Ka`u News Briefs April 25, 2013

      The Planning Department document says, “The project site is entirely grassed and has been used for overflow grass parking when school or community functions occur at the school. Therefore, the proposed project will not create any adverse condition as it is consistent with the present campus grounds.”
      Another variance approved by the county is for the height limit. The building will be 47.5 feet tall at its peak. County documents say, “While the (35-foot) height limit is appropriate for residential development, design and requirements for public facilities such as schools, universities, etc. differ significantly from single family residential requirements.... The proposed new gymnasium building requires an indoor ceiling height to be high enough for basketball shots or volleyball volleys, therefore requiring a building height much higher than the maximum height limit of 35 feet allowed for residential-zoned properties.
      “The plantation style roofline, resulting in a taller structure, allows for higher ceiling spaces which will enhance natural ventilation and introduction and distribution of natural light to interior spaces.”
      Another variance grants construction of the gym on property zoned for single-family homes.

REGARDING LIGHTING FOR THE GYM AND SHELTER, the plan states that, regarding potential distraction to night-flying birds from exterior lighting, the “design will specify minimal shielded security lighting.” All other exterior lighting would be turned on only as needed and designed in accordance with the county’s exterior lighting standards. 

      Regarding noise and dark sky impacts to neighbors, the plan says, “Operational policies will require activities to cease no later than 10 p.m. Except for minimal shielded security lights, all outdoor parking lights and interior lights would be turned off no later than 10 p.m.”
      It also promises that, “to minimize the threat of disorientation or downing of (native birds), such as the ‘Io (Hawaiian Hawk) and other birds, all exterior lighting will be shielded in compliance with Section 14-50, Hawai`i County Code, and night-time construction will be avoided.”
      Exterior lights are to be shielded so as to lower the ambient glare caused by unshielded lighting to the astronomical observatories on Mauna Kea.
The document also states that the project “will not significantly affect the views of neighboring residents. The plantation-style roofline and corrugated material will complement the architectural style of the surrounding buildings.”
      Concerning landscaping, it says, “The building landscape will attempt to utilize the maximum amount of native species feasible or plants that have proven to be adaptable to the area.”

A BILL THAT WOULD REDUCE oversight of historic and archaeological sites is opposed by both Ka`u state senators, Josh Green and Russell Ruderman, but has made it through conference committee meetings between the House and Senate and goes to a floor vote. Sen. Kalani English, from Maui, who initially supported the bill but changed his mind, proposed the bill be shelved until next year. The Honolulu Star-Advertiser this morning reported English voting against the bill Wednesday in conference committee, saying he would like the state to have more time to discuss the issue with opponents. “Dozens of Native Hawaiian students and other activists have protested against the bill at the state Capitol,” the Star-Advertiser reports.
      The bill would allow projects to be approved before complete archaeological surveys are done for the entire project area. Most professional archaeologists and academic archaeologists working in Hawai`i and numerous historians have opposed it.

      Rep. Cynthia Thielen wrote that SB1171 “is the same kind of broad, over-reaching exemption as the Public Land Development Corp. It’s unnecessary and will have bad consequences. This bill allows that any large-scale private development in the heart of an area rife with burials – say Turtle Bay – could argue that since their financing is phased, their surveys should be phased too.
      “The problem is you need to design your open space areas and your developed areas around the survey. If you survey in phases, you commit to a design that may actually disrupt the most important historic sites,” said Thielen.
      The Society for Hawaiian Archaeology is asking residents to call legislators to ask for a no vote.
      One of the local senators who has voted yes, to date, is Gil Kahele.