The Kaua‘i Coalition for Responsible Development has formed to limit the building of new tourist accommodations and to curb the proliferation of agricultural subdivisions. Dr. Monroe Richman and Walter Lewis, a retired corporate attorney, said the group formed because county
The Kaua‘i Coalition for Responsible Development has formed to limit the building of new tourist accommodations and to curb the proliferation of agricultural subdivisions.
Dr. Monroe Richman and Walter Lewis, a retired corporate attorney, said the group formed because county government generally has turned its back on those issues.
The only exception, they said, has been Mayor Bryan Baptiste’s bill for a moratorium on new agricultural subdivisions that was recently sent to the Kaua’i County Planning Commission.
“The mayor’s proposal is very helpful,” Richman said, but noted more has to be done.
If little or nothing is done in those areas, Kaua‘i could become a place mostly for the rich some day, the men said.
Lewis and Richman said their group has started a community-driven campaign to “seek an end to the presently uncontrolled growth of hotel rooms, time-share units and other properties used for transient accommodations.”
Richman said Kaua‘i’s beauty has made it one of the top visitor attractions in the world ”equivalent to Aspen or Sun Valley Idaho.”
The visitors who came to Kaua‘i in the past stayed at hotels and spent their money at local business, Richman said. But the ones who come today stay at vacation rentals, bed-and-breakfast outlets and time-share units and don’t support local economy because they spend less, he said.
“They are burdening our whole infrastructure, and little has been done to address this critical problem,” Richman said. With 15,000 accommodation units proposed since 2000, government and residents should be concerned, the men said.
Kaua‘i County has the largest number of time-share units of all the counties, Richman said. “And this didn’t come by accident. It came about by a casual, indifferent approach by government without any vision of the impact,” he said.
Baptiste said the group’s claim government has not done a better job of controlling resort development has no merit.
He said his administration and the Kaua‘i County Council approved the rezoning of the Kukui‘ula Development project in Po‘ipu from about 3,500 resort and residential units to 1500 units.
It is a density reduction that will mean fewer cars on the road and less strain on the infrastructure, Baptiste indicated.
Baptiste has said no new upzoning for resort use has occurred since he took office in 2002, and that whatever is being built now was zoned prior to the start of his term.
“The council has worked hard to lessen the amount of development where we can legally do so,” he said.
Kaua‘i County Councilman Kaipo Asing was not immediately available for comment yesterday.
The group also wants to curb the use of agriculturally and open-zoned land for upscale housing for agricultural subdivisions.
Lewis said the Kaua‘i General Plan Update of 2000 supports the preservation of agricultural land and open space, and that thrust has been compromised by an increase in agricultural subdivision with homes owned by non-residents.
Baptiste said his administration is already tending to this issue through his moratorium bill,
“We submitted a bill to the Planning Commission last week that would put a temporary moratorium on the creation of new agricultural subdivisions until new legislation and regulations are in place that would protect and preserve agricultural lands,” he said.
Baptiste said he hopes the group’s efforts work out for the best. “When people unite and work towards the greater good of the community, it’s usually a good thing,” he said.
Lewis said the group will try to work with the council to fashion solutions, but if no headway is made, the group will introduce a charter amendment for the 2008 General Election.
“If the council is not responsive, we are prepared to proceed with a measure that would be submitted to the voters,” Lewis said.
The group also wants to address traffic congestion, overcrowded beaches and affordable housing.
Residents can reach the group at 822-9899 or at KauaiCoalition@yahoo.com
Both Lewis and Richman helped found the Ohana Kaua‘i group, which introduced a tax relief charter amendment that was approved by voters in the 2004 General Election.
The Hawai‘i Supreme Court recently ruled the measure violated the Hawai‘i Constitution but not the Kaua‘i County Charter.
