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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0204.004 2024-2026P WC Rey W-25 Wmm,2N From: Debbie H Sent: Saturday, April 12, 2025 5:11 PM To: Villegas, Rebecca; Inaba, Holeka; Kierkiewicz, Ashley; James Hustace; Council Testimony; Kagiwada, Jennifer; Kimball, Heather; Onishi, Dennis; Kanealii-Kleinfelder, Matt; Galimba, Michelle M. Subject: Re: NO on Resolution 120-25- Please do not approve the PONC Commission's 2024 List or AMEND Attachments: Kaloko SITE REPORT - 24-03 (.pdf Aloha Council members- For more information on the Kaloko Residential Site proposed and hopefulty omitted from the PONC list that might be passed as a group via Resolution 120-25, please look at the Site visit report that was done by the PONC commission PIG/ PING group in compliance with sunshine laws ATTACHED: On Sat, Apr 12, 2025 at 2:36 PM Debbie H <hecht.debPgmail.com> wrote: RE: RESOLUTION 120-25. Please DELETE or AMEND: A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE TO ENTER INTO NEGOTIATIONS FOR THE ACQUISITION OF LANDS AND/ OR CONSERVATION EASEMENTS FOR ALL OR A PORTION OF ANY PROPERTY IDENTIFIED IN THE PUBLIC ACCESS, OPEN SPACE, AND NATURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION COMMISSION'S 2024 PRIORITIZED LIST, UTILIZING THE PUBLIC ACCESS, OPEN SPACE, AND NATURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION FUND. Aloha Council members- At first, I thought that Resolution 120-25 was a great and necessary idea that would streamline the ponderously slow process of acquiring properties with Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources (PONC) Funds. Then I took a hard look at the properties. All are worthy of acquisition except the last one on the list- I urge you to vote NO on Resolution 120- 25 OR REMOVE the KONA RESIDENTIAL PARK FROM THE LIST. By voting YES, it means that all acquisitions would be supported and could be acquired. This would be a bad precedent. Whv am I aqainst the acquisition of the 150 acre KALOKO INDUSTRIAL AREA with a very low 51% approval rating? This property is located on the southside of Hina Lani (Costco Road) between the Mamalahoa and Queen Ka'ahumanu Highways. The landowners never fenced the property as required by DLNR to keep out the goats and pigs and the vegetation is gone or severely degraded. The trees were killed by ungulates. You can see the tree skeletons as you drive on Hina Lani. I had heard that the owners wanted $11 million. Maybe it should be left as potential housing land? Acquiring this property would amount to a developer bailout and rewarding their bad management for not obeying the DLNR order to fence the property. Here is the report to the Mayor and the information on the Kaloko Industrial area starts at page 48. https://records.hawaiicounty.gov/weblink/1/doc/143183/Pagel.aspx. You can also see information on the other properties. THIS IS NOT THE BEST USE OF TAXPAYERS MONEY or LIMITED STAFF TIME- Here's why: 1. There is NO PUBLIC BENEFIT to this property, no water resources, no access to beaches or mountains, it may have cultural sites, no trails. These criteria are from the Hawaii County Code. Since the property has never been fenced (as required by DLNR) the plants have been eaten by goats and dug up by pigs. rhb Comm. Ref. To: Ref. D.ureL Limited funding: 2. Limited funding - spending $11 million on this property means that the money is not available to purchase other properties more deserving, more supported by the community and commissioners. 3. Limited Staff Time: Only 26 properties have been acquired over the 20 years that the fund has been in existence. There has been no one hired to take the position of staff as approved by voters in the 2020 charter amendment. Limited staff time should be spent on acquiring other, more deserving properties. 4. 1 oppose using taxpayer money to purchase the 150-acre Kona Residential Park, and if the council passes this Reso, this could happen. All hurdles to spending $11 million for this property have been removed. A very bad precedent. The traditional alternative is to submit testimony on each property, then it's a way to speak out on this unfortunate property that the commission voted to support at the lowest level. 5. As I see it, there are 2 options: a. DELETE the 150 acre Kona Residential Park from this resolution or b. Vote NO on the entire resolution 120-25 and allow each council member to bring forward a resolution for each individual property, as has been done in the past. PLEASE VOTE NO OR DELETE THE KALOKO RESIDENTIAL AREA FROM THE LIST. With warm aloha and deep respect for your time and service, Debbie Hecht 808-989-3222 P) SUGGESTION 24-03 Kaloko Residential Park Site visit on 4.3.2024 Commissioners present: Jodie Rosam, La Crivello, Deborah Ward Landowner represented by: James Agena, Atty. Also present: Chelsea Javar-Salas, USFWS. TMK No.(3) 7-3-009-028 consisting of approximately 150 acres of the Kaloko ahupua'a, in the District of North Kona, Hawai'i. The 150-acre parcel included in this nomination in Kaloko Ahupua'a in North Kona is currently owned by Kaloko Residential Park, LLC (KRPL) and was originally purchased for the purpose of development. The property is mauka of Ane Keohokalole Highway and south of Hina Lani Street and is a portion of the 313.112-acre property owned by KRPL, and spans from approximately 400' to 600' elevation and receives an average of 710-840mm of rainfall annually (data from the Online Rainfall Atlas of Hawai'i). A diverse range of native plant species associated with the already recognized critically imperiled Hawaiian lowland dry forest habitat are present within this property, many of which are threatened, endangered, or rare. Relic fragments of ancient and historic Hawaiian trails traverse through the property as well, leading up to the Hina Lani roadside, where they have been impacted/destroyed by being bisected by the development of Hina Lani Road. The continuation of the fractured segments of ancient and historical trails can be found on the adjacent lands to the north. These trails are representative of an extensive network of trails recognized by the State and Federal government as an integral part to the greater