Kaʻū News Briefs Oct. 16, 2024

 Kaʻū Community Development Plan Action Committee voted on Wednesday to send its research to the Windward Planning Commission to consider CDP compliance by the Punalu'u development proposal for a Special Management Area permit. The package to the Planning Commission will also include the response from the developer and all public testimony.
  Photo by Michelle Chacron

PUNALU'U DEVELOPMENT WAS THE MAIN TOPIC OF KAʻŪ COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ACTION COMMITTEE on Wednesday. The group met in Nāʻālehu and voted to send a letter, testimony and other documents to the Windward Planning Commission regarding the rehabilitation and expansion of the resort with accommodations and other development. The developers are seeking a Special Management Area permit designed to protect the shoreline. Its approval is in the hands of Windward Planning Commission and is needed for the project to move forward.

    Action Committee members said that most of the project proposed in the SMA permit application is in compliance with the Kaʻū CDP, which identifies Punalu'u as a resort area. Several members stated they are neither for or against the resort. However, the Action Committee said there are some policies that need work in order to align with the CDP. 

    One is a shoreline study that determines setbacks from development; the last study was in the 1980s. Another is preparing a new Environmental Impact Statement since the one on hand is also many decades old. Another is a CDP policy for developers to provide affordable housing in their project plan. The group also pointed to a policy to prevent the disruption of the view from Hwy 11 to the ocean.

Kaʻū Action Committee members, the public and testifiers
at Wednesday's meeting. Photo from Zoom

     Punalu'u Black Sand Beach, LLC consultant Daryn Arai stressed that the infrastructure at Punalu'u is 50 years old and needs some kind of economic engine to fund its repair. He noted that the proposal for some 230 units of resort development is tiny compared to more than 2,000 units in the past. He contended that the  proposed development, which also has commercial businesses, is the minimum number of units that could fund the repair and upkeep of the water and sewer systems on the property.

    Former County Council member Guy Enriques who grew up at Punalu'u and lives at Punalu'u mauka submitted testimony and urged the Action Committee recommend that the Planning Commission not only follow the CDP but also consider overwhelming opposition to the project at protests and two days of public hearings before the Windward Planning Commission.

     Later in the meeting the Action Committee Vice Chair Hanoa said he listens to the kupuna of the area for direction on Punalu'u and wouldn't be swayed by hundreds or a thousand protesters. He also called non-profits that have preserved and steward land along the coast in Kaʻū the worst thing that has happened, contending they are keeping locals from freely going to the shore except by reservation. He also pointed to jobs that would be created by the resort.

    Most testifiers at the meeting opposed the development, stating that it would change the way of life in Kaʻū, overcrowd the place and damage wildlife and natural resources. A few brought up Hawaiian Kingdom issues and said there are problems with the title to the property.

     See pro and con testimony submitted to the Action Committee in its website records at https://records.hawaiicounty.gov/Weblink/1/fol/88959/Row1.aspx Watch the meetings at the County of Hawai'i's Planning Department Youtube channel at https://www.youtube.com/channel/UCAFoRMb3rfWLQMPd6TAkEGA.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See upcoming events, print edition and archive at kaunews.com.

HAWAI'I RANKS 15TH IN THE COUNTRY IN POLITICAL ENGAGEMENT, according to a WalletHub study released Wednesday. Top states with the politically engaged are Maryland, Virginia, New Jersey, Oregon, Washington and Montana. The least engaged are Arkansas, Alabama, West Virginia, Oklahoma, Indiana and South Carolina. The Hawai'i study shows that about 44 percent of people 18 to 24 years of age are politically engaged. Those 65 and over are 66.6 percent engaged. By contrast in New Jersey, Wallet Hub reports that 75.3 percent of younger people are engaged politically and 82.6 percent of those over 65 are politically engaged.

Red Flag Warning for wildfires came with
high winds on Wednesday.

    One WalletHub Advisor said, "The strength of the civil society in each state also varies; some states have a variety of nonstate advocacy and interest groups devoted to civic and political engagement, while other states may only have a few."

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See upcoming events, print edition and archive at kaunews.com.

DON'T FORGET THE RISK TO PUBLIC DRINKING WATER SYSTEMS WHEN IT COMES TO RED FLAG WARNINGS FOR WILDFIRES. Should Hawaiian Electric shut down an electric grid because of fire risk, through its Public Safety Power Shutoff program, water pumps that depend on the electric company can stop working in some places.
    The Department of Water Supply (DWS) relies on HECO power to operate wells and booster pumps to distribute water to its customers. The understanding is that a PSPS power outage may last hours to days, depending on weather conditions, location and extent of damage.
    DWS uses backup generators at a limited number of well sites, but these emergency generators cannot fully replicate HECO’s power grid. An extended power outage could diminish or deplete portions of DWS’ water systems and leave customers with low pressure or no water. In order to prevent or delay this scenario from occurring, DWS will likely need to restrict, or ration potable water for fire protection, drinking, cooking, and personal hygiene purposes only.
    Car washing, irrigation, and non-essential uses of water should be suspended until all power and water systems have been returned to normal conditions.
DWS strongly urges its customers and those who depend on a continuous supply of DWS water to review their personal situations and prepare accordingly. Customers should have alternate sources of potable water and enough supply to meet their essential needs during a prolonged power outage that disrupts DWS service.
    Ways to safely store drinking water are listed in the Water Emergency Preparedness guide available under the “Community” drop-down menu option on the Department’s website, www.hawaiidws.org. Future water messages regarding this Red Flag Warning and its potential impact on DWS water customers will be issued by either DWS or the Hawai‘i County Civil Defense Agency.

    See more on Department of Water Supply at https://www.hawaiidws.org/  
    To reach DWS, call (808) 961-8050 during normal business hours, (808) 961-8790 for after-hour emergencies, or email: dws@hawaiidws.org.

ARBOR DAY FREE GIVEAWAYS WILL BE AT OCEAN VIEW Swap Meet on Saturday, Nov. 2 beginning at 7 a.m. The Swap Meet is on the makai side of Hwy 11 near Malama Market.

To read comments, add your own, and like this story, see facebook.com/kaucalendar. See upcoming events, print edition and archive at kaunews.com.

5,000 in the mail, 2,500 on the street.