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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2010-09-30 Open Space Commission Minutes COUNTY OF KAUAI PUBLIC ACCESS, OPEN SPACE, & NATURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION FUND COMMISSION Lliu'e Civic Center, Moikeha Building Meeting Room 2A/213 MINUTES A regular meeting of the County of Kauai, Public Access, Open Space, & Natural Resources Preservation Fund Commission of the County of Kaua'i was held on September 30, 2010, in the Li`hu'e Civic Center, Moikeha Building Meeting Room 2A/2B. The following Commissioners were present: Tessie Kinnaman, Chairperson, Johanna Ventura, Vice Chairperson, Linda Dela Cruz, Maurice Nakahara, and Jean Souza. The following Commissioners were absent: Eugene Punzal and three (3) vacancies. The following staff members were present: Nani Sadora and Duke Nakamatsu. CALL TO ORDER Chair Kinnaman called the meeting to order at 1:10 p.m. APPROVAL OF AGENDA Chair Kinnaman announced that the Deputy County Attorney was not available today for executive session and that Tommy Oi from the DLNR was also not available for Commission education. MOTION: It was moved by Johanna Ventura and seconded by Linda Dela Cruz to approve the agenda. All were in favor by unanimous voice vote — motion passed. APPROVAL OF MEETING MINUTES — Regular meeting minutes of 9/09/10 and executive session minutes of 5/27/10, 6/24/10, and 8/12/10. Regular meeting minutes of 9/09/10 — Deferred. I MOTION: It was moved by Jean Souza and seconded by Maurice Nakahara to defer approval of the 9/09/10 meeting minutes. All were in favor by unanimous voice vote — motion passed. Executive session minutes of 5/27/10 — Deferred. Commissioner Ventura stated that she would like to seek clarification from the Deputy County Attorney on the executive session minutes of 5/27/10. MOTION: It was moved by Johanna Ventura and seconded by Linda Dela Cruz to defer approval of the 5/27/10 executive session minutes. All were in favor by unanimous voice vote — motion passed. Executive session minutes of 6/24/10 and 8/12/10 — Deferred. MOTION: It was moved by Johanna Ventura and seconded by Linda Dela Cruz to approve the 6/24/10 executive session minutes. Ayes: 4 Nos: 1 Motion did not carry Commissioner Souza stated that since Commissioner Nakahara is new, she felt it would be a good idea to discuss the implications of the executive session. MOTION: It was moved by Jean Souza and seconded by Linda Dela Cruz to defer approval of the 6/24/10 and 8/12/10 executive session minutes. All were in favor by unanimous voice vote — motion passed. ANNOUNCEMENTS Ms. Sadora announced that Deputy Planning Director Aiu has a newborn son and is temporarily out of the office. She stated that any Departmental approval or review would be from the Planning Director. 2 UNFINISHED BUSINESS Status of filling of vacant Commissioner positions. Ms. Sadora announced that the Council and the Administration are still seeking candidates to fill the Commissioner vacancies. Regarding the Commission's question on whether or not Commissioner Nakahara's district appointment could be switched from at-large to Kilauea, she stated that the Boards & Commissions office and the County Attorney's office are reviewing the process and the language. She stated that there should be an update by the next meeting. Commissioner Souza noted that Commissioner Punzal would be willing to continue in a 90 day holdover for meetings where he would be needed for quorum. Update and discussion of the Commission's work plan/timeline of events and activities through 2010, to include future Commission education topics and scope and timing of facilitated review of the Commission's vision, goals, direction, priorities, processes, and proposals. Commissioner Ventura questioned the status of the proposed Ordinance Amendment. Ms. Sadora stated that she met with Deputy County Attorney Dahilig and he said that the findings section needed to be worded in a way that Council would accept it. She stated that a cover letter would be accompanying the proposal stating why the Commission is making the amendments. She asked the Commission if they would prefer formally submitting the amendments for adoption or if the Commission would like to first request an informal meeting with Council members for dialog prior to finalization of the document. Commissioner Souza stated that the Commission wanted to first speak with the Council members informally then make revisions. She felt that delays that have complicated the process since it is an election year. Commissioner Ventura stated that she felt it would promote a better understanding of why the Commission felt the changes were necessary if they could meet with Council members first rather than asking the Council to take the item up for discussion at a formal Council meeting. Commissioner Souza stated that she felt hesitant to submit the amendments formally without prior conversations. She stated that if the Deputy County attorney felt that the amendment was ready to submit, he should have stated something earlier. Ms. Sadora stated that Deputy County Attorney Dahilig was trying to provide the best scenario that would help expedite the process. She stated that if the Commission would prefer to meet with the Council members she would need to contact them individually. 