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Kokua Line
Question: I was going to Waimanalo one day when I noticed a structure in the design of church going up on the mauka side of the road by Sea Life Park. I heard it was going to be used for weddings. Did they research the area regarding the fishing shrine or other historic sites? The chapel is very unattractive compared to the beautiful lava on the mauka side. Waimanalo chapel
to be ‘low impact’Answer: The wedding chapel and adjacent dining/reception facility is on land leased to Sea Life Park by the state Board of Land and Natural Resources.
In March, Attractions Hawaii, which operates Sea Life Park, asked permission to build the structures on the Hawaii Kai side of the entrance to the park.
It withdrew its application in May, after it was cited for unauthorized grading of the property and fined $665, according to the Department of Land and Natural Resources.
On July 14, the Board of Land and Natural Resources approved a Conservation District Use Application for construction of a 2,351-square-foot chapel and 3,616-square-foot dining facility. The area had long been targeted for a restaurant and is part of a special sub-zone, established in 1981 for recreational, educational and commercial purposes.
Gloria Bridal Services will operate the wedding concession business, said Sea Life Park General Manager Wayne Nielsen.
Some community members had raised concerns about the structures affecting historic sites or endangering a rare species of the Hawaiian poppy.
However, after reviewing the application, historic reports, maps, and aerial photographs, as well as doing a field inspection, state Historic Preservation staff "pretty much concurred with the applicant's hired consulting archaeologist that there were no surface historic sites present," said DLNR spokeswoman Deborah Ward.
She also said research does not indicate a heiau or religious site in that area.
"Records do indicate the old village of Kaupo was in that area, but most information places an old heiau in the vicinity of the comfort station in the county beach park," on the makai side of Kalanianaole Highway, Ward said.
However, construction is to be halted immediately if "any unrecorded historic remains are inadvertently discovered during construction," she said.
"This is not anything that would be unique," Nielsen said of the chapel, noting that Sea Life Park has hosted weddings for the past 25 years. "We do a lot of night events and baby first luaus, plus corporate picnics and luaus, etc. So this was a natural extension."
Nielsen also said the chapel business would be "low impact," with typical weddings to involve 25 or fewer people.
The goal is to have the chapel finished by the end of the year.
More on World Gym
Members of World Gym, closed since a fire on Aug. 6, are being offered a special yearly membership of $95 at Timmy's Gym, located behind the Nimitz Business Center."We're just trying to help out," said Timmy's president Christine Glass, noting that Timmy Leong, the founder of the gym, and World Gym Honolulu operator Shane Morioka are good friends.
Morioka hopes to reopen within six months, but is offering refunds. Call Glass at 585-9777 or write to Morioka at 670 Auahi St., Suite 1, Honolulu 96813.
Mahalo
To George at the Bureau of Conveyances' records office. Your friendly and helpful attitude is an example to all who work for the state. - No name
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