Okay given to destroy Paradise

SUBHEAD: Hokua Place in Kapaa is part of the transformation of Kauai into Maui on its way to Oahu.

By Gabriela Taylor on 8 June 2017 in Island Breath -
(http://islandbreath.blogspot.com/2017/06/okay-given-to-destroy-paradise.html)


Image above: Pedestrians negotiate heavy traffic on Kuhio Highway on east side of Kauai. Photo by Dennis Fujimoto. From (http://thegardenisland.com/news/local/govt-and-politics/no-quick-fix-in-sight/article_231bd83a-ce09-11e4-8a79-5bcc80de101c.html).

[IB Publisher's note: Gabriel had this article published in the Garden Island News.]

After receiving hundreds of public testimonies against approval for “Urban” up zoning of 97 acres behind Kapaa Middle School, called Hokua Place, Planning Commissioners, unfortunately overturned the sensible decision of the Planning Dept. (PD) to keep the land zoned “Agriculture (AG.)”.

By the time we reached the fourth iteration of the Draft General Plan, it was assigned yet another zoning category, "Neighborhood General", which is really "Urban Light" in disguise.

Additionally, Kapaa would change from the destination “Small” to a “Large Town Place Type”.
This means that up to 780 dwellings at Hokua Place would be built in an overly congested area, where traffic jams are common. See: General Plan Update website: http://www.plankauai.gov.

A friend just told me that he got stuck in gridlock when vehicles in the traffic circle came to a standstill for15 minutes. Add about 1500 cars generated from Hokua Place to that route and you have perpetual gridlock.

If that isn’t disaster enough, imagine Kuhio Highway when 2,500 cars will be added to the Kapaa Crawl by three, already approved, hotels ready to go up in the Wailua corridor: Two will be behind Longs, plus the one at the site of the old Coco Palms.

If it’s approved, our precious island home would soon become another Maui. I read letters in TGI and also hear from visitors who won’t return to Kauai because of the debilitating traffic.

Reasons For Stopping Hokua Place Development
  1. Drowning in Traffic? The only road construction the state has slated for the next couple of years in the Kapaa area is an additional lane on the mauka side of Kuhio Highway between the Bypass Rd. and traffic light in front of Coco Palms.

    Yes, there’s long line of south bound daytime traffic backed up against that light now. But don’t forget that an equal jam of north bound traffic, inches through Wailua and Kapaa, in the afternoon.

    The county also has given the green light to build more housing in Kapahi and promote retail commerce, as well. Initially, the PD said that most housing would be focused in Lihue where plans are to permit residents to build an ADU next to their homes. Sadly, they abandoned plans to spare Kapaa from overdevelopment, despite traffic and diminishing quality of life.

    Affordable Housing a Hoax? I recently learned that the huge Subdivision under construction at the cutoff from the highway to Hanamaulu Town, has no affordable housing.
  2. Affordable Housing was mandated by law in 2008 to be at least 30% of new subdivisions. But guess what? Not one affordable tract has been built on Kauai since then. Even 30% is a joke when you find out that 70% of dwellings are way outside the range of what locals can afford. And to hammer that home, please note that the Median Home price on Kauai is $730,000.

    That explains why 45% of Kauai homes are purchased by mainlanders or foreigners. If up zoned, Hokua Place buildout would have to include 234 affordable multifamily dwellings and the remaining would be 546 single houses. Who will buy those homes priced from $650.000 to Learn more $950,000? Clearly, such homes will attract more mainlanders and foreigners here.
     
  3. Hokua Place negates food sustainability. Ag. land is meant to grow food, not houses. Given buildings, pavement and GMO fields on Kauai, agricultural production land opportunities are slowly eroding. It’s clear that with 90% of our food imported here, we must grow much more food to become sustainable.
WHAT:
Last Public Hearing for Planning Commission re General Plan Update (for the next 20 yrs).

WHEN:
Tuesday the 13th June 13, at 9am

WHERE:
Kauai County Building Meeting Room 2A/2B (adjacent to the DMV)
4444 Rice Street in Lihue, Kauai, Hawaii

DEADLINES:
I implore you to help save our rural life style. Please come with written testimony (12 copies) presented to the Planning Commission hearing  on Tuesday June 13th, or email your testimony to Kauai Planning Department by Monday June 12th. noon.

Email address for testimony is plankauai@kauai.gov.

If we let developers suck the soul out of this tiny island where nature is our treasure, we have have not only failed our children, but we have failed Kauai. Let’s stop Hokua Place as well as stop any permitting of additional resorts on Kauai, and make Affordable Housing a priority. Enough is enough! See you Tuesday at the hearing!

See also:
Ea O Ka Aina: Kauai Nui Kuapapa 5/14/17
Ea O Ka Aina: Occupying the Coco Palms 3/30/17
Ea O Ka Aina: Kauai County "Keep it Rural" 11/17/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Kauai General Plan Update 9/3/16
Ea O Ka Aina: Will developers write Kapaa’s future? 5/6/16 
Ea O Ka Aina: Kauai Plan Disappoints 12/9/15
Ea O Ka Aina: Hokua Place comment deadline 5/28/15
Ea O Ka Aina: Coco Palms good to go 3/11/15
Ea O Ka Aina: Lihue Loss of Vision 9/5/14
Ea O Ka Aina: Tax Donkey Purgatory - Lima Ola 7/18/14
Ea O Ka Aina: Annals of pure bullshit - Coco Palms 6/22/14 
Ea O Ka Aina: Coco Palms Travesty 8/10/13  
Ea O Ka Aina: Review 2000-2020 Kauai General Plan 4/2/09
Island Breath: Kauai Sustainable Land Use Plan 11/1/07
Island Breath: LEGS Sustainability Conference 10/13/07
Existing Kauai County General Plan 2000-2020 1999
.

1 comment :

Unknown said...

This poor planning. The Kapaa traffic is already so disturbing. Why would we add to that problem. I say fix the traffic problem first before building and adding to the existing frustrations

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