thatÓs because thatÓs what the Americans with Disabilities Act says, give you the experience. Now even on your trails, I know the trails of what IÓve seen, I donÓt even know how a 4-wheel drive can get on some of those. But by the same token I think thereÓs areas, maybe for a very, very short distance that they could improve enough just so that a person could experience something like that because we donÓt get their experience. And I know there are a lot of artifact things in there that are probably going to be looked at by the citizens that go down there. But, again, are we going to have accessible routes to those things so that people with disabilities can go down there or over there wherever they are and see them and have a sign that says where are they? So thereÓs just all kinds of nuances that could be added to this project that would really make it a very good project. IÓm not against the project at all. I think itÓs a wonderful project. But I would like to see it cover as much as we can within the guidelines of 7 sensibility. Now, this is a brand new project, itÓs not a remodel project like weÓre faced with most of the time. So it should come through without any pr have to go back and remodel it. And thatÓs our main goal, itÓs to make this thing right the first time and make it a project that all people can enjoy, not just a few. Thank you. SPRINGER:Thank you, Mr. Hartman. Commissioners, any questions or comments? Mr. Hartman, I just have a question and comment for y Mr. Leonard, I believe, indicated previous consultation with you. Do you have an on- going relationship, question-and-answer comment and response with the planner? HARTMAN:IÓm, not as of now. I sometimes wonder when people plan projects, and this is a massive project, why donÓt they have people with disabilities who have expertise on their committee. I donÓt even know about, I didnÓt even know about it till today, basically. And it just seems sensible if youÓre going to incorporate accessibility guidelines and things in there that maybe we could sensibility of what weÓre going to do, and how weÓre going to do it, and where they should put it if it can be put there. So, but IÓm perfectly willing to work with the architect or anybody. They mentioned sending all the plans through DECAB in Honolulu. Well, thatÓs fine and good. But DECAB works strictly with ADA, and they donÓt get out to the site to see where itÓs all about. TheyÓre just looking at pieces of paper and, consequently, at times they miss quite a few things. So itÓs kind of important that you get people who have an idea what the ADA and ADAG and 504 is all about to, hopefully, ensure that itÓs going to be done correctly. SPRINGER:Thank you, Mr. Hartman. Thank you for bringing these m our attention. Commissioners, anything for this testifier? Could you please give your name and address for the record? PARIS:Yes, Madam Chairperson. My name is William Johnson Hauwawaikaleoonamanuona Kanahele Paris, Jr. My Hawaiian name means the tumultuous singing of the birds in the forest. IÓve been a resident of Kona for 80 years, stth 10-1/2 months. IÓll be celebrating my 81 birthday on the 18 of December in time here. Oh, one thing my family is, one year, to give endorsement to the against the project. However, IÓm here to ask them to seriously think of scrapping the name Kua Bay, although it does appear on the map, and go by the legend of that area. Those of us that are kamaaina to this area, and after all IÓve been going there since I was 5-1/2 years old -. My motherÓs family used to own a home down at Kiholo Bay and weÓ from Kiholo, anchor outside of Kukio, and coming by rowboat and then my father and some of the boatmen and everything would walk to Maniniowali and theyÓd throw net for moi and anai. Anai is mullet. We always refer to that area as Maniniowali, so did anybody I know from that side that ever visited the place, even people like Ralph Fukumitsu, Mr. Akahoshi, Theresa Mooers 8 and others who used to go there to fish with permission from the, you know, the McGuire family or the Stillman family, who are up at Puihui. My grand-aunt, Eliza Low, was a schoolteacher at Makalawaena for many, many years in the latter part of the 1800s. She would later marry John McGuire. And her great, great great granddaughter is sitting right here as chair of this meeting today. So we have a long connection with this land. Because of that fact, it seems that ever since a person by the name of Slim Tyler, he was a newcomer to Kona who loved to hike and he took a hike along that coast, and then he wrote an article in the West Hawaii paper talking about the beauty of Kua Bay. And ever since then, it has been referred to by the County, the State and everything else as Kua Bay. Prior to that was always Maniniowali, although on the map, the old map, shows that. But IÓd like to say why I would like this place named Maniniowali. We have a wonderful legend about the place which I would like to read. But before I do IÓd like to say Hawaiians are very careful in choosing a name whether for a child, a place or what. And, you know, if you didnÓt do it properly, usually something not so good would happen. I just think of this place called Keauhou Beach Hotel when itÓs in Kahaluu. TheyÓve had nothing but financial trouble. The Kona Lagoon is on the way down. And just to think of a recent project which I was all in favor of but I was shocked when they chose the name, and that is Hokulia. Once they came out with that name, all hell broke loose, floods, lawsuits, everything else. You know, that is they choose a name on a celestial object that does not exist, a star of desire; and thereÓs no such a thing in our heavens. So, you know, youÓve got to be careful with Hawaiian names. ÒCause when you use the wrong name, sometimes pilikia. Hawaiians say maape hewa, someth happen. So IÓd like to read this legend. There is a little bay by the name of Maniniowali, situated between Kukio and Awakee. Incidentally, if you donÓt know what Maniniowali means, itÓs a string of the manini fish. ItÓs just like theyÓre on parade together going across the sand. Okay. The legend of this stone is as, oh, there is a stone in the form of a woman imbedded in the sand at the edge of the beach which also bears the name Maniniowali. The legend of this stone is as follows: There were two families living along these lands by the sea and they were