In 1994 the County of Hawaii announced plans to build an 80 stall parking lot, at was then called Magic Sands Beach Park in Kailua-Kona, on the island of Hawaii. Hawaiian Kupuna (elders) became concerned as there many registered Hawaiian religious sites and human burials that would be destroyed by the planned parking. Hawaiian Organizations, religious practitioners and other community stakeholders
rallied, arranged to meet with government officials, by January 1995 agreements were made that the site would be developed into a Hawaiian Cultural Center featuring a Polynesian Style Long-House as a community/educational center. Suddenly in June of 1995, 18 police officers showed up, ordering the Hawaiian Cultural practitioners out of the park, even though they complied, left the park, over the next two days, 13 of them were arrested and taken to jail, for attempted camping, and aggressively prosecuted up till a few days before a jury trial, and all charges were dropped. It was discovered a Realtor who was on the County Council, who represented a large developer, had demanded to the Mayor the Hawaiians be rousted from the park, out of concerns they may object to the proposed destruction of hundreds of registered Hawaiian Historic sites. Sadly, in 2016, all those sites were destroyed, human burials were bulldozed, and there are 500 houses on a place that literally means very scared. Despite such horrific setbacks, in 1997 the County of Hawaii was forced to prepare a Cultural Inventory at La’aloa Beach Park, which contained a required Preservation plan. The plan required before any development, the County of Hawaii was required to implement extensive protective measures for the historic sites. In 2000 the County developed a 27 stall parking lot, without first protecting the historic sites, all have been severely damaged, and some destroyed? One of the major requirements in the 1997 plan was the County was required to obtain approval of a Burial Treatment Plan for the known human burial at the site, yet as of 2004 there was no approved Burial Treatment Plan. Members of the organization known as the La’aloa Ohana lobbied government officials, and forced them to prepare and obtain approval of a Burial Treatment Plan. That plan required removal of a substantial portion of the parking lot, as it has been encroaching on a registered religious temple. Fast forward to 2014, members of the La’aloa Ohana successively lobbied the State of Hawaii Historic Preservation Division to investigate the damages to the historic sites, they indeed documented the damages, the County agreed to remove the entire parking lot, sadly as of 2016, the protective measures in the 1997 preservation plan, and the 2005 burial treatment plan, still are not implemented. Our mission now is not only raise awareness about La’aloa Beach Park, is to hold the County of Hawaii to the laws they are required to comply with. The Historic Preservation Laws in Hawaii are strict, and carry heavy fines when historic site like those at La’aloa are damaged, the problem has been with La’aloa and many other similar sacred Hawaiian places, Government refuses to enforce those laws. Our intention is hold the County of Hawaii accountable to those laws, by taking Civil Litigation in the courts, obtain a financial judgment from the courts, and use those funds to build the Hawaiian Cultural Center, to raise awareness about La’aloa, and the thousands of other Hawaiian Historic sites in the Hawaiian Islands, that have not been destroyed. We need worldwide support to insure this never happens again!
