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HANAUMA BAY: FACE-OFF OVER FACE LIFT

By Ken Ige, Star-Bulletin
Low tide gives visitors a good view of coral; standing
on the reefs, however, is discouraged
for conservation reasons.

Community
groups battle over
$10.6 mil project

Two new buildings would
detract from the area's natural
beauty, critics say

Development plans for Hanauma Bay

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-Bulletin

FOR Hawaii Kai resident David Washino, the clifftop overlooking Hanauma Bay is as worthy of preservation as the coral-laden, fish-filled body of water below.

"There's an anticipation of 'Wow, I'm going to look over the cliff and see it,' " said Washino, a member of the East Honolulu Community Coalition.

The coalition and two part-Hawaiians, Roy Benham and Beverly Palenapa, hope to delay or alter the city's $10.6 million plan to improve the upper portion of Hanauma Bay Nature Preserve. They think the project is overwhelming for the popular recreation area.

HEARING ON PLAN The state Board of Land and Natural Resources considers the Hanauma Bay project at 4 p.m. tomorrow in the first-floor board room of the Kalanimoku Building, 1151 Punchbowl St.

The coalition -- which claims 15 active members and Benham and Palenapa, who claim support from other native Hawaiians -- seeks "contested case hearing status" regarding the city's request for a conservation district use permit from the state Board of Land and Natural Resources.

The six-member Land Board is to consider tomorrow whether to grant the objectors that status. If it does, they will have more extensive rights to bring witnesses during the Land Board's permitting process, which could extend the process by months.

Central in the dispute over the bay's future are two proposed structures -- a marine education center and a snack bar, connected by a rooftop to create a 13,000-square foot complex near the rim of the cliff.

The buildings would mar the view for both people on the beach and those walking toward the cliff from the parking lot above, Washino and others say.

Meanwhile, Benham charges that there is no need for a planned gift shop or expanded staff office space.

Proponents note that the marine education center and snack bar would be tucked away under 20-foot high berms and be less obtrusive to the setting than what's now there.

The city's plans are "the culmination of 10 years of efforts to address the damaging impact humans have had on the bay," said Cynthia Bond, a city employee and facilitator of the East Honolulu vision team that backs the improvements.

The Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board also endorses the improvements, but the Waimanalo Neighborhood Board opposes them.

Mayor Jeremy Harris' original plans in 1998 called for eliminating most buildings and the parking lot from the clifftop above the bay and putting the education center along the slopes of nearby Koko Head. Visitors would have been shuttled into Hanauma Bay. The plan also called for a cable car to the top of Koko Head.

Strong opposition caused Harris to scrap those plans and create a task force to come up with new recommendations.

Washino attended task force meetings and said there was not enough time for community input. "Some ideas were brought to the task force meeting, but it seems the city was really intent on doing the building."

Group 70 model showing proposed changes.

Bond, in response, said that the task force met six times before sending its initial recommendations to Harris, and then met at least half a dozen times afterward.

"There's never been a project with more community outreach and input and even the opponents should be proud of the impact their views had on the current proposal," she said.

At no time, Bond said, were concerns about the bermed, upper-facility structures brought up.

City attorney Gary Takeuchi said it will be difficult for the coalition, Benham and Palenapa to prove that they have concerns not addressed during the standard land use process.

"Generally, they have to show that they have some kind of particular interest or harm that is different from that of the general public," Takeuchi said.

But Benham said that the concerns of native Hawaiians such as Palenapa and himself have so far been ignored. The plans are "not Hawaiian" and are too extravagant for a place that he and others hold as spiritual.

He suggested staff offices in another location and a smaller halau structure set back from the cliffs for educational purposes.

Washino said the coalition does not oppose lower bay improvements and doesn't necessarily want to eliminate all the plans for the upper portion, just more time to discuss the options.

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Development plans
for Hanauma Bay

Graphics by David Swann
Star-Bulletin

Key to the opponents' argument are the proposed marine education center and snack-bar facilities on the cliff-top portion of the bay. Both buildings are excessive and encroach on the beauty of the area, the critics say. City officials insist, however, that the latest designs are scaled down from Mayor Jeremy Harris' plans for a cable car up to Koko Head.

Sources: Group 70 International; INK Architects