One of the biggest changes in the history of North Kohala is underway. Surety Kohala Corp., landowner & developer, (formerly known as Chalon International Inc., a Japanese based diversified hospitality company currently undergoing bankruptcy proceedings) which, in 1988 purchased 19,000 acres of former sugar cane land from Castle & Cook for $73.6 million, is now selling off its land holdings in North Kohala. This shift from one large land-owner into many brings with it many challenges for the North Kohala community.

Roughly 3,000 acres makai of Akoni Pule highway between Upolu Point and Keokea Park have been in the process for almost two years now of being consolidated and resubdivided. Consolidation and resubdivision (C&R) is a process of subdividing land recognized by the County Planning Department as reconfiguring the existing number of lots such that it does not result in increased density (more lots). A C&R is a land use issue that the County Planning Department cannot deny, nor does it require the land owner (Chalon) to create any additional infrastructure (roads, water, electricity, etc.). The only thing the County Planning Department can do is to require certain approvals from various county agencies regarding the C&R. As part of Chalon's application, Planning Director Chris Yuen has implemented a public access condition under H.R.S., Chapter 34.

In 1974, the State of Hawaii legislature passed a law with regard to subdivisions between existing highways and the sea. The law, Chapter 34, states that any subdivision with 6 lots or more between the highway and the sea must have public access. It directed the various Counties to pass an ordinance to implement this law, since subdivisions are permitted on the County level. Twenty two years later in 1996 the Hawaii County Council finally passed this ordinance and five years later, in 2001, the Planning Department is enforcing it. Chalon International, however, is resisting public access rights asserted by the Planning Department relative to these proposed C&R's, and has appealed this requirement to the County Board of Appeals. Kako'o, represented by Hilo-based attorneys Steven Strauss and Douglas Halsted, filed a petition to intervene before the County Board of Appeals and had its first hearing along with the County of Hawaii on September 18, 2001. Negotiations have been underway ever since and apparently an agreement has been reached between the County & Surety Kohala. The issue and outcome will be on the agenda for the May, 2002 Board of Appeals meeting

On the State level, Kako'o, on August 21, 2001 submitted written comments to the Board of Land & Natural Resources (BLNR) regarding Chalon's Conservation District Use Applications (CDUA), since these 3,000 acres encompass and encroach upon the Conservation District. Kako'o has requested that BLNR defer the applications until a determination is made concerning community based requests to preserve open space in these areas. Kako'o also opposes the CDUA's because they fail to provide for public access, location and use of public and ancient trails, and traditional gathering rights. Moreover, based on the cumulative effects on all these coastal lands regarding public access, recreation and aesthetic enjoyment of open and scenic lands, Kako'o has requested that the Board determine that the CDUA's are not exempt from environmental review under Chapter 343, Hawaii Revised Statutes. Kako'o has also filed petitions for contested case hearings if the board is inclined to grant Chalon's applications.

Since Kako'o's filing, Surety Kohala has withdrawn their CDUA and are "reviewing" the configurations of the C&R's. At this point in time no revised or amended CDUA application has been filed and the C&R's are still pending final subdivision approval at the County Of Hawaii Planning Department and according to the County Planning Office, they are expecting an approved CDUA permit before they will give Chalon final subdivision approval.

How this issue plays out, only time will tell.

