Protecting the coast by purchase – Lamaloa property near Lapakahi Park
The Kohala coast at Lapakahi, site of the present Lapakahi State Historical Park, was settled by Hawaiians in the 1300s, thrived in the 1500 to 1700s and remained settled into the 20th century. The land of several surrounding ahupua’a -- sea to mountain -- is owned by the State of Hawaii, except for a 17-acre parcel on the shore in Lamaloa immediately south of the park. The small point and protected tiny bay was the site of a settlement separate from the village at Lapakahi. It is full of archaeological sites including canoe sheds, habitations, fish shrines and possibly spiritual sites. The family living there received a land grant under the name Nu’uanu in the 1800s. It passed through private ownership for many years being held and protected by Frank and Ruth Tabrah, longtime Kohala residents. Fishermen on the coast still call the land Tabrah’s. In recent years several different off-island owners have been working toward developing the land and building a residence on the shoreline conservation district land.
Members of Kamakani ‘O Kohala Ohana have worked for 20 years toward bringing this parcel of land into public ownership. Senate Concurrent Resolution 116 (1994) called on the Department of Land and Natural Resources to work with our group (then called Hui Lihikai) in a coordinated effort to assess the possibility of public purchase of five North Kohala coastal parcels including this one at Lamaloa now called the Nu’uanu – Reish property.
The call for purchase of this and other coastal lands now extends far beyond our membership. The community as a whole has joined the effort through the recent unanimously-adopted North Kohala Community Development Plan (NKCDP). The plan is now law, Hawaii County Ordinance No. 2008-151. It calls for purchase of the last remaining private parcels along the leeward coastline.
KAKO’O, the CDP Focus Group, Maika’i Kamakani ‘O Kohala and many North Kohala residents recently asked the State Land Legacy Conservation Commission to add the Nu’uanu-Reish property to the State list for purchase. The purchase has also been promoted by the Trust for Public Land, which has generously offered matching funds for the purchase. On Dec. 19 the commission agreed to use $1.25 million of its allocated funds for the purchase. Release of the funds still has to be approved by the Board of Land and Natural Resources, the legislature and the governor. KAKO’O has pledged to continue its support until the land is protected from development.