The Kaua’i County Council today will take up two development proposals that have garnered nearly unanimous support from residents and Kaua’i businesses. At its 1 p.m. meeting at the Historic County Building, the Council will vote on Grove Farm Co.’s
The Kaua’i County Council today will take up two development proposals that have garnered nearly unanimous support from residents and Kaua’i businesses.
At its 1 p.m. meeting at the Historic County Building, the Council will vote on Grove Farm Co.’s zoning amendments for lands in Puhi and Lihu’e, supported by businesses, and First Assembly of God King’s Cathedral proposal for the development of a church and other facilities on 14 acres in Hanama’ulu town.
At a recent Council hearing, a handful of residents urged the Council to support the church project.
Grove Farm Co. is seeking county permits to:
– Reconfigure and expand the Puakea Golf Course near the Kukui Grove Shopping Center, with no golf holes going past Pu’ali Stream, thereby avoiding environmental issues and possibly delaying the work.
The reconfigured golf course will result in the development of 104 fewer residential units, although Grove Farm Lands has other lands available for future residential development.
– Establish commercial use for 12 acres by Nawiliwili Road on which sits a one-time plantation manager’s home. The home was severely damaged by Hurricane ‘Iniki in 1992, and requires repairs, Grove Farm says.
– Build a roadway near the alignment of Kaneka Road from Puhi Road to Nohou Street. The new road would connect with Nawiliwili Road near the Kukui Grove Shopping Center and help alleviate traffic congestion on Kaumuali’i Highway and Nawiliwili Road.
– Install a signal light at the intersection of Nohou Street and Nawiliwili Road.
Due to lack of funds, Grove Farm has put off projects like these, but the company says it can now move forward on them because Steve Case of AOL-Time Warner can provide sustained funding. Case owns 40,000 acres in Puhi, Lihu’e and parts of Koloa.
In other action, the Council is poised to delete a zoning condition for the land on which First Assembly wants to develop a multi-purpose building, a school, a sanctuary, recreational facility and a park for youth.
Related to the deletion of the zoning condition, lawmakers in 1989 rezoned the 14 acres from agricultural to industrial use, but said the zoning would revert to agricultural use if the land was sold and used for resort purposes.
The condition was imposed because of public concerns the land could be used for resort uses in an area dominated by homes.
The land was never sold to a resort developer and remained in cane cultivation before it was bought by the church.
First Assembly, which has headquarters in Maui, currently holds services in a building at the Eleele Shopping Center and at Kaua’i Lagoons.
The new structure, if allowed to be built, would provide First Assembly with a permanent church site on the island.
In other matters, Council Chairman Ron Kouchi will ask the Council to approve a resolution requesting the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service to reconsider proposed critical habitat designations for 99,206 acres on Kaua’i and Ni’ihau.
The federal agency’s proposal is intended to protect endangered plants and to help with their recovery.
In proposing the resolution on behalf of the Council, Kouchi said he wants suspension of the federal agency’s proposal until scientific research and economic analysis are funded and presented to the public for further comment.
The Council also will consider:
– A request from Kouchi for the Council to consider a resolution supporting intervention in an application by Citizens Communications Company and the Kaua’i Island Utility Co-Op before the Hawai’i Public Utilities Commission for approval of the sale of Kauai Electric.
-A communication from County Engineer Cesar Portugal requesting the Council receive and approve use of a $50,000 grant from the National Youth Sports Program for a summer youth program.
The program would benefit disadvantaged youths from ten to 16 years of age, according to Bernard Carvalho of the Parks and Recreational Division.
Carvalho said the nationwide program is initiated through the National Collegiate Athletic Association. Kaua’i County is the only county in Hawai’i to have applied for it and plans to carry out the program for a second year.
The county has formed a partnership with Kaua’i Community College, Alu Like, state Department of Education, state Department of Health, Queen Lili’uokalani Children’s Center and others for the project. To make the program fly, the partners have offered “in-kind services,” Carvalho said.
A major thrust of the program is to introduce youths to the college setting, Carvalho said. Youths will meet at the Kaua’i Community College Monday, Wednesday and Friday for classroom discussions on drug prevention, health, nutrition and career development, Carvalho said.
Sporting events like swimming, flag football, basketball and volleyball will be offered at Kaua’i High School, Vidinha Stadium and county parks on Tuesday and Thursday.
Kaua’i County busses also will transport the youths from the Kilauea and Kekaha neighborhood centers to program sites and bring them back to the centers at day’s end, Carvalho said.
– A request from Councilman Gary Hooser for a resolution urging the Legislature to provide videoconferencing technology to allow neighbor island residents to testify live at public hearings.
– A communication from Mayor Maryanne Kusaka asking the Council to confirm her appointment of Carol E. Suzawa to the Kaua’i County Liquor Control Commission, of Michael B. Cockett to the Kaua’i County Planning Commission (environmentalist slot) and of her re-appointment of Robert Kaden, a battalion chief with county Fire Department, to the planning commission.