The Ahupua'a of Kapunapuna, Haena, Awalua, Kukuipahu and Ili-O-Lahuiki in North Kohala have been consolidated & resubdivided into three separate subdivisions by Parker Ranch Inc. / Richard Smart Trust and are now being or have been SOLD.
These three subdivisions have some of the best intact pre-contact Hawaiian archaeological sites in the state of Hawaii and lie undisturbed in a Keawe Forest. A 1988 archeological survey (North Kohala: Perception of a Changing Community, cultural resources study and inventory, Tomonari-Tuggle) identified the archaeological sites along the coastline of these subdivisions. Their well preserved intact state, says this report, is a direct result from the fact that the only post-contact land use in this leeward coastal area had been light ranching and the archeological sites never encountered the fate of the North Kohala sugar industry "plow" as did the rich Kula Slopes and Gulches further toward the East .
Last year, The Trust For Public Land (TPL), represented by Teresa McHugh, was working with Trustees for Parker Ranch Inc. / Richard Smart Trust to purchase the entire area makai of the abandoned Hawaii Railway Company tract that cuts through these subdivisions in order to establish an "historical easement" to protect these archaeological sites. However, this acquisition fell through around December, 2001. An "historical easement" along the coastal area of these subdivisions would have preserved and protected these historic and archaeological sites.
At this point in time, Kako'o requested that the County Of Hawaii Planning Department have Parker Ranch Inc. / Richard Smart Trust submit a Special Management Area Assessment application to enable the County to further evaluate these historic concerns. However, while cutting a "deal" with Parker Ranch Inc. / Richard Smart Trust in order to establish a Chapter 34 "public access" agreement, Chris Yuen allowed Parker Ranch Inc. / Richard Smart Trust to slide through the permitting process without undergoing an SMA application.
Kako'o commends the Planning Director, his staff and Parker Ranch Inc. / Richard Smart Trust for finalizing a public access plan (Chapter 34) that will ensure coastal recreational opportunities accessible to the public. However, a dedicated "access easement" within the 40 foot shoreline setback running adjacent to these subdivisions does not preserve and protect the vast majority these historic and archaeological sites.
Parker Ranch Inc. / Richard Smart Trust has a long history of good "stewardship" of the lands they control and have been more than fair to the public over the years. However, once Parker Ranch Inc. / Richard Smart Trust sell these lands, they no longer have control of the fate of the historic and archaeological sites concerned.
In a meeting with Chris Yuen in his office in March 2002, Kako'o board members in attendance, were told by the Planning Director, that the state of Hawaii, with its fairly elaborate system of protecting historic and archaeological sites when it comes to land use development in the conservation zone, would be more than adequate to protect and preserve these sites.
Unfortuneately, the state's system of laws does not always work the way it was intended. For instance, one legal loophole that developers like to use is the "grubbing" permit. With a grubbing permit it is not against the law for a private landowner to destroy archaeological sites that are not burials and are not on the Hawaii Register of Historic Places. Ninety Nine percent ( 99%) of historic and archeological sites in the state of Hawaii are not on the Hawaii Register. A private landowner, with a grubbing permit can "accidentally" meander into the conservation zone and with relative impunity can destroy over night, historic and archaeological sites prior to a citizen complaint and site inspection by DLNR enforcement officers. Two separate incidents similar to this just happened in the Ahupua'a of Paoo & Keawe'ula which are located makai of Akoni Pule Highway in the North Kohala area. A $1000.00 fine and a "be careful" warning was all one private landowner received. This fine is now being appealed by the landowner.
It seems a shame that NO measures of control were incorporated prior to final subdivision approval to protect and preserve these historic archaeological sites that hold such a significant place in Hawaiian History.