neighbors. A son was born to one family and he was named Uluweoweo and his home was at Kukio. A daughter was born the same day to the other family and she was named Maniniowali, and her home was at Maniniowali Bay. The parents of their birth decided them, I mean, declared them betrothed. They grew to manhood and womanhood. He was fine in form and face, and skilled in the sports of men of those times. The girl was very beautiful, according to the old Hawaiian type, round and full in form in fe came for , which means announcement of betrothal, the great preparations hoŒopalau were made for a large feast. The day before the announcement wh ready, Uluweoweo, the young man, was suddenly taken ill. The ce 9 postponed. When the young man found that the engagement festivities had been put off, he grew well as quickly as he became ill and he was seen to lele, heŒe nalu lele kaula means to jump from cliffs and nalu is across to surf or ride the waves. heÓe As soon as the folks saw he was well, they began preparations ag Again, the young man fell ill and nearly died. As they all thought -. For this extraordinary illness of Uluweoweo, a Kahuna, whose name was Kikawa, was sent for. When he entered the house, Uluweoweo sat up and said to everyone around, why are you all here? I am not sick. Why, the mother replied, because we saw you all doubled up with pain so we sent for Kikawa, the Kahuna. The doctor then said the boy is not physically ill. He is to sum up the whole matter, lovesick. Everyone was speechless with astonishment. Then the Kahuna said, you all hear what the he is in the thrills of first love, the lovelorn looks, size and yearnings for the love and reigns within his heart now burning. Now, cold is the snow of Mauna Kea. The sleepless nights roaming together with ipulei manu, which means sweet lovebird, until the fragrance of dawn is rafted on the zephyrs of the morn. Thus, it is, a beautiful flower has been disclosed to him. Heimuo blossoming into the height of perfection. Heimuo means a lively bird, figuratively a growing child or, and in this case, a daughter of a chief, a young princess. When the Kahuna had finished speaking these riddles, a buzz went around the assembly, questions were asked of each other. Who can this person be the Kahuna is referring to, who can guess? The Kahuna then said, it is none other than the brilliant daughter of Poopoomino and Kaelewaa, high chiefs, and her name is Kahawalewale. She was a beautiful princess and they had been holding clandestine meetings without any suspicions of the tryst until the Kahuna brought it out to the knowledge of everyone. Amongst those in the assembly who heard the experience of the Kahuna were relatives of the parents of Maniniowali; and they went out and told them all that they heard from the Kahuna. So the daughterÓs betrothed is not ill but just in love. In love with whom, asked the mother. In love with the Princess Kahawalewale. And here we have been thinking he was really ill, but he was only pretending in order to put off his betrotha Maniniowali. As soon as her mother had heard of this scandal, she immediately went to the parents of the young fellow and told them that the engagement was cancelled and they would have nothing more to do with such a deceitful fellow. The parents of the boy could not do otherwise than consent to the breaking of the betrothal. When Maniniowali heard this and that her betrothal ended, she became very ill and Kikawa was sent for. When the Kahuna came and saw her, he said, well, I felt sure she was really ill but no, she was heartbroken, disappointed love. The Kahuna turned to her parents and said, ÐI have two propositions to place before you.Ñ The first is to, the announcement of the betrothal, I mean, the first be that the announcement of their betrothal will be immediately made without waiting any longer. Second, do away with them all. Which do you choose? The mother answered, do away with them all. That is 10 the decree, said the Kahuna and he immediately began to work his black art. He was told as having prayed to his Gods, the Goddess Pele being the princip girls and the young men were all disposed of. Uluweoweo was turned into a stone, which is seen standing at the edge of the sea to this day. He stands on the shore, his lower limbs firm and fast; and where the upper part is joined to the firm rock in the ground is a grove like door hinge which rocks back-and-forth when the waves dash against it. Kahawalewale, the princess, was turned into a long stone about 30 feet high which stands in the sea. The lower part has two sections; and it is said they represent her legs through which the sea flows continually. Maniniowali, however, was alert and ran and laid down on the sand at the edge of the sea. So when she was turned into a stone, she was firm in the sand. she is covered; and when the tide goes out, the sand is washed away and her form is seen lying clearly outlined on the beach. But the strangest thing of all is Kaawili, which means a school of manini in a line so close together that it looks like a string of long fish resembling a shark, trails across the little bay of Maniniowali from end to end. During the evening of Ku, which is the moon in the far west at sunset, this string of manini is seen. Also, I mean, this string of manini is also seen in the mornings of leno, leno is when the moon is on the rain and maoli, maoli when the moon is on the, just before the end. It is said that this Maniniowali twist, or string of manini, is the girlÓs fish body and she was called that name on that account; and that is why the manini strings across this bay, named after her. You know, itÓs for that reason I wish weÓd just forget using the other name and use Maniniowali. Because Hawaiian folklore and legend is to be respected; and I think this has precedence over that other name. Thank you. SPRINGER:Thank you, Mr. Paris. Are there any questions or comments from the Commissioners? Mahalo, no komoele. MaÓam? PALMA-GLENNIE:Well, I feel so mundane, I should say, after that great story. IÓm Janice Palma-Glennie and my address is P.O. Box 4849, Kailua-Kon in behalf of the Sierra Club today. Aloha, Commission members. Though the Sierra Club and myself, in particular, have taken part in the public meetings as well as the Kekaha Kai Advisory Task Force gatherings during the past decade concerns regarding the parking