HomeMy WebLinkAbout2023-08-23 Kaʻū CDP Meeting PacketMitchell D. Roth
Mayor
Lee E. Lord
Managing Director
Zendo Kern
Director
Jeffrey W. Darrow
Deputy Director
County of Hawai‘i
PLANNING DEPARTMENT
KAʻŪ COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ACTION COMMITTEE
Aupuni Center • 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3 • Hilo, Hawai‘i 96720
Phone (808) 961-8288 • Fax (808) 961-8742
Hawai‘i County is an Equal Opportunity Provider and Employer Page 1
Monday, May 8, 2023 1
DRAFT Meeting Minutes 2
CALL TO ORDER 3
Chair Leinaʻala Enos called the Kaʻū Community Development Plan (KCDP) Action Committee 4
(AC) to order at 5:30 P.M. This meeting was held at the Oceanview Community Center. There 5
was no Zoom option. Quorum was established at this meeting. 6
ROLL CALL 7
AC Members Present: Leinaʻala Enos (Chair), Pernell Hanoa (Vice-Chair), Kaweni Ibarra, Jesse Ke, 8
Babette Morrow, Catherine Williams, Kaʻohinani Mokuhaliʻi, Jason Masters (arrived at 6:00 P.M.) 9
AC Members Absent-Excused: None 10
17 members of the public attended the meeting 11
ANNOUNCEMENTS: 12
• Laura Roberts, community member from Oceanview representing the Oceanview Skate Park 13
Association, gave a quick overview of what the project is and what they would like to 14
accomplish 15
APPROVAL OF MINUTES: 16
Line 68 and 71 name spelling corrections. Corrections: Line 68 Gwen Sorenson, line 71 Toby 17
Kekoa-Burgos. 18
Committee Member Mokuhaliʻi motioned to approve the February 22, 2023 minutes with the 19
spelling corrections made. Motion seconded by Committee Member Ibarra. Motion passed with 20
7 votes aye, 0 votes nay. 21
BUSINESS: 22
1. Hawaiʻi County Code Update: 23
This item was moved to the end of the agenda. 24
There was not much of an update because we are such a large district that we are not 25
encouraged to respond. As a district we need to have more notice so individuals can respond. 26
Committee member Masters to report updates. Need more notice, and representation of a 27
community. 28
www.planning.Hawaiʻicounty.gov/ CDP@Hawaiʻicounty.gov Page 2
2. Permitted Interaction Groups Updates to AC: 29
a. Punaluʻu Coastline Access and Resources Investigatory Subcommittee 30
Committee Member Hanoa reported that the committee had a last-minute meeting with the 31
Kaʻū Advisory Council, Punaluʻu developers and additional partners to introduce new members 32
and have a meet and greet, talk story session. It was expected to have several of their 33
representatives at the meeting to present their proposal, but none were present at this time. No 34
future meeting date has been set. 35
Kaʻū Advisory Council secretary Sophia Hanoa was in contact with property manager. She would 36
like to have a public community meeting in June in Pahala. Additional investors, Jiaying and Yoga. 37
Per the last maps received, the amount of luxury homes dropped to 100. 38
b. Mahana Bay Coastline Access and Resources Investigatory Subcommittee 39
The subcommittee hasn't had much discussion about this but have been thinking about purpose 40
and goals. As discussed at the last meeting, there have been studies and management plans 41
done in 2012 and 2016. The subcommittee wondered if they should discuss recommending that 42
the Action Committee take a position of advocacy regarding these plans and the CDP. Such plans 43
included: 44
The DHHL Kaʻū Regional Plan which was adopted in 2012 by Hawaiian Homes Commission. This 45
plan prioritized two projects to be implemented by 2015: (1) develop vehicular roadway(s) and 46
pedestrian pathways within the coastal area of Ka Lae (to manage access to Kaulana Bay, the 47
fishing grounds at Ka Lae, and protect sensitive resources), & (2) protect and preserve sites in 48
Kamāʻoa. Phases consisted of: updating the Historic Landmark designation; developing a 49
circulation plan; pursuing partnerships; developing signage and educational programs; obtaining 50
funding; and constructing roads, fencing, and educational signage. 51
Another was the South Point Resources Management Plan (RMP), which was prepared for the 52
Hawaiian Home Lands Trust and finalized in October 2016. This plan stated: “This resources 53
management plan identifies specific near- and long-term management actions for lands held 54
under the Hawaiian Home Lands Trust located within the ahupuaʻa of Kamāʻoa-Puʻuʻeo, Kaʻū 55
District, Island of Hawaiʻi. It is intended to guide future actions to steward the land and resources 56
of this area." Specific action plans on pages v., vi., and vii should be looked at. Of particular 57
