2024-12-11 PL-CRC-2024-000019 Testimony - S. McMichael

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Cultural Resources Commission hearing THIS WEDNESDAY 6/8/22 at 10 am. This is related to the Naniloa proposed subdivision makai of the LPH Kapukapu proposal adjacent to us. It was deferred to the Cultural Commission by the Leeward Planning Commission on 4/21/21.Attached are the transcripts from the Commission meeting as well as the transcript of the testifiers. (Note these are from the in person (zoom) testimony, as I cannot find the written testimony on the County website https://records.hawaiicounty.gov/weblink/Browse.aspx?startid=9110&dbid=1). There were a number of issues raised with this project, including the County's lack of a tsunami zone evacuation plan, traffic issues, water runoff issues, sewer issues, native species impact, the fact that this application goes back to 2009 and expired in 2019, access to this parcel through a neighborhood, history of the developer, among others. All of these and more remain valid. The referral to the Cultural Resources Commission is based on the importance of having the archeologist present and to address concerns regarding Special Management Area Permit application. LPC Chairperson Vitousek stated (see Exhibit D, page 23): Cultural Resources Commission could be an appropriate location to have that type of discussion on whether descendant access issues are fully resolved in the burial treatment plan, whether additional descendant access and open space requirements should be proposed that would mitigate the impact of this project on the cultural landscape. Some of the things that were mentioned by the testifiers was the impact on the overall cultural landscape, and SHPD may have site-by-site mitigations for each specific site that was identified in the archaeological inventory, but they may not have considered the effect of the overall project on the landscape..." (emphasis added) • The access off Ali'i Drive to this subdivision (which the developer owns), currently zoned Ag-5a, will destroy a large section of the Great Wall of Kuakini, which is currently intact. • The cultural and archeological sites on this parcel, which are significant beyond two burials, are part of a much larger system, and are immediately adjacent to the Kahalu'u Historical District. (see attached) • This project is one of several being proposed piecemeal. Two additional parcels are currently being proposed for rezoning and development mauka within this ahupua'a alone 2