State evicts family from cultural park
By Eloise Aguiar
Advertiser Windward O'ahu Writer
KAHANA — The state evicted a Hawaiian family from the shores of Kahana Bay yesterday for lease violations in what could be the beginning of an effort to bring all families in the unique cultural park into compliance with their leases.
Stewart and Malama Vierra left their home of 15 years without incident when the state Department of Land and Natural Resources showed up at about 9 a.m. with a bulldozer, dump trucks and a dozen law enforcement officers. Stewart Vierra had grown up on the property.
The state said the couple had serious lease defaults and failed to correct them in the 18 months the state has been working with them on the problem.
Other lessees are in violation of their leases, said state parks administrator Daniel Quinn. He would not say what steps would be taken against them but did say they were given a lot of leeway to comply, "up to now."
"Eventually everyone will have to conform," Quinn said as a crew tore down five buildings at the site that overlooks the picturesque bay and an ancient Hawaiian fishpond. "There are families in full compliance, and there are families who are not."
The state created Ahupua'a O Kahana State Park after purchasing the land in 1969 to prevent development. Families that lived there at the time of the purchase were allowed to stay under a program that created a cultural park in 1972, the only state park with residential leases.
Some 31 Kahana families have leases with the state. In exchange for leases on their plots, the residents are required to contribute 25 hours per month of interpretive service, providing a unique approach to preserving historical, cultural and natural resources in the largely untouched valley.
Lessees were also to complete construction of a house on state-owned residential plots in the valley by 1996, toward the goal of removing homes that remain in the flood plain, like that of the Vierras.
The Vierras have not met either requirement, performing only 14 hours of interpretive service within the 18-month period and failing to secure a loan to build a home in the valley, according to the DLNR.
Malama Vierra, 46, said she tried to comply with the work requirements but the state was not well organized there and she began to feel it was like slave labor. With both her and her husband out of work, they couldn't qualify for a mortgage, Vierra said. Also, she said, she had a home and couldn't understand why she couldn't stay on the property that she said had belonged to her husband's great-grandfather.
"Ten minutes ago I owned my home, and now the state has made us homeless," Vierra said, sitting in her truck in a parking lot on the beach. "We're evicted and all because they wanted us to do a loan that we can't afford."
Five people lived in the home, including two teenagers, she said. Recently she started caring for her adult daughter who suffers from seizures.
The family was self-sufficient and didn't rely on the state for any assistance, Vierra said. "We fish. We make our own electricity. We pump our own water. We don't even get food stamps."
Vierra said at least five other families are in violation of their leases and, as far as she knew, they were not given any notice of eviction.
Vierra vowed to fight back, possibly with legal action.
After the Vierra home was razed yesterday, a handful of houses remained. The area will be opened to public use once it is cleared, Quinn said.
Quinn said there are some problems with the cultural park, but the concept is good — with "great potential."
Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com or 234-5266.
