Disregard for owner ADVERTISING Disregard for owner Hawaii County is cutting down ornamental trees without regard to property owners. Early last Thursday morning, I and my neighbors were in discussion with Hawaii County employees who arrived to assess sight distance
Disregard for owner
Hawaii County is cutting down ornamental trees without regard to property owners. Early last Thursday morning, I and my neighbors were in discussion with Hawaii County employees who arrived to assess sight distance from Kaahumanu Street, intersecting Waianuenue Avenue in Hilo.
Waianuenue Avenue has curves in this area, and motorists habitually exceed the 35-mph speed limit, making for a dangerous traffic condition. The worst curve with a forest sight distance impediment for residents is located farther down Waianuenue Avenue at the intersection with Piikea Street. The exotic palm grove in front of my home on county land and my private property (county workers replaced survey markers on the property line one year ago) did not impede sight distance up Waianuenue.
This is because the limitation on sight distance from Kaahumanu up Waianuenue is a clustering set of palms 60 yards farther up Waianuenue Avenue. I pointed this out to the county workers Thursday morning (Jan. 21), and I assured them that I will continue to keep the palms in the grove at my home trimmed, so that they do not present a limitation on the uphill Waianuenue sight distance.
Friday morning (Jan. 22) I left early for work, and when I returned I discovered the entire 20-year-old palm grove in front of my home had been cut down and removed.
The grove included large and small palm species totaling 13 individuals among eight different species, including the endangered species, Neoveitchia storckii. My neighbor told me the county tree-cutters came in the morning and did their work after I left for mine. I received no advance notification of this planned action. I had no opportunity to move valuable trees that the county targeted for destruction.
Worse, the cutting of the palms included individual trees on my private property, lines of which the county had plainly re-marked a year ago.
I am still in shock that the county has such a cavalier attitude toward resident property owners of Hilo. Now that the palm grove is gone, the sight distance up from Kaahumanu intersecting Waianuenue remains unchanged, and the true dangerous sight distance problem on Waianuenue remains downhill at the sharp curve at the intersection of Piikea.
Rather than enforce the speed limit on Waianuenue Avenue, does the county figure on cutting down all the ornamental trees on the whole road to extend sight distance? This will just encourage speeders to drive the road even faster and make the traffic problem worse.
With regard to Hawaii County governance and the no-notice surprise cutting of the exotic palm grove on Waianauenue Avenue, including on private property, and with no effect on sight distance, what kind of people do you have in your employ?
William J. Mautz
Hilo
