Planning Commission OKs second phase of bike path

The Kaua‘i Planning Commission yesterday granted Mayor Bryan Baptiste’s request to continue building the second phase of a 16-mile bicycle and pedestrian pathway from Nawiliwili to Anahola.

Meeting at the Lihu‘e Civic Center, the commission approved the administration’s request for amended permits to put roofs on six rest areas, build a horse trail and realign some parts of the path within the second phase — a 4.3-mile portion from Kapa‘a to Kealia and which is part of the 16-mile project.

The approval ends an ongoing battle between the county administration and the Kaua’i County Council over whether the administration followed the process in building the six rest areas.

“I think the public will enjoy (the use of the rest areas),” said Dough Haigh, superintendent for the building division of the Public Works Department, which monitored the pathway work.

Work by the contractor for the second leg — Jas Glover of Kaua‘i — is expected to resume soon.

The planning department recommended approval of the amended Special Management Area Use permits and a shoreline setback variance sought by the county administration.

The request marched in step with conditions approved by the Board of Land and Natural Resources and the planning commission, the department states in a report sent to the commission.

Work within the 4.3-mile segment stopped for several months after some Kaua‘i County Council members — including Mel Rapozo and Shaylene Iseri-Carvalho — lodged complaints about the roofs not being properly permitted and the county not using a current state shoreline certification for the placement of pathway improvements.

County Engineer Donald Fujimoto and Haigh said the rest pavilions were referenced in a Special Management Area Use permit the planning commission approved in 2004.

The number of rest areas and their locations would ultimately be specified during the design process, the officials said.

Rapozo and Iseri-Carvalho also reiterated the shoreline certification had to be current, in line with a state law, to protect the coastline from erosion.

But county officials have said certifying the shoreline every year was not feasible.

County Planning Department officials said as much in a department report the commission used before acting yesterday.

The department said there is no state or county requirement to maintain a current certified shoreline throughout the construction period of a project.

Apparently to protect views along parts of the 4.3-mile segment, the county administration asked to have roofs put on only four of six rest areas.

At the request of commission chairman Ted Daligdig III, the commission approved permits for roofs for the four rest areas and then roofs for a fifth rest area fronting the Kapa‘a Neighborhood Center and a sixth rest area south of the Kapa‘a Lookout.

At a previous meeting, some commissioners said they preferred having roofs on all six rest areas to protect beachgoers from the sun and the elements.

“We have sentiments from the commissioners that favored the roofs,” Haigh said.

For the 4.3-mile project, the commission also approved the realignment of a part of a 1.8-mile horse trail and a section mauka side by the Kapa‘a Park due to erosion issues and the elimination of an exit to the Kapa‘a Lookout due to safety concerns.

The commission also approved moving two of nine picnic shelters to improve access for the physically challenged and relocating a picnic shelter— located south of Kealia Beach — originally constructed in the wrong area.

“We are moving it mauka due to non-compliance with the (original) permit conditions,” Haigh said. “It was an oversight. The contractor was as upset as I was when it discovered the mistake.”

The 16-mile project is being developed with $30 million in federal funds, matched with the donation of land to the county. A 2.3-mile portion at Lydgate Park — the first phase — has been completed and is up and running.