This website contains community development planning information about the Waimea Town study area of the South Kohala region. Our intent is to assist the reader in understanding the environment, history and values of our community and about modern planning principles and techniques. The community readiness phase of the community development plan (CDP) process extended from mid-2005 through 2006. The plan preparation process extended from June 2007 through August 2008.
Final Report of Waimea Traffic Circulation Study (2.8 MB)- the findings and recommendations of the study are the same as those presented at community meetings in December 2006 and November 2007. The County of Hawai'i Annual Report for Fiscal Year (FY) 2006-2007 stated that: "The findings from this study confirmed the need for the Lalamilo and Parker Ranch Connectors to provide alternative routes so that all traffic does not have to flow through the existing bottleneck at the Lindsey Road intersection. The study also recommended other improvements (e.g., selective widening of Mamalahoa [Highway] and initiation of an intra-Waimea shuttle bus service) and traffic control measures (e.g., left turn restrictions) that can be done in the short-term."
Parker Ranch Agrees to Construct Connector Road - in a Hawaii County Planning Department Board of Appeals settlement, Parker Ranch agrees to construct Phase 1 of the Parker Ranch Connector Road by 2010. Earlier this year, Parker Ranch agreed to construct Phase 3 of the Parker Ranch Connector Road by 2009. An 8-foot wide meandering path will be provided in a 20-wide linear park along the north side of the connector road.
Join Us in Learning about Our Community
This website is maintained by the Waimea Community Development Plan (CDP) Committee and, at this point, presents more detailed information about the Waimea Town study area. The meetings of the Waimea CDP Committee are being suspended to encourage people to attend South Kohala CDP Steering Committee meetings and Waimea Town Plan Focus Group meetings instead.
The monthly meetings of the South Kohala CDP Steering Committee are held at 4:30 to 6:30 pm on the fourth Wednesday of each month at Waimea Senior Center. The public can submit written statements anytime and give three minutes of oral statements on items on the agenda at each meeting
Steering Committees for North and South Kohala Community Development Plans
Steering Committee member responsibilities include attending one 2-hour meeting a month and associated preparations, including reading and reviewing reports, and approving and recommending for adoption the Final Draft Plans. Their primary responsibility will be to represent these communities' respective interests in moving ahead. Steering Committee members will not be writing or researching chapters for the CDP.
Waimea, Facing Future
Nino Walker, a UC Berkeley researcher and planner, has concluded his 15-month study on the growth and future of Waimea, and has made a copy of his report available online (click here). There are also three hard copies available for check out in the Thelma Parker Memorial Public Library. Please inquire with the head librarian at the front desk. Additional copies of the report and boards are available for purchase for $22. Please e-mail us or check back on this website in mid-September.
While line items for community development plans for the South Kohala region and the North Kohala region are in the Kim Administration's Year 2006-2007 budget, approval of the budget by the County Council is still needed. If you want the planning process to begin on schedule, please let the County Council know. You can reach them at this address:
The Future is Now
In the next few years, a number of planning decisions will be made that will significantly affect the future of our region. We need a citizenry that understands enough about the environment, history and values of our community, modern planning approaches and techniques, and livable community principles to effectively participate in the decision-making process. We need you. Here are some of the decisions that will be made:
The route and character of the $80 million Waimea Bypass will be determined. This roadway will become a very important element in the community's road network and drive future land use and transportation decisions for decades to come. It will also present opportunities and challenges to our retail businesses and rural neighborhoods. Community outreach began in April, 2005.
The route and character of the $190 million Kawaihae Road Bypass will be determined. Community outreach for Kawaihae Road Bypass began in June, 2005.
The route and character of the $10+ million Mamalahoa Hwy-Kawaihae Rd Connector Project (connecting Kawaihae Road to Mamalahoa Highway) will be determined. In addition to providing an alternative route around the current bottleneck at Lindsey Road (from Kawaihae Road to the west side of town), it may also provide a route for a portion of our trail system.
