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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0320.004 1996-1998 " RECfIV® J u l y 2 2, 19 9 7 ilme..---- By--- . Dear County Council , Coun4y Council Is there an identifiable plan for what is now referred to as Keasu Town9 Nearly all traces of Old Keaau Village hsve been erased with only haphazard input from the town's residents and from those who consider Keaau "their main town". Yet W.H. Shipman has a community advisory board now that has been meeting. How does one give input and receive information from their meetings Where is the public notice of their plans`t This might facilitate understanding snd relieve anxiety over future changes. I would like to provide a short history of my attempt to give input into the Keaau plan aild the resultant difficulties encountered. When my family attended the Puns Hongwsnji, my children went to Keki Kollege Preschool, snd we shopped in Kesau frequenting the old village for it's coffee shops, restsursnts and local businesses, I too considered Keaau my main town. I attended a town meeting where a broad plan was laid out that included the possibilities of bike paths and the re-creation of the old village with new construction- After that meeting, the planner told me 'if the numbers don't match up, bike paths will be the first to go, and; you can bu>.ld any kind of building, as long as you landscape it right it will be fine.' With a shocked expression, I responded, 'You ]ust mislead this whole room full of people'. Attempts to have the historic signifigance of the old village evaluated so that restorable historic sites could be considered for restoration and artifacts could be salvaged, resulted in anger, negative reaction and polarization. There was then no chance far a rational assessment of the situation. To this day historic sites on the Big Island are being lost to bulldozers daily with no evaluation, photography or salvage attempts. In Keaau, I was naive in thinking that my ideas would be welcome. Hawaiians got involved to speak for the human rights of small businesses (some that had been owners of buildings on Shipman land far nearly a century), residents who would be made homeless with no provisions, and the historical importance of the site. Many of these things were possibly overlooked by the owners and planners. The 'NO' reaction sent Hawaiians filing court papers that allowed them to take residence in the town for thirteen months. They waited for the Historic Preservation Division sled Hoard to defend the site. These public servants, so used to seeing the historic sites of Hawaii squandered, were unable to convice the owners of the land to preserve snd preferred to sviod a contested esse hesring. The Hawaiians still have sn active court case ~~lsiming sll of the shapusa of ]ieasu. There is little left of that old village that was once all extensive community. Several lsrge buildings remsin standing that could become historic sites with merely s nod from the aW11ex'E . I give this little history of the demise of ]ieaau now, because again, residents do not know how to access the planning ©nY~r 1iq X20. 0~ ~y r.. 7R F IRet Presented PW • PG Ref. Date 2 7 1997 w' process for something as simple as a one block roadway. I am not much interested in attempting to involve myself in the workings of Keaau these days unless I am asked, which I was by a resident. Regarding the Bill 39 which concerns parking along the Old Volcano Highway, I would like to suggest a few things *Go look at the proposed area. The street from the intersection of the Pahoa Highway to the entrance of the Keaau :;hopping Center is congested with cars turning from all directions. Thank goodness they are sll going slow. As much as I like to see tike lanes, the road does not seem wide enough to accomodate them and two lanes and a middle turn lane. As people turn onto the OVH, they cut the turn pretty close and wculd appear to endanger sny bikers encouraged to ride there. It would also be *.he "bike lsne r.o and from nowhere', as there don't appear to be any bike lanes on the P.shoa Highway. Let's not use public money only symbolically without making a real bike plan. I have talked this over with Ron Reilly a+. length. It is a nice concept, but requires a plan of where these Lanes are connecting out wider. *I would personally rather see bike paths incorporated into the design of future construction to keep the bikes off this congested roadway. The path of the New Volcano Highway (the original roadway that ran past where the Catholic Church now stands, across the PH near the Hilo side of the school, through the old village behind where the old 3teaau Natural Foods was and up the alley, across OVH and in front of the Olaa Japanese Church which has now been moved, and out of the back side of the village), would be a possible route that also represents historrc preservation. The old rail bed from the sugar cane train runs behind the old Sakaguchl Plantation Store (across Eas*. West Clinic) and to the site of the-new High School, where there is already an underpass under the Pahoa Highway. This is a possible hike path that, hooked up to a future bike path along railroad avenue (doubling as an emergency route from Lower Puna and public transportation route for small buses, if wide enough), would enhance the economic possibilities for the ores. The highway bypass stands to block bike access to }ieaau unless planned for. *As for removing parking from residents who use the Post Office frequently, I think now, it is a poor idea. Street parking serves to make stopping there essler, just as village parking did in the past. It is unfortunate that plans are to remove the post office, one of the few gathering places left in Keaau. But until this time, I would suggest that you not make a raceway out of this stree+.. (30 look at it carefully before deciding. Either bike lanes or a center turn lane, but not both, there just isn't room. Let the parking remain, with respect to any requests from Police and Fire Departments, and re-evaluate when the new shopping mall is complete. Use your eyes rather than plans on paper, and tpa a pu is all future plans for the village giving resident' time an a forum for comment. th SI ri~and Al a Sandy Bonk Director ]iessu Historl sl ociety