• BLNR and Koke‘e BLNR and Koke‘e By Juan Wilson The BLNR vote on January 14 was a major victory for the people of Kaua‘i. Reading the article article (1/15/05) in The Garden Island, you wouldn’t know it. The board
• BLNR and Koke‘e
BLNR and Koke‘e
By Juan Wilson
The BLNR vote on January 14 was a major victory for the people of Kaua‘i. Reading the article article (1/15/05) in The Garden Island, you wouldn’t know it. The board backed down from their plan due to pressure from the public. They may try to “spin” this event with the press, but they adopted a plan with no gate, no fee, and major modifications to the Lodge area plan and resident lease arrangement.
Significant changes were made. Ron Agor, Kaua‘i architect and new board member, made the motion to adopt the plan with several amendments. I do not have a copy of the specific language, but a record of the public meeting was made. Ron’s amendment language was unanimously adopted by the board. The amendments included the inclusion of two documents I submitted to the board as modifications to the KDMP.
The Entry area was changed to remove the traffic island with guardhouse as well as the gate. A welcoming “Aloha” sign was added to the area, relabelince”Proposed Park Entry.” The specific language says:
“Canyon Drive and Kekaha Road (Hwy 550), in the vicinity of mike marker 7.1: There will be an “Aloha – Mahalo” sign erected welcoming visitors and thanking them for coming. There will be no gate, fee or guard house. A Ranger Station of about 100 square feet will be operated during daylight hours and a small emergency parking area will be created.”
The modification of the Lodge Area Plan modifications was more complex but included these major features:
“New Grand Lodge (16 beds) with covered walk and deck connecting to Museum “
“Relocate and restore existing Picnic Pavilion to east of new Grand Lodge”
The Lodge plan relocates bus parking to the south away from the lodge area. It removes the public road from crossing the Meadow. The public road ends at the Lodge. From there the visiting public have to go on foot or bicycle to reach Kokee trails or the Kalalau lookouts. The park will operate a Shuttle Station near the museum with jitneys that will take the public beyond the Lodge.
A re-alignment of the roads creates a tee-intersection before the Meadow with the road leading beyond the Lodge. This road beyond the Lodge has a sign labeled “Staff and Residents Only!”. The term “residents” was purposely not defined so that it might be evaluated. It is certainly meant to keep visitors and tourist rental cars from the area beyond the lodge. Resident could be interpreted as “Hawai‘i”, “Kaua‘i” or even “Koke‘e” resident. How restrictive this is needs further evaluation.
There were amendments to the plan regarding the future of cabin leases. The significance of those would best be described by Frank O. Hay and Wayne Jacintho.
The people of Kauai will have to be vigilant at future public meetings as this plan is developed and solidified. Only continual scrutiny by the public will ensure that the planning process will result in a desirable future. Attend the upcoming meetings!
Juan Wilson is an architect and a resident of Hanapepe
