A new Kaua’i County law, if enacted, could allow the county to take private land if Native Hawaiian sacred sites are present. The County Council sent draft bill 1968 to the county’s Planning Department and Planning Commission for comments. An
A new Kaua’i County law, if enacted, could allow the county to take private land if Native Hawaiian sacred sites are present.
The County Council sent draft bill 1968 to the county’s Planning Department and Planning Commission for comments. An amended version was unanimously approved by the commission Tuesday. That sends the proposal back to the council for further consideration.
Changes approved by the commission call for culturally sensitive lands to be deeded to the county, which would then assign appropriate agencies or organizations to maintain and provide access to the sites, if appropriate.
But Planning Department director Dee Crowell said the council, which hasn’t had any public hearings on the bill, will likely further “massage” the proposed legislation.
Ostensibly a bill to mandate dedication of public access ways when land is subdivided, the proposed legislation would amend the county’s subdivision ordinance by requiring dedication of public access for all subdivision applications.
The current Comprehensive Zoning Ordinance (CZO) allows the Planning Department to impose public access as conditions of subdivision or permit approval, but the proposed legislation would mandate such conditions.
While some of the discussion at yesterday’s commission meeting focused on public access for all subdivision applications, much of the public testimony was on preventing Native Hawaiian sacred sites from falling into private ownership.
It was LaFrance Kapaka-Arboleda’s suggestion to cut historic sites out of for-sale parcels and hand them over to a public land trust for ownership, stewardship and access purposes.
Bruce Pleas also expressed concern for preservation of historic sites.
Kapaka-Arboleda told of a man who purchased property in the Kilauea area containing a heiau that Crowell said was once used for human sacrifices. The owner is having difficulty building a home on the land while abiding by restrictions placed by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ State Historic Preservation Division.
The plan isn’t working for the landowner because of the restrictions, and it doesn’t work for Native Hawaiians because it allows sacred lands in private hands, Kapaka-Arboleda said.
It’s no different than the private ownership of Menehune Fishpond (Alekoko Fishpond) along the Hule’ia River, she said. In private ownership of the fishpond, there is no public access to the historic site, which is suffering from lack of maintenance, she claimed.
Cheryl Lovell-Obatake said Kanaka Maoli should maintain the sacred sites, and that those selling Kaua’i property should let potential buyers know of any areas of cultural significance.
Speaking about the potential added costs inevitably passed onto buyers of property should every subdivision application require public access, commission member Jay Furfaro said such a mandate could price some first-time and lower-income Kauaians out of the market.
“This could backfire,” said Furfaro.
He added that if the commission already has the authority to approve permits with conditions mandating public access, the new legislation seems redundant.
In other business, the commission:
- Unanimously approved permits for VoiceStream Wireless to place cellular communications antennas on an existing water tank in Kapa’a.
- Deferred for at least 90 days a decision on permits necessary for the Robinson family and a private developer to build a 250-cottage resort on land near Waimea.
Applicant Destination Villages Kaua’i LLC, through attorney Michael Belles, requested the deferral in order to allow the developers time to review the Planning Department’s 29-page report on the project.
Staff Writer Paul C. Curtis can be reached at mailto:pcurtis@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 224).
