The study area covers approximately 1,625 acres of land. The City and County of Honolulu owns 1,260 acres--the Koko Head Regional Park which includes Hanauma Bay and Sandy Beach. The State owns approximately 35 acres around Makapu'u Lighthouse and an additional 13 acres along Makapu'u cliff that are a part of Hawaiian Home Lands. The Department of Commerce owns about 0.11 acres--the Makapu'u Lighthouse, the surrounding grounds, and utility easement.
Bishop Estate owns 316 acres at Queen's Beach, Kealakipapa Valley, and a portion of Makapu'u Head. Bishop Estate would like to develop an 18 hole golf course in this area. The Bishop Estate land and the rest of Makapu'u Head is the area recommended by the study for a state park.
According to the Ka Iwi Study, the goals of the proposed park are:
* Preserve and enhance the natural, cultural, and scenic qualities of the Ka Iwi site.
* Promote public education and appreciation of the Ka Iwi site's natural, cultural, and scenic qualities in a manner consistent with the preservation and enhancement of those qualities.
* Manage recreation activities in a manner consistent with the preservation and enhancement of the Ka Iwi site's natural, cultural and scenic qualities, and to promote public safety.
The park development plan suggests three intensity levels (low, medium, and high), that are grouped so that the park could be developed in stages from low to high intensity--or development suspended at the appropriate level.
Low Intensity
The Low Intensity development alternative includes the following actions:
* Install barriers to Off Road Vehicles (ORV) at Queen's Beach and Wawamalu Ranch Wall.
* Clean-up trash, boulders, abandoned vehicles and the remains of military buildings at Makapu'u Head.
* Restore shoreline vegetation including naupaka, wiliwili and kiawe. In addition to enhanced aesthetics and erosion control, native plants are more fire resistant.
* Tree restoration in the low ditch area near Queen's Beach.
* Restore the wetland which is severely damaged by the ORV's.
* Restore inlet circulation and water quality which may be compromised by runoff from nearby residential areas and the golf course. The tidal zone at Queen's Beach represents one of the most accessible and best opportunities for interpretation of its kind.
* Restore the remnant of the old "King's Highway."
* Establish an interconnected trail system throughout the Ka Iwi site. Improved trails should be designated along the most scenic and safely accessible portions of the ridge. Use of designated trails will help preserve vegetation and control erosion.
* Construct a footbridge across the drainage channel.
* Extend Makapu'u Lookout, perhaps using a split-level design like that at Halona Blowhole or the Nuuanu Pali Lookout.
* Establish parking and access at Queen's Beach with 50 parking stalls, and 20 minute parking for 40 cars and 5 buses at Makapu'u Lookout. Additional all-day parking for 40 cars to serve hikers walking up the Makapu'u Headland Road.
* Construct a comfort station at Queen's Beach.
Medium Intensity
The Medium Intensity development alternative includes the following in addition to the above actions.
* Establish a Visitor's Center on the high spot adjacent to Ka'ili'ili Bay.
* Create a botanical garden to display native Hawaiian coastal plants.
* Recreate Kaloko fishpond, as a cultural and educational project depicting traditional Hawaiian fishpond at Kaloko Inlet.
* Create a landscaped rest area at several locations at Queen's Beach and up on the headlands.
* Establish scenic interpretive venues, at viewing spots, with brief but informative interpretive exhibits.
* Construct a comfort station at the Makapu'u Head lower parking area.
* Improve Makapu'u Headlands Road.
High Intensity
The High Intensity development alternative includes the following in addition to all the low and medium intensity improvements.
* Expand Queen's Beach parking top 100 stalls.
* Construct an outdoor activities pavilion and comfort station in the grassland.
* Convert selected rest areas to picnic grounds. This would include benches and trash receptacles, but not Barbecue grills because of the fire hazard.
* Establish shuttle staging area at Makapu'u Head, to provide vehicular access and tours from the parking lot to the Lighthouse.
* Add a bicycle trail in Kealakipapa Valley.
Recommended Master Plan
The Recommended Plan is a composite of the low and medium Intensity development alternatives. It was formulated based on input from DLNR, and from public information meetings. The development cost estimate (exclusive of land) is $3,352,000.
Among the long term considerations and unresolved issues listed in the DEIS is the "irreversible and irretrievable commitment of resources" that would commit the land as a State park and thereby defer urban development of the land.