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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 1051.023 1996-1998 FACSIMILE TRANSMITTAL SHEET - , . Date: November 17, 1998 r To: Committee on Planning Fax No. 969-3291 County of Hawaii Council Phone No.: 9618225 From Hannah Kihalani Springer Fax No.: 3257989 Phone No.. 325-S126 No, of sheets transmitted; e Sublecl: KA'upulehu , District Reclassification Aloha mai kakou, Enclosed are three pages of testimony for today's hearing; three pages of testimony presented at your November 13 meeting; and seven pages of transcript from the November 7 County of Hawaii Planning Commission Contested Case Hearing. 'O au no me ka `oia'i'o. LbLQfI. No. l S~J~~~~ J File No. W. TOO P`- PRPC- AffiLIEN UAJLM.LUz of Hannah Kihalani Springer Kukui'ohiwai, Ka'upulehu November 13, 1998 before the COUNTY OF HAWAII COUNTY COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON PLANNING on the Application of KA'UPULEHU DEVELOPMENTS for a Change of Zone Aloha mai kakou I request deferral of the application by Ka'upulehu Developments for a change of zone from the district Classification Of Open to the district classification of Project District for approximately 1,080 acres of land to allow for a resort residential community at that same location at the ahupua'a of Ka'upulehu. Our children are the sixth generation of our family to reside at Ka'upulehu, in the uplands at Kukui'ohiwai, a privately owned parcel. From 1888 to 1960, our family held the Bishop Estate lease on this property. Prior to that and Into the wa mamao we lived at Kuki'o immediately adjacent. We continue to gather salt from Kalaemano and consider the walk across the so called 1800 lava flow, a walk through the dominion of the gods. As a "practitioner", the absence of archaeology speaks as clearly as its presence. And at the 1800 flow it says, "Dominion of Gods. Not men." The natural, geophysical resources are also cultural resources. For your edification, you will find it useful to review the November 7, 1998 County of Hawai'i Planning Commission, Contested Case transcript of my cross examination of the consultant, Kepa Maly for a further discussion of the issue noted above. I participated in the contested case before the State Land Use Commission addressing this same property and am among those awaiting the decision of the Hawaii State Supreme Court on the appeal of the LUC decision. Though lawful, it seems a fracturing of sequence, to begin this County process before the State process is concluded. Serious questions were raised in the State case regarding the collection and analysis of data, particularly with regard to the evaluation of impacts to culture in this case Hawaiian and of Ka'upulehu in particular. What new rules or protocols have been duly authorized and adopted to afford confidence in this process to properly evaluate impacts upon traditional and cultural practices as expressed at Ka'upulehu? As was noted by then LUC Chair Alan Hoe, the Kohanaiki / PASH decision raised more questions than it answered with regard to the land use application and permitting process as it relates to traditional and customary practices. The case presently being appealed before the Hawai'i Supreme Court, may nudge us towards some of those much needed answers. A well reasoned and prepared Integrated Resources Management Plan has been provided by the applicant, However this addresses the management of resources which they have self-identified and validated, not the systematic analysis and evaluation of impacts to all of the cultural resources and practices identified ihere in. For example: The 1800 'a'a flow surrounded Hinakapo'ula. Hinakapo'ula is a named wahi pana (Appendix A, page 31). This flow emerges from the cloud and dry forests, the domain of Kumokuhali'i (Ku who spreads the hali'i of greenery over the island, moku). Kuka'ohi'alaka (Ku who resides in a particular 'ohi'a further associated with Laka) is known from Pu'u Honua'ula near to the summit of of Hualalai, Hainoa (Appendix A, page 32). The southern lobe of the 1800, Ka'upulehu flow is 'a'a lava. The lava crept along, kulipe'e, moving like "an old woman" (Appendix A, page 28) creating the jumbled flow front that we cross when coming to Kalaemano from the Kona Village side. It is said by Kamakau, that Pele came from the inlands, hungry for the awa from the ponds at Kiholo and Ka'upulehu (Appendix A, page 18). Archaeological features on this flow are few. Archaeological features are the signature of our ancestors' presence on the land. In our family's practice, 'The absence of our ancestors' signature upon the landscape speaks as clearly as the presence of their signature upon the land." (Appendix A page 96) This flow is wao akua, a region of the gods, as compared with wao kanaka a region of men. Natural resources are cultural resources. The natural landscape is the cultural landscape. This lava flow is a cultural resource. Appendix A presents a collection of data. An objective of Appendix A is to "assess the effect of the project on the significant (cultural or historic) sites". No