LIHU‘E — On its face, it looked on the Planning Commission agenda Tuesday to be a simple review of a proposed single-family home on the North Shore. But the planned home in question is in a Wainiha subdivision, close to
LIHU‘E — On its face, it looked on the Planning Commission agenda Tuesday to be a simple review of a proposed single-family home on the North Shore.
But the planned home in question is in a Wainiha subdivision, close to the beach, two doors down from one being built by Joseph Brescia, which is where multiple sets of human remains were discovered — the focal point of a few lawsuits, a court order, ongoing discussions on a burial treatment plan and various other controversies.
Several hours after the 9 a.m. meeting began at the Mo‘ikeha Building, commissioners unanimously received the county Planning Department report on the building, location, material and design review for Gan Eden LLC, and approved as amended the same report.
But not before lots of discussion by commissioners, applicant representatives, community members, Planning Director Ian Costa and Deputy County Attorney Ian Jung.
The plan is to build a four-bedroom, three-bath home on the property, which will be set back 70 feet from the certified shoreline. It cannot be used as a vacation rental or bed-and-breakfast operation, according to department-imposed conditions.
No seawalls or revetments are allowed, and construction shall cease if any human remains, or kupuna iwi, are discovered. If kupuna iwi are found, no building permit will be issued until state Department of Land and Natural Resources State Historic Preservation Division and Kaua‘i/Ni‘ihau Island Burial Council burial treatment plans have been approved.
And in a rare move suggested by Max Graham, attorney for the applicant, this application will be subject to additional commission scrutiny, as the Tuesday preliminary and later final design sessions will be subject to commission approval and public comment.
Costa said normally just the initial review is subject to commission scrutiny and approval, but because this parcel is so close to a place where several dozen sets of human remains were found during construction and pre-construction activities, a final approval, where conditions of approval will again be discussed, will take place.
If the final design-approval process is anything like Tuesday’s, the focus of attention will be excavation work done in preparation for pouring of the home’s foundation.
Graham, appearing for Dr. David Morrow, principal of Gan Eden LLC, had with him David Tobey of Design Concepts, and David Shideler, an archaeologist with Cultural Surveys Hawai‘i.
Shideler said archaeological monitoring will begin well in advance of construction, and that excavation will be done to around three feet at the deepest when placement of concrete footings for the home are done.
Commissioner Herman Texeira asked if they could dig deeper than that to see if any human remains are present, and Shideler said proper state protocol is to dig only as deep as is necessary to facilitate construction, and only at the places necessary for said construction.
“The goal is minimum disturbance,” said Costa.
“The objective is that you don’t disturb the iwi, I would think,” Texeira said.
Digging deeper doesn’t make engineering sense, said Commissioner Caven Raco.
Trenching to detect possible human remains was done in 2000, and a “subsurface cultural layer” was found, showing existence of human habitation but no human bones, Shideler said.
Mary Mahina Mahealani Sylva said the property in question is in the middle of a “significant cultural area,” and that there is a high likelihood that iwi will be found, backing that assessment with a 1991 letter from then Planning Director Peter Nakamura that bones would likely be discovered in all of the Wainiha Subdivision makai lots.
Not handling this situation correctly would be “like pouring gas on a fire,” said Sylva, adding that the Brescia situation has “infuriated” many in the Native Hawaiian community.
“This is one sacred area,” and it is necessary to know the extent of iwi on the subject parcel, said North Shore resident Caren Diamond.
“I think the applicant would sleep better” knowing what’s under his home, she said, adding that she advocates excavating at least to a depth of six feet. “I think you should at least want to know what’s there.”
“Preservation means minimal disturbance,” or at least that’s what he was taught, said county planner Dale Cua, who earlier in the meeting was recognized by Costa for being the department’s employee of the year.
Commission Chair Jimmy Nishida, Commissioners Hartwell Blake and Texeira all expressed a level of discomfort about approving the construction of a house in an area where there might be human remains, though Cua’s report on the review was received and approved unanimously.
• Paul C. Curtis, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or pcurtis@kauaipubco.com