3 Chair Kinnaman stated that her main concern was the opportunity to recruit the 9t" Commissioner. Ms. Sadora questioned whether the Commission would prefer to hand the amendments to the Council members when they meet, or if they would prefer to send it as a communication prior to the meeting. Commissioner Ventura stated that it would depend if the Commission was planning to take Council input and shape the amendments, or if they just wanted to brief the Council about it. Ms. Sadora stated that Council will want to know the purpose of the meeting, so she questioned if the Commission would like to send the amendments or a cover letter. Commissioner Souza stated that she would like the amendments to be submitted separate from the annual report. She felt it would be good to send the amendments to the Council for informal consideration then arrange a meeting with them, two at a time, for their feedback. She questioned if that could be done in the next two weeks. Ms. Sadora stated that she would follow up with the Council Chair and the Planning Committee Chair. Commissioner Ventura noted that the elections are in November and new Council members would begin in January. Chair Kinnaman asked staff to prepare a cover letter. Ms. Sadora stated that the amendment is in its final version but the Deputy County Attorney is working on the language in the findings. She stated that the cover letter would also address the Council revisiting the interpretation of the term "disabled". She stated that according to the Deputy County Attorney, the Council's intention was not clear. Commissioner Ventura suggested that if it is not possible to meet with dual members of the Council, they could arrange to meet with them individually. Chair Kinnaman noted that Section 4 states that material to be repealed is bracketed. She noted that on page 3 the bracketed words should be underscored. Ms. Sadora stated that she would seek clarification from the Deputy County Attorney. Commissioner Souza noted that on page 2, the word "disabled" is underlined, bolded, and shaded, but the words "disabled and" should have been bracketed. 4 Commissioner Ventura clarified that the punctuation that has occurred with the tracking of the changes does not agree with the new section that has been added. She stated that it would depend on what the common protocol is with the Council then they could bring the document into alignment. She stated that the Commission had a discussion about the use of the term "disabled". She stated that improving public access would be inclusive of ADA compliance. MOTION: It was moved by Jean Souza and seconded by Johanna Ventura to delete "disabled and" from 7 and 8 on page 2 of the proposed draft Bill. All were in favor by unanimous voice vote — motion passed. Commissioner Ventura stated that if there is a concern from the County Attorney's office regarding changing the possible original intent of the Council, then she felt it could be discussed when they meet with the Council members. Commissioner Souza suggested labeling the draft bill as "discussion draft". She said that the Commission wants the Council to realize that it is only a draft and subject to change. Commissioner Ventura stated that "discussion draft" would be good because the intent is to initiate discussion. Commissioner Souza stated that her understanding was the draft was supposed to be a cleaned-up version. Ms. Sadora noted that the original version wasn't clean in the existing Ordinance. She stated that her understanding of a cleaned version was how it exists in the Ordinance now with the additions that the Commission wanted. She stated that she will provide a clean version for the Commission. Commissioner Ventura stated that aside from the inconsistencies of the tracked changes, it was her understanding that a clean version was the original Ordinance with the Commission's tracked changes added to it. She clarified that the original Ordinance has the tracked changes from when it went through the original revisions. She understood that a clean version would be to turn it into a final without the original tracked changes, then adding the Commission's changes tracked in a way that whoever is reviewing it would be clear on the amendments. Commissioner Souza stated that the current draft includes the original changes that were already approved by the Council. Ms. Sadora stated that the draft cleans up what should have been taken out and what should have been added. She stated that on page 3, the strikeouts indicate what the Commission is proposing to be deleted and the brackets are what the Commission is 5 proposing to be added to existing language. She stated that the underlined items on page 4 are new proposals that were never part of the original Ordinance. Chair Kinnaman noted that the bracketed "seated members" on page 3 should be underlined and the strikeout words should be bracketed to be consistent with the new sections. Commissioner Ventura stated that she felt the most important point to express in the cover letter would be that the Commission would like to bring the Ordinance in alignment with the public's expectations of the Commission's roles. Ms. Sadora stated that Deputy County Attorney Dahilig also suggested that the cover letter explain