assessment methodology is presented in either the IRMP or Appendix A. The IRMP offers mitigative and interpretive treatment of certain types of cultural and historical resources. Information on Hinakapc'uia, a wahi papa, and an informant's opinion on wao akua were presented in Appendix A of the Integrated Resources Management Plan (IRMP). In the IRMP discussion of "Sites associated with native Hawaiian religious and ceremonial practices" for both Subzone B-2 (IRMP. Pg. 57) and Subzone B-3 (IRMP. Pg. 61) indicates that "None were identified." A wao akua was identified during data collection but not assessed for significance. A wao akua was identified during data collection but the potential impacts upon it were not assessed. The work is inadequate. In conclusion, awaiting the decision of the Hawaii State Supreme Court will not only allow for logical sequencing of permits, but may also contribute to a more sound framework for data collection, analysis, evaluation and subsequent decision making E oluolu mai nei, defer decision making on this issue until the Court's decision is rendered. W R ITT EN STAlE MEUT of HANNAH KIHAI..ANI SPRINGER KUKUI'OHIWAI, KA'UPULEHU November 17, 1998 before the COUNTY OF HAWAI'I COUNTY COUNCIL COMMITTEE ON PLANNING nn the Application of KA'UPULEHU DEVELOPMENTS for a Change of Lone My testimony of November 13 drew extensively from Appendix A of the Integrated Resources Management Plan (IRMP). As noted, wahi pana (notable places) and akua are associated with each other and with events comprising the cultural history of the ahupua'a of Ka'upulehu in particular and the region of Kekaha in general. The data collected in the IRMP gives a good overview of the cultural landscape of the project area within the ahupua'a frame work. Further, page 4 of Appendix A indicates that a primary objective of this study is to "assess the effect of the project on the significant sites'. No assessment methodology is presented in either Appendix A or the body of the IRMP although the IRMP offers mitigative and interpretive treatment of certain types of cultural and historical resources. The steps in resources management are data collection and resource identification, assessment of the resources, mitigation of impacts to resources and the interpretation of them. Assessment is missing from the IRMP as presented in general and in from the matter of the 1800 laval flow in particular. While I am begining to agree with Mr. Maly's testimony of identifying, assessing and protecting the resources, rights and privileges described consitutionaly, in statute and by ordinance. The petitioner and the approving agency are charged as well. In the data, the 1800 `a'a flow has been associated with Pele. In the data, her manner of movement and desires here are described and may be contrasted with her movement and desires associated with the 1801 pahoehoe flow at Mahai'ula. Compared with the 1801 pahoehoe flow front which is clearly wao kanaka , man dominated and industrial, the 1800 `a'a flow retains the vitality distinctive to wao akua, open spaces which are physically unencumbered by man and display characteristics clearly associated with, in this case, Pele. A range of traditional ways of viewing and interpreting the landscape are presented in the IRMP. The kupuna focused upon the traditions and experiences of their families and I upon those of mine. They are from ma kai, withaumakua (personal, family god) in the sea. I am from the ma uka region of Ka'upulehu, the place where Pele travels from and though my aumakua is another, my mo'okuauhau (genealogy) includes Pele. When we gather pa'akai from Kalaemano, they look to the sea and share their `ike, I look to the land and share mine. These views are complimentary, not mutually exclusive, both are traditional. And so, a wao akua was identified during data collection but not assessed for significance. A wao akua was identified during data collection, but the potential impacts upon it were not assessed. The work of the IRMP is inadequate. As was testified earlier the work of the State Supreme Court is in progress and the work of the IRMP is inadequate. Please defer decision making until the works are completed. If the Committee does not recommend to or the Council does not defer decision making, I recommend reconfiguring this application so that the 1800 `a'a flow, in its entirety, remains as physically unencumbered as possible. Further, I recommend that future applications be configured consistant with this. If an approved application must include compromising the values expressed in the Natural Beauty section of the County of Hawai'i General Plan (page 32) and exemplified by Ka'upulehu (General Plan, page 36), then I agree with the suggestion of an approximately 1000 foot set back along the flow front. Thank you for this opportunity to submit additional testimony on this matter. Also please find a copy of the transcript of my November 7, 1998 testimony before the County of Hawai'i Planning Commission Contested Case Hearings Officers attached. And, while I did recommend in my November 13 testimony