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HomeMy WebLinkAbout2026 10 21 Written Testimony of L. Rosehill, H. Konanui, L. Kealoha, and N. Rosehill_v1.pdfNATIVE HAWAIIAN LEGAL CORPORATION 1164 Bishop Street, Suite 1205 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 Telephone: (808) 521-2302 TERINA K. FA`AGAU 11511 ASHLEY K. OBREY 9199 Attorneys for Appellant BEFORE THE BOARD OF APPEALS COUNTY OF HAWAI`I STATE OF HAWAI`I `OHANA O MOKUHULU, KAIMU MAKENA, AND KALAPANA, Appellant, vs. JEFFREY DARROW, PLANNING DIRECTOR, COUNTY OF HAWAI`I, Appellee, and KAIMU COVE, LLC, Landowner. CASE NO.: PL-BOA-2026-000127 WRITTEN TESTIMONY OF LESLIE LIHAUNANI ENRIQUEZ ROSEHILL WRITTEN TESTIMONY OF LESLIE LIHAUNANI ENRIQUEZ ROSEHILL I, LESLIE LIHAUNANI ENRIQUEZ ROSEHILL,_declare under penalty of perjury that the following is true and correct: My Background 1. I am a Native Hawaiian whose ancestors inhabited the Hawaiian Islands prior to 1778. I am a lineal descendant of the `ohana (families) of Mokuhulu, Kaimu, and Kalapana in Puna, and my family line is Enriquez and Kaho`okaulana, of Kalua descent. 1 of 23 2. I am the client representative of Appellant `Ghana o Mokuhulu, Kaimu Makena, and Kalapana (the "`Ghana"). The Appellant `Ghana is made up of several families, totaling around 150 individuals, who are from the Mokuhulu, Kaimu Makena, and Kalapana areas and to whom Pu`ilima is a valued cultural site where they exercise Native Hawaiian cultural, subsistence, and religious practices. 3. I was born in Hilo, and I was raised on the east side of Hawaii Island. I grew up at Lava Tree State Park, where my mother's `ohana owned a 30-acre macadamia nut farm, located off Highway 132 Pahoa-Pohoiki Road. I also grew up in Kapoho, where my father's mother was born and raised in Kumukahi Village until the family moved after the 1960 lava flow. I spent every summer at Pohoiki with my father's godmother, Bertha Veloria, who was married to my grandfather's oldest brother, Sim Enriquez. I spent plenty of time in Kalapana with my godmother, Aunty Sarah (Kealoha) Hauanio. My family also had land in the Kaohe Homesteads at Wao Kele o Puna, where I spent much of my time from high school into my thirties. 4. I have lived in Kea`au (Waikahekahe) since 2008. I attended Pahoa Intermediate & High School and graduated from Waiakea High School in 1998. I married out of high school and started my family young. My husband and I have four children together. As my father did with me, I brought my children with me to fish and care for our kupuna. My `Ohana and Our Kuleana to Pu`ilima 5. My father is Benny Enriquez Jr., who passed away in 2014. His parents were Benny Enriquez Sr. and Trinidad "Trim" Caballero. Benny Sr.'s parents were Hilarion Enriquez and Rebecca Kaho`okaulana. Rebecca's father was Makapo Kaho`okaulana of Kalapana and Kaimu, and her mother, who was from Napo`opo`o, moved to Kaimu when she married. 2 of 23 Rebecca and Hilarion had their children in the Kehena area and lived their lives between Mokuhulu and Kalapana. 6. I am the hiapo girl (eldest) of my generation of cousins. As the hiapo, I was raised by my tutu wahine (grandmother) Trini and, growing up, I spent more time with her than anyone else. Most of my knowledge of this place comes from my own experience and from what my kupuna (elders and ancestors) taught me directly. Since my father and my tutus have passed, I continue their practices and carry on their kuleana (responsibility) to this place. 7. The property that is the subject of this appeal, Tax Map Key (3) 1-2-018:001, now owned by Kaimu Cove LLC ("KCL" or the "Landowner"), is known to my family as part of the Kaimu ahupua`a. The coastal area fronting that property is called Pu`ilima; my family (older generations) have also called it "Wills." It sits on the makai (ocean) side of Kalapana-Kapoho Road directly across from Kaipu`uelelu, where generations of our kupuna (ancestors) are buried. 8. My family has always understood Pu`ilima and the lands we travel to get there as part of the Kaimu ahupua`a (a traditional land division running from the uplands to the sea). Mokuhulu, Kaipu`uelelu, Pu`ilima, and Kalaehiamoe are connected within the Kaimu ahupua`a. Our practices connect these places from uka to kai, and access between them is essential to our ability to gather, care for our kupuna, and fulfill our kuleana to this `aina. Roads and changes in landownership have not changed those connections. Our KApUna Buried Here 9. Our kupuna are laid to rest at Kaipu`uelelu, at the old Enriquez hale (house) in Mokuhulu, and, according to what our kupuna have told us, at Pu`ilima. There are also `ohana burials in other areas of Kaimu, between Mokuhulu and Pu`ilima. Our family has seen the burials at Kaipu`uelelu and in Mokuhulu. We know of the burials at Pu`ilima through our family's mo`olelo (stories). 3 of 23 10. My great-grandparents, Rebecca and Hilarion Enriquez, my uncle Stan Kalam Enriquez, my cousin's child, and many other distant relatives are buried at Kaipu`uelelu, directly across the road from Pu`ilima. There are many more unmarked burials at Kaipu`uelelu. 11. My great -great-grandfather, Makapo Kaho`okaulana, Rebecca's father, is buried in the Kaimu ahupua`a according to family mo`olelo passed down to me. My kupuna described his burial as a platform burial constructed of dry -stacked rocks. My father, my grandfather, and my aunty told me that Tutu Man Makapo was buried somewhere in or around Kaipu`uelelu. I still do not know exactly where his burial is located. Before KCL acquired the property, I was carefully searching for it in the area, including on the subject property. His burial is unmarked and, to my knowledge, has not been identified by or registered with the State of Hawaii or documented in any archaeological survey. 12. I cared for my father and my grandmother in their last days and was given the privilege of laying them to rest. After my father passed, his ashes were spread at sea at Pu`ilima because of our deep connection to that place and so that he could keep that connection, to Pu`ilima and to us, his `Ohana. My grandmother was laid to rest at sea at Kumukahi. 13. Kaipu`uelelu sits above our `Ohana's fishing grounds (ko`a) at Pu`ilima. In our stories, the kupuna flow through the land and make their way downhill, as water does, to our fishing grounds. Whatever we gather or catch from our `ohana ko`a is a direct reflection of what our kupuna have provided for us. That is why our family sees the cemetery and the shoreline as one place. 14. For my family, Pu`ilima and the parcel now owned by KCL cannot be separated from the burials of our kdpuna (ancestors) in Kaimu. We believe that when our kupuna pass, their iwi (bones) are laid to rest, but their journeys do not end. Their path from Kaipu`uelelu to 4 of 23 the sea crosses this parcel. We walked from Kaipu`uelelu through the former milo grove on KCL's parcel to Pu`ilima. To us, this parcel is more than a piece of property. It is the passage our ancestors travel. These sites and this `aina remain deeply important to us as descendants of those who lived, died, and were buried here. Even where there is no headstone, we know Kaimu is the resting place of our ancestors. Caring for our kupuna and maintaining the connection between Kaipu`uelelu and the sea is a core part of who we are and how we live as a family. Our `Ghana Ko`a and Traditional Practices at Pu`ilima 15. I am a malama/kia`i (caretaker) and a lawai`a (fisher). 16. I have helped care for the Kaipu`uelelu and Pu`ilima areas since I was about ten years old, first alongside my father, Benny Enriquez Jr. I also learned how to care for this place from my grandfather, Benny Enriquez Sr. 17. Growing up, we fished along this coastline and would malama (care for) our kupuna. We cleaned their burials, brought our first catch of fish to the kupuna, and visited with our kupuna. After we took care of the burials, we went down to the ocean at Pu`ilima to pd-kai (cleanse in the sea), and then we would go home. 18. I saw my father and other family members similarly fish, gather, and pray there throughout my life. We did this about every weekend when I was growing up. We also stopped to visit when passing through the area. Because it was such a natural part of our lives, I also did this with my children. 19. I have been a caretaker of the area for more than three decades. I believe the kupuna who are laid to rest there are familiar with me, as my kupuna taught me. Whenever I go there, I state who I am and my purpose for being there. I ask for permission, I fulfill my caretaking kuleana, and then I respectfully leave. When my children were young, I would malama Kaipu`uelelu and holoholo (go out) to Pu`ilima as much as I could, which was about 5 of 23 once every six months. From 2009 on, I went to Kaipu`uelelu and Pu`ilima to malama our kupuna and holoholo about once a month. That changed in 2022, when I learned that KCL had bought the property and saw the gate and the grubbing there. After that, I did not go to Pu`ilima again until around May 23, 2025, and I have not been back since. I still go to Kaipu`uelelu to malama our kupuna, but I can no longer complete our customs at Pu`ilima. 20. Pu`ilima is the Kaho`okaulana `ohana ko`a, our family's fishing grounds. The ko`a is makai of Kaipu`uelelu. My `ohana has exercised traditional and customary fishing and gathering rights here for generations. Exhibits "A- I" and "A-2" are photographs of the Kaimu traditional fishing grounds at Pu`ilima, taken in 2025. I have fished and gathered there, and the photographs fairly and accurately show what the area looked like when I was there in 2025. 