The Department of Land and Natural Resources is pressing on with plans to put the Koke‘e cabins up to bid, its director said yesterday. DLNR director Laura Thielen said has been working with the Attorney General’s office to address concerns
The Department of Land and Natural Resources is pressing on with plans to put the Koke‘e cabins up to bid, its director said yesterday.
DLNR director Laura Thielen said has been working with the Attorney General’s office to address concerns residents have had about losing Koke‘e to out-of-staters with a higher bankroll.
The leases of several Koke‘e leaseholders will expire in December following Fifth Circuit Judge Kathleen Watanabe agreed with the state that the lesees only had rights to the cabins for a 20-year period of time.
Though cabin residents have said they fear they will be outbid by people out of state, Thielen said the DLNR and the Attorney General are working to make the situation more fair.
“We are working with the Attorney General to try and address concerns raised by the community to limit whose eligible to bid,” she said.
Such provisions include limiting those who are eligible to those who pay Hawai‘i taxes, she added; such eligibility would not extend to those who have Hawai‘i property as a second home.
Though the issues surrounding Koke‘e and property rights have been controversial over the past several years, Thielen said “several” Kaua‘i residents have supported the possibility of the cabins going up for auction; she also said the DLNR has received letters to that effect.
“I would think of all the islands, many Kaua‘i residents would not vocally want to say something in public which may impact fellow residents,” Thielen said.
Another concern residents have had is whether the auction will draw in national and international real estate groups who intend to use it for vacation rentals; but Thielen said the DLNR is working to address that, too.
Thielen did not have the letters on hand, but said, “We have a number of people who’ve said they want an opportunity to bid on these cabins. …These are public lands for all residents.”
Dan Hempey, an attorney representing several Koke‘e cabin leaseholders, filed an appeal of Fifth Circuit Judge Kathleen Watanabe’s ruling that the state owned the cabins, despite modifications and improvements leaseholders made to the properties over the years.
Despite the case being on appeal, Thielen said the DLNR is moving ahead with putting steps in place to get the cabins ready for auction.
“I think we have the ability to move forward; there is no injunction in place,” she said.
The DLNR in the meantime will work with the current leaseholders, Thielen added, who have expressed they want to have an ability to remain in the cabins.
“We’re sorting through how to give people who want to bid an opportunity to,” she said. “We’re going to try and work out an agreement with people who want to stay in cabins — to be fair to everybody.”
State and House bills address state parks on Kaua‘i this legislative session, specifically Koke‘e, the issue of the Koke‘e cabins and the unknown status of the Master Plan are being raised.
According to Ron Agor, Kaua‘i member of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, the Koke‘e Draft Master Plan was introduced to the land board at a meeting on Kaua‘i in the summer of 2004.
“The draft plan was approved by the land board so that the plan could move forward in the EIS process,” Agor said. “DLNR staff, the EIS consultant and the land board were prepared to seek input for the public and make adjustments to the draft plan to address the concerns of the people of Kaua‘i.”
Agor said at this part in the process, activists “decided to pick a fight on the issue and it actually got ugly.” According to Agor, things escalated to the point of the County Council passing a resolution opposing the draft plan “after believing that the DLNR wanted to develop the meadow area and planned to build helicopter pads for the tourists.”
After the resolution passed, Agor said he asked some council members if they had actually read the draft plan and they said “no.”
“The fact is, there were no plans for developing the meadow or building helicopter pads for tourists,” Agor said.
But after receiving constructive participation from the “Save Koke‘e” group, Agor said the DLNR maintained positive dialogue with the organization and made revisions and improvements to the draft.
“As it stands now, DLNR staff and the consultant will be presenting their recommendations for the Final Master Plan to the land board within a couple of months,” Agor said. “The land board will again listen to the public’s comments on the recommendations and will render our decision on the Final Master Plan for Koke‘e accordingly. I am optimistic that most of Kaua‘i will be satisfied with the final outcome.”
Thielen said there are a lot of tourist attractions in Koke‘e and said the state will therefore make improvements including roadwork and interpretive signs that are needed to explain the history of the area.
“The Master Plan aims to retain the character of that area,” Thielen said.
But some feel the Master Plan for Koke‘e will exploit the park and be a way to bolster the budget of the DLNR.
Andrea Brower of Malama Kaua‘i, said, “It is obvious from meetings held between Laura Thielen and concerned community members that the DLNR is intending to commercialize Koke‘e and Waimea Canyon State Parks to inflate their own budget.
“…The proposed Master Plan included an entry gate, concessions at the lookouts, tearing down the existing historic buildings at the Kanaloahuluhulu Meadow and replacing them with a visitor center and other facilities.”
According to Brower, the meadow area was identified in the draft plan as a “revenue generation center.”
Brower feels the DLNR is trying to shut the public out of the Master Plan process by not revealing any details of the plan and refusing to disclose when the plan will even be released.
“The DLNR’s stated purpose is conservation and preservation,” Brower said. “Tragically, their master plan for Koke‘e is a threat to both of these things.”
Another proposed change to the park in the Master Plan is the auctioning of the recreational cabins to the highest bidder.
Thielen said that the DLNR wants to give everyone a fair opportunity to bid on the cabins, even the former leaseholders.
“We know other people want to bid,” Thielen said. “We are also working on putting documents together for new leases.”
According to Thielen, the cabins will only be available to those who pay Hawai‘i state taxes.
Agor feels the key word to the situation is “fair.”
“While the current lessees want to continue the position they had for 20 years, many residents of Kaua‘i want to have their fair chance to enjoy a cabin in Koke‘e,” Agor said.
Thielen said the auction will take place later this year.
The Master Plan was intended to guide the management and development of Koke’e and Waimea Canyon state parks until the year 2025.
The goals in the Master Plan are to “protect, preserve, restore, manage and enhance the natural, cultural scenic, outdoor and recreational resources, and to generate money for the State.”
Some of the changes proposed by the DLNR include widening of roads for safety, improvements at the Kalalau, Pu‘u o Kila and Pu‘u Hinahina lookouts, a defined trailhead for Pihea Trail, repair of Camp 10 Road, renovations of a new lodge and museum buildings, redeveloped facilities at the Waimea Canyon Lookout and expansion of the park.