interest is the concluding paragraph on page vii of the 2016 document. "The main near-term 58
priority for DHHL is to gain site control by managing vehicular access." 59
There are several areas of the CDP that address this issue: 60
Section 4.6.1 Community Objectives: 61
❖ Objective 3: Protect, restore, and enhance ecosystems, including mauka forests and the 62
shorelines, while assuring responsible access for residents and for visitors. 63
❖ Objective 6: Encourage community-based management plans to assure that human activity 64
doesn’t degrade the quality of Kaʻū’s unique natural and cultural lands. 65
Section 4.6.4.5: 66
Department of Land and Natural Resources 67
www.planning.Hawaiʻicounty.gov/ CDP@Hawaiʻicounty.gov Page 3
❖ Following the recommendation of the South Kona- Kaʻū Coastal Conservation Task Force, 68
dedicate at least one State DOCARE officer to the Kaʻū district to aid in enforcement. 69
Section 4.6.4.6: 70
Department of Hawaiian Home Lands 71
❖ Maintain the Ka Lae (South Point) coastal areas and related infrastructure for recreational, 72
cultural, education, and/or scientific uses in a manner that is protective of resources and is 73
consistent with the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act and all applicable laws related to Native 74
Hawaiian rights and public shoreline access. (GP 8.3(c) & 12.5.9.2(d)). 75
c. Pōhue Bay Coastline Access and Resources Investigatory Subcommittee 76
Community member, who wished to remain anonymous, stated that the National Park Service 77
(NPS) proposed trail goes through Hawaiian petroglyphs. The NPS asked for kūpuna to help but 78
no one came to claim it, so the trail is going through a sacred site. Also, there is hurricane and 79
storm damage from July 2022 to the coastline and alkaline ponds are empty. The community 80
member offered to help for free. 81
Community member Sophia Hanoa stated that there is a Hawaiian kupuna, Kelly Kaupu, that is 82
working with National Park to preserve sacred sites. 83
The anonymous community member also stated that there are people disturbing the turtles 84
along the coastline and he reported it to the National Park, but nothing was done. 85
Community member Rick Lyn stated that he was part of a training for volunteers who, for a 86
three-month period, were turtle monitors and were going 7 days a week. There was some turtle 87
egg loss due to the storm surge, but they are coming back. 88
Committee member Morrow will contact the training people to get an update on the next 89
training and report back at the next meeting. 90
Committee member Mokuhaliʻi asked for a description of where the sites that are not being 91
accessed are. The anonymous community member stated that they were 1 mile south of Pōhue 92
and a mile north of road to the sea there are more turtle nests. Committee will follow-up. 93
d. Kūpuna Housing Investigatory Subcommittee 94
Committee member Morrow reported there was a subcommittee meeting in April where they 95
met with Wayne Camache. The subcommittee wanted to assist in networking and to get input. 96
Currently the block to any kind of development of the Nāʻālehu parcel is the septic tank system; 97
perhaps there could be several uses for the property. Wayne appreciated the help and will keep 98
the subcommittee informed. Nāʻālehu farmers market location. 99
Previously the proposal was for unassisted senior housing but was not funded in the best benefit 100
in the past, so they are looking at how to use the land to best benefit the community. 101
Council member Michelle Galimba shared about the current affordable housing grant that is 102
available, perhaps a door to fund a project here. 103
www.planning.Hawaiʻicounty.gov/ CDP@Hawaiʻicounty.gov Page 4
e. Development in Kaʻū Investigatory Subcommittee 104
Since January some community members were put on a stakeholders panel for the solar farms 105
along South Point road. There was a face-to-face sack committee meeting that included, Jason 106
Masters, Kilohana Domingo, Kenny Joyce, and Kaʻoh Mokuhaliʻi, who had a question-and-answer 107
session that was lengthy and will be included on the CDP website. There will be a public meeting 108
on May 31st at Nāʻālehu Community Center. 109
Minutes are available, the members were willing to meet and discuss which was positive, many 110
things were discussed. There are many solar projects coming up. 111
Flooding occurred during the last storm on Kaʻalai Road and the stretch of HI 1 between Kawa 112
and Honuapo. The latest is that the subcommittee is working with County and land owners. 113
Oceanview community member, Tito Haggardt presented about the fact that Oceanview has the 114
