Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 18, Number 10, 1 ʻOkakopa 2001 — IN THE ROUGH: Hōkūliʻa luxury golf construction stymied by state and court order [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

IN THE ROUGH: Hōkūliʻa luxury golf construction stymied by state and court order

By Naomi Sodetani

The Hōkūli'a luxury golf subdivision is gouging into Pu'u Ohau, a royal burial preserve where Kama'eokalani, grandmother of King David Kalākaua and Queen Lili'uokalani, is buried. On Sept. 19, the Department of Land and Natural Resources ordered Oceanside 1250 Partners to immediately "cease and desist" all building activity. The entire pu'u was declared off-limits in a 1999 burial treatment plan forged by the developer, the Hawai'i Island Burial Council and DLNR. The plan also required the building of a six-foot rock wall around the base of the pu'u "to provide perpetual protection to this significant historic site" and avoid "the possibility of burial site disturbance," DLNR chairperson Gilbert S. Coloma-Agaran wrote to John DeFries, Oceanside 1250 president and general manager. "To date, the construction of this wall has not occurred." Moreover, "there are existing residential lots located on a physical portion of the pu'u and that there has been some recent clearing activ-

ity in that area," Coloma-Agaran wrote. In a June KWO interview, DeFries had stated, "We are building a six-foot wall around the pu'u. No house sites are located on Pu'u Ohau or inside the conservation boundaries. Lots 26-29 are adjacent to the pu'u and adjacent to the conservation area." Oceanside's building plans show the presence of four luxury homes at the 70-foot elevation. After the burial plan was

approved, conservation boundaries were redrawn apparently to aeeommodate the 2nd fairway, golf cart paths, sand and water traps and house lots in prohibited areas. Acknowledging "serious disagreement as to what constitutes the base of Pu'u Ohau," ColomaAgaran said that the pu'u is "the physical feature associated with increasing elevations and not defined by the boundary of the eonservation zone." "I don't know whieh part of 'base

of the pu'u' they don't understand," said Kona Councilman J. Curtis Tyler III, who also is a lineal descendant of kūpuna buried in the project area. Prompted by constituents' eomplaints about the building, Tyler investigated the matter during a site visit with state Big Island archaeologist Marc Smith and Ka'iana Markell, who heads the Burial Sites Program. "We all were appalled, really shocked to find that many archaeological markers that appeared to be burial mounds and platforms" were plainly observable, but were absent from Oceanside 1250's archaeological survey, the eouneilman said. "There is a pono way to do a project and it's very simple," Tyler said. "Certain representations were made. You said this is what you'd do — so do it." Karin Shaw, Hōkūli'a eommunications director, said that the developer is working closely with descendants, the Hawai'i Island Burial Council and state Burial Sites Program "to assure that the utmost care and respect is afforded See HŌKŪLI'A on page 15

AT THE BASE OF PU'U OHAU. The developer and project foes disagree as to where the base of the pu'u begins. The DLNR ordered Oceanside 1250 to stop all bullding in the area encompassing the ancient royal burial preserve.

3 O 0 Q 1 I O 8 e n

HŌKŪU'A from page 14. to nā iwi kūpuna. We respect and are complying with the rulings of the court, and we are certainly in full agreement with the spirit of the rulings: that nā iwi kūpuna and kanaka maoli cultural sites be protected." In August, Judge Ronald Ibarra slapped Oceanside 1250 with a court order that forced the developer to rebury unearthed remains in plaee and to rebuild a 1,000 year old stone ala loa disassembled during construction. As of press lime, this work has not been completed. Project foes, including the Protect Keōpuka 'Ohana, have filed a lawsuit pushing for the redesign of the project to protect offshore waters, stop burial desecration and restore historic sites damaged during construction. The plai ntiffs assert that over 100 burial sites were disturbed since the project began in 1999, while DeFries maintains that less than 10 sets of bones were moved. The trial will begin Nov. 27. Oceanside declined to give details about burials unearthed in Pu'u Ohau and elsewhere on the project site. "We feel it would be inappropriate to comment out of respect for the lineal and cultural descendants," Shaw said. KWO publications editor Naomi Sodetani is married to Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation attorney Alan Murakami, who represents Protect Keōpuka 'Ohana plaintiffs. ■