The Ahupuaʻa O Kahana Cultural Living Park

TOWARDS CO-MANAGEMENT: THE AHUPUAʻA O KAHANA CULTURAL LIVING PARK PLANNING PRACTICUM – FALL 2012 DEPARTMENT OF URBAN AND REGIONAL PLANNING UNIVERSITY OF HAWAI‘I AT MĀNOA HONOLULU, HAWAI‘I TOWARDS CO-MANAGEMENT: The Ahupuaʻa ‘O Kahana Cultural Living Park Planning Practicum Fall 2012 Department of Urban and Regional Planning University of Hawaiʻi at Mānoa Honolulu, Hawai‘i, March 2013 Practicum Members Alex Broner Hisila Manandhar Hril Siu Lauren Esaki Maile Norman Mika Okuno Priza Marendraputra Rara KC Tamanna Rahman Faculty Participant Professor Luciano Minerbi Disclaimer: The opinions expressed in this report are those of the authors only and do not necessarily reflect the views of the resource persons or any agency or organization mentioned in this report. While efforts have been made to provide useful and reliable information, the authors of this report, and the University of Hawaii, do not assume liability for any damages, or misrepresentations caused by any inaccuracies in the data, or as a result of the use of the data, and their use on a particular system. No warranty is expressed or implied, nor does the availability of this report constitute such a warranty. The reader is encouraged to go to the original data sources, maps, and their metadata for verification, as they derive from different fields, methods, and tools. This report’s information and data are not for use in litigation. Its intent is only for education and discussion. Fall 2012 Plan 751 Practicum – Ahupuaʻa O KaHana Page 1 ACKNOWLEDGEMENT This report is written by the Fall 2012 Graduate Planning Practicum of the Department of Urban and Regional Planning, University of Hawai’i. Our practicum team consisted of nine students from different educational backgrounds and nationalities. The practicum has provided the students an opportunity to acquire valuable knowledge and experience in collaborative planning and analysis in community development. We learned about Hawaiian history, culture, archaeological sites, land and ocean resources, and the challenges involved in community planning. In particular, we reviewed plans, reports, and surveys about the Ahupuaʻa O Kahana, as well as, conducted site visits, met with key stakeholders and “talked story” with Kahana residents. Ahupuaʻa O Kahana has been an interesting and complex case for us to learn about, and we are very much honored to study this valley for the Kahana Planning Council (KPC). Overall, it has given us a practical learning experience in working together with peers, our professor, and especially the many Kahana residents and the Kahana Planning Council. We would like to express our deepest gratitude to our professor, Dr. Luciano Minerbi for guiding us through understanding the essence of the planning practicum. His patience, time, and dedication to this project have helped in creating this report. We are also grateful to the Kahana Planning Council for giving us the opportunities to attend some of their monthly meetings, and to allow us to observe the Ahupuaʻa O Kahana. In particular, we really appreciate all of the help from Renee Kamisugi, the Kahana Park Manager of the Department of Land and Natural Resources and her assistance with our site visit of Kahana. We would also like to extend our deepest mahalo to Aunty May and Uncle Nana for their mana‘o during the site visit. We also gained valuable information from respected guest speakers including: Ululani Beirne (KPC member), Lauren Tanaka (State of Hawai‘i Planner), Sunny Greer (Kahana resident), Ralph Makaiau (Former Chairperson of KPC), Ben Shafer (Current Chairperson of KPC), and Laulani Teale (KPC member). Fall 2012 Plan 751 Practicum – Ahupuaʻa O KaHana Page 2 EXECUTIVE SUMMARY Before Western contact, the ahupuaʻa, or Native Hawaiian land division of resources from the mountain to the ocean, of Kahana was one of many ahupuaʻa on O‘ahu. However, after subsequent urban and suburban development, Kahana is one of the physically and functionally most intact ahupuaʻa, and the only State-owned and managed ahupuaʻa on the island. The circumstances surrounding Ahupuaʻa O Kahana State Park are unique, and therein lies its many challenges. The 1970 purchase of the entire ahupuaʻa of Kahana by the State of Hawai‘i Legislature served as a way to prevent large scale commercial developments in the area, and also established it as a “cultural living park.” The cultural living park concept aimed to protect Kahana’s natural resources while allowing residents to continue living in Kahana, under the condition that they maintained their traditional Hawaiian culture and shared it with visitors. Since the establishment of the park, various plans for its management have been created, though none were formally adopted. In the 1970s and 