21. Pu`ilima is one of the only sections of our area that has been untouched by new lava flows, so it is safe to get in and out of the water and do our fishing and other traditional practices there. The Pohoiki side of the bay is a rocky, `a`a cliff with an edge about 10-15 feet above the water, making it an unsafe place to enter or exit the ocean. We do not enter the water there because it is unsafe. 22. As lawai`a, we are ocean people, and we are in and around the ocean every day, weather and ocean conditions permitting. This is our function. We do this for food, for offerings, and for spiritual and cultural reasons. When we aren't gathering, we are documenting and observing (in other words, we kilo) the health and quality of our spaces so that we can better steward and keep giving back what is needed to the spaces that sustain us. 23. Until I lost access, I fished at Pu`ilima for whoever was available and gathered limu kohu there. I usually pole fish, my husband is a po`e lawai`a `upena (net fisherman), and 6 of 23 my keiki are freedivers and spearfishers. My husband and I each learned these methods of fishing from our parents, who learned from theirs. In turn, we taught our children the same. 24. When accessing Pu`ilima, we are always mindful of how loudly we speak and how we move within the area. I was taught not to yell, scream, or play there. 25. The environment itself tells us that Pu`ilima was always known as a place of rest and reverence. Pu`ilima is a kipuka, a place the lava flowed around but did not cover. Its old forest and kupuna trees were spared, while the Pohoiki/Hilo side of the bay is covered by a newer lava flow. What the lava spared holds a special reverence for us. Even with the desecration that has occurred on KCL's parcel, I hold out hope that what once was can be restored. 26. Because Pu`ilima is also our `ohana ko`a, where we holoholo and fish, we knew not to make ourselves known. We did not talk openly about going fishing before we went or while we were there at Pu`ilima, so that the fish would not be scared away. This was taught to me by my grandfather and my father. The stories shared with me taught that if you made loud noise or asked too many questions, Tutu would pack up, go home, and try again another day. Our Trails Kaipu `uelelu-Pu `ilima (Mauka Makai) Access 27. From what I have been taught and from my own experience, my family has used a traditional mauka-makai trail from Kaipu`uelelu to reach Pu`ilima and the shoreline. The trail runs from Mokuhulu down to Kaipu`uelelu and then into Pu`ilima. The portion of this trail that crosses the subject property starts at Kalapana-Kapoho Road near the property's entrance (where KCL's gates have been constructed); goes through the former milo grove on KCL's parcel; and ends at the high-water mark on the coastline at the pebble/boulder bay. It allows us to reach the small area of the pebble/boulder bay that was untouched by lava flows for over 200 years the 7 of 23 same area where our `ohana ko `a is and where we gather, fish, and bathe or cleanse as a part of our family customs. This trail links Mokuhulu, Kaipu`uelelu, and Pu`ilima, and my `ohana is connected to all three places. 28. I have personally walked this trail from Kaipu`uelelu to Pu`ilima. I used portions of the trail the last time I accessed Pu`ilima on or around May 23, 2025. At that time, most of the trail had been graded and covered with a driveway, and I saw up close that the grove of milo trees along the beach was gone. 29. Exhibit "A-3" is a map of the property on which I marked, from my personal knowledge, the portion of the traditional trail that crosses KCL's parcel from Kalapana-Kapoho Road to the shoreline. The markings are not survey -precise, but they accurately show the general route the trail follows. The Alanui Aupuni (King's Trail) 30. The ala (trail) along the coastline is the Alanui Aupuni or "King's Trail," also known to us as the Puna Trail. I was taught that the Alanui is an ancient trail connecting ahupua`a along the Puna coastline. I remember first seeing and hearing about the Alanui when I was eleven years old. While we were fishing at Pu`ilima, my father pointed it out to me, and he showed me how the rocks on the Alanui differ from the `a`a below and around it. My father taught me about the Alanui because he said it was important for us to preserve and protect the site and our culture. Other than what is described in a 1972 reconnaissance report (see below), I have not seen the Alanui documented in any records, but the portion my father showed me remains culturally significant to my `ohana, particularly because there are only a few sites like this left along our coastline. 31. Exhibit "A-4" is a true and correct copy of the June 1972 Archaeological Reconnaissance of Proposed Kapoho-Kalapana Highway. I have had a copy of this report since 8 of 23 after the 2018 lava flows, when I obtained it from the Bishop Museum. It shows that, in 1972, Bishop Museum archaeologists documented the "King's Highway" as a curbed trail running roughly parallel to the ocean along portions of the Puna coastline, and a Kehena Beach Trail as part of a steppingstone trail that once encircled the Island of Hawaii. It also documents Kaipu`uelelu Cemetery, on the mauka side of the highway about 1.1 kilometers northeast of Kaimu Beach, as a burial site recommended for protection, and describes most of its graves as platforms built of `a`a lava. What Happened Since KCL Bought the Property Early Changes to the Property 32. I learned that KCL bought the property in or around July 2022, after visiting Kaipu`uelelu to malama. I saw from Kaipu`uelelu that the milo grove and other trees along the road had been cleared, the driveway had been grubbed, and new cinder had been laid. Before then, I could never see the coastline and ocean from Kaipu`uelelu or the Kalapana-Kapoho Road because the milo grove and other trees blocked the view. On that visit, I could see the coastline clearly. I remember that visit because I had brought a ho`okupu (gift, offering) of lei and fish for my father around the time of his birthday. I was not able to access Pu`ilima, where my father's ashes were spread, so I had to leave my ho`okupu for him at Kaipu`uelelu. After I finished my malama there that day, I found out that KCL purchased the parcel and intended to build a gated subdivision. 33. I believe that KCL desecrated Pu`ilima by cutting down the kupuna milo trees that hugged the Kalapana side of the bay. They were the last of our kupuna milo grove on the property. 34. I have also seen a post on Facebook by Mark Wyatt, one of KCL's owners, offering milo wood from the property to anyone who would come and take it. I saw that post in 9 of 23 or around October 2024 after my cousin, through marriage, told me that he responded to that post and salvaged the milo wood from the property. It had already been cut, and he did not want it to go to waste. 35. The property has also been gated and the shoreline blocked off since 2022, when the first gate went up. Exhibits "A-5," "A-6," and "A-7" are street view images of the property from Kalapana-Kapoho Road in 2011, 2019, and 2024. I know this stretch of road and the property's entrance well, and each image fairly and accurately shows how the entrance looked at that time. 36. Where the mauaa-makai trail from Mokuhulu to Pu`ilima crosses the parcel now owned by KCL, it has been grubbed and covered with a driveway. Before KCL acquired the property, I walked this trail to reach Pu`ilima through vegetation and downhill through the milo grove. When I tried to walk the trail in May 2025, I observed that it had been almost entirely graded and covered with a driveway, and the milo grove at the makai end of the trail was gone. The trail is no longer identifiable because the driveway was created over it. I saw that much of the property had been grubbed and flattened; it did not look anything like it used to before 2022. 37. A remaining portion of the Alanui ran along the coastline in front of the property owned by KCL. Before 2022, I could identify this portion of the Alanui based on the features my father had shown me. When I returned in May 2025, the half of the Alanui closest to the adjacent state-owned parcel was intact, but the other half was gone and seemed to have been flattened and replaced by cinder. Before May 2025, I had also seen social media posts that showed cinder laid over the area where the portion of the Alanui used to be. Our Efforts to Inform the County and the Landowner 38. I first learned of KCL's SMA Use Permit application for its proposed development on October 2, 2024, the day before the Windward Planning Commission's hearing 10 of 23 on the application. Since then, my `ohana and I have repeatedly contacted the Planning Department to make sure our practices at Pu`ilima were considered and protected, both from the proposed project and from the unauthorized ground disturbance we had already witnessed on the property since 2022. 39. On October 3, 2024, I attended the Windward Planning Commission's hearing on the Landowner's SMA Use Permit Application PL-SMA-2024-000063 and submitted testimony. Exhibit "A-8" is a true and correct copy of the written testimony submitted to the Commission for that hearing. Exhibit "A-9" is a true and correct copy of the minutes of that hearing, which documents that I provided testimony in person. At the hearing, after former Director Zendo Kern apologized for the County's failure to consult with the community and shared that he felt he inclined to change his recommendation (which was originally to approve KCL's SMA Use Permit) after hearing our families' testimonies, the Commission indicated that a cultural impact assessment ("CIA") or archaeological inventory survey ("AIS") should be completed before it decided on the application. 