Parker Ranch is taking another look at its Waimea Town Center Plan (also known as Parker Ranch 2020 Plan). Build-out of the plan will add about 730 residences to our community. Decisions will be made about the Town Center Connector Road (which will include a linear park, bikeway and pedestrian pathway) which is planned to extend from Mamalahoa Highway in the vicinity of the Vacuum Cooling Plant on the west to Kamamalu Street or Mamaholahoa Highway in the vicinity of the Waimea Civic Center on the east (passing through or adjacent to the soccer fields). Parker Ranch has agreed to construct part of the extension of Lindsey Rd. (to the southern border of its development), but funding has not been secured by Hawaii County to extend Lindsey Road the rest of the way to the proposed Waimea Bypass.
The County Department of Public Works has made a commitment to retain a consultant to perform a local traffic circulation study for Waimea.
Our research has found that over 6,900 residences have been approved by the State and County for construction in the South Kohala region. As a point of comparison, there were 5,348 housing units in the region in the year 2000.
In the Waimea area, Parker Ranch has obtained approvals for the construction of 730 residences and Waimea Parkside has obtained approvals for construction of 40 residences. To learn more about development projects in our region, please click on the following link:
One of the major land owners in Waimea is the State Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL). The DHHL will continue to implement its 2002 Hawai'i Island Plan. The Lalamilo project, the first phase of which is currently under construction, will ultimately add about 440 residences to our community. In the longer term, the Honokaia project, the second priority tract in the North Hawaii area, will be located between our community and Honokaa. It will ultimately provide about 770 residences. While State Attorney General Opinion 72-21 provides that DHHL leases to Hawaiians are not subject to state and county zoning laws and regulations, their implementation will involve community input and require State and County investments in needed infrastructure.
A number of other projects that could significantly impact our community will require community input. Plans for improvements to Kawaihae Harbor to accommodate the Super Ferry will be unveiled soon. An arrangement is reportedly imminent allowing the 20,000+ acres of eucalyptus trees growing on the Hamakua Coast to be either chipped or made into veneer and much of it trucked through Waimea to Kawaihae Harbor. If the County cannot get the State to agree to extend the life of the Hilo landfill, trucking of garbage from the east side to the west side landfill through Waimea will begin. And the list goes on and on.
The future of the South Kohala region is being decided right now whether we participate in the decision-making process or not. Join us in learning how to be productive participants in this process. We can contribute the long-term perspective of those of us who want to continue to enjoy living and working here.
What is a Community Development Plan?
The last time Waimea as a whole gave specific input to the Hawaii County Council about the future development of Waimea was 19 years ago in the 1986 Waimea Design Plan. The 1986 Plan was adopted by the County Council by resolution and currently serves as a basis for local and County Planning Department design review of development and construction plans for our area.
The adoption of the 2005 General Plan gives us an opportunity to come together as a community to update the 1986 Plan by participating in the development a mini-plan for Waimea, as part of a regional plan (also known as a community development plan) for the South Kohala region.
According to the General Plan, our "Community Development Plan" is intended to "translate the broad General Plan statements to specific actions" as they apply to our region. The Plan "may contain detailed land use and zoning guide maps, plans for roadways, drainage, parks, and other infrastructure and public facilities, architectural design guidelines, planning for watersheds and other natural features, and any other matters relating to the planning area."
Either the Planning Director or the County Council may "initiate" our Plan. Our Plan must have a Steering Committee composed of members appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the County Council. The members must be broadly representative of the affected communities. The Steering Committee will work with the Planning Department and with the professional consultants hired to assist in the preparation of the Plan.
After the Steering Committee has recommended approval of our Community Development Plan, it will be forwarded to the Planning Commission for its review and recommendation to the County Council. The County Council may modify or amend our Community Development Plan before enacting it by ordinance.
Near-term efforts for those interested in participating in the planning process include establishing a volunteer committee/subcommittee organization, doing our "homework" to learn the lessons of past planning efforts, understanding planning techniques, identifying the planning issues that are likely to arise initially, securing funding for parts of the planning process that volunteers cannot handle, and identifying representative and willing Steering Committee members.
