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HomeMy WebLinkAboutHaina Landing Access Tawn Keeney COR-16-104244PLANNING DEPARTIMENT cm,i!1?TY n,F HAI;'41AII 2016 IIAR 14 Pill 3: 07 Duane Kanuha Hawaii County Planning Department 101 Pauahi St. Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Dear Mr. Kanuha, The attached document is being sent by myself, its author, to a number of persons in the Hamakua District who have expressed support for the proposal that is described therein. This proposal is the creation of a public park, presumably County of Hawaii supported, at the Haina Landing. Because this'Landing'ls rich in architectural remnants and rich in the history of the sugar Industry, it is proposed that this park would be a'historic park' or`heritage park'. I request that your office inform me of the availability of public right of way or public access to this site which is at the ocean entry of the Nienie gulch which is on the Walplo side of Honokaa. On the Hawaii County Tax Map this site is at two parcels: Zone 4 Section 5 Plate 2 Parcel 19 and Zone 4 Section 6 Plate 1 Parcel 6. The landing, anold'and a'new'landing, is situated on either side of the Nienle gulch ocean entry. I believe that the two properties are owned by the parent company of Hamakua Energy Partners and by Bishop Estate. I also wish to inquire about the 'Standard Oil Road', which runs diagonally from the road coming into Honokaa from the Hilo side down to the Haina sugar mill site and the lower cane haul road before the Hamakua Energy Partners power plant. I presume this to be a private road as there is a sign to that effect at the top. Could you tell me who owns this road and whether there is any public easement. I believe that it is in use as access to the several homes and private properties which are present on the coast there in addition to fuel trucks supplying the power plant. My email is < tawn(Phonokaapeople.com >. My address is Tawn Keeney, Box 248, Honokaa, Hawaii 96727. My phone is �. Thank you for your assistance. 104241. The purpose of this paper is to introduce a proposal to create a County Historic Park at Haina Landing. The following are a set of presumptions and observations which serve to illuminate the desirability of such a project. *E " .11 111 « " It is in the public interest and is universally acknowledged to place public parks in the most beautiful and most historically significant places. Haina Landing qualifies in both categories. It is, arguably of course, one of the most beautiful points on the Hamakua coastline. It has undeniable historic significance being one of the focal points of the Hamakua sugar industry, the point of embarkation. There are impressive architectural remnants present which distinguishes it from the many other points of great beauty along the coast. The residents of Haina had used it in the past, perhaps when there was easier access, as a leisure place. Now, residents of Haina will only occasionally be found at the Landing due to deteriorated access. There is no practical access to the coastline for Hamakua residents from Laupahoehoe to Waipio. It is customary that residents of towns and villages in Hawaii have public access to the beaches and coastline at an easily accessible point from their community. The rights of ownership of land should be subservient, or at least symbiotic with the communities which they encompass. Parts of the coastline below Honokaa have been and are currently being sold for private residences. Currently three of these coastal properties are for sale for residential improvement and four others have been sold, three of which have homes. There should be a public park designated here, prior to the land being all gone, with the obvious and most desirable location being Haina Landing. THE HAINA LANDING IS CURRENTLY VIRTUALLY UNUSED In the 15 to 20 times I have been there in the past 2 years only occasionally has there been anyone else there, a kayaker launching his kayak, a minstrel playing his guitar, a family on one occasion, an occasional person just enjoying the natural beauty. In spite of anchor stands for pole fishing from the cliffs I have not seen active fishing taking place. By my experience, the road has worsened in the past year. Of those persons who are familiar with Haina Landing, almost all say that it has been many years since they have been there, and no one they know goes there any more. Those who have been there more recently say that the access road down into the Nienle gulch is much deteriorated. I have a'rock climber' 4 -wheel drive but, though I am a timid driver, I find it unnerving to go to the landing with the present condition of the road. CURRENT OWNERSHIP OF HAINA LANDING IS BY HAMAKUA ENERGY PARTNERS PARENT COMPANY AND BY KAMEHAMEHA SCHOOLS Haina Landing encompasses the coastal entry of the Nienie gulch. There is a small boulder beach here. The cliff face of the Hilo side of the gulch is the 'Old Landing' with older architectural remnants. The Waipio side of the gulch slopes up to a more elevated plateau with higher cliffs. The impressive Architectural remnants here are newer on this 'New Landing', also known as 'Fire Landing' by the fishermen. There is a shelf about 15 feet below this plateau with fishing pole anchors in a number of locations. It is this shelf that the occasional fisherman might use. The Hilo side of the gulch and the 'Old Landing' is owned by Hamakua Energy Partners parent company. The Waipio side and 'Fire Landing' is owned by Kamehameha Schools/Bishop Estate and leased by cattle ranchers. THERE ARE 3 POSSIBLE AVENUES OF ACCESS Two methods of access use as their final pathway the gravel road which goes to the Landing off the Lower Cane Haul Road below the Haina Sugar Mill A -Frame structure. This gravel road passes the new wastewater treatment ponds. I believe that there is formal easement across the lands which belong to 1) Hamakua Energy Partners, 2) a new industry which has purchased the Hamakua Sugar Mill site and land below the mill for the purpose of excavating and processing the large bagasse deposits makai of the mill and 3) ranch land with the owner in California. The first method of access would be down Haina road from the Honokaa post office. A left turn at the bottom T would lead through a more residential and industrial section of Haina. This would not be a desirable access. A right turn could lead to the lower segment of the Standard Oil road. This right turn access is currently gated. The second access would be the Standard Oil Road. This runs from the highway coming into Honokaa