that the Commission is not seeking more authority, but looking at ways to work in partnerships. She stated that she could work with Commissioner Ventura on the language in the cover letter. Commissioner Ventura stated that another point would be that the Commission values the Council's feedback and would like the opportunity to discuss the proposals prior to a formal submittal. Commissioner Souza questioned items 3, 4, and 5 on page 5. Chair Kinnaman stated that they are included whenever an Ordinance is introduced or amended. Commissioner Nakahara questioned item 3 on page 3. He asked if "seated members" implies the number of members that are available at a particular time. Chair Kinnaman stated that under the new proposal, a minimum of 5 Commissioners would be required to appoint its member. Commissioner Ventura clarified that the way the Ordinance is currently worded, because the Council and the Administration has vacancies that they have not been able to fill, the Commission has been unable to fill the ninth seat. She stated that by changing the language, even if there are other vacancies, the Commission would be able to fill the ninth seat. Commissioner Nakahara questioned item 4 on page 3 regarding initial terms. Commissioner Souza suggested clarifying the language to "initial terms of appointment in 2005". Chair Kinnaman stated that the language is what existed in the original Ordinance. Commissioner Ventura stated that she liked the suggestion of specifying the initial terms of appointment. She agreed that the current wording may be confusing. 6 Chair Kinnaman stated that she wouldn't personally change section 4 unless there was a compelling reason. Commissioner Ventura requested asking the County Attorney's office if there would be any harm in specifying the initial term dates. Review and discussion on 3/11/10 North shore field trip. Commissioner Ventura distributed the latest draft of the North shore field trip report including the cover sheet. She stated that she did not receive additional feedback regarding content changes. She said the Commission discussed standardizing the place names with addresses, TMKs, or districts, but she did not have the specific TMKs, so the bulleted list on the title page refers only to the place names in the original document. Ms. Sadora asked if she could receive an electronic version. Commissioner Ventura stated that she was having difficulty with formatting consistencies when converting the file to pdf. She stated that she could make whatever changes the Commission would like to make and try to resolve the formatting. She questioned the title for the report. Commissioner Souza stated that the last report was entitled North Shore Field Trip Hanalei to Ha'ena. She suggested entitling this report as North Shore Field Trip 'Aliomanu to Princeville. Chair Kinnaman asked the Commission if they were ready to accept the field trip report. Commissioner Ventura stated that there were still areas that needed to be cleaned up. She noted that the possible opportunities/actions section needed to be standardized to identify responsible agencies. She stated that she did not want to make content changes without the Commission's input. Commissioner Souza stated that she was okay with Commissioner Ventura making clarifying content changes. Commissioner Nakahara questioned if was the responsibility of the Commission to attain liability protection. Commissioner Ventura stated that liability is an issue that exists and is a constraint. She felt that obtaining liability insurance should be moved from the actions column to the issue/conditions column. She stated that the Commission by Resolution could urge the County and its Legislative delegation to seek liability protection. 7 Commissioner Souza noted that item 6B of the draft amendments states that the Commission wants to be authorized to advocate and propose policies and Legislation to further public access and open space efforts on Kauai. She stated that they want to address the problem of liability protection for the County. Commissioner Ventura stated that okinas are missing in the Hawaiian place names and that it was her recollection that the official policy was not to include diacritical marks. Commissioner Souza stated that when Puna Kalama Dawson was a commissioner, she stated that most of the current use of diacritical marks was influenced by the University of Hawaii, but many Hawaiian words have different meanings. She said the Commission decided that they were not going to make the decision on how to use diacritical marks. Regarding the section of the Na Ala Hele coastal trail to Ka'aka'aniu, Commissioner Souza pointed out that many of the actions were probably former Commissioner Blaich's ideas, but not necessarily discussed by the Commission. Commissioner Ventura stated that some of the suggested actions seemed bold. Commissioner Souza suggested inviting Na Ala Hele for an education session. Commissioner Ventura stated that she would like to hear what the plans are regarding the trails program and advisory group on Kaua'i. Commissioner Souza suggested deleting action 3 regarding re-establishing an advisory group and combining action 1 and 2. Commissioner Ventura agreed that a Resolution would be premature, and that 1 and 2 could be combined. The Commission agreed to strike number 3 and the Resolution, and to combine 1 and 2. Commissioner Ventura stated that segments of the community were not satisfied with the solution that has been reached by the County and the land owner because that would mean the loss of the historical trail, and the access that has been identified is not as easily traversable as the gentle sloping trail that the landowner is now going to fence in. Commissioner Souza stated that she would like to hear from DLNR. Regarding Ka'aka'aniu-Lepeuli, Commissioner Souza noted that the County had not yet taken action when the Commission first began working on the report. Chair Kinnaman suggested adding "Action resolved by County Council in August 2010". 