infrastructure within the subdivision to support future development with large setbacks, etc. This 115
could be organized through the road corporation. Also, residents of Oceanview pay a road tax on 116
their cars which is given to the state but none of that is returned to the road corporation for 117
roads. It was mentioned that they also pay an annual road maintenance fee, and it seemed like 118
they are double charged for their roads. The subcommittee will take it into consideration to see 119
how this concern can be addressed within their purview. Perhaps in the future, the committee 120
could suggest, for example, that if there was going to be commercial businesses in the 121
developed subdivision then there needs to be a right turn lane created, etc. 122
f. Nāʻālehu Theatre Site Investigatory Subcommittee 123
Committee member Morrow motioned to dissolve the Nāʻālehu Theater Site Subcommittee. 124
Motion seconded by Committee member Ke. 125
Discussion: The theater was demolished shortly after the last Kaʻū CDP meeting was held. Several 126
members wondered why nobody in the community was aware that the permit to destroy it was 127
taken out in September 2022. County works deemed it as dangerous and it was scheduled for 128
demolition. The property is still owned by the Weinberg Foundation of Hawaiʻi. 129
A question came up about the shopping center, but the committee wants to continue the 130
subcommittee to investigate what the plans for the theater site might be. 131
Motion denied by roll call vote: 0 votes aye, 8 votes nay. 132
3. Small and Industrial Solar Farm Developments: 133
Ocean View community member, Aniy Bosted, testified on Agenda Item 3. She presented a map 134
of the OV proposed project as of 2016 and shared that the proposed project includes a 6.5-135
megawatt solar development consisting of eighteen 3-acre parcels, and eight 21-acre parcels; 136
proposed by an overseas company. She also shared overhead drone photos of current projects. 137
Chair Enos allowed more time for her testimony because of its importance to this community. 138
Community members from Wood Valley, Noa Causerman and Matt Drayer, testified on Agenda 139
Item 3. They shared that there are several 10 X 20ft proposed satellite sites from a Taiwanese 140
company, proposed in WOOD Valley. They stated that the land is zoned agricultural, and permits 141
www.planning.Hawaiʻicounty.gov/ CDP@Hawaiʻicounty.gov Page 5
were granted by an appointed panel from Mayor Roth with 2 votes against it, 4 votes to install it. 142
Causerman and Drayer presented a petition. 143
Community member Sophia Hanoa raised the question “Why was the community not informed? 144
Any development coming to our community needs to be brought to the people out of respect.” 145
Council Member Galimba said there is another place to appeal this, also the meeting was 146
attended by people appointed by the Mayor and approved by the County Council. 147
AC resolved to find out how they as the committee could get updates on upcoming issues to 148
inform the community. 149
PROPOSED AGENDA ITEMS FOR NEXT MEETING: 150
1. Satellite installation in Wood Valley 151
2. Permitted Interaction Groups report back to the AC 152
ADJOURNMENT: 153
Committee Member Masters motioned to adjourn the meeting. Motion seconded by Committee 154
Member Williams. Motion passed with 8 votes aye, 0 votes nay. The meeting was adjourned at 155
7:12 P.M. 156
These minutes and all related documents are available in the Planning Department’s Kaʻū 157
Community Development Plan Action Committee folder via the County of Hawaiʻi Public 158
Documents Repository. These documents may also be requested from the Planning Department 159
by calling (808) 961-8288 or emailing cdp@Hawaiʻicounty.gov. 160
Page 1 of 3
Development In Ka’u Investigatory Sub Committee
Investigatory Gathering July 12, 2023 regarding Satellite Project in Wood Valley, Pahala.
Goal for this gathering to share factual information from Academica Sinica project leaders Ming-
Tang Chen, and Jeff Bower, who initiated contact, and to allow constructive open discussion
with community members.
Present: Leina’ala Enos, Ka’ohinani Mokuhali’i, Noa Caiserman, Matt Drayer, Michelle Galimba,
Ming-Tang Chen, Jesse Ke, and Jeff Bower.
Opening Pule with Kupuna Jesse Ke.
Mr. Chen, opened introduction of self
Astronomer, originally from Taiwan, has lived here on the Hawai`i Island for 22 years.
Important to be good neighbors and responsible citizens.
Jeff Bower, Astronomer, has lived on the Hawai`i Island for 10 years.
