April 3, 2015
Neighbors lambaste planned Kailua home
Those who oppose a permit request air their concerns at a DLNR public hearing
The state Department of Land and Natural Resources sought extra public input on a local real estate agent's plan to build a home on private conservation land above a Kailua subdivision -- and it got an earful Wednesday evening.
About 75 people largely from the Kailua Bluffs neighborhood turned out for a special public hearing at Kailua High School to help DLNR make a recommendation on a permit application for the proposed home above their community.
Of 18 residents who spoke, 17 aired grievances and urged DLNR administrators to oppose the request by Dawn Horn to build a 2,600-square-foot house tucked into a ridge between Enchanted Lake and Bellows Air Force Station on 37 acres she owns.
"The development does not serve the public interest nor benefit the community," said Andrea Galvin, a Kailua Bluffs resident who submitted to DLNR a change.org petition endorsed by 350 opponents of the project.
After Galvin spoke the audience applauded -- as they did for all but one testifier.
David Gion, a Horn friend and 30-year Kailua resident, was Horn's sole vocal supporter at the meeting. He said Horn and her husband, Matt, are kind people.
"They are Kailua people," he said. "They are community people."
Gion suggested that much opposition to Horn's proposed home stems from neighbors disgruntled that they had to stop using parts of her land that they had improperly annexed.
Friction over Horn's application led DLNR to hold the public hearing. Typically with such permits there is only one public hearing held by the Board of Land and Natural Resources after it receives a staff recommendation that takes written public comments into account.
DLNR decided to hold Wednesday's hearing because of heightened public interest in Horn's application, which received more than 50 written comments -- mostly negative -- and a 12-0 vote against the project by the Kailua Neighborhood Board last month.
Building a home on private conservation land is allowed under DLNR rules if it meets certain criteria. There are a few such applications each year, though typically they don't generate much public interest.
In Horn's case there has been heavy confrontation over the permit request, including calls to police, trespass warnings and allegations of harassment and property damage.
A portion of Horn's property was once envisioned to be a final phase adding roughly 20 homes to the more than 400 homes in Kailua Bluffs developed over roughly 30 years by Lone Star Hawaii Inc.
Lone Star, however, scaled back its plan and in 2003 offered to sell the parcel. Horn, who once represented Lone Star as a sales agent, bought the land for $280,000 two years ago.
Under state land-use designations, 30 acres are in the conservation district, and seven acres are in the urban district. Though county zoning for the whole property is preservation, Horn is seeking to build a home on part of the conservation land under DLNR rules. She applied for a conservation district use permit in November.
According to the application, Horn wants to build a home with a rooftop photovoltaic system and less than one acre for subsistence farming. The project's estimated cost is $1.3 million and includes an environmental assessment, clearing vegetation and building a 1,220-foot driveway.
Jeff Overton, a planner with design firm Group 70 International representing Horn, told hearing participants that Horn's project will involve restoring native vegetation on six acres and maintaining the land that over the years has been a site for illegal dumping and off-road vehicle trails.
"This is really all about protection and restoration of this land," he said.
Overton added that 99.9 percent of the property will not be developed and that at most a few neighbors will be able to see only slight glimpses of the home positioned 80 feet below the top of the ridge.
Several testifiers said the land is better off as it is, and suggested that if Horn wants to build a home on the property, it would be better suited fronting Kanapuu Drive like neighboring homes.
"The development is not compatible with surrounding development," said Ann Medeiros, a 20-year Kailua Bluffs resident. "Nobody has a 1,200-foot-long driveway. This is not going to be the green open space that is there now."
Cindy Suzuki, another 20-year community member, added, "The landowner's proposal will permanently alter the tranquil character of the existing open spaces within our community."
Some residents living next to Horn's property said their yards flood during heavy rain when it runs off Horn's property and worry it will become worse with a home on the hillside. Others objected to subsistence farming, and said they don't want to live next to a farm that is out of character with the residential neighborhood.
Horn said after the meeting that the "farm" envisioned is an organic vegetable garden and some fruit trees including a row of breadfruit trees to screen the home's roofline from neighboring homes. She also said that several people who complained about flooding were affected by grading and drainage alterations made by existing residents, and that she aims to improve drainage with DLNR's permission.
Horn has also suggested previously that some of the opposition stems from neighbors who were upset after she informed them that they had extended their backyards onto her property with uses that included a golf driving range, swing set, chicken coops, irrigated landscaping and a hot tub.
Some neighbors said at the meeting that the letters they received threatened them with arrest.
Of 81 homes fronting Horn's property, 24 had encroachments, according to Horn. All were rectified but sore feelings clearly remain.
"It really hurt to get that letter," said Medeiros, whose two sons used to play on the hillside.
No date has been set yet for a hearing at which DLNR's board is expected to make a decision on the permit application.
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