from the Hilo side down to the Lower Cane Haul Road and Hamakua Energy Partners. It is through open pasture that is owned by Bishop Estate. This would be the most direct, and probably most desirable, route to the gravel Haina Landing access road. Hamakua Energy Partners fuel trucks use this road as do the owners of the several properties and homes on the coastline. There Is also access on the Waipio side of Nienie gulch. About 3 miles toward Walpio on the Walpio Road (1/4 mile past Walpio Wayside B&B) is a gated 2 lane paved road running diagonally toward Haina and intersects the Lower Cane Haul Road at the Nienle gulch. The Cane Haul Road would be followed toward Waipio for about a mile until a jeep trail circles back to the'Fire Landing"New Haina Landing'. This traverses ranch land which is leased from Kamehameha Schools. This road coming in from the Waipio side would lead directly to the most attractive park site, which is the more elevated and flatter and architecturally richer 'Fire Landing' or'new'landing site. Currently, all access calls for 4 wheel drive vehicles. I would propose that a park at Haina Landing should be available to paved access by 2 wheel drive vehicles. I do not currently know the ownership and easement status of the Standard Oil Road or the gravel road which winds down to the Haina Landing. VARIOUS MODELS FOR A PARK 1. Any park at this site would need to be fenced. These are sea cliffs. It is my belief that, as this is a beautiful site, an attractive fence could be designed. The fence would need to have locked gates which could allow the fishermen to access their fishing sites. 2. The current ironwood trees are attractive. 3. There Is room for several pavilions if desired 4. There should be stairs up the Waipio side slope to 'Fire Landing' from the boulder stream bed. 5. Parking area would be more plentiful if the access were on the Waipio side of the gulch but there also could be room for parking if the Hilo side access were elected. 6. Restrooms would be necessary 7. Would camping be permitted? Unknown 8. Would there be grills? Unknown 9. This park should highlight the rich sugar plantation history which is demonstrated by the architectural remnants here. 10. The model of the Hakalau Beach Park is attractive to me. There are no signs on the highway indicating the presence of a beach or park. The persons at the park seem to be almost all local residents. This Beach Park, I believe, is a joint County/Community project with some measure of the maintenance and development assumed by the community. The park's development was by a group initiative. It is my belief that this would allow a great deal of community input Into the direction of the park. THE'OPEN SPACE' OPTION It is desirable that sites like this should be preserved and should be public. Therefore transfer from the current owners to the county should be undertaken even if the County would elect to not proceed with development as a park. In this circumstance improvement in the gravel road where it drops into the gulch should be made to allow easier 4 -wheel access, thereby addressing the reason this area is no longer in use. This might solve the issue of access for the residents of Haina, many of whom might own 4 -wheel drive vehicles, and for those like myself with 4 -wheel drive. The transformation of the bid' and 'new'Haina Landings as 'open space' and access road renovation, even if remaining gravel and 4 -wheel drive would probably want to be associated with improvements in parking capability. All of these things could probably be done relatively simply. However, this approach does not serve the function of preservation and recognition of the historic importance of this site. This approach does not allow for the creation of bathroom facilities. It does not create a fence for safety issues. This would not address the issue of coastline access for most of Hamakua. There should be some site on the coastline between Laupahoehoe and Waipio which is available by 2 wheel drive vehicle to the public. And it is most reasonable that it is at closest proximity to its largest community, Honokaa. It is of little matter whether a site is owned by the public if it is not available for use by the public. WHATACTION SHOULD BE TAKEN NOW? A survey should be taken of the attitude of the residents of Haina toward this project. This is true even though the Landing is not being utilized currently to any meaningful degree by the residents of Haina and most of the possibilities of access do not go through Haina. There is no Haina Community Association. Jacob Thomas may be an excellent reference as to the history and the relevance of The Landing to the people of Haina. Investigation should be undertaken toward the attitude of the shoreline fishermen to such a proposal. Wesley Murakami will be helping come to an understanding of this. Some demonstration of support from Hamakua residents should be considered. I think this support could easily be shown. One year ago I had a booth on a First Friday celebration in Honokaa dedicated to the proposal of a park at Haina Landing. I collected about 100 signatures of support over 2 hours. The great majority of those who noticed the booth commented favorably. Many had no idea there was a Haina Landing. I disengaged from this project following that brief survey, but with confidence that Hamakua would be heavily supportive. I am reengaging now because of the scheduled presentation in early May of the first draft of the Hamakua Community Development Plan for community comment. Similarly, a booth at the well attended Hamakua Harvest Farmers Market could give a fair gauge of support. An evening program at the Honokaa People's Theatre could further illuminate this proposal. Such a program would allow the weekly inclusion of an abbreviated form of this letter to our email list of about 3000 though only about 300 to 500 open the email each week currently. Following this demonstration of support the County government offices should be Informed of the desires of the community to develop such a park at Haina Landing. At the time of presenting this demonstration to the County, this expression should also be presented to the Community Development Planners who will be presenting the first draft of the Hamakua Community Development Plan on May 5 and May 12 in Honokaa to the community for their comments and input. I would like to have this statement of community desire for this park at Haina Landing placed formally into the body of the Hamakua Community Development Plan so the effort should be culminated by that time.