County Council gives favorable recommendation to resolution aimed at protecting nearly 30 acres in Pu‘uanahulu

The Hawai‘i County Council on Tuesday bolstered efforts to preserve and protect the cultural and natural resources on a nearly 30-acre parcel on the west side of the Big Island for education, gathering and cultural practices.

Council members during a meeting of their Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions Committee voted 8-0, with Chairwoman Heather Kimball absent at the time, to give Resolution 486 a favorable recommendation.

The resolution, introduced by Kohala Councilwoman Cindy Evans, allows Hawai‘i County to enter into negotiations for a conservation easement for 27.38 acres of land with shoreline on ‘Anaeho‘omalu Bay in Kona, south of the Waikōloa resort area, using the county’s Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Fund.

The area, known as ‘Anaeho‘omalu Kapalaoa, is in the ahupua‘a (land division) of Pu‘uanahulu and listed as priority No. 1 in the 2023 annual report of the Hawai‘i County Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Commission.

“This is such a wonderful project,” said Evans, adding that the history and heritage the property contains are priceless.

Hawai‘i County Finance Department Property Management Division chief Hamana Ventura said some days, he gets lucky to be in a situation where there’s not much he can say that hasn’t been said already because stewards of the land and ‘ohana involved did all of the work to get a piece of property to this point.

He called it a chicken skin moment.

“We’re just asking that we be able to continue this process from our end and get this to the finish line,” said Ventura.

The property is now owned by Waikōloa Land and Cattle Co. and was originally purchased to expand the resort area. According to the resolution, the company has expressed interest in selling the property for the purpose of preservation.

Protecting ‘Anaeho‘omalu Kapalaoa is beneficial for several reasons, including perpetuating the lifestyle, culture and history of Pu‘uanahulu.

The area also contains Keahualono Heiau and Hi‘iakaika‘ale‘i Heiau, ancient habitation and cave complexes, petroglyph fields, mauka-to-makai and coastal trail networks, ecosystems with endemic plants and animals such as pristine anchialine pools teeming with ‘opae ‘ula (native Hawaiian shrimp) and public access to the southern shoreline of ‘Anaeho‘omalu Bay for fishing, gathering and other cultural practices.

Several community stakeholders, including nonprofits Na ‘Oiwi O Pu‘uanahulu, Hui Aloha Kiholo and the Ala Kahakai Trail Association, support working with the county, landowner, lineal descendants of the area and community in various capacities not just to secure the land but also maintain it for the future.

The Hawai‘i Legacy Land Conservation Commission in March also recommended in March awarding a $3 million Legacy Land Conservation Program grant to purchase the parcel, which would provide a significant amount of matching funding.

The Hawai‘i Board of Land and Natural Resources will decide on the grant award during its May 10 meeting.

The land would be purchased by nonprofit Trust for Public Land and then transferred to Na ‘Oiwi O Pu‘uanahulu, which would then own and manage it, with the proposed county conservation easement in place to protect it in perpetuity.

“We’re so humbled and honored to partner with descendant-led nonprofit Na ‘Oiwi O Pu‘uanahulu,” said Trust for Public Land Aloha ʻĀina Program project manager Reyna Ramolete Hayashi in testimony during Tuesday’s meeting. “This is a culmination of 23 years of effort by their ‘ohana and the North Kona community to prevent resort development of this last undeveloped piece in the Waikōloa Beach resort. We support returning this land to descendant and community stewardship.”

The trust has been negotiating with the land’s owner for about a year and signed a binding agreement giving it the right to purchase the property for conservation. The organization also helped Na ‘Oiwi O Pu‘uanahulu secure the $3 million from the state.

The county funding and easement are all it needs to move forward on closing.

It will take a few months to negotiate the conservation easement and get other items in line to close on the property. Hayashi told the committee Tuesday the trust is not expecting any delays in the process and hopes to close by June of next year.

Kona Councilwoman Rebecca Villegas said it is an honor and privilege to be on the council when this decision and opportunity is under consideration and to be able to vote in support and help save for generations to come to this property “where you can travel from mauka to makai and learn the lessons that this incredible island and her history and her people have to share with all of us.”

“When I reflect on the extensive development of that particular coastline, it just feels really good for us to be in a position to preserve this space, which has so many significant natural, cultural, biological resources that are still there and an opportunity for community of that ‘āina to be stewards of that place and it being just an educational ecosystem that we can visit today and in the future,” added Puna Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz.

Some council members had a few questions about funding and other logistics, but there was excitement about preserving a piece of property that is adjacent to a massive development and tourism-driven.

Hilo Councilwoman Jenn Kagiwada said the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Fund was designed for times like this.

“The only regret I have about this whole thing is that this property was in my district until the last redistricting, so council member Evans got to do the resolution,” jested Kona Councilman Holeka Inaba, council vice chairman and chairman of the Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions Committee.

The council will consider adoption of Resolution 486 during one of its next regular session meetings.