40. Soon after the hearing, in October 2024, I requested the Planning Department's file on the property. Exhibit "A-10" is a true and correct copy of my request and my related correspondence with the Department, and Exhibit "A-11" is a true and correct copy of the Department's October 18, 2024 email giving me access to a shared folder. Through that shared folder, and in my other communications with the Department or from the Record on Appeal, I obtained true and correct copies of public records about the property and the Landowner's permit applications, including Exhibits "A-12" through "A-32." 41. Exhibit "A-12" is a true and correct copy of the November 1992 Archaeological Inventory Survey for TMK: (3) 1-2-018:001, prepared by Robert Spear, Ph.D. 11 of 23 42. Exhibit "A-13" is a true and correct copy of the Planning Department's June 9, 1993 letter to Nicholas Schwaebe regarding his SMA Minor Permit Application (Permit No. 93- 12). 43. Exhibit "A-14" is a true and correct copy of Notice of Violation and Order No. 1, dated October 10, 2022. 44. Exhibit "A-15" is a true and correct copy of ASM Affiliates' January 20, 2024 Results of Archaeological Field Inspection, prepared for Mark Wyatt, Kaimu Cove LLC. 45. Exhibit "A-16" is a true and correct copy of July 2024 email correspondence between Daryn Arai and Alex Roy regarding the easement. 46. Exhibit "A-17" is a true and correct copy of the Landowner's July 5, 2024 SMA Use Permit Application PL-SMA-2024-000063. 47. Exhibit "A-18" is a true and correct copy of the Department of Land and Natural Resources' ("DLNR") August 26, 2024 comments on SMA Use Permit Application PL-SMA- 2024-000063, including the August 20, 2024 letter from DLNR's Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands. 48. Exhibit "A-19" is a true and correct copy of the State Historic Preservation Division's ("SHPD") September 6, 2024 review of SMA Use Permit Application PL-SMA- 2024-000063. 49. Exhibit "A-20" is a true and correct copy of the September 10, 2024 Final Archaeological Field Inspection report prepared for Mark Wyatt, Kaimu Cove LLC (PL-SMA- 2024-000063). 50. Exhibit "A-2 I" is a true and correct copy of the Planning Department's October 2024 Background Report for SMA Use Permit Application PL-SMA-2024-000063. 12 of 23 51. Exhibit "A-22" is a true and correct copy of the Planning Department's October 2024 Recommendation Report for SMA Use Permit Application PL-SMA-2024-000063. 52. Exhibit "A-23" is a true and correct copy of Dr. Lisa A. Benham's June 8, 2025 email to the Planning Department and the attached "Kaimu Cove Report," which the Planning Department received by mail on June 12, 2025. 53. Exhibit "A-24" is a true and correct copy of the Landowner's September 15, 2025 SMA Use Permit Assessment Application (PL-SAA-2025-000312). 54. Exhibit "A-25" is a true and correct copy of the October 2, 2025 Individual Wastewater System Plan for Kaimu Cove LLC. 55. Exhibit "A-26" is a true and correct copy of Appellant members' October 13, 2025 email to SHPD. 56. Exhibit "A-27" is a true and correct copy of the October 14, 2025 email from DLNR's Division of Forestry and Wildlife, Na Ala Hele Trails and Access Program, to SHPD. 57. Exhibit "A-28" is a true and correct copy of the Planning Department's October 15, 2025 letter acknowledging withdrawal of SMA Use Permit Application PL-SMA-2024- 000063. 58. Exhibit "A-29" is a true and correct copy of Mark Wyatt's November 6, 2025 email to SHPD. 59. Exhibit "A-30" is a true and correct copy of SHPD's November 21, 2025 review of SMA Use Permit Assessment Application PL-SAA-2025-000312. 60. Exhibit "A-31" is a true and correct copy of the undated Draft Archaeological Monitoring Plan for SHPD Proj ect No. 2025PR01081, which SHPD received on December 17, 2025. 13 of 23 61. Exhibit "A-32" is a true and correct copy of SHPD's January 14, 2026 review of the Draft Archaeological Monitoring Plan received December 17, 2025. 62. After the October 3, 2024 hearing, `Ohana members also worked with Dr. Gina McGuire to prepare a cultural impact assessment and Ka Pa`akai analysis. That work began in or around December 2024 or January 2025. Our purpose was to inform the Landowner and the County about our traditional and customary practices at Pu`ilima, so that the County could properly determine whether, and under what conditions, the permit should be approved, if at all. Exhibit "A-33" is a true and correct copy of the Draft Cultural Impact Assessment and Ka Pa`akai Analysis for Pu`ilima (McGuire, October 2025). My responses to Dr. McGuire's questions appear in Appendix E, and they are true and correct. 63. On January 24, 2025, I asked about the status of KCL's SMA Use Permit application, and Planning Department staff told me it was on hold pending completion of an AIS or CIA. That same day, my cousin Leila Kealoha asked Planner Alex Roy to notify both of us at least two weeks before the application was placed on a Commission agenda. True and correct copies of my January 24, 2025 email and the Department's reply are included in Exhibit "A-10," and a true and correct copy of Leila's January 24, 2025 email is included in Exhibit "A-34." 64. The last time I was able to cross over the property now owned by KCL was on or around May 23, 2025. By then, a gate and security video cameras had been installed at the entrance, and KCL had begun building a rock wall there, which made the property feel closed off and unwelcoming to my `ohana. My cousin Leila Kealoha and I entered through the open gate fronting Kalapana-Kapoho Road and walked across the subject property and went to Pu`ilima. The purpose of the visit was to pule (pray) and prepare for a family meeting we were planning on 14 of 23 holding and inviting KCL to. We also took some photos and videos of the area to document what the coastline looked like at the time. 65. On May 25, 2025, the `Ohana held a meeting that lasted about three hours at my Uncle Robert Keliihoomalu's hale, down the road from Pu`ilima in Kaimu. About 70 people, most of whom were `Ghana members, gathered for this meeting. We called this meeting because, following the October 3, 2024 Windward Planning Commission hearing, where former Director Zendo Kern apologized for the County's failure to consult with the community, no one from KCL had reached out to consult with our `Ghana. We invited KCL to meet with us and learn about the importance of Pu`ilima to our `Ghana and our concerns about the impacts its development would have on our family's traditional lifestyle and practices in Kaimu. Lisa Ann Benham and Mark Wyatt and his husband attended for KCL. KCL did not follow up with our `Ohana after the meeting. 66. The `Ghana kept reaching out to the County after that meeting. On June 6, 2025, I wrote to Planner Roy, Planning Director Jeffrey Darrow, and Mayor Kimo Alameda to oppose the proposed five -home gated subdivision, to point out that the Department's background report inaccurately stated there was no public opposition, and to again ask for notice of all related hearings. Exhibit "A-34" is a true and correct copy of my June 6, 2025 email, which also forwarded Leila's January 24, 2025 email to Planner Roy. 67. When Planner Roy wrote on July 28, 2025 that the project had "stalled out due to lack of any cooperation from the community," Aunty Ku`ulei Kealoha Cooper responded that about 70 people had attended a May 25, 2025 community meeting about the project and that Leila and I had sent several inquiries without a response. On August 1, 2025, I emailed Planner Roy and Director Darrow a list of names and signatures from people who signed in person, along 15 of 23 with a link to an online petition that had gathered 150 signatures, and asked the Department to halt development, recognize Pu`ilima and Kaipu`uelelu as culturally protected sites, and engage directly with the Native Hawaiian families connected to this `aina. True and correct copies of Planner Roy's July 28, 2025 email, Aunty Ku`ulei's July 29, 2025 response, and Leila's and my August 1, 2025 emails are included in Exhibit "A-35." 68. On September 22, 2025, after learning that Mark Wyatt of KCL had submitted a new SMA Assessment application (dated September 15, 2025) for one single-family home and a pickleball court, I emailed Planner Roy and Director Darrow. I reported community concerns about unpermitted work on the parcel, told them that descendants had not been contacted or consulted about the new application, and asked that future steps include meaningful outreach to us. On September 24, 2025, Planner Roy responded that SHPD had stated no historic properties would be impacted by the original proposal. When I explained that the `Ohana had prepared an independent cultural impact assessment that we intended to hand -deliver at our October 9, 2025 meeting, Planner Roy replied that the Department does "not have the experience to review a CIA," that a CIA "would be sent to SHPD," and that the Department relies "on SHPD for all cultural reviews." This concerned me because we wanted the Planning Department itself to understand our practices and how the proposed development would affect them. True and correct copies of the September 24, 2025 correspondence between me and Planner Roy are also included in Exhibit "A-35." 