Kako'o's lawsuit over the water pipeline comes before the Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals in Honolulu at 1:30 p.m., Tuesday, May 7, 2002. That date marks the end of a long road for KAKOO on this phase of the pipeline water diversion plan. Suing under the National Environmental Policy Act (NEPA), we have been seeking a ruling that would require the Department of Water Supply to do a Federal Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS). If granted, the FEIS would open up the whole issue again, offering the opportunity for new information to be introduced, along with more expert witness testimony, and would require a public hearing here in North Kohala.
Some have asked why we need an FEIS, since the State has accepted the initial EIS prepared by the Department of Water Supply (DWS) in consultation with the United States Geological Survey (USGS). KAKOO has contested the accuracy and thoroughness of the first EIS from the beginning. During the draft EIS process, questions may be asked in writing by concerned individuals. These questions must then be answered by a member of the proposing agency and published with the questions in the final EIS. Many questions from various segments of the population were submitted. These questions were not answered in a comprehensive and satisfactory manner in the final EIS. A phone poll which was taken confirmed that a number of those who posed questions were not satisfied with the answers published in the final EIS. That may have been because the answers were given by Milton Pavao, Manager of Hawaii County DWS, the very agency that proposed the pipeline. One might ask if he can be expected to be objective about his own project. Regardless of the many issues raised, Governor Cayetano signed off on the EIS in 1996, and our legal odyssey began.
Another reason for wanting an FEIS is that new information concerning the recharge--the amount of water that can be safely removed--from the Hawi aquifer has come to light. The USGS is now reexamining the methodology used in determining their first assessment of the recharge for the Hawi aquifer. Unfortunately, we are not able to address this critical concern in our present NEPA lawsuit. The only issues we can address under NEPA are: (1) Does the project have a major federal involvement (in this case, money)? or (2) Will major environmental degradation occur if this project (the pipeline) goes forward? Number two cannot be confirmed except after the fact, an unsatisfactory state of affairs, to say the least. About $4,000,000 of county, state and federal money has been spent to date, not counting the legal costs of defending the project against our lawsuit. About $3,000,00 of this total is federal money. Is this a "major federal involvement? We are about to find out. Should this effort fail and if money is available, other legal options are being considered.
Most recently the DWS position, as stated by Manager Milton Pavao in a recent Hawaii Island Journal article, has been that "the project is on the shelf, meaning that it could be resurrected at any time. The reasons given are: insufficient funds to move ahead and the question of how much water is available for safe removal. Recent discoveries of vast quantities of water (the exact amount is not yet confirmed) in the Waimea area make one wonder why the water allegedly needed for South Kohala doesn,t come from that source, since it is closer to the demand site. Steve Bowles, a DWS consultant and the hydrologist who performed this study for the DWS, is the person who says the Waimea reserves are enormous.
In light of these new findings, and under the clear mandate of the Hawaii State Supreme Court regarding the precautionary principle and protection of the public trust, it would seem that the DWS would take this project off the shelf and declare it dead once and for all. Most major corporations, where profits are key, would have written it off long ago.

MALAMA NA KAHAKAI, et al. v. CHANDI DUKE HEFFNER, et al. Civil No. 01-1-0059

Following the Courts denial of the individual Plaintiffs and Malama Na Kahakai, Inc.'s motion for preliminary injunction earlier this year, Plaintiffs continue to gather information concerning the use of the mauka-makai jeep road to Keawe'ula and Keawenui bays. In addition, Plaintiffs are gathering evidence to counter Defendant Heffner's claims of trespass against individuals for use of the jeep road and trails which cross her property

With a pending confirmation of proposed new board member Gerald De Mello, Malama Na Kahakai, Inc. hopes to explore an additional vehicular access to Keawe'ula and Keawenui bays across adjacent State lands. If approved, such additional access will likely require volunteers to lay out and maintain a four wheel drive trail to the shoreline. For further information, please contact Malama Na Kahakai, Inc's president, Theresa Perez at 885-7788.

On Wednesday, March 20, 2002, KAKO'O held a land trust workshop/seminar at the Kohala High School Cafetorium. John Bay of the Pacific Islands Land Institute, home-based in Kailua, Oahu, was the chief presenter. He was joined by Hawaii County
Planning Director, Chris Yuen. This workshop was funded by a grant from the Trust for Public Land (TPL) on Oahu.
Teresa McHugh of TPL has been in our community numerous times, looking for opportunities to pre-serve in trust some of North Kohala's remaining available and open space for future generations. Most recently she has been negotiating with trustees of Parker Ranch on land located between Kapa'a Park and Puakea Bay Ranch (see the Historic Sites article in this newsletter).
Mr. Yuen gave the County's take on land trust possibilities. Mr. Bay covered the different types of land trusts available and how best to implement them. Though the atmosphere was informal and relaxed, much valuable information came to light-some of which may be put to use here in North Kohala. After pupus were served, Mr. Bay distributed handouts summarizing what was covered in his presentation. Several members of the newly formed Kohala CommunityLand Trust were in attendance.
On Wednesday, March 27, the Kohala Community Land Trust (KCLT) held a similar type of workshop/ seminar. The presenters were all members of KCLT; the principal speaker for the organization was Kurt von der Heyden. After introducing themselves, the members told the audience how and why they had formed this land trust.
The workshop focused on possible options for the community. It was well attended by local residents, many of whom had specific questions, which the KCLT attempted to answer. Co-sponsor KAKO'O supplied excellent pupus for the meeting.
Another KCLT workshop is planned in the near future. Watch for posters or notices with the specifics.