Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 26, Number 8, 1 ʻAukake 2009 — DHHL to fulfill promise to Maui homesteaders [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

DHHL to fulfill promise to Maui homesteaders

The state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands will make good on a commitment made more than 23

years ago to provide basic infrastructure of roads, potablewater, electrical and telecommu-

nications service to 66 homestead lessees for their farm lots in Upcountry Maui. The infrastructure is expected to be completed soon and lessees are expected to build homes on their property within the next three months. The Kēōkea subdivision was recently reconfigured and the 66 lessees

selected their new homestead lots on July 18. The original subdivision and homestead leases were made during the Accelerated Lease Awards Program in the mid-1980s, whieh provided homestead

leases on lands without infrastructure. While infrastructure was provided on many of the original awards, some homesteads, such as the 68 in Kēōkea, were never pro-

vided basic infrastructure. "We made a commitment to address some longstanding issues and not carry them over to another administration," said Mieah A. Kāne, DHHL director, who was recently named a trustee of the Kamehameha Schools. "This is a great day because people ean finally build their home."