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Home My WebLink AboutINDIVIDUAL COMMENT EMAIL -128980Mori, Ashl ^ From: Sent: Wednesday, October 30' 2O196l)8PK4 Subject: NO 'Scenic Road' to Waiplo Valley' Aloha! I am a 37 TxE |sSU| The County ofHawai1draft General Plan currently includes estatement pmpnengk, inn asaon u»oVVeipi VuUey h -~ 'a 'suonicmuie^ 0oUhehmo[VVnipi'oVaUeyhzrn ^sopnicpark^ creating' What is the General Plan? The County ofHowai'i's General Plan is the blueprint that guides the long-term development of Hawaii Island. It considers the needs ingamondmen``` of capital expenditures." and What does it say about Waipi'o Valley? 4.97 Perform a feasibility study on developing a scenic route from Waipi'o Valley Lookout extending mauka to connect Mud Lane attheentranceofWaimeaandascenicparkwithaviewingareaofHi-ilawe Falls. WH IS Ii Ak ISSUE? LAND OWNERSHIP The lands adjacent to Mud Lane and Waipio Valley are privately owned by Kamehameha Schools, Lalakea Family Trust, and otherprivatelandowners, with no public roads accessing the area from Mud Lane. The land parcels that this feasibiliy study would look at are valued at approximately$15 mU|ion, with other privately owned parcelspossiblyincludedincreaseanyideaofapurchase, if the landowners are even open to selling their landsNATIVEECOSYSTEMSPUTATRISK The rimlands nfvVaipio Valley was once a thriving forest in which our chants speak of how the '0hi'a would be seen all along the cliffsTheHãmäkuaSugarPlantationkilledmostofthenativeandendemictreestoplantsugarcane. After the closing of the plantationeucalyptuswasplanted. Throughout the area, there is still old trees'0ha and other native and endemic trees that survived.The endemic&culturally important'thia trees existence is threatened by Rapid 'Ohi'a Death (ROD). a fungal disease that has killedthousandsoftreesacrossHawaiiIsland EROSION & LANDSLIDE IMPACTS TO VALLEY BELOW Landslides intuVVaipi'u Valley have occurred from the rimlands in recent years and decades, posing a safety risk to the valley.Mauna Kea Soil &Water Conservation District have shown through topographic maps that the rim &cliffs being discussed have multiple auauewater drainage that pose further landslide risks and possibly large land sections breaking free, The lands of Kamehameha Schools are currently being stewarded by POhaha I Ka Lani for low-impactlow-use cultural education& land stewardship programs aimed at perpetuating the culture and native ecosystems of the rimlands andU VYoipi'o ValleyP0h0hQIKaLaniensuresthattheshoesofeachpersonandtiresofeachvehiclethatcomeswithustotherimlandsis sprayed withalcoholand/or bleach to prevent ROD. ThmughourmowardnhipUhaiuffida||yheganinMannh2O18.wiUh1hohe|pofmanysuhno|o. onganizadonaand[omi|ies we have beenp|aoUngmore endemic, native and beneficial plants and trees, pOh8ha I Ka Lani has begun installing soil stabilizing vetiver grass along the rim to address erosion & surface water to prevent futurelandslides. Are the efforts of trying to help prevent erosion &landslide impacts going to be useless if such road. park and heavy traffic introduced tothearea? Thousands of dollars were spent by POhaha I Ka Lani to install vetiver, but only could afford one line and will save up and put additionallinescfvetiveralongtherim. |fanyone sees the large amount nfpeople otVVaipi'oValley Lookout aeaits teni ingtothink what thatlargeamountofpeoplewoulddototherimlands. PROBLEMATIC TOURIST TRAFFIC EXPANSION INTO RIMLANDS Tourist traffic, already a significant problem for VVaipro Valley Lookout, Access Road. and the valley itself. would be expanded to beallowedtoaccesstherimlandareas. The wording of the "developing a scenic route from VVaipi'o Valley Lookout extending mauka to connect Mud Lane at the entrance of Waimea and a scenic park with a viewing area ofHi'i|ave Falls" seems like they are still going to utilize the old VVaipro Valley Lookoutareaandjustofferadditionalviewingspace. Tourists already drive 4x4 rental vehicles into Waipio Valley causing dangerous situations when their rental contracts prohibits themfromdoingan, causing the rental vehicle insurance to be voided. Tourists who access VVaipi'o Valley are unsupervised and uneyu|ahed, and show a lack of respect and restraint, driving and walkingintophvatelands, therefore