• Developers and coconut groves • Police should enforce laws • Visitors are important, too • Respect other cultures Developers and coconut groves I would like to offer some background information about the coconut trees at Waipouli which are currently
• Developers and coconut groves
• Police should enforce laws
• Visitors are important, too
• Respect other cultures
Developers and coconut groves
I would like to offer some background information about the coconut trees at Waipouli which are currently in the spotlight with regard to the zoned and approved resort development in the makai grove. (“Planning Commission defers hearing for two major Eastside resorts,” The Garden Island, Jan. 20)
The trees were planted almost 100 years ago by my great-grandfather, Edward Henry Walton Broadbent. Puka had to be dug so that the roots could have access to the brackish water table beneath the limestone/coral shelf that’s about four feet beneath the ground surface.
Products included coconut oil and copra (dried coconut meat). Broadbent also raised cattle and pigs, planted cassava root (pia) to make starch, and had a fruit tree orchard.
The trees in both groves on either side of Kuhio Highway are covered under the provisions of the Historical Tree Ordinance and many conditions — including relocation and replacement — must be fulfilled when development occurs.
The trees have far outlived their expected life spans and their continued relatively good health is even more amazing considering that they’ve been hydrated with brackish water for their entire lives. Maintenance is becoming very expensive as the tops — spindly, diseased and just old — are making climbing to remove nuts before they fall quite precarious.
Please keep in mind that the property in Waipouli — Coconut Plantation — was zoned and taxed for resort development in the early 1970s. This was the decision made by county officials using the best information possible. They had the interest of Kaua‘i’s people and her land in mind when this comprehensive, island-wide zoning went into effect.
That the intended development of infrastructure such as roads and pedestrian routes did not happen — as specified, for example, in the 1973 Kapa‘a-Wailua General Development Plan — could be the subject of endless debate. Is it fair, therefore, to make the developers assume the obligations that the government failed to enact?
To summarize, the coconut trees are very old and, like all living beings, their death is inevitable. The current owners of the property are bound to protect what trees can be saved by relocation and maintenance and replace those that have reached the end of their lives.
Change is another inevitability and we have all seen it in the houses that have been constructed in former agricultural lands. Local families have grown and many people are continuing to move to Kaua‘i.
Like coconut trees dropping their nuts and providing for new growth, we will all eventually adapt to the passage of time. My hope is that we can all dance gracefully with the future as it unfolds and keep principles and facts in front of emotions and assumptions.
• Ann Broadbent Leighton, Lihu‘e
Police should enforce laws
I can appreciate the frustration level John Moon of Citizens for a Safe Kaua‘i must experience on the subject of traffic safety law enforcement. (“Beachgoer hit by truck released from hospital,” The Garden Island, Jan. 23)
As a member of Citizens Against Noise, I have a similar grievance. We, and our constituents, know what the noise laws are, but can’t get reasonable enforcement.
That’s why I fell off my chair after reading (the deck headline) “County seeks public’s help.” It’s the public that needs the county’s help!
Several months ago, I volunteered my services to assist the Kaua‘i Police Department in reducing the number of excessively loud motorcycles on Kaua‘i. The lieutenant in charge politely declined my offer of assistance and said they’d take care of it. Well, how do you think they’re doing?
The problem is that KPD doesn’t do anything when a violation occurs right in front of their faces.
How can county spokeswoman Mary Daubert or Department of Land and Natural Resources spokeswoman Deborah Ward reasonably expect a citizen witness to call in a violation when those responsible for enforcement do nothing after witnessing one themselves?
How many times have you seen a cop do absolutely nothing when they drive by or are passed on the street by a truck that is a mile high in the sky or a motorcycle without mufflers?
As to the possibility of it being a “culture tradition” issue, it should be the “culture tradition” of law enforcement to do their thing. If they can’t, then they shouldn’t so readily turn down requests from their community to help them out.
• Vincent Cosner, Lihu‘e
Visitors are important, too
After reading the letter from Ken and Claudia Bachman (“Speak out against timeshares,” Letters, Jan. 22), they seem to express their opinion that visitors are not welcome on their island.
The fact is many can only afford to visit. The cost of purchasing a home on Kaua‘i is a luxury well beyond our financial resources. Many of us timeshare owners stretch to afford a few weeks every other year.
From the words in the Bachman letter, even permanent residents will have a “negative impact” on Kaua‘i.
I have a small suggestion for the Bachmans: Perhaps you need to ask those who formerly worked for closed restaurants and shops and are now struggling to pay their mortgages if they share your opinion. We already miss Coconuts.
For one month every other year, our family will continue to visit Kaua‘i. I will apologize in advance for our car parked in parking lots for the Princeville Foodland, or the restaurants we enjoy, or the places where we shop.
We will continue to return and enjoy the aloha spirit. We will do our part to help the Bachmans by avoiding the Princeville area. I hope this helps.
• Karol Kusunose, Auburn, Wash.
Respect other cultures
Glenn Mickens, we appreciate your hard work in promoting a lot of student-athletes in our schools. However, I have to disagree with you on AJA Baseball. (“Baseball should be colorblind,” Letters, Jan. 21)
They have been together for a long time and entertained the island’s people. Hawai‘i is so much like Southern Californian in that we accept all other races to every sport. But we also respect other cultures.
If they have an organization such as the AJA, so be it. We have a Miss Filipino contest and only young women with Filipino blood can enter. We have Hawaiian homes and schools that only Hawaiian people can attend. We learn to accept and respect other cultures’ wishes.
Mr. Mickens, continue to promote student-athletes because there is no better way for our youths to be discovered. But don’t make it a big deal with AJA Baseball. There are lots of other leagues that youths can play in.
• Howard Tolbe, ‘Ele‘ele