Waimea Urban Design Study
How can ordinary citizens become active participants in planning for the future of their communities? What can small town residents do to preserve the small town feel in the face of rapid growth and change? These are questions that preoccupy Nino Walker, a graduate student in Landscape Architecture and Environmental Planning at U.C. Berkeley. For his thesis, he is working with the newly formed Waimea Community Development Plan Committee (WCDPC) to try and answer these questions in Waimea.
So what can a community like Waimea do to guide its future? If we learn from other towns around the country that have experienced similar situations - rapid growth, terrible traffic, and transforming demographics - there's actually a lot. Every community has unique challenges, unique people, and unique politics and no solution fits all. But for those places that have responded positively in the face of change, the key starting point, whether Haleewa on O'ahu or Manteo in North Carolina, has been for the residents to understand what defines their community.
A small town has many dimensions that make it unique: environmental resources like streams, farms, and vistas; cultural resources that give a place its flavor; and social patterns that define "small town" or "island" lifestyles. These can be very mundane things: casual run-ins at the post office, or an empty lot with a view to the mountains. These things define our daily social and aesthetic experience. Not formally recognizing their importance in our daily life leaves open the possibility that changes erase them. The details of these things can inform the design of a new roadway or housing development.
The other key to guiding sensitive growth is to understand the needs and priorities of the residents. What do the residents of Waimea want to see in the new developments? It's a simple question, but no one can give a truly informed answer. Studying this empirically will help shed light on what residents should be asking of developers and planning agencies.
These two areas are the focus of Nino's work: revealing those important pieces to daily life in Waimea, and understanding what residents imagine for their future. This also requires examining the standard planning questions as well: where are the watersheds, animal habitats, flood zones, productive soils, etc? His goal is to put all of his findings back into the hands of residents, so they can understand the issues for themselves. With that knowledge and understanding, the community can reason clearly to articulate its future.
Nino was in Waimea from July 24-August 23, 2005 to interview residents and survey the environmental resources. He will return during January 2006 to present his findings. You can reach him at nino.walker@berkeley.edu, or call 510-501-0649 if you have questions or would like to get involved.
Designing Our Future - Waimea Design Studio
During the Fall of 2005, the Kohala Center collaborated with Montana State University (MSU) to offer their planning and architecture graduate students a field experience, using Waimea as a field site to think through how a small community confronts sudden urbanization. The Waimea Design Studio faculty have expertise in restoration ecology and land stewardship, as well as experience working with other rural communities (especially ranching communities) that face rapid urbanization. The Studio occurred during October 1-9, 2005 in Waimea.
In conjunction with the Waimea Design Studio, Montana State University and guest faculty offered two initial public programs. Island residents attended these public programs to learn about new models and techniques of land stewardship and to become more informed about planning issues. The public talks provided an opportunity to learn more about principles of design, restoration ecology/land stewardship, and urban planning -- in advance of the County's formal Community Development Planning process to be launched in 2006. The studio also produced planning resources for local residents, including a reading list, a resource list of relevant web sites, maps, and a CD of the students' presentations. Some of the students returned and presented final presentations on February 16, 2006. These resources are available at the following links:
To view the final presentations, click on the following links:
To view the initial presentations, click on the following links:
The work of the Waimea Design Studio was executed by the School of Architecture at Montana State University in Bozeman, Montana, in the fall of 2005. Please direct questions, comments and other feedback to info@kohalacenter.org, for forwarding on to the MSU students. The presentations can also be viewed on the two computers in the foyer of Lindsey House, just outside the Kohala Center Office, so that community members without computers can have access to them. The office is open Mon, Tues, Thurs, Fri, 9am - 4pm.
Contact information: Tel 885-4194, Fax 885-4114,robert.m.hunter@hawaiiantel.net , P.O. Box 2709, Kamuela, HI 96743
|