trespassing, dismpUngthe community and econyuemo, and diorespa iogou|k/m| traditions& sites.The rimlands would be subject to the same type of issues. WAIPIO VALLEY ACCESS ROAD SAFETY STILL UNRESOLVED 1 The Waipi'o Valley Access Road has current safety issues, such as a major landslide up to the edge of the road on the makai side, side,norrowsamona. unmorkedvehic|oby'posoarean, conhnua| |aodaUdoenomingdommonmihemodhomthemaukaand numerouspotholes. uepairsioUheVVaipi'oVa||eyAcoesoRoodwemdiec000ad4yeomogoio2O15. whhpmponedrepai/plonsootimotedatover $4mi||ionandnotimeframeofwhenthoserepairswillbemadeduetofundingbeinganissue. Lack of funding for the Waipio Valley Access Road shows that there is likely a lack of funds for the scenic route and scenic park beingproposedinthisfeasibilitystudy, let alone long term maintenance costs. INCREASED TRAFFIC INTO VYA|P1'0 VALLEY DUE TO VIEWING FROM ABOVE Previous commercial tours at the VVaipro Valley rimlands at the Hillawe viewing areas promoted the valley, enticing the public toaccessthevalleyaftenNards, roaming the valley. going beyond public roads& areas, and tresspassing onrivaka property, especiallykeapasoing |oHi'i|aweVVate aU. While previous commercial tours in the above VVaipro Valley were in operations, tour guides from those tours were regularly observedleadingillegaltoursuptoHrilaweWaterfalls. When these tour guides were asked what are they doing. they would state that theircustomerssawHi'i|awe Waterfall from above and now want to see it from below by hiking to it.CommunitygiscusaionnhavemenUonoddoningVVaipi'nVaUeymadandon|yuUmwiogmoidents& managedaroeosink/VVoipi'oVa||eybutthewordingintheGeneralPlanfora "scenic route" and "scenic park'would largely be promoted for visitors to go the currentVYaipi'o Valley Lookout and also to a proposed Hi'i|aweVVnvarfn|| viewing area. Restricting tourist traffic into the valley has not been addressed, and if the current lookout area is still open and if they create a park toviewHi'ilawe Waterfalls is still open, it will create more disaster. Farmers& residents below are left to deal with complications of the actions being done above and how it affects the valley belowHavingascenicparkbzviewHi'i|aweVVate aUswiUmost likely hedose10the edge ofVVaipi'oVaUey'su|iEUCALYPTUSTREES The area is still heavily filled with eucalyptus trees, and trees regularly uproot or snap and fall on wadways, posing a regular safetyhazard. Roads are regularly cleared of fallen eucalyptus trees currently. The Eucalyptus trees are possibly to sold to the Pepe'ekeo bioenergy plant under the company Honua Ola. however that project is in question due to environmental concerns and legal challenges. It is not clear if and when Honua Ola (FKA HO Honua) might harvest the Eucalyptus trees. If the trees are not harvested. a long-term plan should be made keep the area as low-impact and low-use with the gradual transition of the area to reforestation and subsistence commercial agriculture, which Pitih8h8 I Ka Lani is working towards on lands not encumbered with eucalyptus trees. This aligns with the recently passed 2019 Hawaii County Council Resolution 322-19, which acknowledges the cumantc|imoieohangecrixinonU \heneedtodomiV0atingmeasumssuohao /eduoingfossi|hue| oonsumphoo reforestation andsubsistenceagriculture. A concern is that"a scenic route" would pave the way for an easy entrance and exit for Honua Ola (FKA HO Honua) to harvestingeucalyptusfordecadesinthearea. MANAGEMENT& MONITORING How will monitoring to make sure Rapid 'ohra Death is prevented by decontamination of all tires of vehicles and shoes of each individual? Tires and shoes will need to be sprayed with alcohol and/or bleach before heading into the rimlands? How will management of tourist and public traffic in general be prevented from trespassing into other areas of the rimlands where largerareasofthenativeecosystemsexistanddangerousroadsremain? How will safety be addressed with the area being prone to flooding with heavy rains from mauka areas? How wonderful it is that nobody need wait a single moment before starting to improve the world. ~ Anne Frank Hawai'i Register to Vote! htf'/|Vr nm ,ii v BerMie2020| Join the Hnmm/i'i Dem Party to be able to vote in the 2(]2(] Presidential Preference Poll! 2