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COMM,315
I i Y '._t_RK
C .. HI Ti` OF H AVIA I I
From: Donald Rudny [mailto:mkea13800@gmail.com]
Sent: Monday,June 17, 2019 8:37 AM 1019 JIUM 1 , 1 I
To: Poindexter,Valerie<Valerie.Poindexter@hawaiicounty.gov>;Chung, Aaron
<Aaron.Chung@hawaiicounty.gov>; Lee Loy, Sue<Sue.LeeLoV@hawaiicounty.gov>; Kierkiewicz,Ashley
<Ashley.Kierkiewicz@hawaiicountV.gov>; Kanealii-Kleinfelder, Matt<Matt.Kanealii-
Kleinfelder@hawaiicounty.gov>; David, Maile<Maile.David@hawaiicountV•gov>; Villegas, Rebecca
<Rebecca.Villegas@hawaiicountV.gov>; Eoff, Karen<Karen.Eoff@hawaiicountV.gov>; Richards,Tim
<Tim.Richards@hawaiicounty.gov>
Ce: Kay, Christian <Christian.KaV@hawaiicountV.gov>; Kim, Harry<Harry,Kim@hawaiicounty.gov>; Clerk-
Council<clerk-council@hawaiicounty.gov>
Subject: Olsen Trust Petition (Bills 83 and 84)
Aloha Honorable Hawaii County Council Members,
I would like to give testimony regarding the Ed Olsen rezoning petition before you. The
property is located in the Puueo area just mauka of Wainaku road. The major concern about the
proposed project is the recent finding of an historic cemetery at the lower end of the property.
When I was a young boy growing up in Chicago, it was a custom in our family to frequently visit
the graves of my grandparents. My father's parents both died before I was born and my mother's
when I was very young. During those visits to the cemetery we were taught to never walk on a
grave, and always act with respect and reverence during the visit. No yelling, running or goof ng
around. We planted flowers on the graves to show our love to those who brought us into the
world and gave us life.
When we visited Hawaii over the years, it was apparent that the local people here have a similar
respect for burial areas. I believe this is a common thread that binds us all as human
beings. Respect and honor those who have died. Their burial sites are special places and our
legislature enacted statutes to reflect that. This is evident in the Declaration of Intent of the
Hawaii Revised Statutes regarding the Historic Preservation Program.
1§6E-1]Declaration of intent. The Constitution of the State of Hal-vaii recognizes the value of
conserving and developing the historic and cultural property ivithin the State for the public
good The legislature declares that the historic and cultural heritage of the State is among its
important assets and that the rapid social and economic developments of contemporory society
threaten to destroy the remaining vestiges of this heritage. The legislature further declares that it
is in the public interest to engage in a comprehensive program of historic preservation at all
levels of government to promote the use and conservation of such properly for the education,
inspiration,pleasure, and enrichment of its citizens. The legislature farther declares that it shall
be the public policy of this State to provide leadership in preserving, restoring, and maintaining
historic and cultural property, to ensure the administration of such historic and cultural property
in a spirit of stewardship and trusteeship for fitture generations, and to conduct activities, plans,
and programs in a manner consistent-w,ith the preservation and enhancement of historic and
cultural property. [L 1976, c 104,pt of§2]
At issue with the Olsen Trust request is the apparent desecration of an historic burial area. One
only needs to review the SHPD reports regarding the inspection and findings of their
investigation to see that the allegations are quite serious and have not been resolved.
Comm. N%. 'V' •T
Ref. To: r 1 r v
Ref. note JUN 1 7 2019
Itere is a quick link to the SHPD reports:
littps:Hdlnr.hawaii. o�v/wp-content/uploads/2017/12/I-I.pdf
The last sentence of the Olsen Trust 6E violation report suggests that an archeological inventory
study (AIS) be completed for the cemetery to fully document this historic site and determine an
appropriate course of mitigation. It is apparent that we don't presently have a full understanding
of the extent of this burial site. The zoning change should not be made until that extent has been
professionally determined and approved by SHPD. There is also the issue of the recommended
action against the Olsen Trust for violations of 6E that SHPD suggested to the DLNR based on
their inspections of the site. To date no action by the DLNR has been taken, but it is clear from
the SHPD report that some should be.
In a recent community meeting held by Val Poindexter, local residents brought up the question
of additional unmarked graves that may be on the subject property. A link to a CB article about
the meeting:
littl)s://wNvw.civiIbeat.org/2019/06/big-island-residents-wary-of-subdivision-after-bulldozers-
damagc-cemetery/?utm source=Civil%20Beat%2OMaster%2OList&utm campaign=f8aaf8e0e6-
EMAIL CAMPAIGN 2019 06 11 08 29&utm medium=email&utm term=0 51c2dd3cf3-
fSaaf8e0e6-401847217&mc cid=h8aaf8eOe6&mc eid=799aOfa31e
I also did some research on techniques used to identify graves. Soil sampling and Ground
Penetrating Radar are two of the modern methods to find unmarked graves. I don't believe
anything like this has been done for this project as of this date. It seems to make sense that such
work should be done before zoning or planning on the site moves forward.
I respectfully request the Council to put this zoning request on hold until the full extent of the
burial area is identified and a professional AIS is completed to the satisfaction of SHPD. Not
doing so appears to be, "Putting the Cart before the Horse", famously established by the Hawaii
Supreme Court.
Mahalo for your time and attention.
Don Rudny
P.O. Box 106
Pepeekeo, HI 96783-0106
312-209-5870