and access to the park and in particular to Maniniowali and Awakee. On the park, in regards to parking, due to the burgeoning West Hawaii population, weÓre greatly concerned of the 30 parking stalls allotted for the north and with later addition of only 20 more will in no way satisfy even near future demands for 11 especially when the road is paved, even with the planned parking areas of the Mahaiula side. Though we do not support the construction of huge unsightly paved parking areas within the park, we still feel that access will shortly be sorely lacking and that more accommodations should be included at least for pedestrian access near the highway, possibly in several locations along the highway, something that the task force actually discussed, but IÓm not sure exactly where that went. ItÓs our fear that the north end of the park will become the exclusive domain of thousands of private luxury homes being built around it. And that by minimizing public access, it would help ensure the privacy these homeowners are seeking (by living in a high- security, gated shoreline communities); and that the desire to b could prevent future enhancement of public access to public shoreline. ItÓs our hope that this shortage can be overcome before this SMA is finally approved. In regards to the gates and park hours, the park workers have taken it upon themselves to set arbitrary changing, and inordinately strict control of park use hours. As per task force agreement, the parkÓs hours were set as follows: Every day except Wednesday, 9:00 a.m. to 8:00 p.m. the gate would be open. Wednesdays, the park is cl pedestrians. We feel that gate hours are an important part of public access and should be maintained and handled consistently unless or until thereÓs a consensus of more than just the public employees and, especially, those people who took part for many years working to make the park a public treasure. In the past two years, the gate has been erratically opened and shut as well as people (including frightened tourists), I was there, locked into the park by employees who even saw that those people were left there (and still they refused to open the gate to let them out.) This situation is intolerable and, of course, requires addressing beyond just the SMA permit. However, we would like to see the above hours written into the SMA if thatÓs possible as a minimum of the hours park gates will be opened to ensure the public has this vehicular access. Mahalo, again, for -. Oh, IÓm sorry, I wanted to add one other thing. We also ask that pedestrian access 24-7 be guaranteed into all areas of the park, hopefully, written into the SMA until or unless a thorough process, including the public to give input, makes a decision otherwise. Mahalo, again, for your consideration of our views and this increasingly grave public issue of access. SPRINGER:Commissioners, questions or comments? Janice, could you repeat for me your last, the section, the 24-7 section. 12 PALMA-GLENNIE:Yeah. That I scribbled in? Yeah, I wanted to say that there have been questions on Wednesdays about pedestrian access; and I feel because access is an important issue and I think that itÓs going to be a growing issue, I feel that depending on the situation, pedestrians having kept out or let in, and I think that pedestrian access should be guaranteed, not vehicular, I donÓt expect that. I know thereÓs a lot of problems with that, but that you should be able to walk in. SPRINGER:Thank you. Marni? HERKES:Good afternoon. My name is Marni Herkes. My address is 75-5721 Mamalahoa Highway, Holualoa. And IÓve been on the Kekaha Kai State Task Force for the past tenyears and was one of the founders of Hui L which is a non-profit stewardship organization thatÓs being formed to help some of the activities at the park. This has been one of the most rewarding task forces because ther number of community members, stakeholders and residents that participated,and each brought their own special manao. As you know, this is the only one of the three areas being developed in the 1,600-acre park. The other two areas are coming along with State Parks. TheyÓve been kicking and screaming, but theyÓre coming along sooner or later. WeÓll get all three areas done. These are sensitive areas, and the archaeology was taken into consideration when the use areas were designed. These can be great re-creational parks for our local people. I use the word, re-creational, because we had a talk, Helen Desha-Beamer-Ruddle wrote a song about Mahaiula and talked about the attributes of re-creating yourself when you were down there; and it was quiet and the ocean -. ItÓs a wonderful song. And we use recreation so often, but we really think of these parks as a way to re-create. And thereÓs a lot of passive activity that has been built into them with those re-creational activities. ItÓs for our local people, and maybe we can even re-train some of our residents to take care of them. In case you think that this is a pristine area, there are waves that take place in this park, Maniniowali Park, with 3-to 400 cars, with tons of people. They build, they take flats down, they build bonfires, they take drugs, and they break beer bottles; and they stay there for the weekend. You ask the police, ÐWill you go down there?Ñ; and they say, ÐNo way.Ñ Part of it is they donÓt want them on the road and part of it is itÓs a dangerous thing to be around. So this is not a pristine area. And opening up the area with a road, with a gate, with hours is a way to re-train our residents to take care of our coastal areas. I asked State Parks, they have gates at Mahaiula, I asked them if there were people that got locked in, whether they were people that didnÓt get out in time; and they donÓt know of any instances. IÓm sure there probably are. But with the advent of cell phones and people being able to walk, if you donÓt get out in time and canÓt read the signs, maybe thatÓs what you, maybe thatÓs part of the re-training of closing the parks at night. 