Haena beach access or the lack of it

[Carey]

Onemea was the golf development you referred to, and many of the financial backers had been government officials.... (not that I would ever suggest that that would have had anything to do with speed of the county... but... (hey, what can I say, I'm from Chicago....))

The EIS was withdrawn not due to financial reasons with the Japanese bubble bursting, but mainly because of the 3 reason I gave: the objections over the golf course (well, actually the lack of the backers wanting to go with a plan that would drastically downsize the course) the problems with where to place the wastewater treatment plant (the developers did not want it place uphill) & the county not wanting to change the course of Red Road with the improvements the developer deemed crucial (the developers had wanted a retail segment on the makai side of the road). The county did change the course of Red Road this year for the Pohiki Park improvements...

We had to study the snot out of that EIS during the course, as it hit on almost all of the cases that would require an EIS & had some very classic case management twists & turns in the developments from the EA to the EIS.. Lucky for the county, they were able to utilize some of the work done on that document...

[Laughing_girl]

IMHO, I think Hawaii County did not plan well for parks and open spaces in the past before development became rampant in the last 60 years. But in their defense, who could have foreseen this explosion on the Big Island 60 years ago - or more.

For those of us that were able to enjoy Kua Bay, and Haena and all other places that, yes, were on private land but were still available to visit, it is sad and we rally against progress - because we miss these special places so much - please understand that. COH has not added one park available for camping in more than 20 years (?).

Please understand when we get frustrated or rant against this accessibility continuing to be closed off one by one, it isn't you - or about what is legal, it is about sadness and missing what used to be pono. And I can see that it also applies to the landowners seeing a vast increase in traffic on their land - that increase of traffic isnt pono either. We all know there are sometimes vast differences between what is common sense and community, and what is legal.

It is just so sad. But as I read about the glass walkway viewing area over the Grand Canyon, I think... it could be worse.

[Carey]

The new improvements at Pohoiki Park were just finished this summer by the county, with very nice, new camping facilities.

It is not easy and very costly to add a park with camping facilities these days. This post is only to acknowledge that the county did add this camping area & all of the improvements, rather than to ignore the fact that they did.

ETA; website for the improvements:
http://www.hawaii-county.com/parks/isaac...roject.htm

[Carey]

The new improvements at Pohoiki Park were just finished this summer by the county, with very nice, new camping facilities.

It is not easy and very costly to add a park with camping facilities these days. This post is only to acknowledge that the county did add this camping area & all of the improvements, rather than to ignore the fact that they did.

[Laughing_girl]

You are right. Twenty years in the making. I didnt think of Pohiki as an "added" campground. I thought of it as upgraded.