Hawai‘i County in talks with landowners to acquire historic Honolulu Landing

After waiting for nearly two decades, the Puna community could see 365 acres of land along the coast being preserved through a potential land purchase by Hawai‘i County.

On Wednesday, the Hawai‘i County Council passed its second resolution that authorizes the county to pursue land acquisition of Honolulu Landing through the county’s Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Fund.

The land is in lower Puna along Government Beach Road between the old coastal village of Waiakahi‘ula and the Nanawale Forest Reserve. The owner of the two parcels that the resolution seeks to secure has a combined assessed value of $1.092 million, according to the Hawai‘i County Real Property Tax Office website.

Resolution 286-25 received a unanimous 9-0 vote in support during the council’s regular meeting.

The County Council initially gave Hawaiʻi County authorization to negotiate acquisition of Honolulu Landing 18 years ago using the same fund.

Council Member Ashley Kierkiewicz said she doesn’t know why there was no movement on buying the land over the nearly past two decades, but she decided to bring attention to the matter with the resolution after seeing that the 365 acres was put up for sale this summer by its owner, Manah Limited Partnership.

During Wednesday’s meeting, Malia A. Kekai, Deputy Director of Finance, reported to the council that the county has been in contact with the agent selling the parcels and was informed the owners are excited about selling the land to the county.

“I have already sent over an offer, and for the most part, I think that they’re in agreement,” Kekai said.

As part of the negotiations, the county will be conducting an appraisal to determine a fair price. A purchase is ultimately subject to both parties’ approval.

“It sounds like the property owner is willing to sell to the county, which is a good thing,” Kierkiewicz said. “Whether or not we can come to an agreement is another thing.”

Kierkiewicz said buying and preserving Honolulu Landing is long overdue.

“It’s a tremendous opportunity to preserve this ‘āina for cultural, natural resource, community benefit, and it’s so great that so many folks are willing to step up and steward this very special place,” the councilwoman stated.

Honolulu Landing has 4,000 feet of shoreline and contains archaeological resources, including ancient burial sites of lineal descendants, village complexes, heiau, house platforms, rock walls, ahu and planting areas, according to the resolution.

The land also is home to a variety of native plants and species as well as freshwater springs.

Several community members testified in support of acquiring Honolulu Landing. A petition was started on Sept. 2 on Change.org supporting the land acquisition, with more than 1,000 signatures to date.

One testifier during Wednesday’s meeting stated Honolulu Landing is a place where it’s evident that Hawaiians once lived.

“It’s important for us to keep our cultural heritage as a Native Hawaiian intact,” the testifier said.

A lineal descendant from the area told the council that if Honolulu Landing is sold to foreign investors or private developers, the consequences will have a ripple effect.

“For Puna as a whole, development means overburdened infrastructures, especially with traffic,” the testifier stated. “Honolulu Landing contains historical, not only coastal, but inland trails, villages and cultural features. Community displacement, foreign investment, drives us up with property values and taxes, forcing our families to leave Hawai’i, the land of our ancestors. This is not just development that we are talking about. We are talking about erasure.”

Kierkiewicz said there is a strong contingent of lineal descendants and five nonprofits waiting to steward the land.

“It’s really heartening to see so many community members, nonprofits, lineal descendants step up and want to see this happen so that we can protect this really important ‘āina, which has many documented cultural and archaeological features,” Kierkiewicz said.

Written testimony from Don Rudny of Pepe‘eko “firmly” objected to the resolution.

Rudny said while he has been a long supporter of the county’s Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation program, the proposed acquisition of this parcel is a concern for him.

According to Rudny, the property lies in Lava Zone 2, where the U.S. Geological Survey estimates a 15% to 25% chance of lava inundation within the next 50 years.

“Committing more than 10% of the entire fund to purchase high-risk land at an inflated price is, in my view, not a responsible use of taxpayer resources,” he said. “While I recognize the cultural value of the property, cultural significance alone cannot justify such a disproportionate expenditure.”

Kekai told the council that the parcels are subject to appraisal.

“For people who are maybe concerned that we’re paying more than it’s worth, we can’t,” she told the council. “In the Hawai‘i County Code, we are limited to the appraised price, so the offer will be subject to appraisal and we should be getting that within 30 days.”