Nanakuli industrial park dead

As we reported previously, the Wai’anae community won a major victory by stopping the proposed industrial park encroachment into agricultural land in Lualualei.  The struggle is not over however.  The landowner may try again to rezone the property, and a parallel struggle is taking place over the Wai’anae Sustainable Community Plan, which was modified in its latest draft to include the spot zoning of industrial land at the Tropic Land site and a proposed highway through Lualualei via Pohakea Pass.  The Pohakea pass was slipped into the plan after it had been debated extensively by the community.  It reveals the long term goals of the politicians and developers to bank on a future industrial corridor through Lualualei.

There is already an access road through Lualualei via Kolekole Pass.  If the Navy and Army opened up access, it could serve to alleviate the traffic congestion around the Kahe Point area.

Meanwhile, it is a good time to begin knocking on the Navy’s door to close down Lualualei Naval Communications Center and Naval Magazine to convert it into sustainable civilian uses.

Lualualei has some of the richest agricultural soil in Hawai’i.  The amazing results of MA’O farms is a testament to the productivity of this ‘aina and the potential for food sovereignty.

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http://thehawaiiindependent.com/story/land-use-commission-denies-industrial-park-petition

Land Use Commission denies industrial park petition

Apr 25, 2011 – 09:25 AM | by Samson Kaala Reiny

The State Land Use Commission has denied Tropic Land LLC’s petition to allow a light industrial park’s construction on Lualualei valley farmland.

Of the eight Commissioners present (absent was Maui Rep. Lisa Judge), three –- Normand Lezy, Charles Jencks, and Ronald Heller –- denied the motion for approval made by Duane Kanuha. Land boundary amendments require a supermajority of six votes for approval.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

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Nanakuli industrial park dead

A refusal to alter the site’s zoning scuttles a project planned for Lualualei Valley

Plans to establish an industrial park in Nana­kuli were derailed Thursday when the proj­ect’s developer failed to win enough state Land Use Commission votes to change the zoning.

The land, once used to grow sugar cane, is now zoned for preservation.

The 96-acre proj­ect in Lua­lua­lei Valley had drawn some opposition for furthering conversion of farmland in the area but also had won praise for its promise to create jobs and business opportunities in an economically disadvantaged region.

READ THE FULL ARTICLE

A Win for Environmental Justice! People of Wai'anae Save Farmland

The people of Wai’anae won a big victory for environmental justice. KAHEA reports, “Tropic Land’s petition for a boundary amendment to allow an industrial park on fertile farmland was DENIED today, April 21, 2011.”  The post continues:

The Petitioner recognized that Commissioners had concerns about the proposed industrial park, especially whether they had access to use the Navy-owned road to leads to the property site.  So in a last minute hail-mary, the Petitioner told the Commission that the Navy was now considering dedicating the land to the City.  Interestingly, the City’s attorney did not know about the proposed dedication.

The Elders reminded the Commission that for six years the Navy and the City negotiated over dedicating the Lualualei Naval Access Road, which did not result in any change in the ownership or use of the road.  The question of proper access to the property is something Tropic Land should have figured out long before proposing a permanent change in the land use designation of their property.

This is a campaign that began back in 2009 when the Wai’anae Environmental Justice Working Group was formed.    Ka Makani Kaiaulu o Wai’anae youth participated in documenting and raising awareness about the issues related to the encroachment of industrial and military activity into farm land, protection of cultural sites, including the important sites pertaining to Maui the demigod, and health effects of environmental contamination.

Congratulations and thanks go out to the Concerned Elders of Wai’anae, the Wai’anae Environmental Justice Working Group, KAHEA, MA’O Farms and the many groups and individuals who worked on this campaign. For now the agricultural land in Lualualei will be spared an industrial onslaught.   However, the threat is still looming, and struggle continues on another front.  The City and County of Honolulu Planning Commission is in the process of reviewing and receiving public comments on the Wai’anae Sustainable Communities Plan (WSCP). The community has long fought to preserve the natural, cultural and human waiwai (wealth) of Wai’anae, but this latest version of the plan includes an invasive ‘spot’ of industrial use where the Tropic Land LLC industrial park is proposed in the middle of agricultural land.    Yesterday, I testified in the second of two long days of hearings on the WSCP.  The Planning Commission will make a decision on the plan in May.

City official says Mailiili Stream "was not used as a dump site"

A City official said that the illegal dumping of concrete debris in Mailiili Stream was to create a “temporary path”.  But they dumped this material over the course of two years!  Take a look at this photo below.  How temporary does it look to you?  The City did not obtain the required permit to dump the material. And now that the material is in the stream, a habitat for the endangered Ae’o (Hawaiian Stilt), the City cannot remove the material without the proper permits.

20090616_nws_dumping

Photo by Carroll Cox, EnviroWatch

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City official denies dump allegations

By B.J. Reyes

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jul 03, 2009

A city administrator says crews were not using Mailiili Stream as a dump site for concrete, as alleged in a complaint being investigated by city, state and federal agencies.