13 I would love to be able to not have the parks closed at night. I would love to be able to have people come and go. But until we get the re-training done, thatÓs probably not something we can do. We have that, as Janice said, we had a lot of discussions on Wednesdays and some of us feel that itÓs, that everybody deserves a day off and the parks ought to have a day off; and thatÓs what the Wednesdays are all about. If itÓs pedestrian access, thatÓs probably something that they can handle. But itÓs a time for Parks to clean the park and for a way for the Parks not to be overwhelmed by people. With Mahaiula, the road is not improved. And on a three-day weekend, there are 300 cars that find their way down the road into Mahaiula. ThatÓs probably a little over a thousand people with three people per car. There arenÓt restaurant facilities, there arenÓt amenities. So thereÓs a great need for beach park access, to expand the beach park areas. Also, we really need to re-train our local people to take care of our beach parks. Thank you very much for this consideration for this talk. Thank you. SPRINGER:Thank you. Commissioners, questions or comments for Ms. Herkes? Mr. Camara? CAMARA:Is this going to work? Magic. Thanks for the mike stand. IÓm Bobby Camara. My address is P.O. Box 485, Volcano 96785. I am Honokaa and first visited Maniniowali in 1972 before the opening or even existence of the Queen Kaahumanu Highway. Since then I have visited Maniniowali countless times, I donÓt know many times. I have worked on an archaeological survey project there in 1991 for three months with Bishop Museum. I have essentially ma learn as much as I can about the physical attributes of the lands of Maniniowali and feel very qualified to speak about the things that IÓm about to talk about. I appreciate all of you taking the time to be here all day. I know itÓs your job but, still, there are those of us of the public that appreciate your attention to all of these details. IÓll try and keep things brief. I did prepare and delivered today a small packet of information for you. I donÓt know if you received it or not. I will not be reading all of that verbatim, I would take a little bit too long. But I believe it contains information pertinent to this SMA application and can be used, if nothing else, for background for the future. One, just summarizing very, very briefly, I very much appreciated Commissioner KubotaÓs comments earlier about the need for planning and consistency and vision. IÓm sure others on the Commission share that view. Before I say anything specific about Maniniowali, IÓd like to make a comment in that vein. The $2- or $2-1/2 million being spent on the development at Maniniowali, I feel, would be much better spent divided up amongst other facilities i I know thatÓs not going to happen because the planning process is already too far 14 advanced. But, as planners, I think itÓd be wise to consider how resources that are created for public benefit and re-creation could be developed in a way that the very, very few monies that are available for that development could be spent well for the maximum benefit of the public. Specifically, IÓm talking about the beach at Maniniowali is relatively small. ItÓs also seasonable, itÓs not there most winters for several months at a Mahaiula, on the other hand, is large, itÓs permanent. There are much more opportunities for public re-creation there. That said -. Specifically about the plans that Mr. Leonard talked about a little bit earlier, the map thatÓs on the far left on the wall is a double-fold map which you should have. It should look like this with colored lines on it. I realize that much of the commentary in the text that I gave you is not necessarily going to be the decided by the Planning Commission. ItÓs things that deal with exclusive easements on State land, the building of trails and footpaths over lands that are currently undeveloped or unscarred. For instance, the utility corridor which will connect the private subdivision and provide utility services to the comfort station is going to be a new feature on that part of the landscape. The trail there does not currently exist. I think it would be preferable to place the utility corridor on the existing road which will remain there. Ultimately, put it along the foot of the aa lava flow, the trail thatÓs unmarked on the right-hand side of your map as you look at the paper. People have commented on the need for 24-hour public pedestrian access to the beach. I cannot agree with that more. And I note that some of the conditions recommended for approval of the application, No. 12, on page 9, states that the trail management and restoration plan shall be submitted for review. The mauka-makai trail, which I used for many, many years beginni when Maniniowali was, I mean, when Queen Kaahumanu Highway was f being preserved by the developer. That will function as a mauka-makai trail, although it stops at the makai verge of the Queen Kaahumanu Highway. That particular trail, as it stands today, will lead hikers to Kakapa; and Kakapa is the site of very sensitive archaeological features. I believe it is possible, given the development plans of the private landowner and this trail which is shown as a connector trail on the map, at the foot of the aa flow -. ItÓs the same trail that Mr. Leonard referred earlier as not being paved. I think that if that were chosen, for instance, as the utility corridor, it could or couldnÓt be paved. I have no opinion about that -. But that portion of trail could very easily be connected to the current mauka-mauka trail and serve as the suggested 24-hour public access, pedestrian path from Queen Kaahumanu Highway down to the beach of Maniniowali. There are a couple other trails in the area and, again, I will try to be quick here. The existing footpath that goes, supposedly leading from the expanded parking area down to the shoreline also goes right through the middle of some archaeological sites. That is 15 pretty much a de facto trail, it was not officially surveyed in by any governmental agency that I know of. It was a line of site path taken from people parking at that parking area down to the beach. That, I think, should be erased as much as possible. ItÓs not very well worn at all. ThereÓs a bunch of rubbish along it, but that could be picked up and people directed elsewhere. I very much am enthusiastic about Conditions 12 and 13, both on page 9. In August of 1985 when the current access road was bulldozed in, the portion of road which parallels the shoreline was bulldozed illegally. ItÓs an un-permitted bul activity, part of the anchialine pond was filled in and portion of the ancient footpath that lead from Maniniowali to Kakapa Bay was destroyed. I have submitted