69. On October 9, 2025, Aunty Ku`ulei, Dr. McGuire, and I met in person with Director Darrow and Planner Roy at Director Darrow's office at the Planning Department building. Leila Kealoha joined the meeting via Zoom. They explained that KCL's SMA Use Permit and SMA Assessment applications were still pending. At that meeting, we asked that our 16 of 23 trail to access Pu`ilima be restored. We tried to explain our cultural practices and how the proposed project would affect them, but each time we raised those topics, Director Darrow and Planner Roy told us that they were not the right people to talk to and directed us to SHPD. We shared that the `Ghana had a draft cultural impact assessment for the Department to review, and they told us that the Planning Department does not accept CIAs. 70. At that meeting, Director Darrow and Planner Roy told us that they could not force private landowners to do anything on their own private parcel. We were also told by Director Darrow that if KCL applied for an SMA Minor Permit and withdrew its application for the SMA Use Permit(s), he would have no reason not to approve it and that we should prepare ourselves for that happening. The meeting lasted about an hour. 71. Right after that meeting, while we were still outside the Planning Department building, Aunty Ku`ulei, Dr. McGuire, and I called Sean Naleimaile of SHPD to ask whether SHPD would accept and consider our cultural impact assessment. Mr. Naleimaile told us to send it in and said he would watch for it. Aunty Ku`ulei emailed the cultural impact assessment to Mr. Naleimaile on October 13, 2025, and I was copied on that email. Exhibit "A-26" is a true and correct copy of that email. 72. On October 12, 2025, I emailed Director Darrow and Planner Roy, with copies to `Ohana members, to report work I documented on the property on October 11, 2025: use of a backhoe, a trench and anchors for a double gate at the front of the property, continued construction of the rock wall, and movement of material that altered the terrain. I asked whether any permit authorized the work, requested a site inspection, and attached my photographs and video. True and correct copies of that email and other October 2025 emails from `Ghana members to the Director about continued work on the property are attached as Exhibit "A-36." 17 of 23 73. Exhibit "A-37" is a photograph that I took on October 11, 2025 showing unpermitted activity on the property; it fairly and accurately shows what was happening on the property when I went by that day. 74. After my report, the Department issued an October 14, 2025 Stop Work Order, a true and correct copy of which Department staff emailed to me (Exhibit "A-38") 75. On October 28, 2025, I reported that unauthorized work had continued despite the stop work order, including backhoe work to build a pickleball court. I asked for enforcement and again asked the Department to restore, and recognize as an easement, the traditional fishing trail that generations of Kaimu descendants have used to reach our ko`a. That email is in the Record on Appeal as Document 15. On October 29, 2025, the Director replied that the public access easement would be "established as part of the SMA permitting process," and the Department issued Notice of Violation and Order No. 2, which staff emailed to me. Exhibit "A-39" is a true and correct copy of the Notice of Violation and Order No. 2. Exhibit "A-40" is a true and correct copy of my October 28, 2025 email and the Director's October 29, 2025 reply. 76. No one from the Planning Department contacted me again before the Director approved SMA Minor Permit No. PL-SMM-2025-000079 on December 4, 2025. After the Permit Was Approved 77. On December 4, 2025, Raimee Steen of the Planning Department emailed me to inform me that the Director had approved the SMA Minor Permit application. Exhibit "A-41" is a true and correct copy of that email and the attached letter approving KCL's permit application. 78. After the permit was approved, work on the parcel began again, and I kept reporting it. On December 23, 2025, I emailed Planner Roy, Director Darrow, and SHPD to report ground disturbance on the parcel, because I was concerned that ground disturbance was occurring before SHPD had approved an archaeological monitoring plan ("AMP"). On January 18 of 23 12, 2026, I received a response from Joshua Gastilo, SHPD Historic Preservation Archaeologist, stating an AMP was submitted and being reviewed. Exhibit "A-42" is a true and correct copy of that email and the responses I received on January 12 and 13, 2026. 79. On January 14, 2026, the Department issued another stop work order, which staff emailed to me (Exhibit "A-43"). On January 21, 2026, while caring for our `ohana graves at Kaipu`uelelu, I saw work continuing on the parcel in violation of that order: the rock wall at the entrance gate completed and footing pins in place for another concrete slab. That evening I emailed photographs to Director Darrow and Planner Roy (Exhibit "A-44"). The Department issued Notice of Violation and Order No. 3 on January 28, 2026, which staff emailed to me (Exhibit "A-45") 80. There is a large concrete slab on the property makai of the cemetery where pickleball tournaments, gatherings, and parties have been held. I know this because that part of the property can be seen from Kalapana-Kapoho Road, I was sent a photo of an active cement pour happening on the property, and I saw posts about pickleball tournaments there on Facebook by KCL's owners or their friends. Impacts to Our `Aina and `Ohana 81. At Pu`ilima, the land, the ocean, the trail, and our practices are one living system. Only a few areas are left on our coastline that still hold the resources our kupuna lived on in Kaimu. The trees feed the ko`a, the ko`a feeds our families and provides our offerings, the trail is how we reach the ko`a and our kupuna, and our practices are how we care for and give back to all of it. This shoreline ecosystem is fragile. When one part is damaged or cut off, there are ripple effects on the rest. 82. After KCL bought the property, the last of our kupuna milo grove on this property was cut down, along with kupuna noni trees whose branches were as big as my body. Milo trees 19 of 23 are windbreakers: they grow close to the shoreline and shield the land behind them from strong winds and salt spray. Their roots hold the soil in place, which protects the coast and prevents erosion. They also feed the land and provide nutrients to the ko`a, our fishing grounds, where the smaller fish breed. When that breeding place is disturbed, the types of fish might change, and our fishing must change with them, or end completely if those fish disappear. 83. Since the property was gated in 2022, my family has been increasingly cut off from the places where we embody and honor our kupuna. The path we walked my whole life was graded over and replaced with a driveway, and adding a gate and surveillance cameras to it added insult to injury. The December 4, 2025 permit did not restore our traditional access. Instead, it approved a different access route that does not allow us to safely reach our ko`a and carry out our practices at Pu`ilima. My family and I have not been to Pu`ilima since on or around May 23, 2025. 84. The public access easement conditioned by the County in approving the Landowner's SMA Minor Permit (or the "relocated route") runs along the property line between the subject property and the neighboring State lands. I know this land and where the relocated route lets out because I have walked this coastline my whole life. The relocated route does not give us safe access to the part of the shore where we can safely carry out our practices. It ends at a cliff of rough `a`d lava whose edge sits 10 to 15 feet above the water, with no safe way down to the ocean. The only safe entry along this coastline is at Pu`ilima, where rounded pebbles and boulders form a natural landing, and it cannot be safely reached from the end of the easement, especially by our kupuna and children. No one consulted the `Ohana about where to place the easement approved in the SMA Minor Permit. Exhibit "A-46" is a map showing the relocated route from the final approved permit. The easement does not replace the traditional route our 20 of 23 `ohana used to reach the beach at Pu `ilima, or allow us to continue the practices we have carried out there for generations. 85. Since May 2025, I have continued to malama our kupuna at Kaipu`uelelu Cemetery, most recently in August 2026, but I have not been able to continue on to Pu`ilima. 86. Without access, our practices are broken apart. I can no longer reach the shoreline through Pu`ilima to fish, gather limu kohu, or pikai. Where we once cared for our kupuna, brought them our first catch, and then went down to the ocean to pikai, I can now go only to the cemetery. I can no longer complete our burial customs as my kupuna taught me: I cannot bring our kupuna a first catch from our ko`a, I cannot follow the path our kupuna travel from Kaipu`uelelu to the sea, and I cannot cleanse at Pu`ilima after caring for their graves. I also cannot bring ho`okupu to my father at Pu`ilima, where his ashes were spread. And I cannot kilo (observe) and watch over Pu`ilima, so I cannot tell what the ko`a needs or how to give back to it; because I am locked out, I do not even know the full extent of the harm that might have been caused there. These are practices that I learned from my kupuna and have passed on to my children. Without access to Pu'ilima, I cannot continue teaching and carrying out those practices in the places where our family has always practiced them. 87. The loss is not only physical. I have felt a heavy sense of displacement and grief since KCL began work on the property without permits and without consulting the caretakers of this `aina. Losing the last of our kupuna milo grove created a sadness in me that cannot be explained in words. To me, holding pickleball tournaments and parties beside the resting place of our kupuna is a violation of our dead. Piece by piece, we are watching the desecration of our revered space, and with it, my connection to my kupuna. 