WAIMEA — Several weeks of logging in a small Waimea neighborhood has appeared to come to a halt after an injunction was granted by the 3rd Circuit Court and a citation was issued from the Department of Public Works.
Last month, Kamehameha Schools filed a complaint in the court requesting immediate and permanent injunctive relief against defendants Jonathan P. Spies and his companies Hamakua Renewable Enterprises, LLC, and Golden Lion Hawaii, LLC, for trespassing and the illegal harvesting of eucalyptus trees on the schools’ property in the Kapulena area.
According to the complaint, the defendants harvested more than 28 acres of eucalyptus timber at two different sites of Kamehameha Schools’ property on the Hamakua Coast.
“We are pleased that Third Circuit Court Judge Greg Nakamura approved the stipulated injunction between Kamehameha Schools and the defendants, which prohibits the defendants from continuing to trespass on KS’ property and harvesting and removing our eucalyptus trees,” stated Crystal Kua-Bikle, senior communications specialist for Kamehameha Schools. “We look forward to this matter being resolved through the courts expeditiously.”
The logging was brought to the schools’ attention by neighbors who live in the area on Mud Lane. Since the first part of May, residents say, heavy equipment has been going up and down their paved one-lane road along with loads of timber.
Judy Howard has been a resident of Mud Lane for 20 years. She wasn’t particularly aware of the logging but didn’t mind it, she said Wednesday.
“As long as someone is complying with the law and not endangering anyone I’m fine with the logging,” Howard said.
However, like many residents on Mud Lane, Howard felt the logging trucks going up and down the one-lane road was dangerous.
“They’re just too big,” Howard said. “They can’t fit on the road.”
The last time residents saw logging trucks on the road was about a week ago.
On June 15, Spies was also cited by the Department of Public Works after two inspections to the site confirmed there was no permit to work within the county right-of-way for grubbing vegetation and placing gravel material in the county right-of-way.
According to the citation, Spies’ logging operation required a construction permit. Violations include “impeding and obstructing the public; endangering persons and property.”
On Wednesday, Spies said he was not aware of a citation and had no comment.
However, earlier this month Spies said the situation was all a misunderstanding.
Spies told West Hawaii Today he had a contract with a contractor on Mud Lane and a private owner in the same area as the school. It was an accident that he cut on Kamehameha Schools’ land.
On Wednesday afternoon, the dirt section of Mud Lane was a smooth ride down to the logging site. Several logs on the Kamehameha Schools’ property were still piled up, untouched. Across the way, several eucalyptus trees had been cut down and hauled away. No active logging was going on at the time.
Howard said she’d like to see the trucks permanently banned from the road so public safety is protected.
“Nothing as big as a logging truck should ever be on that road,” she added.
Aside from logging, the upgrades to the dirt section of Mud Lane have brought the unforeseen consequence of people dumping damaged vehicles in the area.
“This is what happens when you make the roads passable,” said Mud Lane resident Frosty Yardley on Wednesday.
According to the county’s citation, Spies has 30 days to obtain a Work Within the County Right-of-Way permit. Until then, he is to stop all activity in the area.