testimonies and letters, photographs and other documentation which probably live in the County Planning Department files. Those were all done as soon as the activity happened in 1985 and IÓm very happy to see that the trail and the ponds both will eventually be restored. I recognize the lack of funds at the current time, but IÓm very pleased to see that both these plans will be on paper and accepted by the government agency. One of the big things that I am and have been concerned about since 1985 is the currently uncontrolled access to 24 hours a day and that driving access to Maniniowali down the current access road, and the on-going destruction of archaeological sites at Maniniowali, and the lack of sanitation down at the beach. There are absolutely no toilets there. I have pointed this out numerous times to State, County, Federal, any government official that I can think of. A potential solution might be, I note that in Condition 8, on page 8: ÐAfter development of the new public access road, the Applicant shall close off use of jeep roads in the Kua Bay area to prevent further damage to historic sites.Ñ I understand that to mean that any jeep roads on State lands in the Kua Bay area will be closed to prevent further damage to historic sites. That is a good thing. What I suggest now, and it may not be in your purview to decide this now, but I absolutely feel that itÓs critical to the protection of what few sites are left as well as in interest of health and safety because of the lack of sanitation down at the beach. Since the new access road will be gated and locked at night, I strongly urge in the strongest possible language that the current access road be gated and locked at night now. We canÓt wait another year for more full-moon parties or raves, as Ms. Herkes called them. I have absolutely no problem with people walking down the road to access the beach any time of day they want. But I believe that without State commitment to the protection of those features -. The damage has been documented by State archaeologists. And, you know, I can appreciate the fact that the State has no money to hire somebody to be down there 24 hours a day, but that fact has not lessened the StateÓs responsibility to protect these sites. If I owned land with valuable property on it and I destroyed it, for instance, a burial, I would be fined severely and probably put in jail. The State owns these features and is charged with protecting them for the future; and they are not doing that. Additionally, I noted a couple of months ago that Kamehameha Schools closed off camping in Waipio Valley because of the lack of sanitation facilities down there. If you 16 can imagine 200 or 300 people spending the night down at the beach and having to use facilities and not finding them there, they will go wherever the participated in beach cleanups there and it is one of the more disgusting things I have ever done. So closing the road now, just by gating it at night at the current access point -. There was a gate when that road was first built in 1985, a gate was installed. There is parking available between the gate and the Queen Kaahumanu Highway on a bulldozed path. People could park there, they could walk down if they needed to be down at the beach in the evening for some reason. I think much of my other comments can be read later. I think many of the things that IÓm concerned about will be addressed in future discussions with the State during the CDUA process. One final comment, and this is more for the record and for peopl anything else, landscaping down there. Currently, people go to the beach at Maniniowali, there are no facilities of any kind. People take their beach toys and hang out on the sand or on patches of pahoehoe. I have not heard anyone complain about not having any facilities down there. Given the lack of money for maintenance at State parks, all one needs to do to see how bad off they are is go to Hapuna on a Sunday afternoon and visit the restrooms there. WeÓre adding another park that needs to be maintained to the State list of parks. Everything planted there will have to be maintained. Keep it simple is my advice. Coconut trees, particularly, do not need to be planted there, especially if they need to be trimmed. Then they become purely decorative items on the landsc absolutely no function. They do not provide good shade. You cannot harvest coconuts because they are trimmed off before they mature because of liability issues. The fronds are trimmed off so that they donÓt fall on people. Additionally, a coconut tree costs a lot of money to buy and itÓs all, it requires watering and fertilizing and care. The waters in the bay at Maniniowali for people who have not had the pleasure of swimming there are the clearest I have seen anywhere along the North Kona coast, bar none. If any fertilizer or other detritus ends up in that water, the water quality will be degraded and that will be a disaster. The less plantings that you have, the fewer plantings that you have, I would imagine the less water theyÓll use in a land that is called Kekehawaiole, Kekahalua, enough water. We should not be planting a tropical looking landscape there. I think a few well-placed, well-trimmed, perhaps the thorn-less variety of kiawe trees will provide wonderful shade. Anyway, I can go on for hours, and I will not subject anybody else to that. Thank you for the opportunity to talk to you today. SPRINGER:Thank you. Commissioners, any questions or comments for the testifier? Thank you, again. This is a public hearing. Is there anyone else who has not 17 yet had an opportunity to testify who would care to come forward? If you could please sign in with the staff? Aloha mai. MALEY:Aloha mai. Madam Chair, members of the Council. My name Kepa Maley. SPRINGER:We need to swear you in first, please. MALEY:Oh, yes, thank you. SPRINGER:Please raise your right hand. MALEY:Yes. SPRINGER:Good. Do you swear or affirm to tell the truth on this matter now before the Hawaii County Planning Commission? MALEY:I do. SPRINGER:Thank you. If you could please read your name or give your name and address, for the record. MALEY:Thank you. My name is Kepa Maley. IÓm at 554 Keonauna St in Hilo, Hawaii 96720. I first, respectfully to Kupuna Billy Paris, who IÓve had the privilege of interviewing on a number of occasions, and to many who are native blood of Kekaha. I only