The “pre-final” master plan for University of Hawaii-managed lands on Mauna Kea clarifies a commitment that none of the five sites where observatories are to be removed by the end of 2033 will be used for future astronomy operations.

A draft master plan released Sept. 12 affirmed that a maximum of nine observatories would be allowed atop Hawaii’s highest peak after 2033, when UH’s lease of the Mauna Kea Science Reserve expires. There are currently 13, with four to be decommissioned, and if the controversial $2.65 billion Thirty Meter Telescope is built, a fifth would have to be taken out of operation.

Greg Chun, executive director of the UH-Hilo Center for Maunakea Stewardship, which provides a unified command for administering the mauna’s cultural, scientific and educational resources, said the adjustment to the draft plan makes it clear no new observatories would be built in their place.

“It was always intended for that to be the case, so this was more to clarify,” Chun said Thursday.

The terms of the state conservation district use permit issued to the now-stalled TMT require the decommissioning of five sites, but if the project is not built, “we went ahead and made a commitment that these sites would not be used (for astronomy),” Chun said.

The pre-final plan also limits the number of decommissioned sites that would be considered for nonastronomy development, such as parking and gathering places, to no more than two sites on the summit ridge and one elsewhere.

The UH Mauna Kea master plan review process is taking place simultaneously with a separate effort by the state House of Representatives’ Mauna Kea Working Group to propose a new management structure for the mountain.

On Friday, the 15-member volunteer panel released its first draft report, which includes a recommendation that UH be excluded from a seat on the board of any new governing body. The report also recommends the eventual decommissioning of all the telescopes that sit atop the mountain and restoration of those sites to their natural state.

The working group was created after an independent evaluation commissioned by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources criticized UH for failing to adequately consult Native Hawaiians in its oversight, leading to deep mistrust and polarization in the community.

UH officials say they have been actively working over the last couple of years to improve engagement with the Native Hawaiian community and other stakeholders.

At a special meeting Thursday, the UH Board of Regents received the pre- final master plan, but in accordance with sunshine laws requiring the matter to be listed on two consecutive public agendas, the board was prohibited from discussing or taking action on the document.

That will happen at its next meeting Jan. 20.

UH leases two parcels on Mauna Kea through DLNR, including the 11,288-acre science reserve and the 19-acre Halepohaku, formally named the Onizuka Center for International Astronomy. The master plan is intended to guide and prioritize specific land uses within the UH-managed parcels over a 20-year period, including construction of new facilities, improvements to existing facilities and the discontinued use of others.

It updates the current master plan adopted in 2000.

According to a UH news release, “The overarching goals of the Master Plan are to broaden Native Hawaiian and community participation in planning and programming; reduce impacts to the natural resources, especially in the summit region, by limiting development; and create better balance among cultural, environmental, scientific and recreational interests.”

Chun told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, “The plan is different from most master plans in that we are not advocating a vision for development of the mauna. What we’re trying to do is make better use of what facilities we do have.”

More than 1,450 comments were submitted on the draft plan released in September during the initial public feedback period that ended Oct. 26.

Remarks from those opposed to Mauna Kea astronomy activities, and in particular TMT, decried the “desecration of sacred lands” and that the concerns of the Native Hawaiian community continue to be disregarded.

Comments in support of the plan and UH oversight cited the need to “keep astronomy on Mauna Kea alive,” including the TMT, and touted the educational opportunities and world-class scientific research taking place at the observatories, along with the $200 million in annual economic benefits that brings.

Public comment on “The Pre-Final Master Plan for the University of Hawai‘i Maunakea Lands; E O I Na Leo (Respond to the Voices)” is being accepted via the UH regents website.

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Having a say

The public may review and provide written comments on “The Pre-Final Master Plan for the University of Hawai‘i Maunakea Lands; E O I Na Leo (Respond to the Voices)” for the Jan. 20 UH Board of Regents meeting by emailing bor.testimony@hawaii.edu or via the meeting agenda website at hawaii.edu/ offices/bor/archive/. Register on the same website to provide oral testimony at the meeting.