The county Planning Commission decided to continue a hearing on Keapana Horsemanship’s proposal until May 28 for a horse riding business on state lands near Lihu’e. The meeting was held Tuesday. Commissioners withheld action because they said they wanted to
The county Planning Commission decided to continue a hearing on Keapana Horsemanship’s proposal until May 28 for a horse riding business on state lands near Lihu’e. The meeting was held Tuesday.
Commissioners withheld action because they said they wanted to see a preliminary master plan from the state Department of Land and Natural Resources for 6,800 acres mauka of Kalepa Mountain Ridge it has designated for agricultural use.
The state leases the land on a month-to-month basis to 13 members of the Kalepa Koalition, primarily comprised of farmers and ranchers.
As a member of the group, Lara Butler, owner of Keapana Horsemanship, leases 156 acres.
The commission also wanted to hear more public comments after receiving negative comments for the proposal from critics yesterday.
The commission decided to reopen the public hearing for Keapana Horsemanship’s proposal on May 28.
Butler said she was not bothered by the decision and that she could still offer riding lessons and board horses from her state site.
Kaua’i resident Larry Saito asked the proposal be denied or be deferred because residents should be able to give more testimony for a project he says could have far-reaching impacts.
He also said Kauiians other than those making up Kalepa Koalition should have been given a chance to bid for the state leases.
Commissioner Jay Furfaro said he was sensitive to Saito’s concerns, but he noted the commission doesn’t have jurisdiction over the leasing of the state lands and can only make decisions on the horse enterprise proposal before it.
Manuel Medeiros, a former Lihue Plantation worker, said the proposal should be scrapped because a business like Keapana could prevent local folks from having access to wilderness areas as they once had in the past.
“(I was) born and raised here and see things disappearing from us,” said 77-year-old Medeiros, his voice cracking and briefly sobbing. In response Furfaro rose from his seat to offer comfort.
But Butler said one of the key goals of her proposal was to help provide public access for residents.
Anne Punohu, a potential candidate for the Kaua’i County Council this election year, said Butler can’t guarantee public access, only the state, which holds the permits for the 6,800 acres, can do that.
Opposition also came from Dale Rosenfeld, owner of the Esprit De Corps Riding Academy in Kapa’a, who said Butler, in some cases, has portrayed her business as providing services it cannot at this time.
Butler’s Web site, for instance, suggests that she can offer rides to Wailua Falls and will offer midnight rides, Rosenfeld said.
Rosenfeld also said that while it was admirable for Butler to take in abandoned horses at her state site, she questioned whether the Kaua’i Humane Society would allow her to do so.
Responding after the meeting, Butler said she has many ambitious plans she hasn’t mention that she wants to carry out some day.
“I didn’t mention the full moon ride, but I had planned to, as I planned to do so with many other things,” she said.
Butler also said she never said she would offer rides to the falls, only offering rides to a pond from which riders can see the falls.
Opposition also came from Kaua’i resident Cheryl Lovell Obtake, who characterized the plan as being “premature’ because the state had yet to conduct a cultural survey for the 6,800 acres and had yet to develop a full master plan.
Butler said, however, that the state has set aside $25,000 for a preliminary master plan.
Keapana Horsemanship wants to establish a horseback riding facility, equestrian trail rides, programs and wagon rides.
Under the proposal, to be implemented over the next six years, Keapana wants to breed and train horses and conduct up to 12 commercial rides daily.
Most of the rides would be for parties of two, although there would be group rides for four to eight guests for each ride.
Also planned are carriage and wagon rides, an arena and equine sport field and youth programs.
Staff Writer Lester Chang can be reached at mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net or 245-3681 (ext. 225).
