On Monday, the National Tropical Botanical Garden announced it will immediately discontinue the use of the Limahuli Hale at its North Shore garden and preserve. The announcement was in response to a letter from the Office of Conservation and Coastal
On Monday, the National Tropical Botanical Garden announced it will immediately discontinue the use of the Limahuli Hale at its North Shore garden and preserve.
The announcement was in response to a letter from the Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources. The letter stated that the NTBG’s use of the single-family dwelling for educational and administrative purposes does not comply with the Conservation District Use Application.
The mission of the OCCL is to conserve and protect conservation district lands and beaches within the state. The OCCL oversees approximately two million acres of public and private lands that lie within the State Land Use Conservation District. The CDUA is used to apply for land use within the State of Hawai‘i Conservation District.
“While we are disappointed in the OCCL’s determination, we want to be in full compliance with the conservation regulations for this important and fragile area,” Chipper Wichman, NTBG director and CEO, said.
The ahupua‘a (land division) of Ha‘ena, which encompasses the entire Limahuli Valley, was designated a State Conservation District in 1967 and consists primarily of the Limahuli Garden and Preserve. In 1992, the garden and preserve was placed into a special subzone, the Limahuli Valley Special Subzone, by the DLNR. This special subzone permitted the issuance of a CDUA for activities relative to a botanical garden and preserve, as outlined in the master plan of the NTBG.
Later, the NTBG had acquired a residential lot adjacent to the property and outside the special subzone. The lot contained a single-family residence, which is now known as Limahuli Hale.
The NTBG has been using Limahuli Hale as an office, an educational facility and as short-term housing for volunteer groups and researchers.
Because the existing CDUA for the lot stipulates that a single-family home cannot be used for rental or any other commercial purposes, the NTBG’s use of the residence as an office/education center/short-term housing would be in violation of the permit.
“It has been somewhat of a challenge to relocate these functions while not disrupting our day-to-day operations,” Kawika Winter, director of Limahuli Garden and Preserve, said. “We plan to take the steps necessary within the framework of the regulations to apply for alternative use of the Hale.”
• Rachel Gehrlein, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) or rgehrlein@kauaipubco.com.
