HomeMy WebLinkAboutCommunication No. 2019-26- Alii Parkway Subcommittee ReportCommunication No. 2019-26
Sub -committee on All I Parkway Report
October 15, 2019
Background information regarding the Ail l Parkway sub -committee
Back in 2017, the Kona Community Development Planning Action Committee (KCDPAC) was tasked to
recommend a prioritized Capital Improvement Project (CIP) list to the Planning Director. One of the top
three choices was the traffic and safety concerns and how it played into the quality of life for
commuters between South to North Kona. Instead of creating new projects, the KCDPAC thought to use
an existing project such as Alii Parkway that still had funding sources attached to it. Therefore, the
KCDPAC agreed to recommend the AIN Parkway Project, to which the Planning Director vetted to the
Mayor. In paraphrasing the Mayor's Office, due to the initial community response regarding the
archaeology sites that stalled the project, the Mayor will consider resurfacing the Alii Parkway Project if
the community concerns regarding the archaeology sites were revisited. Aside from traffic and safety
concerns, the discussion among KCDPAC members now included the families who are connected to the
archaeology sites. Also mentioned were possible alternatives that would possibly downsize the Parkway
to a two-lane road to avoid archaeological sites, and increase open -space and access to the sites for
lineal and cultural descendants.
The Alii Parkway sub -committee was tasked to contact the families who were connected to the sites
and to notify the Mayor of its outcomes. The sub -committee did not conduct consultation that would
suffice the County's legal obligation to consult the community, nor it intends to submit design
mitigations however, the intent is to assist the KCDPAC in deciding if it would re -recommend their initial
CIP request with recommendations from those who were previously consulted regarding the
archaeology landscape. Along with members of the Mayor's office and the Planning Committee, the
sub -committee members met with families who have cultural and lineal ties to some of the archaeology
sites that were in question.
ACTION ITEM
Should the KCDPAC vote on vetting all or part of the recommendations listed in this report, I would
move to sunset this sub -committee.
Summary
The sub -committee met on three occasions last year to discuss outreach strategies to reconnect with
the families who were previously consulted and who continue to steward their sites. We drew a list of
lineal and cultural descendants who contributed to Final Burial Treatment Plan (FBTP) prepared for the
County of Hawaii by Paul H. Rosendahl, Ph.D., Inc. (PHRI) in April 2001.
The sub -committee focused on families who were previously consulted because it is not in the KCDPAC's
purview to consult new community members who want to engage on the merits of the project, but to
consult those who had previous affiliations to the archaeology sites that resulted in a stalled decision for
the project. The selection of lineal and cultural descendants was based on reviewing historic accounts
and documents dating back to 1973 regarding previous archaeological research for the Ali'i Parkway,
ethnographic surveys to included oral histories recorded by noted kupuna within the Kahului-Keauhou
region, and discussions with past members of the Hawai'i Island Burial Council (1992-1993). A mental
timeline was developed to see how far, wide and specific we needed to cast our outreach efforts
without hindering the County's obligation to consult with the public.
Communication No. 2019-26
Overall, the sub -committee felt obligated to understand the evolution of the Ali'i Parkway Project with
regards to the proposed designs and mitigations as well as took into consideration the FBTP's summary
which mentioned the objective of the overall FBTP program that is designed "to provide information
necessary to complete the federal historic preservation review process required under Section 106 of
the National Historic Preservation Act of 1966 (as amended) (NHPA). This program is in accordance with
a Memorandum of Agreement (MOA) dated July 1987 and executed among the Federal Highways
Administration — Hawaii Division (FHWA), the Hawaii State Historic Preservation Officer, and the
Advisory Council on Historic Preservation (ACNP), with the concurrence of the County of Hawaii (HCPD),
the Hawai'i State Department of Transportation (DOT), and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA)."
Therefore, this sub -committee spent its efforts to go back to those families who have long-standing
connections and commitments and those who participated in a previous consultation process to analyze
their concerns should the Mayor decide to address traffic and safety concerns within the Kahului-
Keauhou region.
Conclusion
After meeting with some of the lineal and cultural descendants from the Kahului Keauhou region along
with members from the Mayor's Office and the Planning Department the sub -committee would like to
make is recommendation to the KCDPAC, that we re -recommend the CIP line item Alii Parkway Project
for the reasons listed:
1. To mitigate Kona's traffic concerns between South and North Kona and safety concerns within
the Kahului-Keauhou regions.
2. Encourage formal consultation with the community
3. Aside from general consultation and due to the work placed within the Fina Burial Treatment
Plan, have thorough consultation with foc s on the cultural and lineal descendants and how
access and stewardship can improve within the Kahului-Keauhou region even if it means the
Parkway is not built.
4. Encourage solutions that encourage open space such as trails
5. Develop incremental phases for construction that include the use of La'aloa Road and Lako
Street which the original plans did not include.
6 Highly recommend an updated archaeology survey.
7. Highly recommend an updated traffic study that will show impacts on both current Ali'i Drive
and Kuakini Highway, and consider future traffic and safety impacts based on population growth
due to commercial and residential development in both North and South Kona and Ka'u.
This concludes the report on your sub committee for Alii Parkway. Should the committee of the whole
decide to make the recommendations based on this report, I would then like to take up an action item.
Mahalo,
Shane Palacat-Nelsen
Chair