cultural landscape of this island. Current Kailua-Kona community improvements and the expansion of Hina Lani Road adjacent to the parcel has further impacted both the identified cultural and natural resources. This has resulted in the direct loss of lowland dry forest species and made the habitats on which they rely suffer greatly. The road expansion of Hina Lani Street extended into the boundaries of the property, where rare native tree species were destroyed in the process of expansion. A paved trail segment traverses the property. The KRPL property is a critical part of the Native Hawaiian community of Kona and presents an opportunity to stabilize, restore, and reinvigorate the lowland dry forest native plant community in this designated critical habitat. Hawaiian lowland dry forests are arguably the most endangered ecosystem in the world. Unfortunately, large populations of feral ungulates have directly impacted this critical habitat and other native Hawaiian ecosystems since their introduction into the State for the last hundred two centuries. At this site in particular, the impacts of feral ungulates on this critical habitat have greatly increased because of the feral ungulate population explosion in the area over the last few decades. The continuous & relentless browsing, scraping, and trampling by feral goats on the existing native plants and any native plant seedling recruitment significantly alters (reduce) the native plant community diversity, upsetting the balance of this critical habitat type. This will lead to the replacement of this native plant community with non-native invasive habitat altering plant species. Unfortunately, this explosion and overpopulation of non-native invasive plants species (including fountain grass) will support and increase the risk of wildland fires in the area. Goat herds inundate the property, feeding on and stripping bark from native species, which allows fountain grass to fill empty niches across the landscape A memorandum of understanding (MOU) between the United States Fish and Wildlife Service (USFWS) and KRPL which supports collaborative efforts between both entities to contribute to the conservation and recovery of the lowland dry forest ecosystem species was entered into in December 2016. The MOU recommends KRPL to preserve the 150 acres of land and construct a fence surrounding the property. According to the MOU (per PONC application): "The MOU obligates KRPL to : not construct or permit the construction of buildings or other improvements; use commercially reasonable efforts to transfer the Property to a third party or have it rezoned; construct a fence surrounding the Property; a funding commitment to be used solely for the benefit of the Property, and for activities such as fence maintenance, the establishment of fire breaks, weeding, outplanting, irrigation, ungulate removal, monitoring, and associated activities, including necessary staking and soil surveys and grant rights of access. Either party may terminate its participation in the MOU upon sixty (60) days prior written notice to the other Party." It should be noted that to this date (over 7 years from the MOU agreement date), there has not been any momentum by KRPL to conduct any conservation -related activities mentioned in the above MOU, nor has there been enforcement of KRPUs negligence to conduct the activities mentioned within the MOU by USFWS. This MOU dies with any sale of the property, and the potential for termination of the MOU "recommendations" is worth paying attention to. At the site visit, there was a lot of discussion around the importance of fence construction and feral ungulate removal, and aside from an un-official estimate of fencing materials and labor to install costs, nothing has been formally agreed upon and there has been no progress towards achieving these recommendations. From 2011-2014, 4,000+ native plants (including critical habitat species) were outplanted on the property. However, there was no provided protection of native plants through the construction of a large predator exclusion fence, and as a result approximately 90% of these individuals were killed/destroyed by feral goats. Only a handful survived, and only because they were protected reactively by installing small fences or wrapped in deer mesh plastic to deter goats. During the site visit, one of the last remaining wild ma'aloa or Neraudia ovata, a critically endangered endemic Nettle, was found dead. Several other threatened or endangered (T&E) or rare species were seen barely surviving due to the impacts of feral goats. It must be emphasized that the time to stabilize this critical habitat by ensuring a high degree of native plant community diversity through the reintroduction and establishment of core species is paramount. The current landowner has neglected to manage the property as advised by USFWS, and that neglect is resulting in perpetuating invasive species and eliminating native ones. The last wild ma'aloa on the property recently succumbed due to invasive species pressures and lack of management. Feral goats routinely take up shade under native tree species, such as this ohe makai. This particular tree, likely hundreds of years old, is at risk of lethal bark stripping. i ANTICIPATED USE • Protection, stabilization, and re-creation of this critical habitat type, through the logical restoration of core components of native dryland forest plant species. • Minimizing development in an already -inundated area. • Collaborative management efforts (though not clearly defined) to protect T&E species. • Enhanced opportunities for the community to access open spaces with opportunities for recreation, education, subsistence, and gathering. However, until management efforts are defined, community access into this area remains unclear due to the presence of T&E species on site and due to the lack of preservation plans, etc. SIGNIFICANCE AND MANAGEMENT • The property falls within the tropical dry forest region of North Kona and is a representative example of dry forest habitat with a high degree of potential for stabilization and restoration. • Native dryland forests are attributed to a significant amount of Hawai'i's flora and fauna species diversity, many