that the Council review the transcript of Kepa Maly's November 7, 1998 testimony, it is not yet available from the Planning Department. Thank you again for your consideration. ~1ova>~e>.17 lad ~ DAVID: Our next witness is Hannah Kihalani Springer. Hannah, would you please identity yourself. SPRINGER: Yes, aloha mai kakou. I am Hatuuh Kihalam Springer. I reside at Kukui'ohiwai, a pllvatcly owned parcel, at Ka'upulehu. Our family has lived at Kukui'ohiwai sinec 1919. Our children are the sixth generation to reside 1here. My direct ancestors are buried k1v Q at Huehue in IN~Irp n~( e~~and before that our families are associated with the land division of CA Kulti'o immediately adjacent to iht: ahupuaa of Ka'upulehu; and this extends to the wa mamao, the distance past as was testified w by Mr. Maly previously. Much of my written testimony wasn't capsulated in my examination of Nr. Maly previously. DAVID: Hannah, can we offer her, she has prepared wr,tter, statement or testimony; and you have that before you. BALOG: Yes, it's accepted. SPRINGER. As you can see from that, I draw your attention again to the wahi pana of Pc, ,Q Hinakapo'uta of Kaiwi o ele and of the Ka'upuletnu lava flow itself. Kamakau describes how Pelt: came :ronr the inlands hungry for the awa from the ponds at Kiholo and Ka'upulehu and thus has formed the'c'a !low w}rich has been refereed to both in my testimony and in the testimony of others. Whi:e this has been identified as a significant event in the history of the Kaha lands, I would liken that to the signing of the Declaration of Independence which was a significant event in history. The Declaration, the document itself is a significant historic resource. And so while the flow has been identified as a historic volcanic, as a significant volcanic event, the flow which rernains is a signiftca-tit historic resource. I am satisfied with the data that Mr. Maly has collected. And as he testified, we will see that in volume two of the work prepared as a part of this process. I agree with Mr. Maly that the ihfomrants tray serve as the experts. the authorities, the advocates, if you will, for those resources by our availability to be interviewed. However, once the data is collected, other advocates need to emerge and other tools for their advocacy. We rely then, we the informants then rely on others and the tools that are available to them. Beginning with our contested, beginning with the public testimony before the State Land Use Commission in 1995 the entities and I-,dividual members which came together as the Coalition known as Ka Pa'a kai O Ka'ainz, the salt of the land, taken otu name from the salt gathering which has been so eloquently described by nakupuna as well as our own age peers. We came together with different perspectives, the colast like the $alt ou the land, we also liked the imagery of the ka'i, a thing fluid made pa'a, finnu nd we have always focused on the inadequacies of the process to mamta,n consis:cncy and confonnance with the various authorities, such as Ms, David outlined in her testimony. As I was taught by my ancestors and by my parents most immediately, we are karnaaina, we are children of the land, the thing9 of the land ate part of our family. Their body forms are the body forms of our family. For things that are light, there are th ngs that are dark, for things that are male !here are things that art famale; for things ori the tight hand there are things on the left hand; for things that are Nina there are things that are ku; and there is Nle. And the 1800 n`a~,`w. Ka'upulehu lava flows which comes out o', Kaiwi O Pele is for myself a wawakua??. It was OkUq identified daring the data collection but was not assessed Car its signil3cance. The wawakua tvas identified during data collection; but the potential impacts upon it were not assessed. Therefore, it is my opinion that this work is inadequate. With regard to the questions that you have posed to my colleagues, I have observed how during this process beginning with the State Land Use Commission hearings data collection, the quality of it, has improved. There were particular references that were tnade to particular articles in the Hawaiian language newspapers during t!re State Land Use Commission contested case hearing that appear now in the data before us in Appendix A. The question still remains as to the assessment, I'm sorry, the evaluation of that data and the assessment of the impacts to those cultural resources that are identified, and that burden does not tic with the informants. Thank you. DAVID: Thank you, Hannah. I :gave no more questions. BALOG; Planning DepartniLnt? O'TOOLE: Yes. When you state the burden does not lie with the informants, does that mean that you would not have any suggestions to the hearing officers regarding particularly the lava flow which you have been identified as an :mpottant source on? SPRINGER: Even my recommendation to the hearing officer and the County Planning Commission might be out of order without a proper evaluation of the resources and the impacts upon them. In the same way that 1 believe that