I am writing this letter to express my dismay that the County of Hawaii’s process for the Kukuihaele Park “improvements” is creating divisiveness among the people in the village. The county’s refusal to allow even a couple of months to
I am writing this letter to express my dismay that the County of Hawaii’s process for the Kukuihaele Park “improvements” is creating divisiveness among the people in the village. The county’s refusal to allow even a couple of months to let the residents come up with a plan we all can live with is a disgrace. Many longtime residents I have spoken to are not bothering to speak up because they believe it’s a done deal. It is not pono that longtime residents feel so shut out of the process.
In addition, there are serious environmental and safety concerns that have not been properly addressed such as traffic, water and fire protection.
The county has just sent out very confusing modifications to the plan “based on community feedback” and while it did include requested provisions for a playground “in the future,” it did not go the length that the community wanted to change the plan and actually fund the completion of a playground. The new design plan does little to fully address the suggestions of community members or allow us more time to deal with the environmental and aesthetic issues that are so important to our community. In fact, the modifications only included one part of the park and new meetings are now warranted to help explain it to non-engineers.
The ball park and fencing plan have been among the biggest issues of contention. A ball park certainly would only be serving people well outside the Kukuihaele community and cause a lot of increased traffic in our small village that already has many traffic hazards.
An 18-foot high backstop, dugouts, and bleachers right smack in the middle and a fence surrounding what is now an open space park with wide open vistas violates the following goals of the Hawaii County General Plan: “Natural beauty” 7.2 Goals (a) Protect, preserve and enhance the quality of areas endowed with natural beauty, including the quality of coastal scenic resources. (b) Protect scenic vistas and view planes from becoming obstructed and 7.3 Policies (h) Protect the views of areas endowed with natural beauty by carefully considering the effects of proposed construction during all land use reviews. (i) Do not allow incompatible construction in areas of natural beauty.
Kukuihaele Park is one of the last, if not the last open space area on the Hamakua coast with a beautiful view of the ocean.
Alternate orientations of the ball park and using landscaping instead of fencing would address neighbors concerns and leave open the middle of the park for large family and community parties that have become the norm in Kukuihaele, not obstruct the view and not violate the Hawaii County General Plan.
Another issue is that traffic will increase due to Waipio visitors and users of the ball park for games and practices. Traffic is already a problem due to the speeding, and visitors continue to increase. It is already very hazardous to get out of a number of driveways that do not have good visual access to the road. The county disregarded traffic concerns and yet has an option to even widen the road, which would completely ruin the nature of Kukuihaele village. Although the environmental assessment (EA) notes there will be an increase in traffic along the road (already in poor condition) and stated at least two different sources of this increase but yet, disregarded it as “significant.” I beg to differ with this faulty logic especially based on the amount of traffic increase we have seen in the last two years and neighbors who have put up signs urging people to slow down. The EA also suggested using Mud Lane as an access point to the park and this has yet to have any significant discussion as an option to alleviate traffic issues that will arise.
Lastly and perhaps most importantly, the county’s environmental assessment states there is not enough water for the proposed improvements and they would have to siphon water off from another pipe running under Kukuihaele road. The county was supposed to be coordinating with the Hawaii Fire Department to determine how to address fire protection requirements in the context of the existing municipal water system.
It is a serious mistake to proceed without getting a final plan to address the fire protection requirements. What impact will it have as more and more tourists and ball game attendees use the park bathrooms on the ability to have enough water for fires, home use or agriculture in the future? Kukuihaele has had a long standing water issue that has prevented excessive development here but yet, even though the EA is clearly stating there is not enough water and they need a plan for fire protection, the county saw fit to never even mention this issue with the residents!
Residents are being railroaded into a plan that is unacceptable to many, dividing the community due to the timeline imposed by the county, violating the Hawaii County General Plan goals, and the county is using up natural resources without a sufficient plan to address water and fire danger. I believe an investigation is warranted.
Jeanne Teleia is a resident of Honokaa.
My Turn opinions are those of the writer and not West Hawaii Today
