Honolulu Landing, a 364-acre stretch of coastline in Hawaiʻi Island’s Puna District, is on the market.
Some Hawaiʻi County Council members and Puna residents are urgently pushing to protect it from private buyers.
The plot of land near Government Beach Road, currently listed at just under $4 million, is known for its association with burials, agricultural sites, and the remains of Hawaiian villages.
“History has a way of fading. These lands hold the key to understanding the history of what Hawaiʻi once was,” said Marci Browne, a longtime Puna resident. “These findings are irreplaceable, non-renewable resources that must be protected to preserve Hawaiʻi’s culture and heritage for future generations.”
The Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Commission makes an annual list of lands that it thinks the county should preserve.
The list is sent to the mayor with the ultimate goal of purchasing these lands with the county’s preservation fund, also known as the PONC fund, which stands at just under $30 million.
Honolulu Landing has been on the commission’s list since 2006. The funding to buy the land was approved in 2007, but a situation with the owner at the time caused the deal to fall through, meaning the land has yet to be acquired by the county.
Hawaiʻi County Council member Ashley Kierkiewicz recently introduced a measure that urges the county’s director of finance to allot money to buy the land for its protection and conservation.
“I swear, every other day I am hearing some influencer talking about, I'm moving to Hawaiʻi, come buy this land with me. And it pains me because we have ʻohana and friends that are still renting that cannot afford to buy,” Kierkiewicz said. “Natural cultural resources are so incredibly important. It is incumbent upon this county; the time is now to act with urgency to acquire these properties.”
Kierkiewicz emphasized the importance of bringing in descendants of the Native Hawaiians who built and lived in the Honolulu Landing district, stressing how that lineage should have a say in how the land is treated and preserved.
The measure passed unanimously at the county’s Legislative Approvals and Acquisition Committee meeting and will be heard at the full council’s next meeting, which has not yet been scheduled.