Heads outreach program, Hawaii Science & Technology Museum.
Involved with after school tutoring, science camps, robotics lab at Na’alehu Elementary, canoe
carving project at Pahala Elementary & High School.
What more can they bring to the Community?
Fact sharing:
Ming-Tang Chen:
As a scientist involved with astronomy, wants to explore mysteries & phenomenons not
discovered yet in Radio Astronomy.
The area needed for this study should have no wi-fi, no TV signals and need clean air space.
Checked 60 other locations before finding no signals in Wood Valley. Protected by Mauna Loa.
Beyond Pahala gets more noisy.
Satellite Dish to be temporary.
1st site chosen Mizuno property.
Initiated permit process.
Neighbors rallied with a meeting during the permit process (about 20 neighbors).
The Land Planner arranged another meeting held in June.
Received Petitions from community.
After review of petitions, withdrew the permit from Mizuno Property.
Searched for a less populated area, opportunity arrived at Keaiwa.
Less disruptive toward the community.
Jeff Bower:
Special Site desired to discover the beauty of nature, stories and images of the world.
Not a corporate operation.
Astronomers with a sense of wonder at the universe.
Have history of working in remote locations.
Want to foster good relationships with the community, pass along and share info toward
stewarding young students.
Page 2 of 3
Open up to Question & Answers:
Q. Still travel between Taiwan and Hawai’i? A. Yes
Q. Has this satellite project been built or in existence elsewhere? A. Yes West Virginia only a
listening device
Q. Is Taiwan building this satellite? A. No. Purchased from China. Recording equipment
purchased from University of McGill, Canada.
Q. Where does equipment come from? A. Equipment purchased through Trader and shipped
to Hawai’i. (shared a picture of satellite)
Q. What is the technical name? A. Not a satellite system. Not orbiting earth sending signals.
Expertise is in building a listening system. This dish is only a listening device built to receive
radio waves.
Q. Is this comparable to the Hierarchy Active Aurora Project? A. No We do not transmit radio
waves. Only have a passive receiving system. Not capable of transmitting. No new emmisons.
Q. Who is funding your project? A. Academica Sinica Company is Taiwan government
funded. No weaponry. Only a research institute.
Q. Will this bring other installation profit making companies? Comment> Want to keep simplicity
for generations to come. Thankful for information regarding this project received at this meeting.
(Reading of Letter from Noah)
Agreed in conversation, lots of questions and concerns answered and addressed.
Q. What is the acreage for this project? A. 2 Acres.
Q. How many Dishes? A. 10 Dishes
Q. Is this project temporary? A. It is a 5 + 5 year term. No possibility of extension.
Q. When they become inactive, what happens to equipment? A. In agreement all equipment
to be removed.
Q.What are you listening for? What are you so excited about hearing? A. Listening for rare
events across the universe. New phenomenon about 15 years ago revealed fast radio blips.
We think blips come from neutron stars, gas and magnetic fields that are light years away in a
hidden part of the universe.
Want to gather information to understand magnetic fields and find where blips are coming from.
Hawai’i has a special advantage where we can work with other telescopes across the globe at
the same time.
Q. Will Satellites move? A No. They are stationary.
Q. Create any noise? A. No.
Q. Will you be reaching out to our younger generation? A.Yes
Q. Will you employ local help? A. Yes. We already have interns from your local college.
Q. Will You be taking care of the `aina? A. Yes. We want to respect the `aina and be good
stewards with the smallest footprint. We will need to dig holes for poles 6” x 1’ deep to support
dishes.
Discussion opened regarding respecting the `aina. Suggested to share information with
surrounding families before digging in the event there may be iwi (bones) in caves or buried on
site. Response from Mr Chen, when searching for the project area, looked for an already used
ranched area so as not to disturb the `aina. Will look into alternatives to minimize any digging.
Page 3 of 3
Agree, interaction with neighbors is good so everything is open and everyone understands.
EIS was addressed in the Special Use Permit in application.
Discussion opened regarding the overall process of notification from Windward, and other
Planning Departments for all Ka’u projects. Should be announced in a better way to the
community from the Mayor's office. More information than just the inconspicuous small signs.
Discussion opened regarding Educational scientific projects hosted in local schools.
Jeff Bower welcoming suggestions. Interaction with community events. Be willing to come to
Ka’u instead of children having to go to Hilo. Offices located on the UH Hilo campus.
Closing Pule with Kupuna Jesse Ke