A proposal by a New Mexico man to build a second home on beachfront property by the YMCA in Ha’ena provoked opposition from a handful of area residents at a recent Kaua’i County Planning Commission meeting. At a public hearing
A proposal by a New Mexico man to build a second home on beachfront property by the YMCA in Ha’ena provoked opposition from a handful of area residents at a recent Kaua’i County Planning Commission meeting.
At a public hearing Tuesday, the critics said David Smith plans to use the home, another home and a guest house as vacation rentals, encouraging more property owners to do the same.
The situation will aggravate a severe housing shortage on the North Shore and force more residents to leave the area to find affordable housing elsewhere on Kaua’i.
But Smith said a subdivision covenant for his 28,800-square-foot lot allows him to build the second home and the two other buildings, previously approved by the county and under construction.
And whether his homes will be used for vacation rentals is “up in the air,” but he said he shouldn’t be precluded from using them in that way because his neighbors are already doing that.
“You can go on right down the row (of beachfront homes) and everybody else is right there,” Smith said.
The commission closed the hearing, will accept written comments for seven days and is likely to make a decision within a month.
But critics of the project – Louise Sausen, Caren Diamond, Kristine Cocke and Beau Blaire, all from Ha’ena or the North Shore – sought a denial of Smith’s request for a county special management area permit because they felt such action would halt the work.
“We were hoping a denial would cause everybody to step back and re-evaluate (the impact of vacation rentals on Ha’ena),” Blaire said.
The impact of vacation rentals on the rental housing market on the North Shore has been so significant that Diamond and others asked the county Planing Department for a study on the matter. The status of the study is unknown.
But commissioner Jay Furfaro said while he is sensitive to the concerns of the critics, denial of the permit will not stop the project.
Smith has residential zoning for four residential units, and the permit request deals with issues like protecting historical finds and beach access and enforcement of beach setbacks, Furfaro said.
But the ever-increasing numbers of vacation rentals by Smith’s lot will “lead to the destruction of the carefully protected beachfront area,” Blaire contended.
Blaire also contended that three houses on Smith’s property is too much. “Two houses are okay (for residential use), but for him to have an additional third home, I feel is absolutely not good planning,” Blaire said.
Cocke echoed that sentiment, and said that “it was sad that the beach was being overridden by vacation rentals.”
Diamond, meanwhile, said she was frustrated to find that the guest house doesn’t constitute a third house.
Avery Youn, a Kaua’i architect for Smith, said his client’s beachfront lot was once part of a three-lot subdivision owned by movie actor Sylvester Stallone.
When the huge lot was subdivided, the owners of two smaller lots were each allowed a single house, but two houses were allowed for Smith’s lot because it is twice as large as the others, Youn said.
Youn also said a guest house can be built on any residentially-zoned lot on the island.
But instead of allowing homes to be used as vacation rentals, Kaua’i County should use its powers and resources to encourage the development of affordable homes for local residents, Sausen complained.
Objections also came from Teresa Tico, an attorney who owns a home next to Smith’s lot.
In a letter to the commission, Tico said construction of the second home will add to traffic and noise in the area, that a jacuzzi Smith plans for the site is likely “to be used at all hours, potentially disturbing the peace and quiet or our neighborhood.” Dust from construction also is likely to create respiratory problems, and that if the second house is approved, Tico asked that Smith put up a fence between her property and his property to minimize impacts.
If the permit is granted, Tico also asked that the house not be used as a vacation rental and that flood lights planned for the site not be used.
Smith’s two-level project will cost $300,00 to build, consist of 2,330 feet of living area on the second floor with a storage loft above the kitchen containing 220 square feet, a county Planning Department report said.
The project includes a lanai overlooking the ocean and possibly an outdoor jacuzzi.
The house will blend in with the environment, Youn said, adding “the color is a safe color and matches the Hanalei ‘green’ and the second home will have red-colored roofs of homes in the area.”
Because the home is located in a flood zone, the structure will be elevated, the county report said, and because of an 80-foot shoreline setback, the project also isn’t likely to have any impact on the shoreline.
The convenants for the subdivision also require the protection of any historical or archeological remains that are found.
Youn said he and his client are aware of the laws protecting historical sites and “will go through the process” and “go the (Kaua’i) Burial Council, if necessary.”
But Sausen said she didn’t think the developer “gives a damn about historical preservation. If they did, they wouldn’t have bulldozed the area the way they did.”
Beach access, meanwhile, will be provided on the western side of the property, and another easement along Alealea Road exists for public beach access and parking, the county report said.
In other action, the commission granted permits to Dawn and Charles Williams to connect two single-family, three-storied homes they own at the Pali Kai Cottage, a collection of luxury homes located on a bluff overlooking Kalapaki Bay.
The project, which marks the first time two homes on the bluff have been connected, is expected to enhance the value of 17 homes, mostly duplexes, on the bluff.
The Williams pursued the project partly because they wanted more space for their family and to provide Charles William, a Texas-based entrepreneur, office space. The houses are currently 17 feet apart, but would be joined by the construction of two small rooms and an entry area, totaling more than 900 square feet.
The work, anticipated to cost more than $400,000, will be undertaken by Andrew Nickles, who served as an agent for the Williams and has built seven other homes on the bluff.
Staff writer Lester Chang can be reached at 245-3681 (ext.225) and mailto:lchang@pulitzer.net
