By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Staff Writer
The developer of the Hokuli‘a luxury housing development was ordered yesterday to stop disturbing Hawaiian burial sites at the 700-home project north of Kealakekua Bay.
Kona Circuit Judge Ronald Ibarra granted a temporary restraining order that also allows unannounced access to the construction site by direct or cultural descendants to determine whether the court order is being violated.
Rick Humphreys, president and general manager of 1250 Oceanside Partners, said he is grateful the court declined the plaintiffs’ request to shut down portions of the project.
Those who have been battling the developer in court also are pleased with the order, saying the ruling provides new protections for the burials. It is also significant, they said, because it specifically recognizes the constitutional protection afforded to Hawaiian cultural and religious rights involving burials.
The motion was filed by the Protect Keopuka ‘Ohana after work on Feb. 28 breached a lava tube containing at least four burials. The group is in the fifth week of a preliminary injunction hearing that seeks to stop the South Kona construction project altogether.
During recent testimony in that hearing, it was learned that heavy equipment had struck the top of another lava tube, dumping gravel and other materials inside.
In issuing his order, Ibarra pointed to evidence showing violations of buffer zones for protection of the burials. He also noted the developer made mistakes in mapping the 20-foot buffer zones and had sometimes failed to have monitors to oversee construction activity as required by law.
Even after the buffer zones were established, the developer failed to avoid the zones, the court found.
Company archaeologists and heavy equipment operators discovered 88 burial remains, which they didn’t know were there before construction of the 1,540-acre project featuring luxury homes and a golf course.
The court order requires 1250 Oceanside Partners to provide the descendants with a daily diagram showing specific areas worked.
In the order, Ibarra criticized the state and county governments for not adequately enforcing the laws and the conditions of the project’s permits. He also found that the state specialist in charge of monitoring at Hokuli‘a had accepted money from the developer for his church’s Sunday school.
Humphreys said the court’s findings were based on allegations made by the plaintiffs during the hearing on the injunction, before the developer had a chance to present a defense.
"We are in full agreement with the court’s desire to protect burial sites at Hokuli‘a and are redoubling our efforts to ensure that everything possible is done to prevent accidents like this from happening again," he said.
Robert D.S. Kim, attorney for four Kona residents who are battling the developer in court, said the court order shows the state did not act responsibly or appropriately in carrying out its duties in overseeing protection of the site.
State Department of Land and Natural Resources officials could not be reached for comment yesterday.
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