Oahu Historic Preservation Commission members appointed

The Honolulu City Council voted unanimously Wednesday to confirm nine appointees to serve on the Oahu Historic Preservation Commission.

The Council’s vote establishes the city’s newest commission, which will advise and assist in carrying out historic preservation and ensure development projects do not destroy historical and cultural sites including heiau and iwi kupuna.

Appointed to staggered terms, the commissioners are Kehaunani Abad, Mahealani Cypher, Richard Douglas Davis, Thomas S. Dye, Hailama V.K.K. Farden, N. Mehanaokala Hind, Nanea Lo, Glenn E. Mason and Kai E. White.

The unpaid commissioners — with professional and educational backgrounds in architecture, history, archaeology, planning, architectural history, Hawaiian culture, anthropology, ethnography and sociology — will make recommendations of historic properties for inclusion in registers of historic places, maintain an inventory of historic resources and assist the city’s Department of Planning and Permitting in developing standards and guidelines related to historic places, the city says.

In November the Council approved the formation of the Oahu Historic Preservation Commission following its advancement by Mayor Rick Blangiardi, after what the city says was a failed 30-year effort under prior administrations and Councils to form the same panel. The mayor asserted that activating the commission now makes Honolulu eligible for federal funding to preserve historic sites.

“As a major U.S. destination, Honolulu, we’ve been passing on the benefit of having federal monies to work with,” Blangiardi said in a news conference in November. “This opens up a lot of possibilities.”

At the same news conference, Abad noted development of Ward Villages and the Walmart near Ala Moana Center were stalled after burial sites were found.

“And it was because there wasn’t a lot of integration between the expertise in the community that would be represented now on the Oahu Historic Preservation Commission,” Abad said.

At Wednesday’s meeting, the Council lauded the commission’s formation and its members, most of whom were in attendance.

“I wanted to thank all of the appointees for your willingness to serve,” said Vice Chair Esther Kia’aina, a longtime proponent of the commission, who also thanked the mayor and Council for supporting and nominating the panel. “For not only making sure that this commission got to the finish line and got established, but also nominating a high caliber of professionals who included a majority of Native Hawaiians … as well as archaeologists and wahine.”

Chair Tommy Waters agreed, saying this was a “very monumental day.”

“This commission was approved well over 20 years ago and we finally — with the help of Vice Chair Kia’aina and actually Mayor Blangiardi — got this off the ground,” Waters told the commissioners. “And I know for a fact that you folks are going to do a great job.”

DPP will house the new commission, which will have a yearly cost of less than $300,000 to pay the salaries of an administrator and clerical staff, the city says.

After the meeting, Curtis Lum, DPP’s spokesperson, told the Honolulu Star-­Advertiser the commissioners’ terms will start 30 days after the Council’s appointment.

“Which would mean their first meeting would be after June 16, 2023,” Lum added.