Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 15, Number 5, 1 May 1998 — Hāʻupu radio tower erected despite community opposition [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

Hāʻupu radio tower erected despite community opposition

8y Manu Boyd IN MARCH, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs filed a report with the Federal Communications Commission in Washington, D.C„ opposing the placement of a radio tower on Hā'upu ridge. Based on research and eommunity testimony, OHA took the position that Hā'upu is a wahi kauu. a sacred

plaee, and should not be desecrated. Despite community opposition, the 250ft, red and white radio tower, eomplete with a eonstantly blinking red light, was erected in late March. OHA's three-part report includes traditional Hawaiian views of nature as well as 20 examples of poems. chants, adages and wise sayings that make reference to Hā'upu,

and a review of the approval and permitting process whieh angered the eommunity. The process was both flawed and controversial. Stangl Broadcasting Company's private consultants identified only one significant site on the ridge, a heiau dedicated to Laka,

the forest deity of the hula. This contrasts sharply with community testimony and research. When loeal residents became aware of the project and sought to inform Stangl of their concems, Stangl's response, through its attomey, was that a state agency had already granted Stangl approval, even though its eomplianee with requirement of notice to the community was suspect. The Federal

v.ommumcauons Commission (FCC) has a nondelegable duty to ensure that proposed developments do not significantly affect a traditional religious site or adversely impact on Native Hawaiians' ability to exercise their religion. It must also assure that a significant change in the surface features of this ridge does not xur or that flora and

fauna on Hā'upu are not negatively impacted as a result of this tower's construction. The facts in this case suggest the FCC based its evaluation of the proposed tower on the enroneous results of a flawed state process. In doing this, the FCC appears to have breached its duties. ■

Ha'upu ridge extending from Llhu'e to Koloa on Kaua'i has for centuries been hailed in Hawaiian lore as a sacred, significant site. 0(