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HomeMy WebLinkAboutjan222015ftKAUAI COUNTY HISTORIC PRESERVATION REVIEW COMMISSION Lihue Civic Center, Moikeha Building, Meeting Room 2A /213 MINUTES A meeting of the Kauai County Historic Preservation Commission (KHPRC) was held on January 22, 2015 in the Lihue Civic Center, Moikeha Building, Meeting Room 2A /2B. The following Commissioners were present: Stephen Long, Chairperson, Pat Griffin, Vice Chairperson, Anne Schneider, Patsy Sheehan, and Victoria Wichman. The following Commissioner(s) were absent: Danita Aiu, Althea Arinaga, and Kuuleialoha Santos. CALL TO ORDER The meeting was called to order at 1:05 pm. ANNOUNCEMENTS There were no announcements. COMMUNICATION There were no communications. RECESS Chair: Ok we are going to recess this meeting and continuation of the meeting for an excursion to the former Coco Palms resort located in Kapa` a. Mr. Jung: Ok Chair before we actually do recess Iet's just remind the Commissioners that when we do go out on the site visit, in this particular location there are some hazards that exist on the property. So Mr. Agor will kind of guide us through on where to go but I will be working with Mr. Agor and Chair to identify a safe location of where we can go. The public is invited to this so if the public does show up at 1:30 at the site entrance along Kuamoo Road we are going to have to take them with us. That is how Sunshine Law operates. So it's best that you can all just group together and stay together the whole time so we can kind of contain where we are going on the site visit, Ok and then when we deal with Sunshine Law you can have identifier discussions like where the property is. What you are looking at, what not but we don't want to engage in any dialogue discussion where you-' are talking about ok what is this impact and what not. So all that is reserved to when we get back here reconvene the meeting and discuss the site visit ok. Any questions? Ms. Griffin: I have a technical question. I brought a change of shoes because I have heels. How hazardous are we going? January 22, 2015 KHPRC Meeting Minutes Page 2 Mr. Jung: It's an active zone where they are doing some qualified demolition so you probably want to wear shoes that can handle some bit of pebbles and will probably walk in on the grass in the lagoon area. So I would probably put on some type of shoes. Mr. Belles: Good afternoon Mr. Chair and members of the commission. For the record Mike Belles I just wanted to supplement what Deputy County Attorney it's just that there is a lot of debris there leftover from the hurricane, glass shards throughout the property walkways and driveways and all that. So it's something that I would caution that I would wear sneakers and shoes. Just be careful of where you walls because anything can trip or fall, especially on a site that has been demolished but the areas that we have identified people have walked there even I have and I haven't hurt myself. So if I can do it you all can do it. Just be careful and I hope to see you all in one piece. (Laughter in background). Thank you, Mr. Lon.: Thank you. Ok we will recess our meeting now and go on our site visit. We will reconvene back here at approximately 2:30 pm this afternoon. Is there anybody I the public that has any testimony? (None). The KHPRC arrived at the former Coco Palms Resort located at 04 -241 Kuhi`o Highway at approximately 1:38 pm. Mr. Long: I would like to call this meeting of the Coco Palms to order. We have a message from our County Attorney. Mr. Junk: Ok so this is a public site visit so the public can come with us. We are going to go to specific areas. If any members of the public want to go to an area that the landowner, or 1, or the Chair says no to then we are going to have to cancel the site visit. So remember public we want your cooperation as we move through the site. It is a dangerous site in some areas especially with the wind right now there is coconuts that could be falling so we are going to avoid going around through the paths that we were going to go originally because of the wind and stay in the open areas here and then move toward the lobby area. And because of the fire we are not going to actually go into to the lobby area. So for the commissioners we are going to do all of the discussion and debate when we get back to the room. Members of the public please do not engage or try to engage in discussions you will have your opportunity to testify when we go back to the commission room for discussion on the matter, Ok anybody have any questions? Nope ok. So we are going to follow Ron and if you guys can just stick together please and we will keep control of everyone. So Ron if you can just.identify what they are looking at and where the cottages are and also the bridge. Mr. Agoor: Ok we are standing in this area right here looking down at the cottages. You can really see it behind all of the groves here. The shell building obviously is this one. The restaurants are over there. So you can really see the bridge that crosses where the restaurants are lobby? Chad: Yes do you want to see the King's cottages first? (Inaudible). Chad can we walk to the January 22, 2015 KHPRC Meeting Minutes Page 3 Mr. Ag_or.: They don't want to walk under the trees. Could you cut down all of the trees? (Laughter in