LIHU‘E — The Koke‘e State Park Advisory Council will renew its work to review and comment on the Koke‘e and Waimea Canyon State Parks Master Plan. After more than a year of inactivity, four new members were named to the
LIHU‘E — The Koke‘e State Park Advisory Council will renew its work to review and comment on the Koke‘e and Waimea Canyon State Parks Master Plan.
After more than a year of inactivity, four new members were named to the Advisory Council Monday evening at the Kaua‘i War Memorial Convention Hall. A meeting followed during which former and continuing members started organizing their agenda to represent Westside community interests in a state level plan concerning cabin lessees and user fees at Koke’e State Park.
The council has seven appointed and four ex officio, non-voting members. There are two voting members yet to be named, one appointed by the governor and the other from the Senate.
The four new members, two governor-appointed and two Senate-appointed, are Jose Bulatao Jr., Mary Buza-Sims, Wayne Souza and Val Tsuchiya. They joined continuing members Michelle Clark, AnaStasia Lytle, Canen Kookano and Kaua‘i County Councilmember KipuKai Kuali‘i.
Lytle is the Kaua‘i Parks superintendent, and Souza is a retired superintendent.
The council deferred the election of a chairperson until the next meeting.
“It is so can get to know the other members first,” Bulatao said.
The meeting was facilitated by DLNR Planner Lauren Tanaka, who said the council should be done with the work on its portion of the draft master plan by December. The council discusses, approves or suggests, she explained.
The statute created the council to advise and assist in the management of the Koke‘e resident cabin leases. There are 113 lots in the park, with 17 offered by auction and the rest by negotiation, Tanaka said.
The plan will then be considered for approval by the DLNR Board of Land and Natural Resource and the State Historical Preservation Division, and on the governor’s desk in April, she said.
The most recent master plan final draft is dated from December 2010. Council disagreement with portions of the draft has delayed the process, Tanaka said.
The guidelines, currently in June 2012 draft form, are to maintain character of residences and landscapes. They are aiming to streamline and simplify maintenance and improvements guidelines and keep with the historic character of the area.
This document is an attempt to simplify and is streamlined, Tanaka said. It is going to lengths to streamline all the agencies and regulations in one process.
Holly McEldowney, an archeologist and acting administrator of the DLNR Historic Preservation Division, was present to update the council on design guidelines for the Koke‘e and Waimea Canyon State Parks Recreation Residence Historic District.
As the plan goes through agency review process, McEldowney said council comments will be used to complete forms and revisions before it undergoes an open meeting process with cabin lessees.
“We are just beginning the dialogue now,” she said.
Former member Nancy Budd was present to explain the draft format. She was recognized for her work and countless hours of revisions, and the council said this would be noted in the revised draft.
The review has been going on for many years, Budd said. The most recent version fell short of a report because members left and there were no meetings.
“The idea was to get it back to the community for comment,” Budd said.
The guide would assist cabin lessees with making improvements or replacements and alterations to maintain the historic integrity of the area.
A five-point rating would direct actions from superficial improvement to structural remodeling and landscaping. This will answer a lot of questions regarding construction, septic systems or solar panels.
“I am sure that a majority of the community is not aware of this council and what they do and we need to share the information,” Buza-Sims said.
Ideas for the plan included addressing emergency actions such as hanging branches and downed trees. They looked at professional standards and practices about maintenance and improvements to include a stricter definition of native plants to read endemic or indigenous.
The council members said the process needs to be simplified, and care needs to be taken to not alienate the community when announcing the changes.
Tsuchiya said when things get too complicated, then people will just act without jumping through the hoops.
“It’s about marketing it correctly,” Bulatao said. “We need to have one person in Koke‘e who you can go to with questions and concerns.”
The board will meet the third Monday of the month from 5 to 7 p.m. A permanent meeting location has not been decided.
Wanda Kau Shibata and Carrice Caspila from Gov. Neil Abercrombie’s Kaua‘i office were present. They noted that part of the confusion since the past council was due to the transition of governor administrations.
• Tom LaVenture can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or tlaventure@thegardenisland.com.
