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Home My WebLink About2026-03-05 PCDP AC Letter - Kumukahi Final Signed 03-05-26 County of Hawai‘i PUNA COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT PLAN ACTION COMMITTEE Aupuni Center • 101 Pauahi Street, Suite 3 • Hilo, Hawai'i 96720 (808) 961-8288 • Fax (808) 961-8742 C. Kimo Alameda, Ph.D. Mayor Gregory Henkel Jennifer Scheffel Martha Morishige Vacant Melissa Leilani DeMello, Vice Chair Stephanie Bath Leila Kealoha Susan Osborne, Chair Frances Brewer March 5, 2026 Council Chair Dr. Holeka Goro Inaba and Members of the Hawaiʻi County Council County of Hawaiʻi 25 Aupuni Street, Suite 1402 Hilo, Hawaiʻi 96720 Aloha Council Chair Inaba and Council Members: SUBJECT: Puna Community Development Plan Action Committee Letter – Support for Cape Kumukahi on PONC’s Prioritized List The Puna Community Development Plan (CDP) Action Committee writes to express its strong support for the County’s proposed public acquisition and consolidation of the Cape Kumukahi parcels – 11 parcels totaling approximately 2,000 acres in the ahupuaʻa of Kula, Puna District – currently listed on the Hawaiʻi County Prioritized List for the Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Fund. This project represents a vital and timely opportunity to protect one of Hawaiʻi’s most culturally, ecologically, and historically significant wahi pana through conservation, respectful cultural stewardship, and careful public management – fully consistent with the vision and priorities of the Puna CDP. We are especially encouraged that the application reflects meaningful landowner engagement: all 11 landowners have been consulted and have provided letters of support indicating willingness to sell for conservation and cultural preservation through the County’s Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Commission (PONC) process. This alignment – landowners, community, nonprofit partners, and County purpose – creates a uniquely workable path forward that merits decisive action. Council Chair Dr. Holeka Goro Inaba and Members of the Hawaiʻi County Council March 5, 2026 Page 2 We also acknowledge and appreciate the commitment of community-based nonprofit partners who are prepared to help steward this place in perpetuity. Hoʻoulu Lāhui, a well- established nonprofit with over 30 years of service centered on protecting and educating about wahi pana, and the Kuamoʻo Legacy Foundation have committed to take leading roles in preservation planning and long-term management in collaboration with the County and community. Cultural and Historical Preservation Kumukahi is a wahi pana of profound cultural and spiritual importance. Widely recognized as the easternmost point where the sun first touches Hawaiʻi each day, it is associated with sacred traditions, including leina (a spiritual transition point). Kumukahi is also closely tied to the arrival of Pele and serves as a wahi ilina (burial site) for generations of kūpuna. These parcels hold deep significance for lineal and cultural descendants who continue to maintain longstanding ceremonial and traditional practices connected to this landscape. Acquisition and consolidation would allow for coordinated implementation of a Burial Treatment Plan and other cultural management measures to ensure the respectful care of iwi kūpuna and to preserve appropriate access for descendants and practitioners. This directly supports the Puna CDP goal to ensure: “Structures and cultural sites that are significant to Puna’s history and cultural traditions are preserved.” (Puna CDP Goal 2.1.1) Environmental Protection and Stewardship The Kumukahi landscape includes native coastal ecosystems and habitat supporting endangered and native species, including the Hawaiian petrel (‘Ua‘u), Hawaiian hoary bat (‘Ōpe‘ape‘a), and native coastal plants and trees. Consolidating the parcels enables a comprehensive stewardship approach – ecosystem restoration, invasive species control, protection of sensitive habitats, and coordinated monitoring – rather than fragmented, parcel-by-parcel management. This aligns with the Puna CDP goal to ensure: “The native forests of Puna are revered as part of the native culture and are provided with permanent protection from degradation and loss.” (Puna CDP Goal 2.1.1) Community Access, Education, and Managed Use With appropriate planning, this acquisition can support community-based stewardship, place-based education, and carefully managed public access that honors cultural protocol and ecological limits. The project creates opportunities for interpretive and educational programming, cultural learning, and low-impact trails or guided access where appropriate – centered on mālama ʻāina and respectful visitation. Council Chair Dr. Holeka Goro Inaba and Members of the Hawaiʻi County Council March 5, 2026 Page 3 This supports the Puna CDP goal to: “Expand awareness and appreciation of the host culture.” (Puna CDP Goal 2.1.1) Coastal Protection and Public Safety Cape Kumukahi is a fragile coastal environment. County acquisition and unified management will help prevent unmanaged impacts such as erosion, habitat degradation, illegal dumping, off-trail damage, and unsafe use in hazardous coastal areas. A coordinated management plan can balance cultural access and public benefit with resource protection and public safety, while preventing the incremental harms that often occur when lands remain fragmented or unmanaged. In conclusion, the Puna CDP Action Committee strongly supports this acquisition and consolidation initiative as an investment in the long-term protection of Kumukahi for present and future generations. It advances the County’s public purposes of cultural integrity, ecological protection, community stewardship, and sustainable land management – supported by a coalition of willing landowners and committed nonprofit partners. We respectfully urge the County Council to continue advancing this project through the PONC process and to support County action to secure these lands for permanent protection. Mahalo for your thoughtful consideration. Sincerely, Susan Osborne, Chair Puna Community Development Plan Action Committee JH \\hawaiicounty.gov\depts\PL\PL\planning\public\wpwin60\CDP\CDP - Puna\Action Committee\Meetings\2026\2026 Letters Susan Osborne (Mar 5, 2026 15:11:10 HST)