Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 12, Number 7, 1 Iulai 1995 — Maunalaha residents try to rebuild [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Maunalaha residents try to rebuild

After years of neglect, legislation is introduced that would transfer the Honolulu valley to OHA

by Patrick Johnston Nestled on the lower slopes of Honolulu's Makiki, with a tiny access road and little in the way of basic infrastructure, Maunalaha valley looks a lot like the land time forgot. Members of the small Hawaiian community living there feel their valley is the land the state forgot. The Maunalaha community has spent the past decade trying to get the state to improve the subdivision's'infrastmcture and help residents make badly needed house repairs. According to Minewa Kaawa, president of the Maunalaha Valley Community Association, the state's response has been sluggish at best: Water and electricity lines

have not been upgraded since the 1930s; the road, a small one lane drive, was only recently paved; there are no fire hydrants; and some residents are now living in tents after their old homes collapsed . This is a far cry ffom the nearby Makiki residential district where homeowners enjoy all the inffastructure of a modem city. In an attempt to remedy the situation, the 1995 Legislature passed a bill (S.B. 596) that would begin negotiations between OHA and the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) - the department respon-

stble for the valley - for the transfer of the subdivision from the state land agency to the Offtce of Hawaiian Affairs. (Editor's note: On June 21 Gov. Ben Cayetano vetoed S.B. 596. However, the Maunalaha community will continue looking into ways of improving their living conditions and will likely pursue similar legislation next year.) The Association hopes that OHA, with

experience helping Hawaiians build homes, and with a specific mandate to help Hawaiians, will be more responsive to the needs of the Maunalaha community. "AU we're asking for is the same rights as everybody else," says Kaawa. The major problem for Maunalaha residents is the substandard state of the area's infrastructure. As OHA housing officer Stephen

Morse said last March in testimony before the House committee on finance, "OHA's assessment of the housing situation at Maunalaha led us to believe the primary problem is that residents cannot obtain financing from conventional lenders because they live in an 'unimproved' subdivision. As such, the Maunalaha residents are unable to obtain permits for home constmction, a major requirement when financing projects through eon-

ventional lenders." The state's attitude toward the area and its residents is tied closely to the valley's unique history. In 1915 Maunalaha was declared a forest reserve by the territorial governor, a move that restricted the type of development and leases allowed in the region. However, some residents living there at the time claimed their families had been in the valley for gener-

ations and had rights to live on the land. The result has been an uneasy compromise: The state has worked out various lease agreements with residents, and, over the years, has installed some basic infrastructure. But insufficient funding for needed improvements, lease restrictions, and state and county regulations, have made it difficult for residents to improve their hving conditions.

The most recent lease agreement dates back to 1977, a time when the state was considering creating a park in the area and evicting Maunalaha residents in the process. Community members eame together to fight the plan, creating the Maunalaha Valley Community Association. The fight proved successful and, in 1981, then Gov. George Ariyoshi signed a bill that would allow the residents to stay under long-term leases. Signing long-term leases (previously residents were living under 30-day revocable leases) removed one obstacle to getting financing but other problems remained. According to Mason Young, DLNR land management administrator, the Legislature passed the law but

did not provide the necessary funds to improve the infrastructure. The result has been an area where the county cannot issue building permits because the area does not conform to regulations. A major issue is fire safety. There are no

fire hydrants on the quarter-mile road up the valley and the subdivision's water pipes do not have the required pressure to adequately address fire prevention needs. Homeowners have been asking DLNR to install at least one hydrant. The state says it doesn't have the money. Another issue is sewage. There are no sewage lines in the area and residents must use cesspools to dispose of their

waste water. In an attempt to get around these obstacles, language was inserted into S.B. 596 that exempts the Maunalaha subdivision from state and county standards. According to Morse, this would reduce - but not eliminate - the cost of infrastructure upgrades and residents would still not be able to tap conventional lenders to get the money required to work on their homes. A special loan fund would have to be set up. Despite this, Maunalaha residents hope that a transfer of the land to OHA - an agency sensitive to Hawaiian concems - would at least speed up the state's response to the needs in their community. "This is enough already. I'm 62

years old," says Kāawa. "I've lived in this valley all my life. All I want is for them (the state) to acknowledge us." For OHA, the legislation presents some interesting possibilities but also some real problems. Improving the living conditions of the Hawaiians in the valley clearly fits OHA's mandate. Morse believes that, by taking over the valley from DLNR, OHA would have more direct control and so could work more effectively with the community in building houses. Habitat for Humanity - a group OHA has worked closely with building homes for Hawaiians on Kaua'i - has already helped

Charlotte Batalona, a sixth-generation Maunalaha resident, build a home in the valley. This could be used as a model for future housing projects in the area. OHA Government Affairs Officer Scotty Bowman, adds that the land transfer would

also be the first of its kind for the agency and could be seen as beginning the creation of a land base for OHA and the Hawaiian people. Countering these positive features are expense and liability concems. If OHA takes over the land, residents might expect the agency to put in needed infrastmcture, estimated to cost at least $2 million. And if the proper infrastructure is not put in plaee, there would be very real hability considerations for

OHA. Taking over the Iand would also effectively make OHA property managers, an added burden on an already over-taxed administration. OHA's Morse sees a better alternative in the creation of a land trust by the residents of Maunalaha. OHA would lease the land to the trust who would in tum manage the property. Morse explains that this would "give the eommunity more ownership and more responsibility." This would also ease some of the liability concems OHA would have about taking over the subdivision.

Makeshift improvements are eommonplaee on Maunalaha homes.

A stone's throw from Maunalaha, Makiki enjoys the infrastructure of a modern city.

A collapsed house in the Maunalaha valley: Some residents are now living in tents. Photos by Patrick Johnston

Maunalaha Valley Community Association president Minewa Kaawa with her nieee Charlotte Batalona, a sixth-genertaltion Maunalaha resident.