the presumption that deve':opment may occur is out of order lacking that evaluation of the data collected of the cultural resources and any impacts upon them. So I believe that it's a matter of sequencing. The data must be collected, it has been. The data must be evaluated with regard to significance. The lava flow in particular does not benefit from that evaluation at this porn'. And it has been testified that it, the-e has been testimony that it will be in the fume. Until we know that I de not see how. I do not see any assessment of the impacts to it. Bat if you do look to my testimony I do have a number of su&gestions, and they are part of the record in my interview with Mr. Maly, and these occur on page 97 of Appendix A. And Mr. Maly and I have discussed this issue. If we look at my testimony or the summary of my interview compared to others there is not, there are not sufficient guidelines to guarantee that all ethnographers would proceed above and beyond the confines of the national bulletin, which number I forget right now but was in the KATAYAMA: Thirty eight BALOG' Thirty eight. SPRINGER: Thank you. Thirty eight. Not all interviewees will come up with the scope of recommendations such as I have. Therefore, lacking guidelines that's not just towards conformance with the statutes and the ordinances, 1 believe that the process is deficient. You'll see that I have nine recommendations. O'TOOLE: But you have recommendations. I see. SPRINGER' Yes. O'TOOLE: Did you receive the written testimony of the Planning Director in which site suggests a cultural advisory committee be established to review the project as it goes along before it gets further permits, etc.? SPRJNGHR: I understand that my colleagues may have, Ka Pa'akai O Ka'aina may have; but I did not have the opportunity to review that. O'TOOLE: So you don't have any opinion on whether that would be helpful in the process? SPRINGER: Could you repeat the description of the Planning Directofs recommendation? O'TOOLE: Okay, let me find it, "I suggest through a condition that a cultural advisory committee be established by the applicant and that the further impleinentation aspects for the detailing of the plan can be reviewed by the advisory committee before it is submitted to the various agencies for review." SPRINGER: Thank you, Ms. O'Toole. I think :hat that's a fine recommendation with re and I have participated and seen the results of a number of advisory committee works; and there is certain a range of usaf ilness, depending upon the makeup of the committee. I would just caution that an important component of our community is the loyal opposition, such as the one you see seated before you now, and that is an important and under-utilized resource in our communities. Please believe that I with you desue a high quality of life in this place that we call home. We may disagree on the interpretative elements of the data before us, but consider to hold close to you those who may have different opinions, as well as those who are in complete agreement O'TOOLE: So perhaps the suggestion would be that the advisory committee might include perhaps a representative of your group or yourself? SPRINGER: Yes, thank you. O'TOOLE: Okay. Thank you. I have no further questions, BALOG. &fr. Tsukazaki TSUKAZAKL Do you recall at die time of tha EIS work back in 1984, 1 mean, sorry, 1994,'93-'94 whether you had provided information to the applicant's representative regarding the religious aspect of this lava flow, the way you're characterizing it now as a dominion of the Gods? ~h~q SPRINGER: The Wawa kua. AO aVwq'ISUKAZAKI: Wawa kua. SPRINGER: Well, I could, Ben, if you recall from our examination of that eavircnmental impact statement, there stemmed much of our concern. 1 did not take notes when I was interviewed by one of the consultants for the applicant boy concernas represented before the Land Use Commission was that to particular with regard to salt gathering. I was a number of informants who were rolled into a composite informant and that then our practice of gathering salt was treated in a past tense form; and that was really the crux of my concera at that time, was back to the process. In this case, it was concern for data collection. I do know that is my testimony before the State Land Use Commission I did draw attention to the geological phenomena and activities that continue to influence our lives there. T%e consultant was unable to produce his transcripts of any discussion with us. I'm concerned that these things have become, ~o A~ftvo tars reference to the wawa kua, are so iatemalized. Always from ray youngest times my mother has told me stories of the Gods and they aze intertwined with the places of men. I'm sorry, I cannot remember specifically if I d`d or did not. TSUKAZAKI: Okay. And, also, you also gave public testimony initially at the LUC level, you know, prior to the testimony you gave on behalf of the Coalition. In that public testimony, did you recall informing the Land Use Commission that the lava flow was a place of the Gods? SPRINGER: I don't believe TSUKAZAKI: The wawa