raise this point because the history is so dynamic. By the way, IÓm sorry, I did the ethnography, the detailed historical documentary, research and detailed oral history interviews for Kekaha or Kekaha Kai State Park under contract to the State of Hawaii. I was the primary documentation of which you participated as a lineal descendant, other family members who are tied to the lands that are encompassed now within the park; and, so, I bring this up. Interestingly, I translated John Waley Hermosa Isaac Kaouhahalaeokauwena KuhiwiekolukiheÓs original Hawaiian text which your kupuna translated in, summarized in the account that Uncle Billy Paris recounted for us this afternoon. That account was originally published, and IÓm going off of memory now because I didnÓt come prepared to speak on this point today, but in the 1919s or by early 1920s. Maniniowali is the traditional name of the ahupuaa. It is a storied and significant place on the landscape of Kekaha. What we find, though, is that in the 1880s, when the Kingdom was originally conducting the detailed surveys of the land area that is now the region of Kekaha, that the place name Kua, like Uluweoweo, Kahawaliwali, Kaakapa, these oth mentioned by Uncle Billy Paris, Kua was also a named the longed landscape fronting Maniniowali. So my only encouragement and yo discussion among yourselves about this is that we not throw away a part of the heritage or tradition of the land. 18 And, indeed,Uncle Bill Paris is right, IÓve interviewed kupuna, many of whom are now dead who are native, elder, kamaainas, speakers, native Hawaiian speakers of the land; and uniformly those that are of UncleÓs age and generation all refer to the land by its ahupuaa name. But I might also reference that how often was the used, which is the proper name of the bay fronting the large Kukio? It doesnÓt mean that we throw it away but that we use it and incorporate, we bring it into our recollection of the history that belongs on this land. Too many places, and I hundred and thousand percent support kupunaÓs manao about place names or people names contrived names, whether itÓs to Mauna Kea or wherever else. These names that usurp the traditional and storied place names of the land are critical to our understanding of this landscape and who we are as a people, as an island people now. So thatÓs my one comment, too, is that let us not hasten to throw away a name that actually has in the written record kua as the ocean fronting Maniniowali, it has actually an older presence in the written history of these islands than not. It is actually older in writing than the tradition that Tutu Kihei wrote about Maniniowali, Kukio and the associated families of the land. So I appreciate your patience just so we donÓt throw anything away by mistake. Aloha. SPRINGER:Aloha. Ai Mahalo no. Are there any questions or comments for the testifier? Thank you, Mr. Maley. Is there anyone else? If we can invite the ApplicantÓs representatives to come back to the table for discussion with us. Having heard the comments and some questions that came you have any response to those? TAGUCHI:Just a couple of things. In regards to Mr. HartmanÓs concerns about programmatic access, we will try within our interpretive programs of signage to include as much disabled access that we can. You know, what he said is correct, this is brand new, you know; we donÓt have to fix stuff, so we should just do it correctly. And, you know, itÓll save us a lot of money if we do it correctly the first time. Regarding park hours and access, and those kinds of things, we will try to keep parks open as much as we possibly can to the extent the budgets and the manpower will allow us. It would be great if you can keep parks open, have security around so that it can be opened 24 hours; but thatÓs not a reality. I think the County locks up most of their parks. At night they hire security. We havenÓt even had the luxury of having that kind of monies to lock up our parks. These are going to be administrative kinds of things that we would need to deal with. We are hoping that the economy gets better and more monies come into the coffers. And while, rightfully so, when you are in lean economic times, you need to take care of those things that affect public health and safety; but, you know, the parks are and some of the other natural resources of our State, gets impacted because we havenÓt sufficient funds to manage them properly. I have 8 vacancies now out of a staff of 37; and it is very difficult to run the 14 parks that we have on the Big Island. But we will, we are hoping that the better economic times 19 will allow for more monies to be allocated to us. And, if that is the case, we will endeavor to keep parks open as much as we can, develop as many parking spaces as we possibly can, develop as many legal campsites as we possibly can. But, you know, the thought that government is going to do everything all the time, those days are gone. Government needs to work with private individuals, they have a need to work with non- profit groups like the Hui Laulima thatÓs being worked on now, and other kinds of groups. I would welcome working with school kids, you know. To me, the younger the better. If they take ownership on the parks, if they learn from the earliest age possible, you know, the importance of taking care of it, when they become adults theyÓre not going to be the guys who on a weekly basis break the toilets in our restrooms, crack and throw out our basins, stuff up our toilets, and those kinds of things. But, you know, we will do administratively as best as we can. We have tried to put gates in areas. The gate that Mahaiula now has a curve to it because it gets rammed on by people. The chains that we have with locks on them, people have been using, I mean, they bring down crazy glue or super glue to the park to put it into the key mechanism in our padlocks. They glue the hasps on so weÓve got to cut our locks for us to get access to maintain our sites. One of our enforcement officers in the Kona area took it upon himself to go down to Kua Bay to fix the big gate as you go down. He did it, his day off was a Wednesday or Thursday, he did it in the middle of week. By the weekend, someone had taken down a torch and had cut off all the tongue into it, the bell housing that holds the lock; and, you know, it was less than a weekend, it lasted. We have