David Lichtenstein
2/20/2008 59:46:52 PM, The Molokai Times
Out of the 22 people who expressed their feelings about the La'au Point Draft Environmental Impact Statement (DEIS) to the Molokai Planning Commission (MoPC), only one defended the most recent version of the plan to create the luxury development.
He was John Sabas, general manager for community affairs for applicant Molokai Properties Limited (MPL). Criticisms of the plan were similar to those levied against MPL during the State Land Use Commission hearings in November of 2007. MPL spent a month-and-a-half revising the original EIS after withdrawing its application at the LUC hearings, but the public was still left with many of the same questions:
• Does MPL's master plan represent a consensus of the community as it claims?
• Does MPL have adequate water resources to support the plan?
• Does MPL have the legal rights to use the Molokai Irrigation System to transport water to Molokai's West End?
• Does MPL have the legal right to the one million gallons of water a day it claims to have in light of a recent Hawaii Supreme Court ruling concerning its West End water permits?
• Does the plan adequately protect the monk seal and its habitat?
• Does the language in the Covenants, Codes and Restrictions (CC&Rs) adequately protect the environment or can they be changed in the future to suit MPL's needs?
• Has MPL addressed the cumulative environmental impacts of the entire master plan beyond just La'au Point?
• Has MPL properly analyzed alternative uses of its land including using it for wind power?
• Has MPL addressed the impact to the island's agricultural resources? “There really isn't too much difference from the first round,” said Karen Holt, attorney and director of the Molokai Community Services Council (MCSC).
Holt testified that the DEIS makes 866 references to the plan offering protection of environmental resources with the use of CC&Rs. “This time they did submit CC&Rs, but the first thing that leapt out was that the declarant (MPL) can change anything as long as they are the owner.
“The CC&Rs are very basic, very boilerplate … they say nothing about seals, fences or cultural training … it doesn't do what it says it's going to do in the first EIS,” said Holt.
“There's nothing on the cumulative effect on the whole plan.” Holt referred to the proposal of six hotels north of Kaluakoi, space for condominiums and how agricultural and rural easements will be affected.
Glenn Teves, a Ho'olehua homestead farmer and University of Hawaii extension agent, is a long-time critic of MPL's water use. In his testimony, Teves claimed that MPL misinterpreted a one-dimensional U.S. Geological Survey water study in its EIS. Teves also stated that MPL allowed the agricultural line in its dual water system in Kaluakoi to fall into disrepair.
“MPL is on shaky ground with pieces of a system that is subject to litigation,” said Teves. “MPL is not forthcoming … I just received...
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