The fate of a controversial development on the south side of Hawaiʻi Island remains in limbo after a public hearing in Hilo stretched more than eight hours into Thursday evening.
The developer, Black Sand Beach LLC, is seeking a permit from Hawaiʻi County to build a residential and commercial community on 434 acres of land at Punaluʻu.
Overwhelming amounts of public testimony and limited time forced the Hawai’i County Windward Planning Commission to postpone a decision on the future of a controversial development in Punaluʻu.
Nāʻālehu resident Ikaika Kaʻiliʻawa-Smith said his opposition stems from a history of extractive developers using the land for profit.
“When C. Brewer developed Punaluʻu as a playground for the rich, they bulldozed graves, ancient home sites and heiau. When they extracted all the wealth that they could out of Kaʻū and its people, they left a mess in their wake. They left asbestos-built huts, gravel-filled ponds, and a leaking sewage system,” Kaʻiliʻawa-Smith said.
“Now this foreign developer wants us to ignore all of this. We cannot in good conscience allow this development to continue.”
Black Sand Beach LLCowner Eva Liu is proposing 225 residential and short-stay units, a village and wellness center, retail stores, and rehabilitation of the golf courses on the former Sea Mountain at Punaluʻu resort area.
Liu is requesting a special management area or SMA permit for the project.
However, not everyone from Kaʻū is opposed to the project. Sophia Hānoa, 59, whose family stewards land at Punaluʻu that has been in her ʻohana for generations, said there can be a win-win situation.
“Well, we must protect the wahi pana of Punaluʻu. No question. Where I stand on this development is if they do get the SMA approval, they will be doing things that will benefit the community. If they don’t get the approval, then nothing gets fixed, nothing gets repaired,” Hānoa said.
“There is a way through this, but everybody has to be able to sit down and see the bigger picture. What’s going to benefit future generations?”
The commission adjourned Thursday evening with nearly 50 testifiers remaining.
There's no set date for the next meeting, but public notice needs to be sent out at least 48 hours in advance.
