SOURCE: JUAN WILSON juanwilson@mac.com
POSTED: 1 AUGUST 2005 - 4:00pm HST
Poipu to be buried in too many people
by Juan Wilson on 1 August 2005 In the last few years there have been just too many people at Poipu to make visiting the place a pleasant experience for many long time residents of the island. Too many vacation rental people going snorkeling for the first time, too many time share people looking for towel space on the beach. It has even made for some ugly confrontations on the surf break off the Waiohai between local surfers and sunburned fools. The beaches in the Poipu area are lovely, but there are only so many feet of them. The influx of new people cannot be absorbed. The best place to boogie-board is Brennecke's. The whole beach is about 200 feet wide and everyone that has a boogie-board and a ticket to Kauai wants to ride the waves right there. The beach in front of the Waiohai is beginning to look like Waikiki on some sunny afternoons. And guess what, things are going to get a lot worse soon. Alexander & Baldwin (A&B) are moving forward with their gigantic plans for Kukuiula (1500 acres of new condos, vacation rentals, resort etc. Guess where those people will be heading once they unpack there bags and put on a bathing suit... Poipu. Two recent headlines by Lester Chang in the Garden Island News (TGI) don't bode well for the future. Massive
Poipu Housing Project Planned Knudsen
Trust announces new Poipu Development These two projects will add about 2000 more sunbathers to the throngs looking for a spot to put down a towel at Poipu. As a southsider (Hanapepe) who no longer goes to Poipu Beach cause it is ruined with too many people I say... There are people who are responsible for this mess. It is not just the greedy people and corporations who do the developing. They have partners in their crimes against Kauai; partners like... The Planning Department Each of these bodies through action, or the lack of it, allow the lawyers, real estate agents, developers and investors to make the moves they do to screw up our lives. From my own observations I would say much of the problem with the people who make of these bodies lies in their lack of qualification for the roles that have taken on. Many are inept and do not have the foresight or vision to understand the consequences of their decisions. This is particularly true of the Planning Commission. Another aspect is cynicism. Some people are educated in their field and knowledgeable, but are either jaded or cynical. They just don't seem to care any more. They just go with the flow in the direction of the most power and money. This attitude seems to be most prevalent with the Planning Department. Then there is the aspect of politics, nepotism and jealous power mongering... that seems to be the realm of the County Council. At the state level the Planning Department has the responsibility of setting Land Use policy and boundaries through the State Land Use Commission (LUC) . The Knudsen Development will require the converting over 125 acres of agricultural land before the project is green lighted. If you have a problem with the project, contact the State Planning Department. Note: The Land Use Commission is a part of the Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism. Sounds like the wrong people to be complaining to about too many time-shares and vacation-rentals, eh? The thing we must do is hold those making the decision to build these projects accountable. Remember there names. Don't re-elect them. Work to get them off the commissions they are on. Let there be consequences to their actions. The developers of these ghastly projects have the gall to say that they are planning to mitigate any traffic problems caused by their developments. Who in the hell do they think they are fooling. Adding another 2500 cars a day coming and going through Koloa can't be mitigated. It can only be taken like you take a beating... with lumps and bruises and the scars to prove it. STATE LAND USE COMMISSION (DBEDT) KAUAI
COUNTY MAYOR 2004-2006
KAUAI COUNTY COUNCIL KAUAI
COUNTY COUNCIL PLANNING COMMITTEE KAUAI
COUNTY PLANNING COMMISSION
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