HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0459.171 2024-2026From:
Sent:
To:
Subject:
Aloha Kakou,
Kalea Hinau
Tuesday, September 16, 2025 10:06 AM o 0
o
Council Testimony m -rr-
Re: SUPPORT Resolution 286-25 The use of PONC Funds for Honolulu Landing,
Acquisition rn o-r
w
My name is Sharon Leong Moraes, and I testify today in strong support of the protection of Honolulu,'Puna. I
come before you in deep kuleana to speak for the 'aina, for our kupuna, and for the future of our keiki.
I strongly urge the Department of Finance to use PONC funds to purchase and protect Honolulu Landing. This
wahi pana is not simply land for sale. It is a living ancestor, a cultural and spiritual foundation that cannot be
commodified or replaced.
If Honolulu Landing is sold to foreign investors or private developers, the consequences will ripple far beyond
this one place. For Puna as a whole, development means:
• Overburdened Infrastructure: Our roads are already narrow and limited, yet traffic is
increasing. Development at Honolulu Landing would funnel more cars into rural corridors never
designed for such capacity.
• Water insecurity: Puna relies on fragile catchment and limited water systems. Large-scale
development will place unsustainable demands on water resources, threatening both residents and
ecosystems.
• Loss of Access and Heritage: Honolulu Landing containshistoric coastal trails, villages, and cultural
features that tie us directly to our kupuna. Once covered by concrete, our mo'oku'auhau will be
silenced forever.
Community Displacement: Foreign investment drives up property values and taxes, forcing local
families off the land their ancestors stewarded. This is not just -development - it is erasure.
Puna has already carried the heaviest burdens of unchecked growth. We face insufficient infrastructure, long
commutes, limited healthcare access, and fragile utilities. Adding luxury developments or speculative projects
only deepens inequities and disregards the rural character of our community.
More importantly, for Native Hawaiians, 'aina is not commodity. -Aina is kupuna. To sell or destroy this place
is to wound our ancestors and severe the living relationship that sustains us. The PONC Fund exists to prevent
this exact harm: to protect wahi pana of cultural, historical and environmental importance before they are
lost to speculation and profit. By purchasing Honolulu Landing with PONC funds, you affirm that this land is
not for sale to the highest bidder - it belongs to the people, to our heritage, and to future generations. This
action will preserve access, safeguard natural resources, and ensure that Honolulu Landing remains a place of
learning, connection, and healing.
Comm.
Ref. To:
t Ref. Doe E 1 7 2025.
I urge you to act swiftly and decisively. Do not let Honolulu Landing become another asualty of foreign
development. Let it remain, forever, as it was intended: a place of life, culture, education, and aloha 'aina.
Mahao nunui for your time and for honoring this kuleana.
Sharon Leong Moraes
19-4184 Kawailehua Road
Volcano, HI 96785-0612
AA