21 of 23 What Pu`ilima Means to Me and Why It Must Be Protected 88. I have a kuleana to pass these practices on to the next generation. I teach my children all that was taught to me. It is our history and our lineage; it is my children's birthright. Learning how to gather, what to gather, and how to stay connected to the kupuna who calve before them involves caring for the graves and being in and around the same places where our kupuna lived and now rest. Lower Puna is, and always will be, shaped by Kilauea's lava flows. Special places like this are becoming few and far between because of Pele and because of land grabs. I teach family mo`olelo (stories) and encourage my children in their roles because, in our Native Hawaiian worldview, land is not merely property or a physical setting; land is an ancestor itself. Their connection to their ancestors is important for personal and collective identity. A person especially a child who is deprived of physical and spiritual access to these places is deprived of their cultural inheritance. I teach my children so that the line of care, memory, and presence remains unbroken. 89. Our `Ohana brings this appeal, and I serve as our client representative. I take on this kuleana for my `Ohana because I am a caretaker of Kaipu`uelelu and Pu`ilima, and it is my kuleana to protect Kaimu and its resources, including our kupuna who are laid to rest there. 90. If Pu`ilima is not protected, I believe the trails, the shoreline access, and the burials will be further desecrated and severed from lineal memory. For future generations, that would mean losing their relationship with Pu`ilima: displacement and alienation, where descendants become trespassers. Instead of a direct, lived relationship with this place, they would be left fighting just to keep basic access and dignity. 91. Kaimu is a humble place. We do not have much in the way of money or land, but many of our descendant families are still here, and we are rich in practices and traditions. The actions already taken on this property have set a precedent that developers need not be culturally 22 of 23 respectful or mindful. But once this place is destroyed, it will be gone for every future generation. 92. My kupuna grew up in Kaimu and fished at Pu`ilima. My grandfather and my father taught me to fish there and to care for those who rest there, and I have taught my children the same. On behalf of myself, my kupuna, and my mo`opuna, what I want is for Pu`ilima to be protected: for the resting place of Makap6 Kaho`okaulana and all our other kupuna to be cared for, and for my `ohana to be able to walk our trail to our ko`a and carry out our practices there safely, as our kupuna did. That is how the knowledge they passed down to me will reach my children and their children. Mahalo. DATED: Kea`au, Puna, Hawaii, October 20, 2026. Me ka `oia`i`o, LESLIE LI I ENRIQU Z ROSEHILL 23 of 23 NATIVE HAWAIIAN LEGAL CORPORATION 1164 Bishop Street, Suite 1205 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 Telephone: (808) 521-2302 TERINA K. FA`AGAU 11511 ASHLEY K. OBREY 9199 Attorneys for Appellant BEFORE THE BOARD OF APPEALS COUNTY OF HAWAI`I STATE OF HAWAI`I `OHANA O MOKUHULU, KAIMU MAKENA, AND KALAPANA, Appellant, vs. JEFFREY DARROW, PLANNING DIRECTOR, COUNTY OF HAWAI`I, Appellee, and KAIMU COVE, LLC., Landowner. correct: 1778. CASE NO.: PL-BOA-2026-000127 WRITTEN TESTIMONY OF HOWARD KONANUI WRITTEN TESTIMONY OF HOWARD KONANUI I, HOWARD KONANUI, declare under penalty of perjury that the following is true and My Background 1. I am a Native Hawaiian whose ancestors inhabited the Hawaiian Islands prior to 2. I am a member of Appellant `Ohana o Mokuhulu, Kaimu Makena, and Kalapana (the "`Ohana"). I am 72 years old. 1 of 8 3. I am a lineal descendant of the `ohana (families) of Mokuhulu, Kaimu, and Kalapana in Puna, through the Enriquez and Kaho`okaulana lines, of Kalua descent. I was born at Hilo Hospital and raised in `Opihikao. I attended Pahoa Elementary School and Pahoa High School. I lived in `Opihikao until I graduated and got married. 4. I now live in Kea`au. Before that, I lived in Leilani Estates, until we had to evacuate during the 2018 lava eruption there. 5. I am now retired, but I worked as a heavy equipment operator for the County of Hawai `i My `Ohana and Kuleana to Pu`ilima 6. My parents were Joseph Kepa Konanui and Elizabeth Enriquez Konanui. On my father's side, my grandfather, David Kawika Konanui, was born and raised in Kapa`ahu, Kalapana. He married my grandmother, Lucy Silva, who came from `Opihikao, where they raised their family. 7. On my mother's side, my mother, Elizabeth Enriquez Konanui, was the only daughter among the ten children of Rebecca Kaho`okaulana Enriquez and Hilarion Enriquez. My grandmother, Tutu Rebecca, was born on December 15, 1896, in Kehena. She was the second of six children of Makap6 Kaho`okaulana and Geonovefa Kailikapu. Geonovefa was of Kalua descent, born in 1874 in Kona. Tutu Rebecca and her two siblings lived next to each other on two- to three -acre lots in Mokuhulu and raised their families there. 8. My mother grew up in Mokuhulu and lived off the land and ocean at Kaimu and Pu`ilima. After she married my father, they made their home in `Opihikao, where my father was raised. That is where I grew up and where I learned to fish and gather. The practices my mother used to sustain her family in Mokuhulu are the same practices she taught me, which I carried out 2 of 8 in `Opihikao. Leslie Rosehill, who represents the `Ghana in this appeal, is my first cousin's daughter. Her father, Benny Enriquez Jr., was my first cousin. 9. In 2008, my family recorded a video of my mother and her youngest brother, my Uncle Tony, describing their lifestyle growing up in Mokuhulu. My brother, Jerry Konanui, recorded the video at my home in Leilani Estates during a family get-together. All the cousins were there to ask them questions. I was present when the video was recorded and recognize my mother, my uncle, and the places they describe. 10. In the video, my mother and uncle explained how they grew up, how they lived, where they lived, and where they did certain things (cultivation, gathering, fishing). They explained what they ate, the chores they had to do, and what everybody's responsibilities were. The point of the video was to preserve their knowledge for future generations of our family. Each branch of the family has a copy. I know the video is accurate because I was there when it was recorded, and I recognize my mother, my uncle, and the places they describe. 11. During the video, one of the children also read aloud a letter dated January 22, 2008, from my Uncle Benny Enriquez Sr. Exhibit "A-47" is a true and correct copy of that letter. My family has kept that in our possession since we received the original from Uncle Benny in 2008. I know Exhibit "A-47" is a copy of that letter because I first saw the letter at the 2008 gathering, the top of the letter reads "My precious younger days By Benny Enriquez," and I recognize my uncle's handwriting. 12. Uncle Benny wrote it for the same purpose as the video, but he could not make it home for the gathering. Like the video, the letter describes how he was raised and our family's practices, but it focuses more on our genealogy. 3 of 8 13. The coastal area in front of the property that is the subject of this appeal, Tax Map Key (3) 1-2-018:001, is known to my family as Pu`ilima. My mother says they also called that area "Wills," for a reason I do not know. It sits on the makai (ocean) side of Kalapana-Kapoho Road, directly below Kaipu`uelelu, where our kupuna (ancestors) are buried. I know this because my mother and her brothers told me about this area, and it is consistent with what they talk about in the video. 14. My mother told us that when she was young, the family went from Mokuhulu down to Pu`ilima. They washed all their clothes in a pond there, rinsed them in the ocean, and put them on the stones to dry. While they waited for the clothes to dry, they gathered whatever was available for food: `opihi, ha`uke`uke (shingle urchin), limu, and pa`o`o (a small tidepool fish), which they ate raw. Tutu Rebecca was a lauhala weaver, and they also gathered lauhala. They would spend the whole day down there. 15. I remember going down to Pu`ilima once, in the 1960s, when I was small. I went with my father and my uncles to fish. I remember milo trees all along the shoreline. That was the only time I went there. After my tutu passed in 1953, my mother and father moved to `Opihikao, where my father grew up. 16. My mother and her brothers told me about the main trail their family used to get to Pu `ilima. It ran from where they lived in Mokuhulu down to Pu `ilima. From what I understand, the most makai part of that access trail my family uses crosses the property that Kaimu Cove LLC wants to develop. I have not walked that trail myself, what I know comes from my mother and her brothers. 