background). No so could you go up there and cut down all the coconuts? (Laughter in background), Chad: It's a pretty clear path. Mr. Ago r: No, no but the trees. Mr. Jung: Because of the wind we do not want to go underneath the coconuts. Mr. Ag_or: Ok this bridge here is intended to be cut off over here and then we are going to have another arch bridge from right here. Ms. Wichman: The buttresses, how deep do they go? Mr. Ago r: It's only going to be about 8 to 12 inches deep and however long it takes to create enough friction to keep the bridge from flattening out. The depth of the buttress /footing is 8 to 12 inches. Mr. Jung: Do you want to identify the cottages too? Mr. Ago r: Those are the Queen Cottages there. Chad is over there making it available but then you have to walls under the coconut trees. Those are the Queen Cottages and then by this map it's these cottages here. Ms. Rayne Regush: Can we address questions to Ron? Mr. Jung: Yes. Ms. Regush: So that's the vicinity where there had been a museum and a library? Mr. Ago r: No that's the... Ms. Regush: A little further? But you are not using those existing buildings for museums and libraries this time around? Mr. Ago r: Right we are going to relocate it. Ms. Sheehan: Are there four of these buildings now or just 2? Mr. Agor: There is one, two, three, four. Ms. Sheehan: They are all there? Mr. A or: Yes. We can't see the other bridge from here but if we go around we will be able to see the bridge that we are planning on taking down and you. can see the condition of it and know why we need to take it down. Ms. Griffin: Has the condition of this one been compromised? Mr. Ago r: Right now no. The idea is just to be able to have a canoe go straight through from one end of the lagoon to the other. January 22, 2015 KHPRC Meeting Minutes Page 4 Ms. Griffin: We still have to lobby. Mr. Agor: So do you have any other questions here? If not we will move along to the other end of the lagoon. Mr. Jung: Ok. Ms. Sheehan: Are those buildings accessible? Mr. Agor: It's accessible but because of the wind we have been advised not to let you walk under the trees. Ms. Sheehan: Yes I know but are they in anyway useable? Mr. Agor: No. Ms. Sheehan: Are they to be trashed? Mr. Agor: Yes. I tried to calc it out, the only way you can keep it is if the renovation is less than 50% of the value and it exceeds that amount. Mr. Long: How are you on the ADA on those? Mr. Agor: I think we are going to have two cottages that are accessible. Mr. Long: I have a question I noticed there is concrete coconuts (inaudible). Mr. Agor: The question was if we are going to be incorporating something like this in the design and we are thinking at the end of the bridges we are going to have vertical. Mr. Long: You know right now they are being used as (inaudible) horizontal. So I am not going to tell you how design it are you incorporating that in your bridge design one might make that as the two horizontal curbed elements. Mr. Agor: It might not be concrete it might be something else. Mr. Long: It's coconut? Mr. Agor: As with the columns. Mr. Long: Yes so that was vertical on that. I see. There is something elegant about a bamboo. Mr. A or: We will look at that. Any other questions here? If not we will move on. Ok let's move on. Mr. Agor: Ok we can stop and take half now. This is one of the bridges that we are taking down. The other is to the left, Ms. Schneider: This one seems to be anchored on land or is anchored in the water? Mr. Agor: In the water. January 22, 2015 KHPRC Meeting Minutes Page 5 Mr. Jung: Ron we are going to cycle the next group in so we can stay on time. Mr. Agor: Ok second group. Ms. Wichman: Is the bridge going to have the pilings in the same places? Mr. Agor: No this is going to be taken out. Ms. Wichm an: Completely gone? Mr. Agor: Yes to try and rebuild it we would have to disturb the earth a lot. As well as the one way back there. Ok folks this is bridge number 4 that is going to be taken out because of the condition. Bridge number three you can see it on the far left over there. Mr. Long: How long is this bridge? Mr. Agor: Any more questions? Ms. Griffin: Yes I do have a question. So Ron a couple of weeks ago I asked if any of these bridges were with any questions of the applicant by the Commissioners. Thank you on the State Register nomination. Did you by any chance? Mr. Agor: The archeologist is going to at the meeting when we get back. Ms. Griffin: Ok then we can ask. Unidentified speaker from the up blic: Ron where does the water come from? Mr. Agor: There is a drainage pipe about 50 feet from the bridge on that corner. And the rest is all natural. Unidentified speaker from the public: And the drainage pipe comes from the valley up here? Mr. Agor: Yes, minimal water. Unidentified speaker from the public: Most of it coming up from the springs? Mr. Agor: Yes, Mr. Jung: Ok Ron we have to kind of head back. We have to make it back to Lihue for the 2:30 pm meeting. At approximately 2:00 pm the KHPRC left for Lihu'e Civic Center, Meeting Room 2A/2B. RECONVENE MEETING The meeting was reconvened at 2:30 pm by Chairperson Long. Mr. Long: Ok we are going to reconvene this meeting of the Coco Palms Site Visit. Does the applicant want to come forward with any questions of the applicant by the Commissioners. Thank you Ron. January 22, 2015 KHPRC