A pavilion to house community, cultural, educational and recreational activities at Hookena Beach Park recently made another step toward fruition. A pavilion to house community, cultural, educational and recreational activities at Hookena Beach Park recently made another step toward fruition.
A pavilion to house community, cultural, educational and recreational activities at Hookena Beach Park recently made another step toward fruition.
On Wednesday, the project to build a 3,200-square-foot multipurpose building at Hookena Beach Park in South Kona received a finding of no significant impact by Hawaii County Planning Director Bobby Jean Leithead Todd. The determination allows the project to move forward and receive federal funding, according to the project’s final environmental assessment.
Nonprofits The Friends of Honokaa Beach Park and Paa Pono Milolii have proposed to build the facility on county-owned land using federal Housing and Urban Development funds, according to the assessment.
The pavilion will consist of a central, open-air lanai space of 1,600 feet, an enclosed office space, two storage rooms and cultural and exhibition space. According to the final EA, it will not feature plumbing or restrooms, but will meet Americans with Disabilities Act standards.
The groups still need special management area use, building, and grading and grubbing permits, according to the final assessment. The pavilion is expected to cost about $400,000 and take 12 months to build.
Currently, the beach park area has a 550-square-foot restroom facility with two outside showers, unpaved parking for about 30 cars, a picnic area and a 20-by-40-foot covered pavilion, according to the assessment.
The assessment said the Newell’s shearwater, the endangered Hawaiian petrel, Hawaiian hawk and Hawaiian hoary bat have all been observed at the site. Minimizing bright outdoor lighting, shielding light sources and using motion detectors where practical will reduce impacts on those species.
The final EA also noted the site is located in an area where no archaeological resources have yet been encountered. A rock wall, identified as a historic resource, will not be altered.
The National Environmental Policy Act final environmental assessment can be viewed online at the state Department of Health’s Office of Environmental Quality Control website at oeqc.doh.hawaii.gov/default.aspx.