4of8 My Traditional and Customary Practices in Puna Fishing and Gathering 17. Growing up, my family lived a traditional lifestyle. We lived off the land that raised us. Back then, we had access to the places we needed to go to get what we needed to live in `Opihikao. There were fewer people then, and because we knew the areas and the people, it was safe to access the beach and fish and gather there. 18. `Opihikao is where my father was raised. He knew all the areas where we could get what we needed to survive, which he learned from his father. My grandfather even taught my father the traditional ways to make nets and goggles. My grandfather always told me "nana, hoolohe, paa ka waha, and ha`ahaa." That's how I learned — by watching, listening, shutting my mouth, and being humble. 19. Almost every day after my father came home from work, I would follow him to the beach and fish with him. I learned to locate and catch things like moi, aholehole, kole, and lobsters. He knew how to read the moons and the tides to know when to gather or catch certain resources. My job was to get my father's gear ready and help him. 20. We gathered many other resources at the beach too, always in a respectful way. My mother would always be ready at home to prepare, clean, and cook the fish or whatever else we gathered to eat that day. All of this was done to feed the family, and to take care of the land so it could keep feeding the family. 21. We hunted for food too. I started hunting with my father and my uncle as a child. In the old days, we used to go hunting in Kalapana with our family who lived there and were familiar with the area. 22. I continued to fish throughout my life. Once I had children, I went about once a month, which is not as often as I wanted. I slowed down around 15 years ago, and I do not fish 5 of 8 anymore, but I still know how to, and I still hold all the knowledge that was taught to me by my kupuna. Their teachings are always with me. Mala `Ai 23. My mother taught me that we have to grow our own food. You always plant what you can eat on your own property. Otherwise, you have to ask your neighbors, and that brings shame. 24. When she was growing up in Mokuhulu and Kaimu, my mother's family had a mala 'ai (food garden). They always grew vegetables. They would grow and gather a lot of leaf onion and papolo too, which were used to cook with. In our 'Opihikao home, we grew all kinds of plants, including 'ulu, sweet potatoes, and pineapple. We had a taro patch. 25. I own land that was handed down from my grandfather to my father to me. It is about five acres. On that property we plant fruit trees, and I make sure I have my own coconut trees, over 100 of them at different stages of growing, so I do not need to go around maha'oi (intrude into others' spaces) to use other people's resources. Other Practices 26. My brother, who is six years older than me, learned to weave from a family of well-known weavers in 'Opihikao. He taught me to weave coconut leaves when I was in high school, and I have woven ever since. I still weave and teach others. 27. I also make papa ku'i 'ai and p6haku ku'i 'ai (poi -pounding boards and stones). I do it the old style, by hand, and with modern tools. For the past four years, I have helped a friend teach a nine -month class. It starts when you plant your first huli (taro top), and when nine months come and it is time to harvest, your board and stone are finished, so you can huki (pull) your own kalo and use your own papa and p6haku to make your own pa'i'ai. 6of8 Our Knuuna Buried Here 28. Tutu Rebecca is buried at Kaipu`uelelu Cemetery, directly above the area my mother described. My grandfather was later buried right next to her on the Kalapana side, a cousin on the Kapoho side, and a stillborn baby of another cousin between my grandmother and grandfather, by the noni tree. My great-grandfather, Makapo Kaho`okaulana, Tutu Rebecca's father, is also buried somewhere in that cemetery area. I do not know exactly where. 29. I go to my `ohana burials at Kaipu`uelelu about two to three times a year to maintain the area and keep down the weeds. The last time I was there was either April or May of 2026. Other lines of our `Ohana also take care of other areas within Kaipu`uelelu, where their kupuna are buried. Why This Matters To Me 30. I have not tried to go down to Pu`ilima recently. But in my family, this area is our culture and our heritage. It is where my mother's generation was taught to live off the ocean. Once it is destroyed, it is gone. 31. If my family does not have access to Pu`ilima and the shoreline, we cannot teach future generations the ways of living off the land that we grew up learning. It is like a papa ku`i `ai and pohaku ku`i `ai. If you have them in your hands, you can pass them down and show your grandchildren what it means to ku `i kalo (pound taro), because they have something to hold. The `aina works on the same principle: without a place to show them, the next generation will not understand. 32. In January 2025, I did a phone interview with Gina McGuire so that she could write a cultural impact assessment that documented our `ohana history, lifestyle, and practices in Kaimu. Appendix H of Exhibit "A-33" is a true and correct copy of the transcript of my interview. I have reviewed the transcript of my January 2025 interview with Gina McGuire, which appears in Appendix H of Exhibit "A-33." The transcript accurately reflects the statements I made during that interview. 33. In May 2025, I attended the family meeting at Robert Keliihoomalu's house. There, many of my `Ohana members and I signed a petition in opposition to the development. A true and correct copy of the page of the petition that I signed is attached as Exhibit "A-48." 34. I testify today because I do not want to lose our culture. My mother and kupuna taught us how to live in Kaimu, and it is now our job to teach our children and grandchildren what our kupuna taught us. But if there is no Pu`ilima or no way to safely access Pu`ilima, the living and next generations will never get to learn. I declare under penalty of law that the foregoing is true and correct. DATED: Kea`au, Hawaii, October 20, 2026. �IOWARD KONANUI NATIVE HAWAIIAN LEGAL CORPORATION 1164 Bishop Street, Suite 1205 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 Telephone: (808) 521-2302 TERINA K. FA`AGAU 11511 ASHLEY K. OBREY 9199 Attorneys for Appellant BEFORE THE BOARD OF APPEALS COUNTY OF HAWAI`I STATE OF HAWAI`I `OHANA O MOKUHULU, KAIMU MAKENA, AND KALAPANA, Appellant, vs. JEFFREY DARROW, PLANNING DIRECTOR, COUNTY OF HAWAI`I, Appellee, and KAIMU COVE, LLC., Landowner. correct: CASE NO.: PL-BOA-2026-000127 WRITTEN TESTIMONY OF LEILA KEALOHA WRITTEN TESTIMONY OF LEILA KEALOHA I, LEILA KEALOHA, declare under penalty of perjury that the following is true and Background 1. I am iwi kuamo `o o Puna (from the bones of my ancestors of Puna). I am a Native Hawaiian whose ancestors inhabited the Hawaiian Islands prior to 1778. 1 of 13 2. I was born and raised and have lived all but two years of my life in Puna. I have lived in Maku`u Hawaiian Homesteads in Popoki-Halona, Puna, since 2022. I am a member of Appellant `Ohana o Mokuhulu, Kaimu Makena, and Kalapana (the "`Ohana"), and I submit this testimony in support of the `Ohana's appeal. I am a lineal descendant of the Kealoha, Kaualalena, Kekua, Waiau, Ahia, Pahia, Makua and Makuakane, Kalaiwa`a, Kaho`owaiwai, Ulunui `ohana of Kikala-Ke6kea, Kaimu, Makena, Mokuhulu, Kalapana, Apua, Keauhou, Halape, `Opihikao, Kapoho, `Ahalanui, Pohoiki, Keahialaka, Ki, Malama, Ka`akepa, Kaueleau, Kamaili and Kauaea. 4. I was born on October 21, 1976, in Hilo to John David Kaualalena Kealoha and Gail Bee (Holland) Kealoha. I am the second of their four daughters. I grew up in Puna makai, from Kamoamoa to Kapoho, and I spent a lot of time in Kaimu, Kalapana, `Opihikao, and Pohoiki from the time I was a baby into adulthood. 5. I graduated from Pahoa High School in 1994 and earned an Associate of Science degree in Tropical Forest Ecosystems and Agroforestry Management, a Bachelor of Science degree in Environmental Science, and a Master's degree in Educational Administration. I also completed a teacher certification program through the University of Hawaii at Hilo and Kanu O Ka `Aina Learning `ohana. 6. I was a teacher at Kua O Ka La Public Charter School from 2004 to 2022. I am also the Executive Director of P6haku Pelemaka, a nonprofit organization formed in 2013 whose mission is to protect, perpetuate, and enhance: the intrinsic qualities of Puna makai, Native Hawaiian wellbeing, and the transmission of intergenerational knowledge and practices in partnership with `ohana (family); county, state, government agencies; and public/private sectors. 2of13 My Family and Our Fishing and Gathering Traditions 7. My father was 100% Kanaka Maoli from Puna and the third of eight siblings. His father, my grandfather Gabriel Luka Kealoha III, was born on Kaimu beach next to Kumaka`ula heiau (temple), where the family hale (house) stood. He was born to Gabriel Luka Kealoha Sr. of Kaimu and Cecelia "Sarah" Kaualalena of Keone`o`io, Maui. My grandmother, Mary Kawailani Makuakane, was born in 1934 in `Opihikao to Thomas Kaonohiokala Makuakane of Kapoho and Kaulaokeahi "Hattie" Makua of `Opihikao. 