Meeting Minutes Page 6 Mr. Agor: Aloha Ron Agor for the record. Ms. Sheehan: Could I just ask one question? Mr. Long: Yes go ahead Patsy. Ms. Sheehan: The bridges that you are going to rebuild, they are going to, is it a pedestrian or is it for motor vehicles? Mr. Agor: Pedestrian Bridge, Ms. Sheehan: So no motor vehicles are going to be, carts or.. . Mr. Agor: Yes they would not be necessary for any car or small vehicle to cross the bridge. Ms. Sheehan: Thank you. Ms. Wichman: I have a question. You know you were mentioning, I know I keep bringing up the buttresses on the bridges I keep asking you those questions but the reason being you said that it was going to be dug down between 10 and 12 inches? Mr. Agor: Yes. Ms. Wichman: It seems kind of thin or shallow to me. Mr. Agor: Yes... Ms. Wichman: The buttresses are pretty big. Mr. Agor: The shallower we go the pushing out. So the length we don't longer the buttress is to quite know yet until we create a friction to get the engineering keep the arch bridge from on the bridge. We want to do that instead of, the easiest way to do it is the old fashion way and just go down deep. Ms. Wichman: Yes I understand that. So while this is going on you will have archeological monitoring as well? Mr. Ag;oi: Yes, Ms. Wichman: Ok good. Mr. Agor: 1 believe we are going to have somebody full time on the job site. Ms. Wichman: Good thank you. Mr, Jung: Just so that the Commissioners understand we do have the other agenda to open up but if there is any questions following the site visit we can tackle those now and then take public testimony and then close it out and then go into the main agenda item on the next agenda. Ms. Wichman: I have another question please. The bridge that you said is going to be totally taken out, the long one, the last one that you showed. January 22, 2415 KHPRC Meeting Minutes Page 7 Mr. Ago r: Yes. Ms. Wichman: When you take that out the pilings that are holding the bridge up in the middle they will all be removed from the pond? Mr. Ago r: Yes. Most of them are loose right now so it's just a matter of getting a floating platform and picking up and putting it on the platform. Mr. Long: Do we have any questions or testimony from the public? Mr. Milton Ching: Aloha 'auinala my name is Milton Ching. I just heard about this meeting today so I am going be brief. I submitted testimony for the Planning Commission coming out on the 27`fi. I just want to say that my Great Great Grandfather Mailolo lived in Wailua. We have records of his being in Wailua. 1 also submitted paperwork to the Kauai Burial Council as a lineal and cultural descendent of my kupuna that live at Wailua. But I am here before you to just say that Mahupunepuuoni Cemetary has been on Coco Plams premises for many, many years. We have two references to Mahupunepuuoni Burial Grounds. It's taken from 1848 Land. Commission Award where two of the Native Hawaiian Nawai and Maawe states on the description of their kuleana that Mahupunepuuoni is outside of the boundary. According to the Coco Palms map that I have seen back in the 1950s, the old lodge where you check in happens to be the location of the LC Award ofNawai. So based upon these Hawaiian coming out and testifying in front of the Land Commission Board back in 1848, although they not here today, I just want to make reference that Mahupunepuuoni be preserved according to law and whoever is buried in that cemetery. I will be forwarding the documentation to both the Kauai Planning Commission, Burial Council. I also sent a letter to Hal Hammat's company. Missy and Gerald is in the audience today with the genealogy that I come from. So I would like to thank everybody for this opportunity to speak in front of the board. Thank you and mahalo nui. Mr. Long: Are there any other members of the public that would like to come forward? Thank you. Ms. Rayne Regush: Aloha Commissioners. Rayne Regush for the record. 1 wanted to speak on behalf of the historic coconut grove and we are not in favor of siting the new parking lot in this grove which is State lease land and right now a 60 stall gravel parking lot for employees is proposed within that property. It's right next to Kuamoo Road which means it will also block the view of the historic lagoon as you drive by and I don't think the trees in this grove should be removed for parking and I hope that you will consider an alternative which would be constructing a two story parking structure which would be where the parking lot is proposed by Haleilio. So perhaps that would be a solution to alleviate from putting, to alleviate any sort of removal of historic trees and altering that grove. The purpose of that State lease is for aesthetics and public enjoyment and we all know that parked cars a visual blight. So again that would be the justification for putting parking elsewhere. Mahalo. Mr. Long: Do any of the Commissioners have a question of the public? January 22, 2015 KHPRC Meeting Minutes Page 8 Ms. Griffin: I, perhaps our archeologist can answer. I was uncertain about whether in the State Historic Register Nomination for the lagoon whether the bridges were part of the nomination if they were addressed in anyway. Mr. Mary Jane Naone: The bridges are mentioned in the National Register, however I noticed in the preservation plan for the lagoon that there is already discussion