For three generations, many in the rural community of Kaʻū, on the southern point of Hawaiʻi Island, have been fighting against the development of their culturally and environmentally sensitive coastline. They face a future in which that coastline is either protected for generations to come or developed and changed – some say, lost – forever.
Black Sand Beach, LLC, a company owned by developer Eva Liu, is proposing to build a 225-unit residential and commercial project on 434 acres at the former Sea Mountain site at Punaluʻu. Liu’s company purchased the parcels, which includes most of the land ma kai of Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach, in 2020.
“Punaluʻu has been neglected for years, leading to its deterioration – something that anyone who loves Kaʻū, respects its culture, and is dedicated to environmental protection would not want to see,” Liu wrote in an email. “That is why our plan has received widespread support from the community. For those who oppose it, we maintain open communication, giving them the opportunity to understand our plans and the current state of Punaluʻu.”
Liu is seeking Hawaiʻi County’s approval for a special management area use permit to move forward. But at the Windward Planning Commission’s (Commission) hearings earlier this year, the public testified overwhelmingly against the project.
The reasons for their opposition were cultural, environmental, economic and legal in nature.
“If you know the moʻolelo of the people of Kaʻū, you know how we connect to our environment. When people look at development to this extent, it’s damaging to our natural ecosystem that we evolved with,” said Nohea Kaʻawa, president of ʻIewe Hānau o ka ʻĀina, a group of citizens and lineal descendants of Punaluʻu and Kaʻū opposing the development.
“We never see ourselves as separate from our environment. The honu living at Punaluʻu are our ʻohana. The honu to us is kinolau of demigods that stem from the same genealogies of who we are.”
In March, the Center for Biological Diversity and ʻIewe Hānau o ka ʻĀina filed a legal intervention opposing the project. The groups were later joined by the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation.
In May, the Commission voted to grant standing to the center and ʻIewe in a contested hearing case, a quasi-judicial process in which evidence and testimony is presented by involved parties. Once the hearing concludes, the Commission will vote on whether to give its approval for the permit.
The Commission denied standing to a third party, the Association of Apartment Owners of Colony 1 at Sea Mountain, which represents 76 individual properties encircled by the developer’s holdings.
Though the association has taken a neutral stance on the permit, they are concerned about the dilapidated state of the public water, fire suppression and wastewater systems. In a letter to the Commission, the association noted that the proposed project site does not have a current environmental impact statement (EIS) or environmental assessment. Group 70 International, a consulting firm based in Honolulu, produced a draft EIS in 2006.
Maxx Phillips, Hawaiʻi program director and staff attorney at the Center for Biological Diversity, said Punaluʻu is already overrun by tourists.
Every day, tour buses drop off crowds of visitors. Some of them illegally take sand or get too close to endangered and threatened sea turtles. The unmanaged impacts of tourism crowd out locals, increase traffic, and compound infrastructure problems. The situation would become much worse if development is allowed, said Phillips.
“No matter what a developer says, no matter if they use our words, our place names, even our people, the reality is this resort development will change Punaluʻu for the worse. We just cannot afford that anymore,” said Phillips. “Our natural resources, our cultural resources, are too precious. We don’t want to look in the faces of our moʻopuna and say, ʻwe wish we did more.’”
Elsa Kalani Kauleleiaiwi Dedman, a Native Hawaiian with kuleana land that is surrounded by the proposed development, has many concerns about the project. Chief among them is the ability of current and future generations of Native Hawaiians to practice their culture on their land.
“Personally, I was denied my traditional spiritual practice to worship at Lanipau Heiau, which is located adjacent to the Sea Mountain Golf Course,” she said. “The developer’s land use planner told me in February that I could not go there because it was off limits. This heiau is a known heiau of Kekealani, my ancestor.”
Dedman said the proposed resort continues the desecration that began in the 1970s, when C. Brewer & Co. built Sea Mountain. Despite the known presence of iwi kūpuna in the former and proposed resort location, Liu and Black Sand, LLC want to use the same site.
“This is horrendous because our Kānaka Maoli believe the bones of our kūpuna are imbued with mana, life force. Their proper care and respect are a critical component to our wellbeing. This proposed development is going to continue the genocide of the Indigenous Kānaka Maoli.”
Some government officials have voiced their concerns over the project’s policy-related shortcomings.
Hawaiʻi County Planner Ron Whitmore submitted testimony that the project is inconsistent with three policies in the Kaʻū Community Development Plan. More specifically, he said the project does not include affordable housing, did not establish a new shoreline setback, and did not complete the necessary assessments related to impacts on resources.
Those who oppose any development in Punaluʻu are fighting for a future in which the area is preserved in perpetuity, perhaps through a conservation easement or other legal mechanism.
ʻIewe Hānau o ka ʻĀina held its first meeting for residents, native and non-native, to come together to share their hopes for their home. Kaʻawa said they want, among other things, for lands to be returned to their rightful owners, for water and other natural resources to be protected, and for keiki to have jobs that help restore the area.
“People need to know that we don’t always have to accept what is thrown our way. We have solutions,” she said. “We hope to minimize the impacts caused by overuse of our natural resources, and to perpetuate traditional and customary practices. We want to keep educating and empowering our keiki.
“We were gifted Kaʻū by our ancestors, and we want to gift Kaʻū to our descendants.”