8. My great-grandfather Thomas Makuakane was known throughout Puna as a fisherman and a lauhala gatherer, and he was respected for fishing the entire coastline. My grandfather Gabriel worked for him gathering lauhala and went holoholo (fishing and gathering trips) with him along the coast, where he was taught about the `opae `ula (red shrimp) and about feeding and caring for the `opelu ko`a (`opelu fishing grounds) between Kapoho and `Opihikao. My grandfather and his older sister Elsie were taught by their mother, Sarah, to pound `opihi, gather limu (seaweed), and fish along the coastline from Malama to Kaimu. My grandfather was known as "the `Opihi Man." He was one of the old-time fishermen at Pohoiki before there was a boat ramp, and he was the main advocate for building it. 9. My father learned from my grandfather how to fish the coastline, both on land and from the ocean. With his brother, Gabriel Luka Kealoha IV, and their cousin Nohea Peleiholani, he fished the entire coast from Makena to Apua, including Keauhou and Hilina Pali. As a child, I remember sending my father off for days at a time to go holoholo. That is where my own love and passion for fishing comes from. My father also started the Kumaka`ula Canoe Club in Kaimu with two of his cousins. It later became the Kalapana Canoe Club and is now the Puna Canoe Club. 3of13 Our Family Burials and the Leina 10. The names of this place carry meaning. Kaimu refers to the canoes and the type of fishing done here. I have been told there is, or was, a ku`ula (fishing shrine) here to honor the fishing akua (god) Ku. Makena speaks of the many who are mourned and wailed for here. Kaipu`uelelu refers to the ipu (calabash), to a fishing god, and to the active energy within the area. Kalaehiamoe refers to the point of sleep, the point from which our kupuna return to the ocean through the leina (place where the spirits leap into pa). Kalaehiamoe and Pu`ilima were also used as a canoe launching site and for gathering ocean resources, and the ponds inside the beach held brackish water that was gathered with ipu. 11. My family's burial ground is the Makena gravesite at Kaipu`uelelu. The cemetery dates back to the 1700s. My cousin Kanani Balai, who was raised by our great-grandmother Sarah, taught us the place's native name, Kaipu`uelelu. It sits directly across the Kalapana- Kapoho Road from the property that is the subject of this appeal, Tax Map Key (3) 1-2-018:001 (the "subject property"). Buried there are my grandmother; my great-grandmother Sarah; my great-grandfather and great -great-grandparents; my great -granduncles; my grandfather's sister Elsie and her daughters Geraldine and Patricia; my grandfather; and my father in 2022. 12. There are also many older burials behind and around my `ohana's graves that have no headstones. We understand these to be our predecessors, which is why my `ohana came to be buried there. The entire area is a leina — part of a large complex that is the resting place for our family. 13. We believe our `ohana will eventually end up in the ocean. The shoreline across from the cemetery is part of that leina, or lele: it is where the spirits cross over into the sea. This is why my family buries close to the beach or the cliff, if not on them. Our kupuna who pass are 4of13 buried, and in time they become the nutrients that feed the earth below them, which extends to the sea. The beach at Pu`ilima is an extension of our family burial grounds. Our Burial Customs 14. My family buries our `ohana who have passed away in a particular way, and we have certain customs that we do when laying our kupuna to rest. Days or a week before the burial, we dig the grave and line its walls with rocks, so the sides do not cave in. Then a wooden box is built to go inside, and the casket is placed in it. When the digging is finished, we always go across the street to the beach and get in the water together. We do this to cleanse after the serious task of laying them to rest, and to be close to where our loved one will eventually go. This is what we call `aukai and pikai (bathing in and sprinkling with seawater for cleansing) 15. For `aukai and pikai, we go down to the water together, walking the trail from the cemetery, which goes across the Kalapana-Kapoho Road and down to the beach at Pu`ilima. This is the route my family taught me to use and that we have used my entire life, and it brings us to the area where we have traditionally entered the water to perform these practices. We did these practices when digging the graves and after burying them. Exhibits "A- I" and "A-2" are photographs of Pu`ilima, and they fairly and accurately depict Pu`ilima, where we have always safely entered the water. 16. It is also our custom to visit our kupuna after they are buried to honor them, and to seek their advice. My grandmother took me to visit our kupuna at the cemetery when I was growing up, and so did my father. My father always fished at Pu`ilima during those visits too. Growing up, even when we were not digging graves or burying someone, we would go to Pu`ilima to sit with my mom and sister while my dad fished. 5of13 17. I go to Kaipu`uelelu to visit and care for our kupuna several times a month, depending on the environmental circumstances. Exhibit "A-3" is a TMK parcel map marked with the traditional trail that my `ohana has always used to cross the property from Kaipu`uelelu to Pu`ilima. Leslie Rosehill marked the trail on this map based on her knowledge. I know this trail well, and the markings are not survey -precise, but they accurately show the general route the trail follows. 18. At Pu`ilima, we gather shells, `ili`ili (smooth pebbles) and larger p6haku (stones) to place on `ohana burials in the ahupua`a and at Kaipu`uelelu. I have done this throughout my entire life and still do to this day. My grandmother loved to collect shells, and when I visit Pu`ilima, all the shells I find go onto her grave. When we gather `ili`ili or larger pahaku, it is usually while we are digging a grave and burying our loved one. 19. I remember my father and his brothers dug my grandmother's grave and placed her in her final resting place according to our `ohana customs — including going across the street to Pu`ilima afterward to get in the water together, so we could cleanse and be close to where my grandmother would eventually go. It also cleanses us of any hewa (wrong) committed when preparing our `ohana to go to their final resting place. Loss of Access to Pu`ilima 20. My father died on November 18, 2022. I prepared everything for his funeral and burial at Kaipu`uelelu, the same way my father did for his parents, other `ohana and kupuna. 21. While preparing for his burial, I met my cousin at the cemetery to decide where to dig, and I saw from Kaipu`uelelu that the property across the Kalapana-Kapoho Road, now owned by Kaimu Cove LLC, had been bulldozed. This was between December 5 and 7, 2022, about a week before my dad's burial. I also saw there were signs posted about a subdivision on 6of13 the property. My uncle who happened to pass by and see me at the cemetery stopped to ask if I knew what was going on. I did not. 22. I later learned that Notice of Violation and Order No. 1, dated October 10, 2022, had been issued for the property about a month or two before. Exhibit "A-14" is a true and correct copy of that notice. 23. On December 13, 2022, we buried my father at Kaipu`uelelu. After the burial and the pa`ina (gathering) at Uncle Robert Keliihoomalu's home, many of my `ohana were asking each other about what was happening at the property, and no one seemed to know. As we always do, we then made our way down to the beach at Pu`ilima for `aukai and pikai as a family to celebrate and mourn my father. 24. When we reached the portion of our traditional trail crossing Kaimu Cove LLC's property there was a new gate that had been put up. We felt locked out, extremely mad, and lost. We were always taught to be respectful and not to go onto anyone's place where we do not feel welcome or have not been invited. As a result, we did not go past the gate and could not reach the beach at Pu`ilima to perform `aukai and pikai as we traditionally do following a burial. 25. That was the first of many times since then that our `ohana has been unable to complete these practices after laying one of our kupuna to rest. I distinctly remember wanting to wail and cry, and asking my kupuna why this was happening. 26. Since Kaimu Cove LLC bought the property, our access to Pu`ilima across the property has been restricted, and I have been able to cross it only rarely. I can no longer use our trail freely, as my `ohana always has, to reach the water across from Kaipu`uelelu for `aukai, pikai, fishing, or gathering. Exhibits "A-5," "A-6," and "A-7" are street view images of the property from Kalapana-Kapoho Road in 2011, 2019, and 2024. I know this stretch of road and 7of13 the property's entrance well, and each image fairly and accurately shows how the entrance looked at that time. My Attempts to Consult with the Planning Department 27. Soon after my father's burial, on December 20, 2022, I contacted Planning Department Director Zendo Kern to find out what was going on and to say that I opposed the development. Exhibit "A-5 I" is a true and correct copy of my email correspondence with the Planning Department about the subject property from December 20, 2022 through October 24, 2023, including my December 20, 2022 email to Director Kern. 28. In January 2023, Director Kern put me in touch with SMA Planners Tracie-Lee Camero and Alex Roy, and we scheduled a meeting for February 2, 2023. I asked to bring my cousin Michael "Mikey" Wayne Kyser, Jr. to the meeting. We met in person on February 2, 2023, at 11:00 a.m. with SMA Planners Camero and Roy at the Planning Department office in Hilo. At this meeting, Mikey and I were told that Planner Camero and Planner Roy were the only two SMA planners for Hawaii Island. We were also told that we would be contacted if any further development moved forward. 