HomeMy WebLinkAboutINDIVIDUAL COMMENT EMAIL -129204Mori, Ashley
From:
Sent: Thursday, October 31, 2019 10:00 AM J' LL'
To: General Plan
Cc:
Subject: Waipi'o Valley Feasibility Study on Developing Scenic Route from Waipi'o ValleyLookout
To Whom It May Concern - see below for public and residents' concerns regarding the 20 ofa
scenic park and lookout area for Hi'ilawe Falls.
Native Ecosystems Will Be At Risk- what studies will be done (EIS)to ensure native flora and
fauna are not destroyed/disturbed?
Erosion & Landslide Impacts to Valley- Landslides have happened often over recent years
and pose a serious threat so how would new infrastructure affect the valley? Also with
multiple surface water drainage issues, further landslide risks and possible large sections
breaking free are a serious concern.
How would current stewardship be affected and what communication will occur with land
owners?
SERIOUS CONCERN OVER TOURIST TRAFFIC EXPANSION INTO RIMLANDS -Traffic is
already a serious concern for the lookout and the valley itself. What safeguards, funding and
oversight will the County put in place for this to be regulated? Should seriously consider and
look into other conversation areas on the US continent such as The Wave in the Southern
Utah/Northern Arizona area where a lottery for permits are conducted daily and the amount
of visitors are CAPPED per day.
WAIPI'O VALLEY ACCESS ROAD and its safety is CURRENTLY still an issue and remains
unresolved - where is the funding to fix the access road? what is the status of this? long term
maintenance and projects need to be discussed ASAP and long before any new roads are
created.
SERIOUS CONCERNS OVER INCREASED TRAFFIC INTO THE VALLEY DUE TO VIEWING
FROM ABOVE - current commercial tour groups have been observed as conducting illegal
tours and are not currently regulated - how will this change if a viewing area is created? Who
will enforce? How? Again, we strongly believe tourist access needs to be limited and
restricted for the safety of everyone!
EUCALYPTUS TREES - what is long term plan for these areas? How will trees be maintained?
Removed when fallen over, etc?
How will monitoring & management of access to these areas occur? Rapid Ohi'a Death needs
to be prevented with decontamination of all tires of vehicles and shoes of each individual and
vehicle. Who will manage this process? How?
The public needs to be informed every step of the way if and when this feasibility study moves
forward and residents input need to be strongly considered because we are impacted daily!
Mahalo nui loa for your time in reading these concerns. We look forward to hearing back from the
County on how we move forward.
E ku ma kapu aloha,
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