Families claim native rights in fighting Hanalei eviction

By Jan TenBruggencate
Advertiser KauaÎi Bureau

HANALEI, Kaua'i — Two Hanalei families, who admit they own only a tiny fraction of the land on which they live, are fighting a threatened eviction by the majority owner.

"We don't have anywhere to go," said David Denson, whose Native Hawaiian wife and her cousin Robert Pa claim their blood gives them the right to live on a one-acre parcel near the old Hanalei taro warehouse.

"The family has lived on the land for 160 years," said Denson.

But Hanalei Realtor Mike Ching, who owns most of the property, challenges the assumption that the property has been the continuous homestead of the Pa clan. The eight children and four adults living in two homes on the land have been there only about five years, Ching said.

"It was a long-term rental property," he said.

A majority of family members have sold their interests, Ching said. He hopes to renovate the two homes and convert them back into long-term rental units.

The Denson and Pa families, calling themselves the Pa 'Ohana, "collectively have a 1.75 percent interest in the property," according to Ching.

Denson said that many of the family members with interests in the property live on the Mainland and accepted Ching's offers to buy them out for cash. But while he feels many sold for less than their interests were worth, the courts have confirmed Ching's ownership.

Denson characterizes the issue as a Native Hawaiian rights claim. His wife's great-great-grandparents are buried on the land, he said.

The families have received eviction notices, but the Pa 'Ohana has no interest in leaving, he said.

"There's nowhere for us to go to," Denson said.