Jeoffrey Cudiamat, director of facilities maintenance, told a City Council committee that the concrete was being used to “create a temporary path to provide maintenance to remove debris.

“It was not used as a dump site,” he added.

Cudiamat was called before the Council’s Public Safety and Services Committee yesterday but said he could not elaborate on exactly what was done and why because of the pending investigations into the activities at the stream.

Members asked Cudiamat to follow up with the committee to help provide a timetable on when the investigations might be completed.

“We don’t want to interfere with any of the investigations,” said Committee Chairman Donovan Dela Cruz, “but we want to make sure that the Council knows when these investigations are going to be completed so that we can follow up with the administration.

“There’s obviously community concern.”

The Army Corps of Engineers, state Department of Health and other agencies are investigating alleged illegal dumping of concrete at Mailiili Stream, frequented by endangered Hawaiian stilts.

Concrete rubble from sidewalk repairs reportedly was placed in the stream area to restore an access road along the bank that was used to cut brush. The Health Department says no permit was issued for the dumping.

The watchdog group EnviroWatch Inc. first reported the activity in the stream to the city.

Some work already has been done to clear the stream, but city officials say additional permits might be required to finish the removal.

Source: http://www.starbulletin.com/news/20090703_City_official_denies_dump_allegations.html

City Dumps Debris in Wai'anae Stream

Carroll Cox of EnviroWatch reported the City and County of Honolulu’s illegal dumping of concrete debris in Mailiili Stream in Wai’anae. On June 30, 2009, Cox spoke to students from the summer environmental justice institute Ka Makani Kai’aulu o Wai’anae and gave a tour of environmental justice impacts he has documented in the Wai’anae area.   One site the group visited was the Mailiili Stream dump site.

mailiili-stream

maililiili-rubble

Mailiili Stream dump site.  (Photos: Kyle Kajihiro)

You can see from the above photograph that concrete slabs and other debris were compacted along the shoreline and have filled much of the stream bed.   This stream flows through the 9000 acre Lualualei Naval Magazine and Radio Tower Facility, but most of the stream is dry.  The Navy tapped one of the water sources at the base of the mountain.  In this photo, there is a fence that cuts through the stream in the distance where the Navy occupied land begins, and antenna in the background.

_hawaiian-stilt

Source:  http://resources.edb.gov.hk/biology/english/images/bird/_hawaiian%20stilt.jpg

During the visit, several Ae’o (Endangered Hawaiian Stilt) were seen, obviously distressed.  The birds nest in the shallow water where the dumping occurred.  Below is an article from the Honolulu Star Bulletin about the illegal dumping by the City.

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City’s alleged dumping in stream investigated

By Gary T. Kubota

POSTED: 01:30 a.m. HST, Jun 16, 2009

A number of government agencies are investigating the alleged illegal dumping of concrete by the city in a stream frequented by endangered Hawaiian stilts on the Waianae Coast.

State Health Department spokeswoman Janice Okubo said the dumping of construction materials requires a permit and there are no permits on record for the work in her department.

“We haven’t issued any permits for that dumping,” she said yesterday.

The alleged dumping occurred in Maili at the Mailiili Stream, about two miles mauka of Farrington Highway.

City spokesman Bill Brennan said the city is also looking into the incident.

Brennan said his understanding is that concrete rubble from sidewalk repairs was placed in the stream area to restore an access road along the bank that was used to cut brush.

He said the city employees were unaware that a permit might have been needed for the work.

Brennan said heavy equipment removed material from the area Saturday and put it in a landfill.

“Apparently the area had not been maintained for some time and neighboring properties had used the city flood-control area and access roads along the top of the flood-control bank as storage and for their personal use and to let their horses run free,” Brennan said.

He said the city removed only the sidewalk material not in the stream.

He said the city might need a permit to remove the sidewalk material in the stream.

Other agencies investigating the dumping include the state Department of Land and Natural Resources and the Army Corps of Engineers.

Corps spokesman Dino Buchanan said his agency is investigating whether there was a violation and what, if any, fines might be levied.

The investigations were prompted by requests last week from the group EnviroWatch Inc.

EnviroWatch founder Carroll Cox said he received a complaint from city workers who told him that the dumping had been occurring on weekends for the past two years.

Cox said at least one high-ranking official in the city Department of Facility Maintenance was aware of the dumping and had told him some 100 truckloads had been dumped in the area.

“You can’t mistakenly dump something for two years,” Cox said.

Cox said he’s familiar with the area and knows of about 20 endangered Hawaiian stilts that built their nests in the wetlands area of the stream.

He said the concrete has narrowed the area of nesting and allowed predators such as mongoose and feral cats to have an easier time crossing wetland areas to get to the endangered birds.

Cox said although the city has accepted responsibility, he’s worried that city workers will try to clean the area without proper supervision.

He said the city needs to consult with a number of agencies and seek the proper permits for removal.

Cox said he was upset that the city was the violator and he felt officials needed to be held accountable.

“What kind of example are they setting for other people?” he asked.

Source: http://www.starbulletin.com/news/20090616_Citys_alleged_dumping_in_stream_investigated.html

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