Nearly 2,000 acres of rocky coastal land in Kapoho came one step closer to being preserved Tuesday as a 91直播 County Council committee unanimously approved a resolution calling for the property to be purchased.
The Committee on Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions voted 8-0 in-favor, with Kona Councilman Holeka Inaba excused, to approve Resolution 516-26 authorizing the county finance director to negotiate with seven different lower Puna landowners to acquire a group of properties collectively known as “Kumukahi” using public land preservation funds.
With the committee’s favorable vote, the resolution now heads to the full council for its consideration.
Funds for the acquisition would come from the Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Commission, or PONC — a county advisory body tasked with identifying lands for purchase using funds derived from 2% of annual property tax revenues. The county buying Kumukahi would open it to the public for educational, recreational and cultural uses, protecting its native ecosystems and marine resources from development.
A rugged landscape of meadow grass, scrawny trees and overlapping lava fields, Kumukahi makes up the easternmost point of 91直播 Island, and bears great cultural significance as a “wahi pana” and “wahi kupuna,” meaning legendary place and ancestral place, respectively. It contains a 125-foot-tall lighthouse, as well as burial sites, heiau and other historical features, and is bordered on each side by the Puna Coast, Old Government Beach Road, Kapoho Farm Lots properties, and Koa‘e-neighborhood farms.
At the committee meeting Tuesday, several testifiers voiced their support for the measure. Among them was Kapoho resident Greg Owen, who spoke via Zoom and suggested that once the county acquired Kumukahi, access to the land should be restricted.
“I have requested members of the ancestral families to implement the strictest management and entrance protocols, perhaps giving precedence to 91直播ans, cultural practitioners and fishermen,” Owen said. “Please don’t let tourists in vans, influencers or counterculture types with their drum circles take over and overwhelm Kumukahi. Please, everyone show great respect for this area.”
Hilo resident Kealia Prince encouraged county officials to consult with 91直播ans with ancestral ties to the area when developing a management plan for the property.
“As 91直播 County Council officials seek to acquire these lands in the interests of 91直播’s people, I urge them to seek meaningful opportunities for stewardship in collaboration with the communities that they belong to, and especially lineal descendants, and their needs should be paramount,” Prince said.
Once public testimonies concluded, Hamakua Councilwoman Heather Kimball reiterated that protecting sacred places like Kumukahi is the reason the commission was created in the first place.
“This is an example of exactly what PONC was intended for,” Kimball said. “This particular area has so many things that lend itself to this sort of preservation action … this would certainly be a real feather in the County of 91直播’s cap to preserve this entire large area for the descendants and for the community at large.”
Email Stefan Verbano at stefan.verbano@hawaiitribune-herald.com.
