HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0896.048 2022-2024 P/ LAAC
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From: Cheryl Tanguay
Sent: Monday,June 3, 2024 11:42 AM
To: Council Testimony
Subject: In Opposition to ROYAL VISTAS HOUSING PROJECT �lrs:3.,1�1
ter.
Honorable Council Members: , -
I participated as a Community Representative on the Revision Committee of the KCDP,
hoping that with our communities' recently acquired knowledge regarding a 68 acre
parcel, mauka of Queen K and slated for dense development of 450 housing units could
be instructive to the CDP for future permitting of similar projects.
The referenced 68 Acre site was the remainder of a 3 tiered plan of Kona Vistas, of which
the first 2 sections were built between the early nineties and nearly yesterday, with that 3'
section undeveloped.AG land, steeply sloped and bisected by 2.major drainage ways off
Hualalai (which have contributed to flooding on Kuakini near the dental offices.)
The parcel remained in Ag use long after the original owner's heirs transferred the 68
acres at a pittance in 2016, long after the previous owner's development window had
expired, reverting the land to its Ag status.
Knowing that, with 450 units in the proposed build, 900 additional vehicles would be
injected into Kuakini and Queen K traffic at least twice daily was enough to spur the
neighborhood that uses that intersection into action. We soon discovered many of the
existing conditions that the KCD-Revised Plan lists in 4.3.1 and in Managing Our Impacts:
Flood Insurance: The 2 streams and their confluence are fully on the property as
illustrated on FEMA maps of flood zones. These are 2 of 7 major drainways off Hualalai.
Trails: 2 Ancient Hawaiian Trails cross the property. Additionally, there are numerous
archeological artifacts, including parallel rock walls, petroglyphs, a sugar cane railroad
trestle remnant and the transcribed oral histories provided by several generational natives
of using the trails.
The information gathered was so persuasive that PONC selected the site for purchase as
a future mauka open space that would truly give "sense of place" to future generations, if
the developer would sell. The 68 Acre site aligns with the Holualoa Inn which has long
preserved a holua segment and displays a papa holua, the sled used to ride the holua,
that was found on the Inn's property. I'm told there had been a heiau in Holualoa near the
Post Office location and beyond the makai end of the surmised holua was the restored
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Heiau at the Kuakini/Queen K merge. Oral histories hold that this ahupua'a had belonged
to Queen Liliuokalani among other long-told tales of royal usage that abound.
The I'O ground nests are here. Hoary bats and great moths are here.
We've often been on water use advisories and we've experienced "rolling blackouts" to
deal with greater electricity demands than the available supply, especially during cloudy
stretches. So much for infrastructure!
When Kona3LLC applied for final approval on an extension of the development in 2019,
Harry Kim warned that the KDCP Revision might make any extension moot.
Kona3LLC is not likely to be the actual builder but instead gathering all the permits they
can in order to garner a higher market price. I'm concerned that restrictions and
conditions placed on Kona3LLC's project may not transfer to the eventual builder. Can
you insulate your decisions?
2 requests were made of the developer by the Leeward LUC in Dec 2022 before they
voted to submit the development to the Cultural Resources Commission for input: 1)
Redraw the plat respecting all the trails and artifacts as well as 2) Performing the study to
determine at what price is market-value housing. To my knowledge, the developer has
done neither.
Then the Cultural Resources Commission returned the opinion that "the site should
remain undeveloped in perpetuity."
While in his May 8th letter, the Developer has attempted to dismiss and deride all previous
opposition, the fact remains: once developed, the destruction of site's history and
present day wildlife will be irretrievable.
Has the Developer ever submitted that overlay respecting the artifacts?What does wider
open spaces mean?
Indeed, the May 8th letter is worded to minimize any significance that this site, however, in
renaming the project ROYAL Vistas the Developer has already subtly conceded its
pedigree. Ali'i trod here. This of all sites bears such provenance as to forever cloud any
permission to develop it.
What does the Revised Plan mean for such an obvious case of wrong place, ever?
Respectfully submitted,
Cheryl Tanguay
Kona Vistas
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