Public Input Requested For Planned Kalaeloa Heritage Park
By MidWeek Staff
E-mail this story | Print this page | Comments (0) | Archive | RSS | Share
Del.icio.usA cultural heritage park is in the planning stages for Kalaeloa, and the Hawaii Community Development Authority welcomes public interest and involvement.
The 77 acres under consideration for Kalaeloa Heritage Park, which was once part of Barbers Point Naval Air Station, was transferred last month to the HCDA, an affiliate of the Department of Business Economic Development and Tourism.
HCDA members have been meeting with the Kapolei Hawaiian Civic Club and other members of the community for the past two years to discuss preservation of the land, which is a site of cultural significance located on the Waianae side of Coral Sea Road, just north of the Tripoli Road intersection.
“The land has sink holes and different features that have not been disturbed by the Navy, so we’re trying to preserve that particular area,” said Tesha Malama, director of planning and development. “Ultimately we’re thinking we would like to see an interpretive center where significant sites can be viewed (and there can be) a hiking trail, educational tours and cultural practitioners perpetuating the practices that were significant to Kalaeloa and Hawaii.”
The park was accounted for under the designation of open space/recreational area in the Kalaeloa Master Plan that was approved in 2006. As part of that original plan, according to Malama, the park would include “mixed-use development, renewable energies, reserved housing, regional connectivity and the establishment of a Native Hawaiian Cultural Center to promote the protection of the cultural resources in the district.”
Malama added that HCDA is working to get three additional parcels of area land that would be used for renewable energy projects. A planned solar farm, for example, would be go in across the street and would use photo-voltaic and concentrated solar resources to fund a starting budget for the proposed park.
The public is invited to a meeting about the project from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. today (Nov. 24) at the HCDA Kapolei Field Office in the James Campbell Square-Kapolei Building, 1001 Kamokila Blvd., Suite 167.
For more information, call Malama at 692-7245 or Pearlyn Fukuba at 692-7244.
E-mail this story | Print this page | Comments (0) | Archive | RSS
Most Recent Comment(s):
