Kamehameha Schools' proposed Keauhou Bay Management Plan includes many upgrades and aims to reorganize some of the area's activities. But as with any proposed development or change in our islands, some disagree with the proposal.
Jeff Caufield is a part-time resident of Keauhou Bay and a short-term vacation rental owner in the Kona area. He's also a retired environmental attorney with years of experience helping to prepare environmental impact statements — and litigating related cases.
The Conversation talked to him about his concerns with the proposed plan's draft EIS.
"I think the EIS appears to be written to minimize the impacts by not really giving the public a straight story, things like claiming it's going to reduce congestion when you're talking about adding 150 bedrooms and commercial kiosks and commercial buildings and restaurants and everything else in the bay," he said. "It's a pretty quiet, magical place most of the time, and so the EIS really needs to better address and inform the public as to what the real impacts are going to be."
Caufield said he would like to see a management plan more limited in scope.
We also spoke to Marissa Harman, the director of planning and development for Kamehameha Schools. Click here to listen to that interview.
The draft EIS is available for the public to read and comment on by Aug. 7. Click here to comment on the EIS.
A community organization opposing development in the bay has formed. Click here to visit its website.
This interview aired on The Conversation on July 22, 2024. The Conversation airs weekdays at 11 a.m. on HPR-1.
