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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 1057.001 2006-2008 Christopher J. Yuen Barry Kim a Director Mayor Brad Kurokawa, ASLA LEED® AP (iIourd'a of paivaii Deputy Director PLANNING DEPARTMENT 101 PauaM Sheet, Suite 3 • Hilo, Hawaii 96720-4224 (808) 961-8288 • FAX (808) 961-8742 N A d ry GJJ lI 0 ==3D 711 March 10, 2008 C i e' 0 Honorable Pete Hoffmann F-' tV Chair and Presiding Officer and Members of the County Council COUNTY COUNCIL 333 Kilauea Avenue, Second Floor Hilo, HI 96720 Dear Chair Hoffmann and Members of the County Council: SUBJECT: MUD LANE - COMM. NO. 1057 The Council is considering a resolution to form an ad hoc committee to look at the use of Mud Lane. There has been some concern expressed about its about its potential use as a through road once the segment that is currently overgrown has been rebuilt as a gravel road to allow vehicular access to the Waimea 660 LLC property that the County sold to private parties a few years ago. This letter is to give some background information to the Council that might be helpful. It is based on a review of the tax maps, aerial photos from the 1970's and 1993, more recent satellite photos, the Pacific Legacy archaeological inventory survey report dated November 2007, and field inspection, but not archival research or interviews with residents or kama'aina who might have other information. Summary: although it will be possible to drive from the Belt Highway near Waimea to Kukuihaele once the section to Waimea 660 has been rebuilt, this cannot be done using only the legal alignments of Mud Lane. A driver would also have to use private roads that are currently ungated. Although this would cut the driving distance substantially, from 16.5 miles to 6.5 miles one way, it would reduce the driving time only slightly, if at all, at the expense of wear and tear on a vehicle from using gravel roads. The attached map shows the basic information. It does not show all of the private roads in the area. Comm. No. Hawaii County is an Equal opportunity Provider and Employer. Ref. To- Ref. Dote RAR 11 202 Honorable Pete Hoffmann Chair and Presiding Officer and Members of the County Council COUNTY COUNCIL Page 2 March 10, 2008 The tax maps actually show two alignments of Mud Lane that lead mauka from Highway 240, the Honoka'a-Kuikuihaele highway, and converge in one alignment at about the 1640' elevation and continue to the Belt Highway. The two alignments thus form a Y. Both these alignments of Mud Lane appear on a 1909 map of the area that is in the Pacific Legacy inventory survey. The westerly alignment meets Highway 240 near the DWS water tank and has a "Mud Lane" road sign at this end. The other alignment is about 1.7 miles east. I will refer to it as "Old Mud Lane" because that is what it is called on old tax maps. Where it meets Highway 240 there is a stub of a road (which actually may be slightly east of the legal alignment). There is a gate at the end of this stub and no road is obvious on the ground leading mauka, at least as viewed from Highway 240, although a road is apparent in a 1993 aerial photo and definitely existed at one time. Neither alignment of Mud Lane exists on the ground currently as a route that can be continuously traversed. Going mauka from Kukuihaele, the road with the "Mud Lane" sign can be driven, with a 4WD vehicle, for a distance of about 2100', where it intersects with a private cross-road. About 100' mauka of this point, Mud Lane disappears into guinea grass about 5' high. Farther uphill, in the area just below where Mud Lane converges with "Old Mud Lane", the alignments of both roads are covered in mature eucalyptus trees. Just makai of the point where the two alignments of Mud Lane join, there is a junction of a private road that leads mauka from Kukuihaele with the mauka cane haul road from Kapulena. This mauka cane haul road leads to the Kapulena airstrip and intersects with Hwy. 240 at about the 4 mile marker. This mauka cane haul road, also private, can also be combined with the Waimea end of Mud Lane to get from the Belt Highway to Highway 240 but does not really save any significant driving distance between Waimea and Kukuihaele. It is paved. To drive between Waimea and Kukuihaele would require using about two miles of private roads, mostly on KS/BE property, taking the shortest route. These private roads are currently ungated. This would involve about 6.5 miles of driving in total. Because people's habits differ, it is difficult to estimate how fast people would drive this route, but Honorable Pete Hoffmann Chair and Presiding Officer and Members of the County Council COUNTY COUNCIL Page 3 March 10, 2008 it includes about two miles of paved section of Mud Lane on the Waimea side, then 4.5 miles of gravel roads. The private roads are fairly smooth and can be driven with ordinary vehicles, in their current condition. The unpaved gravel sections of Mud Lane are mostly in fair condition; the worst section is the 2100' section above the Kukuihaele water tank. A driver averaging 20 mph on the unpaved sections of Mud Lane and the private roads, and 30 mph on the paved section, would take about 20 minutes between the Belt Highway and Highway 240. Using the highway route, it is about 16.5 miles (taking Plumeria Rd. through Honoka' a), and would take about 20-25 minutes at typical driving speeds. I hope this information proves useful to the Council. Sincerely CHRISTOPHER T'YUEN Planning Director CJY:pak WpwinffCtuis 08 - Hoffmann - Comm. No. 1057 - Mud Lane Attachment cc: Mr. Bruce McClure Mr. Harry Yada Mr. Dave Katz 0 0 o ~ x- a - Pe°$CrdreM ee 1 lloao a 1 b a o ri i. i it 1 ~ N r ,1 duisltb eu arndpx 0 c a c~ v J ~ L ~ d C Q O a 3 1 1 a~ .X a~ eIlk -01 ~ L6 cn cu X 30 0) 0 7 O M 7 3 J N N i -1 2 co L 0_ :3 0 CIII rZ d W L 'o