Waimanalo
residents stop canoe
shed construction
at Kaiona Beach

The canoe club hopes to
build their shed at
Waimanalo Park

---

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
gpang@starbulletin.com

City officials will consider changing the location where a canoe shed will be built to Waimanalo Beach Park from Kaiona Beach Park because of community opposition.

The City Council Zoning Committee deferred yesterday a vote on a special management area use permit for the canoe halau project at Kaiona Beach Park. The deferral came at the request of the Department of Design and Construction.

About 300 Waimanalo residents signed a petition opposing the halau at Kaiona.

Waimanalo residents said Kaiona is too small and overused, particularly on weekends when there is no parking.

Kaiona is about 4 acres in size, compared with the 37-acre Waimanalo Beach Park.

Kawahine Kamakea-Ohelo, a Waimanalo Homestead resident, told the Council that Kaiona is popular for families with young children and elderly members because of its calm waters.

The Waimanalo Neighborhood Board, in response to the same outcry, also voted on Monday night to support moving the facility.

The change is expected to delay construction of the project because the city now will need to restart the permit approval process.

A construction contract already had been awarded tentatively.

Officials with the Waimanalo Canoe Club said they support the move but are hoping the delay will not cause any loss in funding.

The vision team appropriated $400,000 in its 2002 budget, and the money must be spent by December 2002, according to several community members involved in the vision team process.

Nazarene Anderson, vice president for the club, said her organization hopes the design will not have to be changed, causing further delays.

"At this point we don't want to lose funding again. We don't want to wait another two years," Anderson said.

City officials did not respond yesterday to questions about how the delay would affect the timetable or funding for the project.

The Waimanalo vision team appropriated $125,000 for the project in 2000, but that money lapsed because of delays in the planning process, Waimanalo residents said.

Several blamed a city-hired architect for coming up with a project that was too big, over budget and did not reflect the views of the community.

Wilson Ho, Waimanalo Neighborhood Board chairman, said initial plans called for an $80,000 facility to be constructed by the community.

"But the architect designed it and suddenly it was costing $400,000," Ho said.