The URL can be used to link to this page

Home My WebLink About2024-05-07 Kawehi & Debra Ryder S Mr. Dennis Lim, Chair �� 3y -P T Ftixto County of Hawai'ispy" 2 i vi1;07 Windward Planning Commission Aupuni Center 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3 RE Q' HAND DEL1Vt - tU Hilo, Hawai'i 96720 Subject: Letter of Support for Black Sand Beach LLC (PL-SMA-2023-000046) - Application for a Special Management Area Permit for Punalu'u, Ka'u, Hawai'i Honorable Chair Dennis Lim: As a resident of this area, I am writing this letter in strong support of Black Sand Beach, LLC's SMA Application. The limited development plan, as proposed, will create a win-win situation for the community of Punalu`u as well as all our communities throughout Ka'u and beyond. Many residents, including myself, have worked closely with the landowner to help guide the planning process. We have been very involved in helping guide the project plans to ensure that Punalu`u remains a valued resource that can be shared by all. My primary motivation for writing this letter is to explain why it is important for the Commission to understand why our community members are in support of the proposed Punalu`u Village project: • Black Sand Beach LLC is the first company in Ka`u to collaboratively create a development plan as a result of over 3 years of input with the community. • As local community advocates, we worked with the landowner to preserve all of the coastline on this property, for the benefit of local people with no new development. • Punalu`u Village will introduce only 225 residential and short-stay units, all of which are far from the coastline. • The 225 units represent less than 8% of the 2,900 units proposed in 1988, and less than 13%of the 1,800 units proposed in 2006. • Black Sand Beach LLC plans to permanently open the entire coastline to the community and create a coastline management area to protect the natural resources, marine life habitats, and gathering &fishing rights for the community, and to preserve the beauty of the Punalu`u coastline in perpetuity. This is something that no prior owner of these lands has ever offered. • An Open Market is being proposed as part of a community co-prosperity plan to assist local small and medium enterprises, not just one family or individual that we, the local w community, requested. Z °� It is important for the Commission to understand that Punalu`u is currently an active, living community, not an empty piece of land. The outdated infrastructure in Punalu`u needs upgrading and maintenance. If Black Sand Beach LLC abandons its plan to revitalize this area, U who will provide services and funding support for the existing 100 water and sewer users? Where will the County's Punalu`u Black Sand Beach Park get its water? Punalu`u has on-going 1 needs to function that goes beyond water and sewage, which includes fire protection services, beach maintenance, and upkeep of its roads and property. Some opponents at the March 7 SMA public hearing and the petition for a contested case proceeding filed by Colony One cited old infrastructure as a reason to oppose the project. We find this contradictory. Since Black Sand Beach LLC acquired the project site four years ago, it has spent over $600,000 just to maintain the water and sewer system. If the revitalization plan is denied, who will continue to provide services and manage these lands that are enjoyed by so many? Since the departure of the sugar plantation company, many young people in Ka' have left due to a lack of job opportunities, and the local population has been decreasing. Punalu`u is the only project that can create good local job opportunities, both by the project itself and the independent businesses that can rise up to support the project. We hope that our children can stay and work here. We don't want parents to have to drive 3-4 hours on daily roundtrips to Hilo and Kona for work, losing precious time with their families and children. We wish to celebrate weddings, birthdays, or graduation ceremonies within our community instead of traveling to Hilo and Kona. We hope that even if people from Ka'u decide to leave, when they return to Ka`u, there will be a place for them to gather and live. We need this small limited Punalu`u development. We need a landowner like Black Sands Beach LLC who we can work with and someone who will be an important part of our community. If we lose this landowner, we don't know if Punalu`u will have anyone willing to take care of this community resource, or if the Ka'u community will have any other chance to improve its employment opportunities and quality of life. Meanwhile, we have the answers to many of questions asked by the community: • Q: The proposed development will not protect the turtles and the coastline. • A: The