HomeMy WebLinkAbout2024-03-05 PL-SMA-2023-000046 Kaweni Ibarra Opposition Testimony From: Kaweni
To: WPCtestimony
Subject: 03/07/2024 Public Testimony, Kaweni Ibarra
Date: Tuesday,March 5,2024 4:11:04 PM
Attachments: Testimony 20240307 Re Black Sands Ibarra.odf
Dear Windward Planning Commission,
My name is Kaweni Ibarra and attached to this email is a testimony I am submitting in regards
to agenda item 3 of the 9:00am meeting scheduled by the Windward Planning Commission on
Thursday,March 7, 2024.
Sincerely,
Kaweni Ibarra
March 5, 2024
Windward Planning Commission
ioi Pauahi St., Suite 3
Hilo, HI 96720
To whom it may concern,
My name is Kaweni Ibarra and I am writing this letter as a private citizen, and as a noho aina
who grew up in, and continues to live in,the district of Ka`u.
It has come to my attention that a permit is being applied for concerning the lands known to be
purchased by Eva Liu and her corporation, Black Sand Beach, LLC. This letter is to state my
opinion, specifically on the proposed 225 residential and short stay units for these areas within
the Punaluu and Ninole ahupuaa, and to voice my concerns regarding the resources and
practices that may be impacted by such development in these lands.
Growing up in Ka`u, I can remember utilizing Punaluu and Ninole areas for both gathering
practices and leisure purposes since I was a child. I have also witnessed numerous others in our
district use the area for similar reasons. In the short 26 years I have been alive so far, I
witnessed the exponential growth of unregulated tourist activity in these lands and observed its
impact on critical resources such as limu,fish, and other plant life that our community
responsibly utilizes as part of our subsistence lifestyles. I have also felt, and observed,the impact
that these changes leave on our kupuna (elders),parents, and children. In addition to the
decaying infrastructure left behind by previous developers,the community continues to be left
to deal with these obstacles that hinder local lifestyles.
In the plans I have seen presented by Eva and her colleagues thus far, all variations resemble
plans that promote gentrification,issues with community access, and would severely impact
various cultural, religious, and traditional practices that continue on today,perpetuated by
ahupuaa tenants, as well as community members.As someone who works with younger
generations in Ka`u, I am worried that it would be impossible for many of the practices that I
pass on to continue in places like Punaluu and Ninole if the current owners'plans were made a
reality.Additionally, I would like to recognize that legally protected resources like iwi kupuna
(human remains), kuleana lands, and religious sites continue to be at risk amidst the mess of
conflicting documentation, cultural erasure, and those in power over Punaluu and Ninole.
I close this letter by stating that I vehemently oppose the currently proposed forms of industrial
development in the areas of Punaluu and Ninole, and any project that would deter our
community from rightfully carrying out subsistence, cultural, and/or religious practices that are
protected by HI Const. art.XII § 7.
Sincerely,
4aw i Ibarra