species which are currently threatened and endangered due to the increasing presence of deforestation, fire, invasive plant species, ungulate grazing, non-native species predation, and encroaching development. This property has all the above -mentioned threats, but it is not too late to maintain these species and habitats if management were to occur immediately. • An intact trail traverses the property and extends into the property to the north. SPECIAL OPPORTUNITIES FOR ACQUISITION AND/OR MANAGEMENT • USFWS and Ka'ahahui 'O Ka Nahelehele are interested partners in lowland dry forest management, however details are not yet clear. • Current Right of Entry (ROE) agreements are held by entities permitted to collect seeds from T&E species and mitigate goat impacts by fencing individual plants, however those ROES are discretionary. STRENGTHS • Preservation of lowland dry forest critical habitat type that harbors T&E species. This refugia of a native plant species community could serve as a living seed bank to not only enhance the conservation recovery efforts at this site, but also in otters suffering from the same loss. • Preservation of the remaining relic ancient and historic cultural features on this parcel that are a fragments of the once vast network of archeological features that no longer exist. Preserving ancient and historic trails within the property supports the preservation and maintenance of an extensive trail system which extends beyond the property and connects to the Na Ala Hele State Trails system and the Ala Kahakai National Historic Tra i I. • Safeguarding the "natural open space landscape" resource from the inevitable continuous impacts of human development targeted in this and other areas Statewide. Ensuring future generations of the public (locals & visitors alike) have the ability to appreciate and utilize this dwindling resource for enriching the lives of future generations to come. • Effective management of the native plant community landscape at this site can reduce the threat of wildland fires from starting at or escaping the area through the reduction of high density non-native invasive plant species that increase fuel loads. • Support through conservation partnerships from other agencies and organizations to implement effective conservation restoration and management goals for this site. WEAKNESSES • MOU lacks accountability. An MOA that is more effective at holding all parties accountable for upholding an agreed upon chronological line -itemized conservation management directives with realistic timelines for completion for this site would be more effective. • Although a positive relationship with the US Fish and Wildlife Service does exist, there has not been significant effort on the landowner's part in maintaining or otherwise ensuring that relationship continues or that the management actions outlined in the MOU are fulfilled. • Long passage of time has occurred with no effective, logical, & practical implementation of conservation management. Subdivision of the entire parcel (as requested in the application) will further delay management. • Threats continuously impact, degrade, and are the direct cause for loss/take of the natural and cultural resources that are significant on that parcel and surrounding adjacent lands. Human development and improvements, high densities and occupation of feral ungulates, and conversion of the plant community's species from a landscape historically -dominated by native species to a landscape dominated by non-native invasives species caused the dynamics of environmental factors to adjust to a new and unbalanced state, which will have detrimental effects such as decrease in the natural watershed potential, increase in the desertification (drier), and increase in the unnatural fire fuel load potential. • The high taxable value of the property ($22M prior to subdivision) seems unrealistic with the continual loss of the most valuable assets (natural & cultural) if not stemmed immediately. The loss in value is emphasized by the lack of maintenance and overall neglect of the natural and cultural resources within. • The property falls within a high -activity urban area, where development is a constant threat to the natural and cultural resources. County road development has both negligently threatened and destroyed rare and endangered native plant species and significant ancient and historic trails. • Existent archaeological surveying that has been completed did not include the entirety of the property in the survey area. Projects within close -proximity to this project (i.e. adjacent properties) with similar archaeological survey standards have since re -surveyed their properties and tripled the number of significant sites identified. This implies the existent surveying is insufficient and may neglect to account for the full extent of this cultural landscape. This could include non -burial and burial preservation sites of significant concern to the Native Hawaiian community. CONCERNS OR OTHER THOUGHTS • A major concern is that if this property were to go through the PONC selection process and acquisition process, the period of time it would take for the acquisition to be completed coupled with the current continued destabilization, degradation, and loss of the high value resources present within, may result in the species, habitat, and ecosystem being irrecoverable. • If the County does pursue fee simple acquisition or a conservation easement, it is recommended that a legally binding agreement to pursue immediate fencing and feral ungulate removal be entered into. • The ultimate goal of this nomination is to ensure that the dryland forest and the ME species (and habitat) within are first protected from feral ungulates and then managed. However, the urgent need for ungulate control and fencing needs to happen on a much more immediate timeline. • The National Park Service may be interested in acquiring this parcel (but again, may take too long to be beneficial). • If this parcel is pursued for purchase by the County (or NPS), there should be a formal agreement to pursue management immediately. Report submitted by J. Rosam, 04/2024. Photos taken by Commissioners Ward, Crivello, and Rosam.