Loading...
HomeMy WebLinkAbout2011-02-14 Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Commission MinutesHAWAII COUNTY PUBLIC ACCESS, OPEN SPACE AND NATURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION COMMISSION MINUTES - REGULAR SESSION February 14, 2011 Department of Liquor Control Conference Room 75 -5722 Hanama Place, Suite 1107 Kailua -Kona, Hawaii 96740 Present: Chair Sarah Moon Vice -Chair Terri Markovich Commissioner E. Kalani Flores Commissioner Bill Gilmartin (arrived at 10:17 a.m.) Commissioner Searle Grace Commissioner Steven Hirakami Commissioner Wilma Matsumura Commissioner Hannah Springer Absent: Commissioner E. Kalani Flores Amy Self, Deputy Corporation Counsel Others Present: Ken Van Bergen, Property Manager, Finance Alexandra Kelepolo, Clerk III, Finance CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order by Chair Sarah Moon at 10:04 a.m. STATEMENTS FROM THE PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS NIELS CHRISTENSEN Mr. Niels Christensen provided a handout to the Commission along with a petition containing over 2,000 signatures supporting a public trail /access to the Papa`ikou Mill beach. Mr. Christensen spoke on behalf of Global H.O.P.E. which is a community based club located at the University of Hawaii. He talked about the numerous community support for a permanent access to this beach and is hoping that the Commission will be able to support and /or assist them moving forward. He stated that this trail has been in existence prior to the Highways Act of 1892 and has always been open to the public. However in 2004, the new owners of the land that the trail passes through put up a fence, gate and wall and have since maintained the trail as private. Since then there are various restrictions to the public for use of the trail and beach area and the gate is not always open. There have been arrests made for various reasons and it seems that the beach area has restrictions also. He is asking the Commission to acquire an easement over the path to the beach which is approximately 0.500 acre of which the community group in the area is more than willing to help raise the money for. -1- He added that they looked at various options and have done a lot of research with the State and various offices and has already approached Na Ala Hele to see if the State can document that the trail existed prior to the Highways Act of 1892. If so, the State may claim the trail through court action. The problem with this is that an abstract needs to be done which may take years to complete and time is of the essence. In addition, another option would be to establish the trail an easement by prescription. In order to do this the trail would have to be used by the public freely with no closures for a period of 20 years and since it was used un- interrupted until 2004 it may be possible through adverse possession. Further, the case of Public Access Shoreline Hawaii (PASH) v. the Hawaii County Planning Department laid out the guidelines for native Hawaiian gathering rights. However; with all these options, it would take a considerable amount of time to litigate and the legal fees would be costly. Mr. Hirakami asked if the owners are willing to sell. Mr. Christensen replied most likely no and stated that he wants the County to condemn this easement. Ms. Springer stated that the Commission does not have the authority to recommend condemnation and urged him to contact Council Member Yagong to pursue that route. Mr. Van Bergen added that they really need to find out what the owner's stance is for the property. There's nothing the County can do if the owner is not willing to sell. He recommended that they have an appraisal done to determine the value. Mr. Hirakami asked if there is any way that there could be an alternate route so the landowners could keep their trail private. Mr. Christensen replied that there are many steep cliffs and this is really the only practical way to access the beach. Mr. Gilmartin asked if the PASH decision for native Hawaiian gathering rights was for unlimited access. Ms. Springer replied that the decision granted PASH standing in a Special Management Use Permit area and talks about rights but doesn't generate anything new it just re- affirms what is already in the Constitution. Ms. Springer told Mr. Christensen to contact E Mau Na Ala Hele, a non - profit organization that may be able to help since PASH will kick in only if there is a pending investigation by the State or County. She also suggested that they look into the boundary commission testimonies for that ahupua'a from the 1800's which may help substantiate their claims under the Highways Act of 1892. Ms. Markovich added that he also contact `OLAPA (Open Lands and Public Access Alliance), which is another group that may be able to help them. Ms. Moon thanked Mr. Christensen for his time and advised him to submit a suggestion form for this property. -2- BOB WARD Mr. Bob Ward introduced himself as the co -chair for the Kona Community Development Plan (CDP) sub - committee. He is offering suggestions for development of an open space network plan and whenever possible, a coordinated approach to address the needs of the community. He noted that we should look for opportunities to use as leverage or as a component, the resources available through Article 42 to help establish that plan which meets the specific goals of both the Commission and the CDP. Also, seek additional resources to expand the 2% fund rather than just relying on real property tax revenues and possibly allocating a portion or percentage of the fund in a particular district for open space needs. Ms. Springer asked for whom and which plan are you talking about. Mr. Ward replied the "open space network plan" which is structured under the Kona CDP. The goal is to have a unified plan put into place that identifies specific areas. Ms. Springer told Mr. Ward that the Commission only makes recommendations to the County for acquisition and it would be helpful if their group could focus on the maintenance aspect. Ms. Springer asked Mr. Van Bergen if members of the community may fundraise for the acquisition of property to maximize the funds. Mr. Van Bergen replied that he's not sure if it can be done but needs to check if the rules allow it. Mr. Ward added that he sees properties move up and down the list for various reasons i.e. change in ownership, structures in rating or greater community influence but the real need for the parcel hasn't changed. There needs to be some continuity from a practical approach so that certain elements