Question: I’ve noticed a small park in Waimanalo with concrete stools and tables that’s been closed off with orange fencing, adjacent to 41-435 Kalanianaole Highway. It’s an odd place for a park since there’s no parking and the property is so steep. Was it built for a specific group of people? Who will maintain it?
Answer: The unofficial "Kupuna Terrace," on a scenic overlook between Waimanalo and Makapuu, was constructed last year with good intentions but, unfortunately, without the approval of the state or city.
The two men who headed the project — Waimanalo community members Andrew Jamila Jr. and Richard "Bolo" Kahawai — were notified Monday that they had to remove concrete tables and chairs, said Jiro Sumada, deputy director of the city Department of Planning and Permitting.
There are concerns about safety because of the park’s proximity to the road and the steep drop to the lower picnic area, as well as with protecting the environment, Sumada said.
"We will be meeting with (Jamila and Kahawai) soon to go over a (removal) schedule, and basically, if they do not proceed in a timely manner, then the Parks and Recreation Department crews will start the process to remove the structures," he told us Monday. "Then they will be billed for the amount of time and equipment" spent on the removal.
Kahawai, a corrections officer, said he and others had been clearing the area of brush and rubbish for five years when he believed he had approval from an official with the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, which owns the property, to build a park there for the "kupunas" (elders).
Now, "me and Andy are getting blamed," he said. "It’s sad (to tear everything down). … We were just trying to help the people."
Jamila, a member of the Waimanalo Neighborhood Board, said he became involved simply to assist "the kupunas who wanted (the park) there. … I thought it was a good project — I didn’t know I was going to be (fined) $150 a day."
After the city ordered work stopped, supporters hoped the park could be turned over to a nonprofit group to run and maintain. That did not turn out to be workable, and Jamila said he now agrees with the order "to tear it down, although "the kupunas are visibly upset."
The property, officially known as Kaupo Beach Park, is licensed to the city by Hawaiian Home Lands.
Parks officials first ordered Jamila and Kahawai in the summer of 2010 to remove the structures, because they had not obtained the required grading, building, special management area use and other permits.
Hawaiian Home Lands also notified them in August and September 2010 to stop work, Sumada said. On Nov. 2 his department stepped in, warning Jamila and Kahawai "they needed to stop work on construction, but they kept on going."
After several unsuccessful attempts to get the work halted, Planning and Permitting issued a "Notice of Violation" on Dec. 28 and again on Jan. 31, "and they finally did stop in January," Sumada said. "We met with them in February to discuss corrective actions they needed to take."
Over the months, "going back and forth with them to try and find a solution was a means to try and accommodate what was done, but they still needed to follow all the rules, they still needed to follow the permitting process," Sumada said. "But we finally exhausted all means to try and work out" a solution.
Meanwhile the city issued a "Notice of Order" on June 8, with fines being assessed daily beginning July 8. At last check, fines totaled $16,350.
Asked whether Jamila and Kahawai will have to pay the fines, Sumada said, "A lot depends on how urgently they attend to removing the structures. We will consider their goodwill effort."
MAHALO
To a young couple who came to our rescue at the Windward Hoolaulea on Oct. 1. We were lost in the parking lot and couldn’t find our car. — License JSS
Write to "Kokua Line" at Honolulu Star-Advertiser, 7 Waterfront Plaza, Suite 210, 500 Ala Moana Blvd., Honolulu 96813; call 529-4773; fax 529-4750; or email kokualine@staradvertiser.com.
