HomeMy WebLinkAboutPL-SMA-2023-000038 02.26.24 C. FREITAS TESTIMONY Araujo, Jaclyn
From: cindy Freitas <makainangi@gmail.com>
Sent: Monday, February 26, 2024 1:42 PM
To: LPCtestimony
Subject: ITEM 4# OPPOSITION
Attachments: Kona Development OPPOSITION.docx
1
February 26, 2024
Cindy Freitas
makainanqi@gmail.com
Leeward Planning Department
February 29, 2024
At 9:30am
LPCtestimony(cD-hawaiicounty.gov
Item: # 4 KONA HAWAI'I DEVELOPMENT LLC (PL-SMA-2023-000038)
He Mele komo a he mele aloha no na kupuna o ke au i hala Aloha mai kakou.
Aloha,
My name is Cindy Freitas and I'm a Native Hawaiian descended of the native inhabitants of Hawai'i
prior to 1778 and born and raised in Hawai'i.
I am also a practitioner who still practice the cultural traditional customary practices that was instill in
me by my grandparents at a young age from mauka(MOUNTAIN TO SEA) to makai in many areas.
I'm in OPPOSITION for the following reasons:
Construction will have significant cumulative adverse impacts on cultural, archaeological, native plants,
rare plants and animal species and historic elements resources in the proposed 1.76 acre parcel situated
in the Special Managment Area TMK: (3) 7-5-018:011 that is irreversible.
The Constitution of the State of Hawai'i clearly states the duty of the State and its
agencies is to preserve, protect, and prevent interference with the traditional and customary
rights of native Hawaiians.Article XII, Section 7 requires the State to"protect all rights,
customarily and traditionally exercised for subsistence, cultural and religious purposes and
possessed by ahupua`a tenants who are descendants of native Hawaiians who inhabited the
Hawaiian Islands prior to 1778" (2000). In spite of the establishment of the foreign concept of
private ownership and western-style government, Kamehameha III (Kauikeaouli) preserved the
peoples traditional right to subsistence.As a result in 1850, the Hawaiian Government
confirmed the traditional access rights to native Hawaiian ahupua`a tenants to gather specific
natural resources for customary uses from undeveloped private property and waterways under
the Hawaiian Revised Statutes (HRS) 7-1. In 1992,the State of Hawai'i Supreme Court,
reaffirmed HRS 7-1 and expanded it to include, "native Hawaiian rights...may extend beyond
the ahupua`a in which a native Hawaiian resides where such rights have been customarily and
traditionally exercised in this manner" (Pele Defense Fund v. Paty, 73 Haw.578, 1992).
Act 50, enacted by the Legislature of the State of Hawaii (2000) with House Bill 2895,relating to
Environmental Impact Statements,proposes that:
...there is a need to clarify that the preparation of environmental assessments
or environmental impact statement should identity and address effects on
Hawaii's culture, and traditional and customary rights...[H.B.NO. 2895]
Act 16, enacted by the Legislature of the State of Hawaii (2020) with S.B. No. 2060
Section 3; (2) Historic resources;
(A) Protect,preserve, and where desirable, restore those natural and manmade historic and prehistoric
resources in the coastal zone management area that are significant in Hawaiian and American history
and culture.
HRS 711-1107 Desecration
(b)A place of worship or burial
(2) "Desecrate"means defacing, damaging,polluting, or otherwise physically mistreating in a way that
defendant knows will outrage the sensibilities of persons likely to observe or discover the defendant's
action.
Therefor Applicant in all due respect should not build a 100 ROOM HOTEL and destroy what is still
beautiful.
Mahalo,
/s/
Cindy Freitas