may be warrant and a highly desired parcel can still be perpetuated on an on -going list. Ms. Markovich stated that the Planning Commission is a big part of the CDP and they need to monitor this plan through the years and make assessments as changes happen. Mr. Ward replied that the CDP is an evolving process however; it does take time to make those changes. Mr. Van Bergen commented that starting this year properties will only be prioritized once so you will no longer see properties go up and down in ranking. In addition, a status and history of all properties from past prioritized lists is included which will be updated each year. Since the list is submitted to the Mayor who makes his recommendations to Council you should direct some of these goals to Council Members Pilago and Ford for their comments. Mr. Ward noted that there is still not a formal open space plan for North and South Kona since resources are very limited they need to look at available grants for funding. Ms. Moon thanked Mr. Ward for coming forward to the Commission and told him that if he has any properties in mind that he submit a suggestion form for consideration. -3- APPROVAL OF MINUTES Ms. Moon asked if there are any corrections or additions to the minutes. Ms. Kelepolo noted that the paragraph under approval of minutes needs to be removed as it was there in error. Motion: Commissioner Springer moved for the approval of the minutes of December 13, 2010; seconded by Vice -Chair Markovich. Mr. Van Bergen added that under the Department of Finance Report parcel "22" needs to be added and "two" needs to be changed to "three" for the Kingman Trust properties. Ms. Moon asked if there was any further discussion or corrections. The motion was re- stated; all members voted aye, motion carried. DEPARTMENT OF FINANCE REPORT Mr. Van Bergen reported that we are still working with the owner of Kawa and his legal advisors to address the issues, and get the title report in a status so that it will be acceptable to the State, Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR). In regards to the Kingman properties we are working on the acquisition as the owner has agreed to keep some of the money in escrow to demolish the old houses that are on the property before turning it over to the County. Ms. Markovich asked how many parcels are included for Kaiholena. Mr. Van Bergen replied that there are six parcels along with two parcels for access. The County already purchased the north parcels (11, 19, 20, 24) and we are now working on acquiring the south parcels (21, 22, 23, 25). We initially asked DLNR, Legacy Land Conservation Program for 5.1 million but amended our request to 1.65 million for only parcels 21, 22 & 25 since the LLCP is only allocated a limited amount each year. We will need to seek additional funding sources for parcel 23. Ms. Kelepolo handed out an "Acquisition Status Report" to the commissioners for review. Ms. Springer suggested that we put it on the Commissions' web -site for additional information to the public. CHAIRPERSON'S REPORT Ms. Moon thanked everyone for their support of her as Chair and thanked all past chairs for their hard work and effort that has gone into the Commission. She asked that if anyone has ideas or questions please feel free to share at any time. Ms. Moon asked Mr. Van Bergen and Ms. Kelepolo on whether the agenda item for the County's efforts to minimize paper would be discussed. Mr. Van Bergen noted that we are still working on that as we have already made some efforts to reduce paper and need to discuss further with the Information Technology Department. This item will be addressed at a later meeting. UNFINISHED BUSINESS • Discuss procedures on how to respond to communications /requests sent to the Commission Ms. Moon asked if anyone had any suggestions or comments for this item. (the commissioners went into discussion) The commissioners concluded that Mr. Van Bergen will have an e -mail account set -up on the Commissions' web -site so that the public can submit suggestion forms and /or communications on -line and in electronic form. Once set -up all information will go directly to the County and in turn forwarded electronically to all commissioners. This should stream -line the process by promoting efficiency and reducing paper at the same time. Motion: Commissioner Hirakami moved that we set up an account on the web -site titled: openspacekco.hawaii.hi.us; seconded by Vice -Chair Markovich; all members voted aye, motion carried. NEW BUSINESS • Discuss scheduling of 2011 public regional meetings Ms. Moon noted that they need to schedule public meetings and added that she would like to have one held in the Hilo area. She asked the commissioners if they could attend the CDP meetings that are in their respective district. (the commissioners went into discussion) Ms. Markovich agreed to coordinate with staff to attend the Hamakua CDP meeting. Ms. Moon asked each commissioner to find out when the CDP meetings are held in their district and to coordinate with staff to be put on the agenda. Recess: 11:50 a.m. Reconvened: 11:58 a.m. • Schedule priorities for 2011 meetings and activities Ms. Moon noted that they should have the public meetings at the CDP's in March and April. She summarized that the schedule for this year will be: June ➢ review suggestion forms August ➢ finish reviewing suggestion forms ➢ start the annual report by assigning segments to the commissioners - 5 - October ➢ review draft of the annual report November ➢ leave this month open if an extra meeting is needed to work on the annual report December ➢ finalize the annual report Ms. Moon mentioned now that procedures are in place and less submittals are coming in it's easier to focus on other areas. Ms. Matsumura asked if the Commission is going to send out a public service announcement (PSA). Mr. Gilmartin added that it would be good to also include the PSA in the local newspapers in the various districts. Ms. Kelepolo will find out when the CDP meetings are held and contact each commissioner when the dates have been confirmed. • Discuss and draft press release for the solicitation of suggestion forms (the commissioners went into discussion) Ms. Moon asked Ms. Kelepolo to contact the public relations person in the Mayor's office to submit the PSA to the radio stations and newspapers. ADJOURNMENT Motion: Vice -Chair Markovich moved to adjourn the meeting. Seconded by Commissioner Springer; all members voted aye, motion carried. Chair Moon adjourned the meeting at 12:29 p.m. Respectfully submitted, Alexandra Kelepolo, Clerk III