rockwalls that they loosened and not concreted in at Mahaiula. We have instances where some individual takes down equipment, heavy equipment, to cut a breach through o not somebody going out and moving a few rocks. This is guys goi all these rocks, moving them around so they can go in. I donÓt know what some of the solutions are. Having improvement hopefully the manpower to take care of them is going to provide access to that area to a lot of people who canÓt there right now. WeÓre going to try as best as we can to preserve that resource. I think Hannah knows it and Chris knows because youÓve been to our task force meetings, but it took a long time to get the routes going, because it is the DivisionÓs mission to save all of the historic sites. And so that route that goes down to the beach avoids any historic site. And so some of the placements may look a little odd but thatÓs because theyÓre clear of something of value. The only other thing on Mr. CamaraÓs comment about taking the $2.5 million and putting it into other portions of the Kekaha Kai State Park, the way the land exchange deed went about, the improvements are at a specific area and it is the Kua Bay section of Kekaha Kai. SPRINGER:Mr. Leonard? LEONARD:Just to comment on a few other comments that were made. Regarding the location of the utility corridor, thatÓs a function of where the utilities, actually the lowest point or the closest point from the development, and to bring it down 20 to in a straight shot to the comfort station, thatÓs what determined that. The alignment is also in a location that has been surveyed and is found free and clear of archaeology. So that in terms of why itÓs located there, itÓs a matter of being the, sort of the most cost- effective location for them. In terms of the trails, the mauka-makai trail, weÓre currently working with the Na Alahele group in determining the function of the, treatment of the mauka-makai trail, and access along that trail and following that process and review with the Kupuna Advisory group. WeÓll be recording a public easement over that trail. So there will be, thereÓs a trail connection going down from, you know, from, along the mauka-maka the park improvements. And in terms of my comments with regards to Mr. Hartman before, we had talked to Mr. Hartman just before this meeting. And one of the things that we agreed to was to take the plans once theyÓre completed and sit down with him and review those plans with him, so that we could get his input and guidance in terms of how to do that in the best way possible. TAGUCHI:Not only Mr. Hartman, but if there are other people in the handicapped community who would, you know, wants to take a look at it and help us -. I mean, we donÓt really know some of the difficulties. I mean, yo are, letÓs say, in a wheelchair or if you are visually impaired. I mean, we take too many things for granted and we need, you know, help from these people called experts, ADA guys; but, you know, I think until you walk in their shoes you donÓt really know how tough it is. LEONARD:And we had some recommended amendments to the conditions approval if we could. Just as a matter of providing a little bit of flexibility in terms of one of the things that theyÓd like to do is to be able to get going on the improvements as soon as possible, as soon as they get the permit approvals and plan approvals, get going on that as quickly as possible, and just in the interest of providing some flexibility to the State in terms of how theyÓre using the resources down there. For Condition 2, which refers to compliance with Rule 17, the Landscape Rule, we havenÓt looked at that closely. But just to give them flexibility so that they know that they can do the improvements that are proposed down there and those monies donÓt otherwise go to meeting some landscape requirement that may be part of the rule, IÓd like to request that additional language be added to the extent that it would read, ÐExcept as modified by agreement between the County Planning Department and the Division of State ParksÑ and just add that phrase if we could. And IÓve given these suggested amendments to the staff as well. In Condition 3, if we could, itÓs just to -. Because there are, every archaeological feature has been recorded down there that has been found; and some of them, it may be as small as a rock on top of a boulder or something like that. So just to give a little bit of flexibility there, at the end of Condition 3, instead of saying, Ðprovided that no 21 archaeological features are damaged,Ñ weÓd like to replace that with Ðprovided that all construction complies with the final site preservation plan as approved by the State Historic Preservation Division,Ñ if that would be agreeable. And regarding the compliance with the Condition 12 on a Trail Management and Restoration Plan, it requires that that plan be reviewed and approved prior to submitting plans. Again, to provide a little bit of flexibility there, you know, so that we can work out what those trail improvements are going to be and how itÓs going to be implemented, if we could replace the words, Ðprior to,Ñ with Ðconcurrently with. As well as for Condition 13 regarding the anchialine pond management plan, replace the words in that, the second sentence, the words Ðprior toÑ with Ðconcurrently with,Ñ if thatÓs agreeable to the Director. SPRINGER:Chris, do you have any response to these recommended amendments? YUEN:Those are all fine. SPRINGER:Thank you. Ms. OÓToole? OÓTOOLE:No. 2, is the suggestion that if something is required in the Zoning Code or Planning Department rule that it can be modified by agreement between yourself and the Planning Department? LEONARD:Yes, that would be our suggestion. OÓTOOLE:Well, I donÓt think so. YUEN:Well, IÓm not sure how Rule 17 applies in this situation because theyÓre talking about a public park. OÓTOOLE:It also says Zoning Code, though. LEONARD:Yeah, does Rule 17 apply to a -? I donÓt know if it applies to public parks or not. YUEN:Well, the Final Plan Approval is required. Plan Approval, as far as the Zoning Code, the only thing the Zoning Code would say is the number of parking stalls; and that doesnÓt apply. Because if we had a commercial building, we would check the square footage and have a number of parking stalls. And I do not think that, so, thereÓs no Zoning Code that says how many parking stalls you