kua? SPRINGER: I don't believe that I did in that public testimony because my covicern was that with the particular practice of gatherirL salt that we had spent a fair amount of time discussing, and which was referenced in the document. I could not identify myself as an informant or as the practice of gathering salt being present tense. So, in particular, I was responding to what I had seen in the EIS, and my focus was on salt collection. TSUKAZAKI Thank you. SPRINGER: You're welcome. TSUKAZAKI I don't have any 11herquestions. BALOG: Thank you. Maay? KATAYAMA: Just one question. You talked about the salt collection, like the data says it was past tense. Are you say that it's currently being done? a Q v4k"o SPRTNGER Yes, it is. Our family last v, as at Kulaunano in August And we don't drive in. We walk along the seaward edge of the lava flow; and this is a practice thathas beer, recorded by, it has been recorded as being practiced by residents of the region including our family members, and it does continue to day. KATAYANIA: In what zone is that salt, was, can we go back to the other, it has been a long day. Was it in Zone A? SPRINGER: That's correct, Zone A KATAYAMA: Not B-3? SPRINGER: No. However, what we have characterized and what we have experienced, .r• O~ U a( A whether coming from the Puuwaawaa side as we do sometimes from, Kiholo, or whetber coming from the south side of Ka'upulehu, when one crosses either lobe of the Ka'upulehu lava flow it is o profound zone of transition. Maybe it's just the difficulty of walking across that jumbled flow surface. But by virtue of entering onto that iumbled flow surface, we have to slow down, we have to become acute and astute in ways that are particular to that place that are characteristic of that geophysical phenomena. So while we go to gather at Subzone A, thejoumcy, the transition, avao A the process begins whether coming from Puuw88Wa or Ka'upulehu, when we enter onto the Ka'upulehu lava flow. BALOG: Probably two questions. When, what was your family's or your personal thoughts when Queen K Highway was built'? SPRINGER: Heartbreak. BALOG: Okay. Did you have, did your family at that time have any participation with the process when the highway was be ill° SPRINGER: l was a ealo (phonetic) youth and we did not At the time that the .i'n.wJ~Aw~ KaahuttlAn i Highway was being put into place, i did not reside on this island a. that time. I lived on Oahu although my father was residing here in Ka'upnlehu. I did not participate in that, we did not participate in that, Part of the heartbreak came front moviug laterally across a landscape that we were intimate and familiar with but at s.ich a rapid rate of speed in a way that had, was NJ 2 uncommon to its at the time. Our family, as I described, has lived at Hue ue, may sow you on one of the other maps where we lived? BALOG: I was getting to that, SPRINGER: This is our family's house site at Kukuiohiwai. When I was a youth, our family held the lease on the Ka'upulchu ahupuaa, and that is recorded in Appendix A of the IRMP. And being mountain people we would go into the uplands of our lease holdings as well as our fee simple holdings immediately adjacent, including the lands of Kaloko here. And we would come into the uplands both for gathering of foliage and with my mother in her fashion to, although she did not articulate this tome, but bring balance to our lives At the time w•c were n, J living on Oahu. And so when we would come home we would journey to places that I only anew then as places that mother loved to visi,t but, in part, through data that has been collected MON by others I have come to know that we were visiting the wahipana of our ancestors as well This is the area of Kaiwi O Pele to which we h2ve referred to today, his hinakapo ula, and hainoa dun ~`G which is in the vicinity of Honuula which were referenced earlier. BALOG: I guess for myseJ, could you explain before Queea K Highway was built how you got down to that area? Did you come in from Kailua or go down SPPJNCER: Earliest, 1955 wm, and we carne in by boat from Kailua. My mother's family living at Kukui O Hiwai, owning Hoehue Ranch, we'd come down on foot trail, either walking or riding horse. You car. see that one lobe of the trail comes here. Also, we would use the Ktholo Hoehoe, or they would use the Kilrolo Hoehoe Trail, and these were trails that my fatuily and 1 continue to walk. Clearly I'm not walking them enough, but we do have and will again. So we would walk, feet, nde horse. There was noticep access to that area until the sixties. BALOG: Okay, thank you. SPRINGER: You're welcome. DAVID: Thank you. I have no further questions for Hannah. Thank you. LOG: Did you have any further witnes s? DAVI We have, no she's our last. BALOG: Okay, Platuting Dep ent. GOLDSTEIN. Could we take n~ eak first? BALOG: . e minute . GOLDSTEIN: Five ' utes. BALOG: ay. RECESSED) The Presi i tg Officer called a recess at this time _ p.m. NV The meeting rec veined at _ p.m. BALO Okay, the hearing wilt coma ck to order. Ms. O'Toole'I OOLE: Thank you. BALOG: You have how many witnesses today?