Community leaders and concerned citizens this week welcomed a team of architects from around the country for a workshop on sustainable design ideas for Lihu‘e, with three days of work summed up in a presentation Friday evening at the Kaua‘i Veterans Center.
The Sustainable Design Assessment Team program, which aims to provide broad assessments to help frame future policies and sustainability solutions, featured presentations on five main areas — land use and smart growth, transportation and transit, housing affordability, economic development and renewable energy — in setting up a “template for Lihu‘e’s tomorrow.”
Over three days, SDAT members, working in conjunction with the American Institute of Architects and traveling to Kaua‘i from as far away as New York and Washington, D.C., spoke with community members to get up to speed on design and development issues particular to the island in general, and the Lihu‘e area, specifically from the Wailua River to the Tree Tunnel road.
Kaua‘i was selected by the AIA’s Center for Communities by Design — along with New Orleans, Detroit and several other U.S. locations — to benefit from the collaborative program, which “brings together architects and other professionals” from around the country to volunteer their time to create, facilitate and encourage creative development thinking specifically tailored to the unique needs of a community.
Diane Zachary, president and chief executive officer of the Kaua‘i Planning and Action Alliance and a member of the steering committee that helped bring the program to the county, said she was thrilled by the turnout at the meeting on Friday and by the response to the “fabulous” work of the SDAT volunteers and other event participants.
Referring to concepts espoused in the two-hour presentation, Zachary said she was impressed, adding that the presentation was a culmination of preparation leading up to the event, ideas and suggestions generated during the “Lihu‘e’s Baby Lu‘au” town hall meeting on Wednesday, and work done by roughly 70 “stakeholders” who, on Thursday, fleshed out Wednesday’s ideas and suggestions.
Zachary emphasized community involvement during the event, and mentioned the benefit of the diverse views of participants representing real estate, business and the environment, adding that “many people had a hand in it.”
She also expressed her appreciation for the support given by Kaua‘i County, the members of the KPAA and the Lihu‘e Business Association who “made it happen.”
LBA President Pat Griffin was equally appreciative of Zachary’s efforts, saying, “She and the rest of the steering committee made success inevitable.”
When asked what specific recommendations presented by the SDAT team struck a chord with her, Griffin said the goal of the event was not so much to offer specifics as it was “to provide a template for the Lihu’e (development) plan.”
The current plan was ratified back in 1977 “when sugar dominated the landscape,” Griffin said. “It’s time to take a new look.”
According to Griffin, Mayor-elect Bernard Carvalho — who, along with County Councilwoman JoAnn Yukimura, attended the meeting on Friday — has “pledged to get things moving on the (development plan) update.”
Carvalho said the information provided during the presentation was broad and that he is looking forward to more specifics in the final report, due out in early 2009.
“The overall idea is just another step to getting closer to doing good things, with sustainability at the forefront,” he said yesterday.
Heading the team of SDAT volunteers was Peter Arsenault, an architect who has participated in half a dozen similar SDAT events at cities around the country, notably Tahoe, Nev., which he compared to Kaua‘i because of its dependence on tourism, rural character and expensive homes.
Arsenault emphasized the benefit of the team operating on a no-fee basis, and the fact that, as outsiders, they can bring a fresh set of eyes to local issues of sustainability, energy and “smart” growth.
“We’re coming with no preconceived notions,” he said. “We come with background and expertise.”
Of course, those words — sustainability, smart growth, renewable energy — are easily said. But do SDAT events actually lead to real change?
According to Arsenault, they do. He specifically cited two cities, Dubuque, Iowa and Northampton, Mass., whose SDAT events not only helped generate new development plans, but whose underlying “plan before developing” philosophy continues to pollinate better, more balanced models of growth.
Arsenault said Kaua‘i is particularly well-positioned to move in that direction because of its spirit, diversity and sense of community.
“Take care of the residents and the land first, then tourism will come,” he said.
• Luke Shanahan and Michael Levine, staff writers, can be reached at 245-3681 (exts. 251 and 252) or via e-mail at lshanahan@kauaipubco.com and mlevine@kauaipubco.com
