Posted on: Tuesday, July 17, 2001

Kahalu'u wants tree-clearing delayed

By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward Bureau

KAHALU'U — A city plan to clear hundreds of hau trees from Kahalu'u Beach Park has met with resistance, with the neighborhood board calling for a delay to study possible environmental impacts.

City Councilman Steve Holmes, who announced the project, said he was disappointed by the Kahalu'u Neighborhood Board motion last week. The justification for acquiring the land was to enhance the scenic view he said.

"I was a little blown away considering all of the opportunity the board had to know that was our intent," he said.

The trees cover about a quarter-mile, beginning just past the Hygienic Store on Kahekili Highway. Clearing them would give drivers a view of the ocean. Although everyone recognizes that hau is an invasive exotic pest, the Kahalu'u board wants to wait until other community groups, including the Kahalu'u Regional Park Advisory Committee, have an opportunity to discuss it, said John Reppun of the neighborhood board.

Touting all the accomplishments Holmes has made toward improving the regional park, Reppun said some clearing is called for, but the board wants to put the brakes on the project for ecological, financial and planning reasons.

The park plan calls for a boardwalk through the hau, where people can observe the habitat, he said. Removing all the trees would destroy the ecology and impact the plan, which the community has worked on for many years.

If money for the removal comes from the regional park budget, then the park advisory committee will want to discuss it and take another look at the the park project, Reppun said.

"It's not just who's for it and who's against it," he said. "To Steve's credit, he pushes and it forces us to talk about these things. We have to identify the values associated with them."

There are areas that need immediate attention, including near the canoe halau on Kahalu'u Beach, Reppun said.

In the meantime, the community wants to discuss the clearing and go back to the city with ideas in September.

Holmes won't ask the city to delay the project but he said the board will have time to have its say because city projects take time to process.