The second hearing in two months concerning a Kilauea landowner’s contested plans to build an upscale home on coastal land featured a full day of testimony without a Planning Commission decision in sight.

The commission is reviewing permits requested by California resident Charles Somers to develop two homes and a barn on 35,000 square feet of his roughly 160-acre parcel that stretches inland from the ocean and is abutted by Kilauea Stream.

Attorneys for Somers were able to present their final four witnesses yesterday, in addition to the three heard on March 18. They included a civil engineer, landscape architect, botanical surveyor and consulting biologist, all of whom are contracted to work on the project.

The group was questioned by attorneys for both sides, the commissioners and Planning Department staff on the project’s potential impacts to the environment and wildlife, as well as any proposed mitigation.

The opposition — represented by Elizabeth Freeman, a Kilauea resident with intervenor status in the case — began presenting its witnesses after 5 p.m., starting with National Tropical Botanical Garden Director and Chief Executive Officer Chipper Wichman.

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(Source: Blake Jones, Kauai Garden Island News)