Forty years of community protest, hard work and financial maneuvering culminated Thursday as officials announced the acquisition of the final piece of the puzzle in the campaign to preserve the Ka Iwi Coast.
Some 182 acres overlooking the rugged East Oahu coastline have been conveyed from the Trust for Public Land to the nonprofit Livable Hawai‘i Kai Hui, which will oversee stewardship of the land, officials said.
The move, which occurred March 31, ensures that the entire 7-mile wild coastal region between Portlock and Waimanalo will be preserved in its natural state in perpetuity.
“You don’t see this very often on this island,” said Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell, pointing to the undeveloped landscape during a news conference on Awawamalu Beach, known more commonly as Alan Davis Beach. “This is the last place on this island, other than the west side, where you can see this type of unspoiled beauty.”
State and county officials joined community leaders instrumental in the campaign to save the mauka acreage at Thursday’s news conference.
“It’s spectacular lands with spectacular views. It had to be protected. It’s very developable,” said Ray Soon, Caldwell’s former chief of staff, who spearheaded the county’s efforts to save the land.
Over the past four decades, developers have sought to build resorts, luxury home subdivisions, vacation cabin rentals and a private club on the mauka land between the Hawaii Kai Golf Course and Makapuu.
But now the state Department of Land and Natural Resources has imposed development deed restrictions, and the city and the Trust for Public Land have agreed to co-hold a conservation easement over the properties to ensure there will be no development in the future.
Livable Hawai’i Kai Hui and the Trust for Public Land joined together in 2012 in an effort to preserve the privately owned parcels and to apply for state and city funding to buy them.
A year ago the trust bought the property from a liquidated development firm for $3.65 million, financing the purchase through low-interest loans to meet deadlines and compete with other offers.
Funding for the purchase includes $2.5 million from the city Clean Water and Natural Lands Program and $1 million from the state Legacy Land Conservation Program, along with private donations.
Starting in the summer of 2015, a community fundraising campaign targeted the balance, collecting more than $600,000 from 1,600 donors in four months.
Even with the money in hand a year ago, however, there were still more obstacles to overcome, as property encumbrances and deed restrictions prevented outright conservation use.
That left the Trust for Public Lands with having to spend an extra $87,000 on interest payments on the loans while state and county officials worked to resolve the snags.
“In the end it was worth it,” said Laura Kaakua, native-lands project manager with the Trust for Public Lands.
“There was a lot of pilikia (trouble) we had to deal with,” Caldwell told the news conference. “At the end of the day … the city stepped up and took on some liability that maybe lawyers would say we shouldn’t take on. But we made a decision that was the best thing to do for the sake of everyone here.”
With the mauka properties preserved, land protections now encompass an area that includes Hanauma Bay, Koko Crater, Halona Blowhole, Sandy Beach, the Ka Iwi Scenic Shoreline and Makapuu.
It’s an area that was under continual threat of development over the past 40 years. But community members in groups such as Friends of Queens Beach, Save Sandy Beach and the Ka Iwi Coalition rose up time and again to battle developers and development-friendly politicians.
“This is the last piece of the puzzle,” said Phil Estermann, a longtime activist with the Ka Iwi Coalition. “It’s a tremendous victory for the community. It’s a tremendous victory that demonstrates the importance of community activism and leadership.”
Elizabeth Reilly, president of Livable Hawai‘i Kai Hui, urged the public to step up and volunteer.
“The future is ours. This land is ours,” she said. “The best way to go out and give thanks every single day is to celebrate it through volunteerism. There are so many great things happening out here on the coast.”
Reilly said the group will be meeting with the community to figure out the best way to care for the mauka lands, enhance access and promote opportunities to learn about the area’s cultural and natural resources.