1980s there was contention over a number of issues which led to the State Legislature intervening in 1987 with Act 5. Act 5 called for DLNR to issue 65-year residential leases to qualified individuals, and for residents to participate in the park’s “cultural interpretive program” in lieu of cash payment for leases. Act 5 established the fundamental character of the relationship between the State and Kahana residents and specifies that in exchange for the lease, each household is required to contribute 25 hours a month of labor towards the Cultural Interpretive Program (CIP). However, since the passing of Act 5, a number of issues and controversies have developed. Over the years, communication difficulties have created challenges between park personnel and residents to the detriment of the cultural interpretive program. Some residents are fully up to date in their required hours, some have partially fallen behind, while others are not participating in the program at all. Various physical improvement projects such as fishpond restoration, a community center, and stream clearance that were identified in the past have not yet been fully completed for a number of reasons including lack of funding. Furthermore, while Act 5 does address the issue of intergenerational transfer of existing leases, the ability to grant new leases to these households was found to have expired. These households found Fall 2012 Plan 751 Practicum – Ahupuaʻa O KaHana Page 3 themselves living in Kahana under “revocable permits” with no guarantee that they would not be evicted in the future. For all of these reasons the State Legislature passed Act 15 in 2009. Act 15 provided for: • A 2 year moratorium (subsequently extended) on evictions for evictions from the park • Authorized the Department of Land and Natural Resources to issue long-term residential leases to qualified persons; and • Established the Kahana Planning Council to develop a master plan park that will provide a framework, proposes rules, measurements for success, and planning process. In support of Act 15 and the work of the Kahana Planning Council, a team of graduate students with the Department of Urban and Regional Planning at the University of Hawai‘i conducted research and wrote this report under the guidance of Professor Luciano Minerbi, who is a non-voting member of the Kahana Planning Council. After analyzing numerous documents on Kahana, the team developed a set of conclusions and recommendations that touch on the acknowledgement of Kahana’s complex history and demographics, approaches to natural resources and environmental management, and strategies to effective co-governance. We hope this report can serve as a reference for residents, stakeholders, and decision makers in their efforts to construct a master plan that is reflective of the people, history, and future vision of Kahana. Fall 2012 Plan 751 Practicum – Ahupuaʻa O KaHana Page 4 LIST OF ABBREVIATIONS AKAC Aha Kiole Advisory Committee BLNR Board of Land and Natural Resources CIP Cultural Interpretive Program CZM Coastal Zone Management DBEDT Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism DOH Department of Health DLNR Department of Land and Natural Resources EIS Environmental Impact Statement GIS Geographic Information System GPS Global Positioning System HACBED Hawaii Alliance of Community-Based Economic Development HAR Hawaii Administrative Rules HB House Bill HoLIS Honolulu Land Information System HRS Hawaii Revised Statute KAB Kahana Advisory Board KGC Kahana Governance Council KAC Kahana Advisory Council KPC Kahana Planning Council KVAB Kahana Valley Advisory Board KVLP Kahana Valley Living Park KVSP Kahana Valley State Park LUC Land Use Commission NASS National Agricultural Statistics Service NPDES National Pollutant Discharge Elimination System ORMP Ocean Resources Management Plan QLCC Queen Lili‘uokalani Children’s Center SIA Social Impact Assessment SB Senate Bill SCR Senate Concurrent Resolution SMA Special Management Area SR Senate Resolution USC United States Code Fall 2012 Plan 751 Practicum – Ahupuaʻa O KaHana Page 5 TABLE OF CONTENTS Title Page & Disclaimer 1 Acknowledgements 2 Executive Summary 3 List of Abbreviation 5 CH.1 INTRODUCTION 9 1.1 Purpose of the Report 9 1.2 Structure of the Report 9 1.3 Methodology 10 1.3.1 Data Collection: 10 1.3.2 Data Analysis & Synthesis: 11 1.4 Limitations 11 CH.2 OVERVIEW OF HISTORY, PAST PLANS, BILLS AND ACTS 12 2.1 Pre Park History 12 2.1.1 Pre-Western Contact 12 2.1.2 Western Contact 12 2.1.3 The Great Mahele of 1848 13 2.1.4 The Kuleana Act of1850 13 2.1.5 Land Tenure Transactions 14 2.1.6 Robinson Agency Development Plan for Kahana Valley (1955) 16 2.2 Post Park History 17 2.2.1 The Comprehensive Plan for Hawai‘i State Parks (1962) 17 2.2.2 The Report Covering the

Load more