More than 1,300 acres at King’s Landing in Hilo could be developed for Hawaiian homesteads under a state plan.
A draft environmental assessment was published Saturday for the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands’ “King’s Landing Kuleana Homestead Settlement Plan,” a proposal to take several DHHL-owned parcels near Keaukaha totaling 1,334 acres and allow them to be developed as homestead land.
Under the proposal a large tract of land — stretching from south of Nene Street in Keaukaha to Leleiwi, and south along Kapoho Coast Road — could be used as “kuleana homesteads,” an alternative form of land use that would allow DHHL beneficiaries to live on parcels with minimal development.
According to the draft assessment, the parcel is largely unoccupied, with 24 Native Hawaiian residents known to be living or working on land in the area in compliance with a DHHL right-of-entry agreement.
Under the plan about 400 acres, largely around Kapoho Coast Road, would be set aside for kuleana lots, with another 332 acres dedicated toward community agricultural use. Much of the coastal acreage and other scattered parcels would be free for community use, and the last 240 acres would be kept as conservation land.
Settlement of the area would take place in a phased process, with the first phase involving up to 38 lots between 3.5 and 15 acres in size along either side of the Kapoho Coast Road. Phase 2 would include up to 35 lots between 1 and 3 acres in size mauka of Kapoho Coast Road.
Phases 3 and 4 would establish the conservation, agricultural and community lands.
The plan estimates that leases for first-phase lots, which also could be used for agricultural purposes, could be awarded as soon as January 2026. However, new homes on those lots would be built over time, “potentially as soon as early 2027,” the plan states.
Because of the nature of kuleana homesteads, lease awardees at King’s Landing might have a rough few years. The kuleana model was developed in 1998 as an effort to speed up the notoriously glacial DHHL award process.
According to a DHHL summary of the kuleana model’s goals, the model “places Native Hawaiian beneficiaries on undeveloped land when they are young enough to physically be able to actively utilize the land they have settled on.”
Because kuleana leases require residence on the land, beneficiaries would live largely off-grid and build their own homes. Homesteads would still be subject to all relevant county and state health and safety codes, although part of the kuleana model allows for some level of grant support for lessees building their homes.
“People would have to know what they were getting into,” said Hilo County Council member Sue Lee Loy. “They might have to maintain their own roads; they might not have insurance because there’s no water. … Talking about unimproved land, this is it. You don’t get land more undeveloped than King’s Landing.”
Lee Loy said she was impressed by DHHL’s proposal.
“I haven’t seen them push the envelope like this before,” Lee Loy said. “It’s not traditional housing, that’s for sure. But we have a housing crisis … and I applaud DHHL for doing their due diligence on homesteading.”
Lee Loy said King’s Landing has been scrutinized for possible DHHL settlement for years, but added that there are still some unanswered questions about the project, including whether Kalanianaole Street, the only route into and out of Keaukaha, can handle the influx of traffic from kuleana homesteaders.
“There’s still the question of cumulative impact,” Lee Loy said, adding that the King’s Landing issue could dovetail with another long- desired East Hawaii project. “We have heard loud and clear that the people of Puna want an alternate route out. Maybe that’s something DHHL could work on.”
A 30-day public comment period for the draft environmental assessment is ongoing until July 8. Comments can be submitted via email to klkhs@g70.design, and the document can be viewed at tinyurl.com/4dta28xb.
