When you drive by north Kealia, today, or tomorrow, will you be enjoying your last ocean views from the highway? The bulldozers are moving dirt again, but this time, something is different. By the time this letter appears, some of
When you drive by north Kealia, today, or tomorrow, will you be enjoying your
last ocean views from the highway? The bulldozers are moving dirt again, but
this time, something is different. By the time this letter appears, some of
those north Kealia views to the ocean will already be gone forever.
One of
the great pleasures of driving around Kaua’i is enjoying the views each curve
in the road brings us. I am not opposed to the limited, careful development of
Kealia, and of Kaua’i.
On the other hand, I AM opposed to any developer
stealing the views we all enjoy on Kaua’i in exchange for the higher land
prices that bulldozers can create by building hills to separate highway noise
from the homes of very, very few, but very affluent future owners.
Surely,
I could not be the only person on the island to object to the recent crime
perpetrated by another developer and his infamous lawyers just north of Koolau
Road. Garden Island readers know how that developer illegally bulldozed
thousands of tons of dirt, stealing almost a 1/2 mile of the Kuhio Highway’s
nicest views from Kauaians and visitors. He created that highway barrier
without a permit (I wonder why?) and cleverly paid the permit fees only after
finishing the work. A crime without penalty. We all know how much more valuable
land is that is separated from the noise of the highway…
But at what
cost to Kaua’i citizens and to all tourists who enjoy Kaua’i’s gifts while
driving around the island? Does anyone else already reminisce about that
wonderful, ‘fantasy’ view over the fields to that lone house surrounded by the
quaint grove of tall trees, and to the ocean in the distance at north Koolau
Rd? I don’t mind there being more houses; that is unavoidable.
I do mind
when one of my very favorite ocean views on Kaua’i is replaced by a mound of
dirt. When will it end? I have admired some of the improvements made in the
north Kealia area, and have commended the efforts of the developers to
accommodate the feelings of the County Council and of Kaua’ians; until now. But
when the bulldozers started grading the land next to the highway in Kealia last
week, I cringed in fear. On Aug. 23, one piece of that marvelous Kealia ocean
view disappeared behind a mound of red dirt.
On Aug. 25, an unsightly
fence went up. This kind of news usually misses the headlines. There are plenty
of beautiful panoramas to take in while driving on the Kuhio Highway. One of my
favorites was stolen from me a few months ago. Yet another is disappearing from
us all as you read this. All Kauaians oppose this, except the 20 or 30 future
homeowners of Kealia, and of course, the developer, who is laughing, at our
expense, all the way to the bank.
BILL YOUNG
Aliomanu
