HILO, Hawai'i — Three West Hawai'i community groups alleged yesterday that secrecy surrounding a major archeological find at a construction site at Kohanaiki violates an agreement the developer made with the county and others to allow the luxury home project to go forward.

In a written statement released yesterday, the groups Kohanaiki 'Ohana, Pono I Ke Kanawai, and Na Keiki He'e Nalu O Hawai'i said they want to be included in the discussions on what will happen to artifacts found in a punctured lava tube on the construction site.

The groups warned of possible lawsuits or protests if Rutter Development Co. of California does not explain its actions, and urged the company to make a public statement by Thursday "to prevent confrontation."

"This week we were informed by local and outside island groups of plans and intent to conduct acts of civil disobedience against the developer," the groups said in a joint statement.

Dennis Frost, project manager for Rutter, said he had not seen the statement, and declined to comment on it.

In their written statement, the groups said they had confirmed that artifacts found on the site of a project called The Shores of Kohanaiki included more than 20 ancient god images that stand 3 to 4 feet tall, and were found in the cave on Sept. 21.

"Rutter, with their consultants and advisors are wrong to see our ki'i (image or statue) as their property, and that only they, will decide what's best for and when to exclude the Hawaiian people," the statement said.

"We challenge their assertion, and remind them that Gods do not belong to individuals, they belong to the community whose values and practices they represent. They are the cultural and intellectual property of a social group, and the society that the sacred icons symbolize and represents have the right to determine the care and disposition of their god-forms," the statement said.

Paul Rosendahl, the Hilo-based contract archeologist hired by the developer, said consultations about the objects in the cave have begun with a group of six to eight Hawaiians with family and residential ties to the property, which is near a surf spot known as "Pine Trees," between Kailua village and the Kona airport.

Rosendahl said the area where the artifacts were found was not used for burials, but described it as "a very significant site." The developer has resealed the cave and posted security, and is following state administrative rules that govern inadvertent archeological finds in caves, he said.

Those state rules prohibit the state from releasing information about the find without the permission of the land owner. Rosendahl said the developer has withheld information from the public to protect the artifacts, but has shared information with the state and with Hawaiians with historic family ties to the land.

"Rutter views themselves basically as custodians of this site to protect it until it's been decided what should happen with it," Rosendahl said.

Rosendahl said he does not agree that the confidential process the developer is following violates the 2003 "Good Faith Agreement" that settled a number of other public access and shoreline issues, and required the owners to create a 109-acre public park.

The agreement requires the developer to advise the state, the county and a "designated representative" of the community about any surprise archeological finds, and then consult with all of them to determine what should be done about the find.

Reach Kevin Dayton at kdayton@honoluluadvertiser.com.