have to have for a site like this. There may be something in the Zoning Code that says how wide the stalls have to be, that sort of thing; and we would not be modifying that. 22 OÓTOOLE:I guess, IÓm trying to determine what could be modified Code. I mean, in theory, I donÓt see how you can just by agreement, if it is a requirement of the Code. And maybe that this is not necessary because thereÓs nothing that applies or -. YUEN:There are a number of things, there are a number of parking provisions in the Code that are, that can be modified by the Director. OÓTOOLE:So that would be in compliance with the Code? YUEN:Yes. SPRINGER:Members, is there any question or comment with regard to the proposed amendments with which the Planning Director agrees? KUBOTA:Madam Chair? What that, the outcome of the discussion is It can, itÓs okay? ItÓs not okay? Do we need to make an amendment to that? GRAHAM:I have a suggestion. SPRINGER:Commissioner Graham? GRAHAM:My suggestion was that maybe we could, in the No. 2 here, could put a period after Zoning Code, where we have compliance with the Zoning Code. And then, thereafter, we could say Ðcompliance with Planning Department rule, there shall be compliance with Planning Department Rule 17 associated with the proposed use,Ñ and then add in what James said about Ðexcept as modified,Ñ so that it only applies to the Planning Department Rule 17. SPRINGER:Thank you, Commissioner Graham. Mr. Leonard? LEONARD:We have no problem with that. SPRINGER:Does that make it easier for you, Pat? OÓTOOLE:You know, if the rule or Code itself allows the Director to have some room to negotiate with the Applicant, then I donÓt think that language is necessary. If it does not, then the Code is the Code and the Rule is the Rule. SPRINGER:So does Commissioner GrahamÓs suggestion make sense to put a period after Zoning Code and begin a separate sentence that addresses Rule 17? OÓTOOLE:Well, my question is why would a rule be able to be modi agreement between, unless the rule itself says it can be; and then it really doesnÓt seem to be necessary for that language in there. But -. 23 YUEN:I would suggest we just take out the reference to Rule 17 because Rule 17 does not apply to a parking lot in the open zone district for a public park. SPRINGER:So with the removal of reference to Planning Department Rule 17, the recommended amendment by the Applicant is no longer necessary? LEONARD:No longer necessary. SPRINGER:Thank you. Is there anything else, Pat, with regard to your review of the proposed amendments? OÓTOOLE:No. SPRINGER:Thank you. Commissioners, do you have any questions or comments either for the Applicant, the representative, or the Planning Director, or Deputy Corporation Counsel? If there are none, may we have a motion to close the public hearing portion of this agenda item? KUBOTA:Madam Chair, I move that we close the public testimony po this agenda item. SPRINGER:Is there a second? MCCALL:Second. SPRINGER:Seconded by Commissioner McCall to close the public testimony hearing portion of this agenda item. Commissioners, is there any discussion? KUBOTA:Madam Chair, excuse me. SPRINGER:Yes, maÓam? KUBOTA:Before I close it, I want to communicate my appreciation to the parties over here for hearing Mr. HartmanÓs concerns and your pledge to work out the special needs of people with disability. I was very much appreciative of the kinds of needs that I didnÓt even think about. Because such as short distances to the historic artifacts, I never even thought of having an access-way, especially for the wheelchair or the visually-handicapped people. I mean, it just never occurred to me. But I was very appreciative of gathering that information and to have you pledge your commitment to working with them. One more thing, before, my suggestion was going to be that rather than handing him, handing the resource people the plans, maybe before you even make the plans, they can put, give you input so that you can work that into your plans for providing these, what do they call them, accessibility guidelines. 24 LEONARD:ThatÓs a great suggestion. WeÓll follow-up on that. SPRINGER:We have now before us the motion to close the public hearing portion of this hearing. Is there any further discussion? All those in favor indicate so by saying aye? COMMISSIONERS:Aye. SPRINGER:Any opposed? Thank you. Now we go back to the busines motion on the agenda item before us, which is for a Special Mana Permit to allow the development of Kekaha Kai State Park Phase I improvements. KUBOTA:Madam Chair? SPRINGER:Commissioner Kubota? KUBOTA:Are you in the discussion phase or did you want a motion? SPRINGER:We can make a motion and have discussion upon it. KUBOTA:Madam Chair, I move that SMA Use Permit application, 03-0 for the State of Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of State Parks be approved, along with the Planning DepartmentÓs Findings of Fact and Conclusions as well as the permit conditions; and I think we have a couple of, as amended. SPRINGER:Yes, and those amendments have been circulated in writing by the Applicant and meets with the approval of the Planning Director. Is there a second? SMITH:Second. SPRINGER:Moved by Commissioner Kubota and seconded by Commissioner Smith to approve Special Management Area Use Permit application, there any further discussion? Commissioner Graham? GRAHAM:I just wanted to be sure that the last thing we spoke of verbally which I probably donÓt think that was circulated on paper, which was the Condition No. 2, whereby we just simply removed the Planning Department Rule No. 17 from Condition No. 2. SPRINGER:Thank you, Commissioner Graham. So that removal of Planning Department Rule 17 is taken out of the original language circulated by the Planning Department. Thank you. Any further discussion? Jeff? DARROW:Thank you, Madam Chair. Commissioner Kubota? 25 KUBOTA:Aye. DARROW:Commissioner Smith? SMITH:Aye. DARROW:Commissioner Graham? GRAHAM:Aye. DARROW:Commissioner McCall? MCCALL:Aye. DARROW:Commissioner Thibadeau? THIBADEAU:Aye. DARROW:And Madam Chair? SPRINGER:Yes. DARROW:The motion passes. SPRINGER:Thank you, members. Thank you and thank you all who st participated. LEONARD:Thank you very much, Madam Chair, members of the Plannin Commission. SPRINGER:YouÓre welcome. The discussion ended at 5:22 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Nora S. James, Transcriber 26