KALAHEO — The public is invited to attend a meeting to discuss and comment on a master and management plan to designate Lawa‘i Kai as a special subzone of the State Conservation District, a news release says. The meeting, sponsored
KALAHEO — The public is invited to attend a meeting to discuss and comment on a master and management plan to designate Lawa‘i Kai as a special subzone of the State Conservation District, a news release says.
The meeting, sponsored by the National Tropical Botanical Garden, will be from 6 to 8 p.m., Oct. 20, at the Koloa Neighborhood Center.
For the purposes of this holistic plan, the term Lawa‘i Kai encompasses the Allerton Garden, the lower reaches of Lawa‘i Stream, the beach at Lawa‘i Kai, and Lawa‘i Bay and includes proposed coastal and boating access provisions. The function of the meeting is to describe the planning process, present the plan, and receive public feedback. The feedback will then be summarized and incorporated into the final plan and draft environmental assessment.
“For the past two years the Lawa‘i Kai Community Advisory Group, which is made up of nearly 25 members of the community, has been meeting to come up with a proactive plan to preserve the natural, cultural, historical, and aesthetics of this very special place, and to accommodate the current levels of use,” said Chipper Wichman, NTBG CEO and director, in the release. “The group has worked very hard to take all this in consideration and incorporate it into a plan that will protect this area now and for future generations.”
The “Draft Lawa‘i Kai Special Subzone Master Plan and Management Plan” can be found at lawaikai.ntbg.org. The comprehensive document contains information on existing conditions, use and resources. Also available on the Web site are survey/assessment reports on marine resources, archaeological findings, biological and habitat assessment of the lower Lawa‘i Stream, and botanical inventory which were used to develop the plan.