landowner wholeheartedly agrees to work with the community on the joint management of the coastline and protection of turtles and other important coastal resources. There will not be any development along our precious coastline. • Q: Punalu`u is a culturally and historically significant area. • A: The landowner agrees that Punalu`u is a sacred place with cultural and historical significance, many of which have been mapped for protection, and will work with the local Kupuna of Punalu`u and the broader community to determine the appropriate way to continue and maintain protection of these local sites. A Cultural Impact Assessment and Archaeological Inventory Survey has already been completed that will be a valuable resource guide for this effort. • Q: What has been done to the deteriorating conditions of the property over the past 30 years, posing numerous safety hazards? • A: Our local community has asked the landowner plans to renovate the former Punalu`u Restaurant area into a community activity center, open fully to the community as a cultural and information center. Unfortunately, the landowner inherited a property nearly four years ago, that was deteriorated from decades of neglect. The buildings and the landscaping require constant work to control the evasive growth and weathering. They are working to manage the ill effects of decades of neglect and lack of effective onsite management. Trash had been improperly dumped throughout the property and 2 on some coastal areas. Vehicles park on the black sand beach, creating a hazard for beachgoers and upsetting the natural beach conditions. These problems require constant care and maintenance. Doing nothing is not an option. In summary, we ask the Commission to understand how important this project will be for the local Punalu'u community. The long-neglected coastline and marine wildlife and habitats will be protected. The increasingly deteriorating former Punalu`u restaurant area, a cultural and historical landmark, will be restored as a community activity and information center. It will increase employment opportunities and improve our community. A plan is being developed to allow the Kupuna to share and pass on the culture and spirit of Ka`0 to future generations. We ask the Planning Commission to listen to the true voice of the community. The so-called global voices convened through social media are obstacles created for personal interests. Listening to these voices and making decisions based on them would be unfair to our local Punalu'u community residents. This is our home, we know how to care for it, and we know what plans will bring hope and a future to our community. Mahalo Nui Loa )44-ett 202,It A � 4at 44_ )_ �t(I�-), 6„<!.. ` IJP../� � ,,,,4,... ^.._ , L,..,,,....,,__, RcL � i I Li Id V7akt\ `}yam }�� ) t y/�' j I . . if 4__ ,- , ,_,,, „._ t`pfe----' A/I-I-IL- c-&-i-ki 6 (14 ri1 0,1\c4 k --tio, ,ri ii...-N_Ac-rt kAia- (2...F. c f ., f tct--A- ica t'D-fr\- &Tr .\, ._fr.7.-- f -49,-Fg_Q_. g__-- 0A--4- 1 41 1 9S- 4ckki vi,s..... tetivt- ue.A.sa..),‘„( 1 L 12 /, --,-+..„ , ill ) 6-...L..,,.._ ...- cds-t_ — .K tu. 1. 'oqc,.. - tk?-te-vv- — ?-k, t e--- 4d.k.i, ___ '-redlivi, / . 1 1ri YNcs E„..._1-1.--„AA,21._ Ve j , 1 I (ell Q-- $ .4-,.._ ft.f,A -7 rekct, eytf,:-1--- ,..- Ill, ( 1-LIt446, 0.-- C lt-c i0 t iJL1 1.1 _ i [ ,.. e.(2.__ KS2_ tr 0..._ fuuilApAAA.Ak 0-u-(4-ai)-et-I W ( i „,. i 0-vL-t+txhAL \P)1( Q-- • 1 , '-' Pt 0,f-11,e.- aeTv" . 4- -1-2444, u..\ __Ik, c 4,19r. /dgatt:--L - „,„a,u:\42_ ,f7 Q____ . i ' °Lk\ ALX44 A, �Q_ w , iro-ctiv ` iron- Ag..., b 041 ortL, t..N.A4 , I stAlAv ,,ii_i NI 0 5 — A e.A.!if q i--0L,,i/ .. .74.- 61 1--1 i to-- tv , 60--vjc:_11.4 ri'v pif \h',.ti i I s ;'Ia.-►fcL d L .V c Dear Members of the Windward Planning Commissions:,, -ta-L- ( 0..4)74/04ki As a resident of this area, I am writing this letter in, 'support'of Black Sand Beach, LLC's SMA Application (PL-SMA-2003-000046). The development plan, as proposed, will create a win-win situation for the community of Punalu`u as well as all our communities throughout Ka`u and beyond. A number of residents, including myself, have worked closely with the landowner and in our experience, this is the opportunity to ensure that Punalu'u remains a valued resource that can be shared by all. Our primary motivation for writing this letter is to explain why it is important for the Commission to understand why our community members are in support of the proposed Punalu`u Village Project. We would appreciate your favorable support on this SMA Application. First Name: 011„--dz_ 'Kt Li-- Last Name: From (Circle Area): Na'alehu/ Pahala/ Punalu'u/ •th. r: Q ( , 7., mi Email or Phone: Q-'1° v�,ci.i!�c��' CSL i,� - 0q 9 311- yak , " , 3E --5 (2 fcct.L.;(44_,` L Signature: Date: 7A, { &-(.2--4i p.,-sM /4_ - "z- QQpcL1c,,