A contractor that will be installing roads and utilities at a slew of new multi-million-dollar residential resorts in Po‘ipu received the green light from the Kaua‘i County Planning Commission to continue using a construction staging area for upcoming projects. At
A contractor that will be installing roads and utilities at a slew of new multi-million-dollar residential resorts in Po‘ipu received the green light from the Kaua‘i County Planning Commission to continue using a construction staging area for upcoming projects.
At a meeting last month, the Planning Commission denied a request from Goodfellow Bros. to continue using the 6-acre site by St. Raphael’s Church in Koloa.
The commission cited public concerns about the impact of noise and dust from the operation on neighborhoods and the church and heavy equipment machinery being driven along Hapa Road while pedestrians periodically walked on it.
Meeting at the Lihu‘e Civic Center, the Planning Commission voted to reconsider its previous decision and stipulated the new permit to Goodfellow Bros. was good for only one year.
The Commission said it also would consider extending the permit for another year if the company showed progress in finding a permanent site for the baseyard.
According to Jonathan Chun, Kaua‘i attorney representing Goodfellow, the commission also stipulated the company will not use Hapa Road, which he said “is all right by us.”
It is not known if their presence made a difference, but a group of at least 40 persons attended the meeting to show support for the project.
The decision, nonetheless, sparked criticism from Rupert Rowe, a kanaka and a longtime south Kaua‘i resident.
“This is supposed to be the Garden Island, but it is the garbage island,” he said during a break in the meeting. “This decision is just more poor planning for the island.”
Prior to the vote in favor of Goodfellow, resident Elaine Dunbar said the previous commission decision amounted to good planning and that the commission should not waiver from its first decision.
“Please remember the reason you made this decision,” she said.
Hapa Road has historical importance because it was used by ancient Hawaiians to get from the land to the sea, said Louie Abrams, president and board member of the Koloa Community Association.
Protecting Hapa Road is a top priority for Koloa residents as well because it is the centerpiece of a multi-phased, multi-million-dollar intermodal traffic circulation plan to alleviate traffic congestion in south Kaua‘i, Abrams said.
In voicing opposition to Goodfellow’s request, residents presented to the commission photos of dust from the grading Goodfellow generated for the installation of a mile-long pipe along Hapa Road that had been approved by the Kaua‘i County Water Board.
Kiahuna Mauka Partners, which consists of five South Kaua‘i developers, including U.S. Builders and Brookfield, paid for the water system that will provide water to three new condominium projects and two single-famliy subdivisions in Po‘ipu, Abrams said.
For the water pipe project, Goodfellow had negotiated the use of the 6-acre site from the landowner, the Knudsen Family, Chun said.
Placed on the site were offices and a shop for mechanical work, Chun said. Supplies also were stored at the site.
After completing the waterline project, Goodfellow was to have applied to the county Planning Department for the use permit so it could continue using the baseyard, Chun said.
While some residents voiced concerns the project would generate dust affecting nearby St. Raphael’s Church, members of the church sent a letter of support for the Goodfellow permit request, Chun said.
As a compromise to other public concerns, Goodfellow was willing not to use any part of Hapa Road, Chun said.
Instead, Goodfellow would work out an agreement with the owner of the road to block all travel on it, for safety reasons, he said
Heavy machinery would then travel on cane haul roads to the Poipu Bypass Road and then onto Kiahuna Drive to get to job sites off Po‘ipu Road, Chun said.
Laura Cushnie, the manager of Kaua‘i operations for Goodfellow Bros., which has its main office on Maui, said the proposal to block off Hapa Road to use by company machinery shows Goodfellow wants to be a good neighbor.
“We always try to do the right thing, to be part of the community,” she said.
Abrams said his organization has taken no official stand on the Goodfellow permit request, but some group members became more receptive to it as the circumstances that led to the use of the site became known.
Association members also warmed to the permit request after seeing Goodfellow tried to meet residents halfway on some concerns, including blocking off all of Hapa Road.
Abrams said he personally would like to see Road Hapa separated in a way so that both pedestrian and machinery can use it.
Abrams also said he presented various solutions to the county Planning Department and Planning Commission that would address the concerns of the residents and Goodfellow, including allowing work to occur only during the daytime from Monday to Friday.
Another option would be for Goodfellow to carry liability insurance to cover any accidents on Hapa Road, Abrams said.
Abrams said the county owns the road and would be liable in case of an accident. But Chun said the ownership of the road was not known to him.
