Koloa Camp remnants

KOLOA — A year after the last Koloa Camp residents were evicted, a mess remains.

Trash is accumulating at Waihohonu Stream, feral cats roam the property and unchecked landscape grows wild amid abandoned gardens and fruit trees, according to some area residents.

“Right before they started kicking everybody out, more and more stuff was coming in here,” said Koloa resident Kathryn Ledesma.

Coolers, lumber, plastic bottles, paint buckets, a propane tank and even a picnic table form an unnatural dam at Waihohonu Stream, just south of Koloa Camp, has accumulated in the area.

“It’s never been like this, there’s never been any junk in (the stream), the water flowed pretty good,” said Ledesma, who has lived in the same house near Waihohonu Stream for seven years.

She said she called Grove Farm Company, owner of Koloa Camp, about 10 times, and talked to a representative three times. Nothing has happened, she said.

Grove Farm Vice President Marissa Sandblom said the issue with trash in the stream that runs along the back of the 12-acre property is “complicated.”

“Waihohonu Stream crosses across a number of TMKs (tax map keys) and there are different landowners involved along the course of it,” she said. “One is not allowed to touch the stream without first getting issued a stream cleaning permit from the state of Hawaii.”

The unchecked trash has become a health issue to Ledesma. She said there are young children in her neighborhood, including her daughter, who may roam around the trash as they grow older, “because that’s what kids do.”

Her next-door neighbor, Scott Muttersbach, also said it’s a public health issue.

“It’s something that needs to be taken care of, you can’t just leave it there, because eventually it goes down into the ocean,” he said. “If it’s not Grove Farm’s kuleana, let’s find out whose it is.”

Darryl Lum of the state Department of Health Clean Water Branch said if there is trash in the stream that needs to be removed, it would require a permit from the Army Corps of Engineers, which could potentially trigger a water quality permit from DOH.

Sandblom said the county may be able to clean the stream, under special circumstances.

“I believe the county has the capability to issue an emergency stream cleaning permit during times of declared emergencies,” she said.

County spokeswoman Beth Tokioka said the county does not issue these types of permits.

A declared emergency, she said, would have to be a “very rare” event, probably the result of a devastating hurricane or flood. And even then, looking at emergency declarations issued by former Gov. Linda Lingle in February 2010 and Gov. Neil Abercrombie in March 2012, the directive is for all county agencies to work cooperatively with the state.

“It doesn’t confer any special authority to the mayor,” Tokioka said.

A mayoral declaration is for the purpose of authorizing the mayor to expend funds as necessary, but it doesn’t go beyond that, according to Tokioka.

In any case, the county does not issue such permits, she said, though the question remains whether the state would allow the county to clean a stream without a permit or the governor would have to order the appropriate state agency to expedite permits before work could be done.

Koloa Camp

Koloa Camp, also known as Japanese Camp C, was built more than 100 years ago to house sugar plantation workers. On Nov. 8, 2011, Grove Farm mailed eviction notices to the camp’s last 13 residents, telling them they had 120 days to leave the property’s eight homes.

The company has plans to demolish the old homes, some of them as old as the camp, and turn the property into a 50-unit affordable or market-price housing project called Waihohonu.

Throughout the eviction process, a public outcry ensued, with Kauai County Council and the state Senate passing resolutions asking Grove Farm to explore solutions with Koloa Camp residents. A petition with more than 2,000 signatures supported the residents.

Others argued in favor of a private landowner.

The eviction was later extended another 30 days, and by April 2012, the majority of the residents had left Koloa Camp. Grove Farm had to take a few residents to court, in hearings that lasted until June 2012.

On March 14, 2012, Grove Farm Project Manager David Hinazumi told the county council the company would have the first new homes ready in six to nine months.

Nearly 15 months have passed, and dilapidated homes are still waiting to be bulldozed.

Musician Kepa Kruse, one of the last residents to leave, said he is glad he had the opportunity to grow up in the camp.

Though he and his father were some of the most vocal residents against the eviction, Kruse said he hopes Grove Farm goes ahead with its plans to build a residential project, so the eviction of residents was not in vain.

Flood, traffic

Muttersbach said when it rains hard, the water overflows on the other side of Waihohonu Stream.

“Those houses get flooded right up to their door,” he said.

Koloa Camp, which sits on a flood zone, is just north of those homes.

Ledesma has concerns that if Grove Farm raises the land at Koloa Camp to take it out of a flood plain, it may cause her home and her neighbor’s homes to be in a flood zone.

Sandblom said Koloa Camp, like most if not all of Koloa, is in a flood zone.

“Our plans for Waihohonu are designed to address this and will not cause properties downstream to flood,” she said.

Norma Serraon’s family lives in the last house on the dead-end Wailani Road, directly across Koloa Camp’s entrance, which is also planned to be Waihohonu’s entrance.

She said that since the property was vacated, there has been less traffic on the road. Once the new housing project opens, there will likely be a lot more traffic. But Serraon wasn’t too worried about it.

“I’ll probably be dead by the time they (build). Look at Koloa Town, that’s a disgrace, they should’ve let the people live in those old houses, at least they maintained that area,” said Serraon, referencing to a housing project by Koloa Town’s entrance that has stalled.

“They chased the people out just like over here,” she said.

Even if Grove Farm does not intend to build a new project, they should clean up the property, because they have all the machinery, trucks and everything else they need to at least keep it maintained, Serraon said.

Instead, it’s all overgrown, with tall weeds and grass taking over the property, she said.

‘Fruit galore’

Serraon said Koloa Camp had nice gardens and lots of fruit trees. From her house, she sees people coming to the property to pick fruit. Some open the gates, others just hop through it, she said.

Ledesma said the property has about 20 mango trees, three or four orange trees, an atamoya tree and a pineapple garden with at least 30 fruits.

“You can walk in any time, there’s fruit galore over there that’s just going to waste,” said Ledesma, adding that she has taken her daughter on a stroller and came back with four bags of tomatoes that were growing on abandoned gardens. The gardens also have Thai basil, Rosemary and edible flowers, she said.

Sandblom said Grove Farm allowed several community groups to transplant a number of fruit trees and plants to an off-site area

Some personal property was left behind. Ledesma said there are chicken coops there, and in one of the houses, a tarp covers new roofing materials.

“We only went in probably three houses; I can only imagine what else is there,” she said.

Serraon said since the property was vacated, the number of feral cats have increased. Lihue resident Judy Dalton, who worked alongside Poipu resident Carol Ann Davis to socialize and find home for 11 feral cats, said they captured all but two cats, and those that remained were already neutered.

Serraon said she seldom sees security at the property, maybe once every three weeks. But Sandblom said Grove Farm security team checks the area regularly.

“We also send our security team to check in on the area if we receive any concerned calls,” she said.

• Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-0452 or lazambuja@ thegardenisland.com.