Posted on: Monday, October 7, 2002

Hokuli'a foes take stand over burial site

By Timothy Hurley
Advertiser Staff Writer

Work continues on the Hokuli'a Golf Course. The hill in the background, Pu'u Ohau, is at the center of a dispute between developers and Native Hawaiians, who want to ensure burial sites there are protected. Jeff widener • The Honolulu Advertiser

KEALAKEKUA, Hawai'i — Three years ago, the developers of the vast luxury residential development known as Hokuli'a agreed to build a wall to protect Pu'u Ohau, the prominent coastal hill rich in Native Hawaiian burials.

Today, not only is there no wall, but there are plans to build a handful of multi-million-dollar home lots on the hill's north slope.

Project foes say Pu'u Ohau, commonly known as Red Hill, is the next battleground in their fight over development at the 1,500-acre project that includes a golf course, 700 residential lots, a member's lodge, club house, pavilion and tennis courts.

Descendants of those buried in the area and members of the Protect Keopuka 'Ohana, which is locked in a legal battle with the developer, say they are appalled at the thought of luxury homes on the burial site and are preparing to take a stand over the issue.

"Unless the developer gives it up — and I don't see that happening — it's going to be litigated,'' said attorney Moses Haia of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, which represents Protect Keopuka 'Ohana.

But John DeFries, a Native Hawaiian and president of developer 1250 Oceanside Partners, defends the company's handling of the project.

"We're not recklessly building things up there (on the hill),'' DeFries said.

The hill and its burial sites are the latest problem for 1250 Oceanside Partners, which is already being challenged in court over issues associated with a massive sediment spill in 2000 that dumped tons of mud into near-shore waters, the destruction by contractors of more than 100 yards of the historic coastal trail known as the Ala Loa, and the unearthing and damaging of numerous remains.

Big Island Circuit Court Judge Ronald Ibarra is expected to announce his ruling soon in a just-completed trial about the developer's treatment of ancient sites and burial grounds.

In the meantime, project foes are focusing on Pu'u Ohau, which sits on the rugged shoreline in the middle of the Hokuli'a project. Recognized as sacred to Native Hawaiians in the project's archaeological survey conducted by Cultural Surveys Hawai'i, the hill is believed to hold the crypt of the grandmother of Queen Lili'uokalani and King Kalakaua as well as scores of other royal remains.

In 1999, the Hawai'i Island Burial Council recommended that a 6-foot wall be constructed around the base of the hill for perpetual protection of the historic site, and representatives of 1250 Oceanside Partners agreed to construct a wall.

What's unclear, however, is where exactly the wall is supposed to go.

DeFries said the company agreed to build the wall but only at an elevation level requested by a family directly descended from Kamaekalani, grandmother of Kalakaua and Lili'uokalani.

He said the elevation is at about 100 feet, a level near the base point on the mauka side of the hill that rises 230 feet above the coast. It's a level that would also help define the route of a coastal trail being built through the project, he said.

But others, including Hawai'i County Councilman Curtis Tyler, a descendent of those buried in the area, argue that Hokuli'a representatives formally agreed to the burial council recommendation, which would put the wall at the base all the way around, not at the 100-foot level.

The state Department of Land and Natural Resources issued a cease-and-desist order a year ago following reports of clearing on the hill. The order noted confusion over where the wall should go.

DLNR's Historic Preservation Division is now trying to figure out where the wall should be placed and has asked Oceanside to hand-clear four of the hillside lots to re-identify previously known sites and identify new ones.

But project foes, insisting the developer agreed to the wall at the base, say the work is unnecessary because the whole hill is to be considered a burial site.

"It's not right what they're doing. They got 15,000 acres. They don't have to build on the graves,'' said Jim Medeiros Sr., president of Protect Keopuka 'Ohana and a descendent of Kamaekalani.

"This is just another example of this developer not intending to live up to its agreements,'' he said.

Jack Kelly, the group's vice president and Green Party candidate for the South Kona-Ka'u seat in the state House of Representatives, said the developer is simply trying to protect home lots with stunning views that can be sold for big bucks.

Kelly said project foes don't have a lot of faith the state will require the wall at the base. He predicted DLNR is going to cave in to Oceanside over a threat of a lawsuit claiming a "taking'' of private property. If such a claim were proven, it would require the state to compensate for any lost value.

State archaeologists declined comment and Kai Markell, chief of DLNR's Burial Sites Program, could not be reached.

While DeFries denied threatening legal action, he said the state can't just prohibit construction without buying the home lots. The lots, he said, are situated outside the boundaries of the Conservation District that encompasses most of the hill, making them fair game for development.

No price has been set on the lots, he said, but similar lots elsewhere on the Big Island's west coast are going for between $8 million and $11 million each.

DeFries said the request for compensation is a fair one, considering Oceanside has donated 140 acres for conservation and public use and is building a $39 million bypass highway from Keauhou to Kealakekua and Captain Cook.

"We're still in compliance with the cease-and-desist order, and the state is (ordering the additional archaeological work) to find a resolution to this.''

DeFries said he's not sure why Protect Keopuka 'Ohana is questioning the state on the wall issue, since it gave DLNR authority to work out such issues when the group settled its Hokuli'a complaints with the state out of court.

But Haia of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation said the group has every right to challenge the state's decisions if deemed off-base and arbitrary.

Reach Timothy Hurley at (808) 244-4880, or e-mail at thurle@honoluluadvertiser.com.