of the bridges being removed. So they weren't considered part of the, cause the preservation plan is for the fish ponds. They weren't considered part of the fish ponds. So even in the preservation plan for Debra Kapule's Fish Ponds there is already discussion about the bridges being removed. And I apologize I need to touch base with the Architecture Branch. They have been more involved in malting comments on the details of this project but the plans have changed several times. So I need to get current with them about where they are at and they are currently reviewing the permits right now. So I will have some comments on the next meeting from the Architecture Branch or I could forward those to you once we get those. Mr. Griffin: Thanks and you may not be the person to ask in that case but when at the site visit the first bridge we saw, the concrete bridge where kids use to fish for tilapia. You said that's still in good shape. It's more of a desire to make changes and I was wondering how old the existing bridge is. Is it historic? Is it over 50 years old? Pre 1965? I am asking you or Ron. Ms. Naone: Yes I don't really now. Sorry. My understanding from just conversations with Cultural Surveys is that it's not historic. Is that right Missy? I am going to defer to you. Yes my understanding from the conversation that I have had with the Architecture Branch as well is that the concrete bridge is, you are talking about the one closest to the restaurant? Ms. Griffin: Yes. Ms. Naone: That they aren't historic and that was why it was ok to take them out. Ms. Griffin: Is that your, do you have any documentation on that Mr. Agor? Mr, Agor: No I don't but the restaurants and the hotel rooms above was built less than 50 years ago and the bridge is in conjunction with the restaurant. So I can only assume that it was built along with the restaurant. Ms. Griffin: So our looking at the bridges really has more to do with the context of the lagoon and how it would change that context rather than, than the structures themselves. Is that... Staff? What are we doing here? Mr. Jun a: Well because the lagoons are on the historic registry you do want to look at the context of it and whether or not they fit cause they have been very critical in making sure they don't touch within the lagoon right for certain requirements to make sure it's not an adverse effect but the spanning over I think was twofold and you can ask the applicant one, to allow for the canoes to go under but two, to make sure they don't affect the historic nature of the lagoons as they exist now and how to hope to make sure they exist into the future. Cause when you start putting things into the lagoon then it might disturb the integrity of some sort of the lagoon itself without the poles going in. January 22, 2015 ICHPRC Meeting Minutes Page 9 Ms. Griffin; Ok the wooden one there are already posts going in and the other one if it's not historic and it's just changing the aesthetics over it. What are we doing here? I need some staff assistance here on what the decisions and recommendations are. Mr. Jung: Ok welI I think this portion of the meeting was to only address the site visit. So we are go into the main meeting and then we will have the planner is here to discuss and have questions with the application itself. Which is not just the bridges, it includes the whole parcel with all the historic sites that are on that parcel. So if there is no more public testimony you can adjourn. Ms. Naone: Can I just add something in SHPD's defense cause I feel bad not having more infonnation. We are still you know reviewing this project and so we actually asked for more time to review the removal of the bridges and I have been some architecture correspondence regarding the bridges and whether or not they are historic but we are still in review ourselves and so we haven't read everything associated with the renovations and so I apologize that I don't have more information for you. My understanding that part of attending these meetings is that I can also bring your comments back. Mr. Long: Ok thank you. Do we have another member of the public that would like to come forward please. Ms. Regush: Thank you Rayne Regush. I have one more point. The entire site is very, very historic. As we know going back centuries and we know that there are also many artifacts from the former museum and I want you to give your consideration to what the most appropriate location or site on the property might be for display and working with the Kauai Historical Society for that. Mr. Agor had mentioned perhaps the overpass that connects the retail building to the hotel lobby which is fairly wide and could house glass cases for artifacts but you folks are more the experts and I'd love for you to weigh in as to where an appropriate home for these artifacts should be located. Thank you. Mr. Lon a: Anybody else from the public? Ok we are going to adjourn this aspect of the meeting which is the review of the site visit to Coco Palms. So we are going to adjourn that phase of the meeting and we are going to open the second phase of our meeting today and take a look at the entire application with the Planning Department staff to answer our questions. ADJOURNMENT The meeting was adjourned at 2:44 p.m. Respectfully Submitted, lee U. Jimenez Secretary JAN 2 8 Date: II�� 2015