HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026-04-22 PL-PDI-2026-000015 Cindy Freitas Opposition TestimonySubject: oppose agenda 1
From: cindy Freitas
To: Planning LPC Testimony
Date: Wednesday, April 22, 2026 1:31:49 PM
Attachments: Agenda Item 1 – Rezoning.docx
April 22, 2026
Cindy Freitas
makainanqi@gmail.com
LEEWARD PLANNING COMMISSION TESTIMONY (OPPOSITION)
RE: Agenda Item 1 – Rezoning (PL-PDI-2026-000015 / REZ 17-000220)
April 23, 2026
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 stand in strong opposition to Agenda Item 1.
I. ʻIke Kūpuna – The Land Is Not Empty
The subject area is not just “zoned land.”
It is part of a cultural landscape tied to the Great Wall of Kuakini, with identified historic sites (HRHP
features) and evidence of traditional use.
Under ʻike kūpuna, these lands were:
Pathways of movement
Areas of habitation and refuge
Connected systems of agriculture, water, and spiritual practice
The presence of:
Stone walls
Platforms
Archaeological features
confirms what our kūpuna already knew —
this is a living cultural landscape, not vacant land.
To rezone this land without fully protecting its cultural integrity is to erase ʻike passed down for
generations.
II. Constitutional Protection of Native Hawaiian Rights
The State of Hawaiʻi Constitution protects these practices:
Article XII, Section 7
Protects traditional and customary Native Hawaiian rights
Article XI, Section 1
Protects natural and cultural resources for present and future generations
The Hawaiʻi Supreme Court has made this very clear:
Ka Paʻakai o Ka ʻĀina v. Land Use Commission
The County MUST:
1. Identify cultural resources
2. Identify traditional practices
3. Show how those practices will be protected
If the Commission cannot clearly do all three on the record,
you cannot legally approve this rezoning.
III. Duty to Protect – Not Just Acknowledge
Kalipi v. Hawaiian Trust Co.
Access and gathering rights must be preserved
Public Access Shoreline Hawaii v. Hawaii County Planning Commission
The County has an affirmative duty to protect Native Hawaiian rights
Ching v. Case
Cultural rights must be considered before approval, not after
This means:
You cannot say “we’ll address it later.”
You must protect it now, before rezoning.
IV. Failure to Meet Hawaiʻi County Code & HRS Requirements
This proposal raises serious legal deficiencies under:
HRS Chapter 6E (Historic Preservation Law)
Requires protection of historic properties and burial sites
HRS Chapter 343 (Environmental Review)
Requires full disclosure of impacts
Hawaiʻi County Code Chapter 25 (Zoning)
Must be consistent with public health, safety, and welfare
Rezoning from agricultural/open classifications back to residential:
Increases development pressure
Risks destruction of cultural sites
Fragments the cultural landscape
Without a complete and adequate cultural impact assessment, approval would be premature and legally
vulnerable.
V. Cumulative Cultural Impact
This is not just one parcel.
This area of North Kona is already under:
Rapid development
Increased infrastructure pressure
Cultural site degradation
Each approval adds to:
cumulative harm to Native Hawaiian cultural practices
The law requires you to consider cumulative impacts, not isolated decisions.
VI. What the Commission Must Do
Based on ʻike kūpuna and Hawaiʻi law, I respectfully request:
1. DENY this rezoning request
OR
2. At minimum:
Require a full Cultural Impact Assessment (CIA)
Require consultation with lineal descendants
Require SHPD compliance and archaeological inventory survey review
Establish permanent preservation protections, not mitigation
VII. Closing – From the Kūpuna
Our kūpuna did not separate land into “zones.”
They understood:
The land feeds us
The land holds our history
The land holds our identity
If we allow this rezoning without full protection,
we are not just changing land use we are breaking the continuity of ʻike Kupuna.
I respectfully urge this Commission to uphold its legal and moral duty and protect this place.
Mahalo,
Cindy Freitas