8 Commissioner Ventura stated that she liked that idea and recommended that staff obtain the information to reference. Ms. Sadora questioned the reference to the lepeuli and if the Commission was distinguishing the lepeuli from Ka'aka'aniu and the upper plateau. Chair Kinnaman stated that she thought the upper plateau was the alaloa. Commissioner Ventura stated that in the community's mind, the alaloa is the trail that is being blocked by the land owner which is the gentle slope down in the makai area. Ms. Sadora felt that when people referenced the lepeuli, they were referencing the whole area. She stated that she was wanted the field trip report to be consistent with the annual report. Commissioner Ventura stated that there was the issue of Moloa'a to Ka'aka'aniu being part of the Na Ala Hele trail. Another issue was that access ways were being closed, but that had possibly been addressed. The third issue was that the SMA area was vulnerable and she was not sure if that was referenced to as Ka'aka'aniu or the lepeuli. She felt that possible action could be to consider acquisition or encourage the County to work with the community. She felt that both sections should be separated and requested clarification on proper use of the place names. She stated that if Ka'aka'aniu was specific to the ocean area, she felt it would be okay to utilize that to demark the access ways, but she wasn't sure if that would be descriptive for the SMA area. Ms. Sadora stated that all of the references for the SMA state lepeuli. She noted that the Commission decided to include the lepeuli ancient alaloa for consideration. Commissioner Ventura stated that the ancient trail is not the SMA area but the segment of the Na Ala Hele coastal trail to Ka'aka'aniu being blocked. She felt that the bigger issue was promoting community engagement. Commissioner Souza stated that the Commission has heard from the community and from the County, but not from the DLNR. Commissioner Ventura suggested a Commission education session to discuss the current SMA status. She requested that if any commissioner had any concerns they should notify staff within a week and she would continue to work with the Chair to finalize the report for the next meeting. 9 Compilation and evaluation of the 2010 public input process pursuant to Ordinance No. 812 for the development of an annual list of priority projects and 2010 Report to the Kaua'i County Council and the Mayor. Staff distributed drafts of the updated survey analysis. Commissioner Ventura questioned the Commission's notation from the last meeting that the Kapaia swinging bridge was on the historical list. Ms. Sadora stated that they are still trying to confirm if it is on the historical register. Commissioner Souza questioned whether the Commission wanted to keep Coco Palms on the recommendations list. Commissioner Ventura stated that if it was the Commission's decision to strike the larger sites off of the priority recommendations list, she would agree since they are not easily achievable, but she felt there was some value in keeping some attention on them. Chair Kinnaman stated that at the next meeting the Commission will need to work on their preliminary recommendations. Commissioner Ventura stated that she felt some ranking should be done on the culled suggestions. She would also be in favor of discussion larger sites and how to treat them. Commissioner Souza suggested placing the larger sites on the long range plan. She stated that Coco Palms, Mahaulepu, and Menehune Fishpond could be kept on a working list. She pointed out that Dr. Kawane's concern was not regarding Lawa`i Bay. Commissioner Ventura clarified that Dr. Kawane's concern was regarding coastal access from Lawa`i Bay to Port Allen. Commissioner Souza suggested labeling his recommendation as Numila to Port Allen. Commissioner Ventura stated that she liked the idea of including the larger items in the long range plan. She also felt that they should also be mentioned as having the Commission's support in the report. Commissioner Souza stated that by mentioning the sites, it would acknowledge the public's suggestions. She suggested including a complete list as an attachment. NEXT MEETING DATE AND AGENDA TOPICS FOR DISCUSSION Chair Kinnaman stated that the agenda items will be the same for the next meeting. 10 ADJOURNMENT MOTION: It was moved by Johanna Ventura and seconded by Maurice Nakahara to adjourn the meeting. All were in favor by unanimous voice vote — motion passed. Meeting adjourned at 4:31 p.m. Respectfully submitted by: Duke Nakamatsu, Support Clerk 11