29. On February 3, 2023, the day after our meeting, Planner Camero emailed me an inventory survey that had been submitted for the subject property and a Planning Department complaint form. Exhibit "A-52" is a true and correct copy of that email. After that, no one from the Planning Department contacted me with any updates for more than eight months, until I followed up with Planner Camero on October 24, 2023. 30. On October 24, 2023, after visiting my `ohana at the cemetery, I sent a follow-up email to Planner Camero asking for an update on the landowners' plans. She replied the same 8of13 day: "The landowner is currently working on completing an SMA Use Permit Application (also known as an SMA Major). Once a completed application is submitted I will let you know." 31. No one contacted us after that. Nearly a year later, on October 2, 2024, I learned from Aunty Emily Naeole about the Windward Planning Commission hearing on Kaimu Cove LLC's proposed project that was scheduled for the next day. That same day, I emailed Director Kern to ask why I had not been contacted about the hearing. He responded at 8:26 a.m. on October 3, 2024, to apologize for not being aware that this would be on the agenda. 32. I attended the October 3, 2024 Windward Planning Commission hearing. At the hearing, I heard the landowners represent that there was no opposition to the project. I testified orally at the hearing, via Zoom, in opposition to the proposed project. Director Kern publicly apologized to me during the hearing, and at the end of the hearing he asked the Commission to require a cultural impact assessment (CIA) or archaeological inventory survey (AIS). Exhibit "A-9" is a true and correct copy of the minutes showing that I testified. 33. After the hearing, the `Ohana asked Dr. Gina McGuire to prepare a cultural impact assessment and Ka Pa`akai analysis for Pu`ilima. Exhibit "A-33" is a true and correct copy of the Draft Cultural Impact Assessment and Ka Pa`akai Analysis for Pu`ilima (McGuire, October 2025), including my written responses that appear in Appendix G, and they are true and correct. 34. On January 24, 2025, I emailed Planner Alex Roy and asked him to formally notify Leslie Rosehill and me at least two weeks before the application was placed on a Commission agenda. Exhibit "A-34" includes a true and correct copy of my January 24, 2025 email (which Leslie's June 6, 2025 email forwarded). I never received a response. 9of13 35. On May 25, 2025, I helped organize and spoke at a family meeting about the project at Uncle Robert Keliihoomalu's house in Kaimu. About 70 people attended, most of them `Ghana members. Kaimu Cove LLC's representatives, Mark Wyatt and Lisa Ann Benham, also attended. After the meeting, neither followed up with or consulted our `ohana. 36. On August 1, 2025, I emailed Planner Roy and Planning Director Jeffrey Darrow in opposition to the proposed project, expressing that I felt completely disrespected and disregarded when Kaimu Cove LLC said at the October 2024 Commission hearing that there was no opposition. I also wrote to share that we had collected signatures of others in opposition to the proposed project and started work on a CIA. Exhibit "A-35" includes a true and correct copy of my August 1, 2025 email on pages 7 and 8. 37. I later learned that Kaimu Cove LLC had submitted a new SMA Assessment application on September 15, 2025, for a single-family home and pickleball court. 38. On October 9, 2025, Leslie Rosehill, Aunty Ku`ulei Kealoha Cooper, and Dr. Gina McGuire met in person with Director Darrow and Planner Roy, and I joined the meeting by Zoom. Director Darrow and Planner Roy told us that Kaimu Cove LLC's new SMA Assessment application was still pending. At that meeting, I asked that our access to our fishing trail be restored, and I attempted to explain that our family uses this trail not only to fish and gather, but also to reach the ocean for `aukai and pikai in connection with our burial customs at Kaipu`uelelu. I also told them that the landowners were blocking the leina and that my `ohana was upset. Director Darrow and Planner Roy told us that they could not force the private landowners to restore our access. 10 of 13 39. On October 13, 2025, Aunty Ku`ulei Kealoha Cooper emailed our draft cultural impact assessment to Sean Naleimaile of SHPD, with copies to Director Darrow, Planner Roy, Leslie Rosehill, Dr. McGuire, and me. Exhibit "A-26" is a true and correct copy of that email. 40. No one from the Planning Department contacted me before the Director approved SMA Minor Permit No. PL-SMM-2025-000079 on December 4, 2025. On December 4, 2025, Raimee Steen of the Planning Department emailed Leslie Rosehill and me to inform us that the Director had approved the SMA Minor Permit application. Exhibit "A-4 I" is a true and correct copy of that email and the attached letter approving Kaimu Cove LLC's permit application. Impact of the Proiect 41. Pu`ilima, Kalaehiamoe, Kaipu`uelelu, and Makena are one cultural and burial complex, and Kaimu Cove LLC has already harmed it. By the time I was preparing for my father's burial in late 2022, the property had been bulldozed, and the kupuna trees that my kupuna fed with their bodies were gone. Around that time, Kaimu Cove LLC also put up a gate at the property entrance, which I saw on my visits to Kaipu`uelelu. 42. From 2023 on, I saw more work being done on the property during my visits to Kaipu`uelelu. More recently, on the weekend of October 11, 2025, while my `ohana was gathered at Kaipu`uelelu for a family reunion, I saw work underway across the street. Based on what Director Darrow and Planner Roy told us at the October 9, 2025 meeting, I understood that no permit had been approved, so no work should have been happening there. I reported this work to the Director in my October 13, 2025 email (Exhibit "A-36") 43. The SMA permit that the County approved on December 4, 2025 includes a "public access easement" route that goes from Kalapana-Kapoho Road to the coast. It is not the same trail that my `ohana has used to go from Kaipu`uelelu to Pu`ilima. Exhibit "A-46" is a map 11 of 13 showing the route from the final approved permit. I know that route from my knowledge of and familiarity with the ahupua`a, and I have walked the easement to the ocean to try to reach the beach area. Where that route lets out, the coast is a cliff of rough `a`a lava about 10 to 15 feet above the water, with heavy surf and no safe footing to enter the ocean. There, our family members especially kupuna and children cannot safely enter the ocean where we have traditionally performed `aukai and pikai after caring for and burying our kupuna at Kaipu`uelelu, and where we have gathered food for sustenance. The public access easement does not give me or my `ohana the access we need to reach Pu`ilima and continue our burial customs, fishing, and gathering there. 44. Now, I can no longer freely reach the water across from Kaipu`uelelu for `aukai and pikai, or reach Pu`ilima for fishing, gathering, or any other purpose, as my `ohana always has. The work on the property and the loss of access have made me feel hurt and disrespected, as if we have been locked out of the place where we cleanse, gather, and honor our kupuna. 45. If Pu`ilima is not protected, I believe the project will do even more harm to Pu`ilima, the trail, our access to the water, and the burials. I am concerned that further ground disturbance may affect places where our kupuna are buried and disrupt the connection between Kaipu`uelelu and Pu`ilima that is central to our burial customs. Construction on the property already obstructs the leina, and I am also concerned that further construction will put waste into the ground that will reach the tidepools, limu, and fish, and may destroy more of the archaeological sites that have already been disturbed. 46. Because our kupuna are buried right next to the beach or the cliffs, I believe there may be additional burials in the surrounding area, and they are at risk of being disturbed. For future generations of my `ohana, that would mean losing our ability to continue our practice of 12 of 13 cleansing, gathering, and honoring our kupuna at the ocean directly across the street from where they are laid to rest. 47. I learned our burial customs by taking part in them with my `ohana: I was there when my father and his brothers laid my grandmother to rest and we went down to Pu`ilima afterward to get in the water together, and I prepared my father's burial the same way he did for his kupuna. These practices are taught by doing them together, at the place itself I also did this when preparing my grandfather's grave. That is when I found a large `opihi shell, already polished and shining up at me. I placed it on his chest before we closed his casket, and it was buried with him. Without access to Pu`ilima, I cannot teach the younger generations of my `ohana to complete `aukai and pikai after laying our kupuna to rest, and I fear these practices will be lost. Our burial customs connect our kupuna who came before us with the generations of my `ohana who will come after us, and losing access to Pu`ilima severs that connection. 48. My family asked to be consulted, and we were promised we would be. That promise was not kept. Over the years we have come to feel that we have been kicked out of our gathering place. Pu`ilima is not only a place to go holoholo, which we all did. It is where we go for `aukai and pikai when we are preparing for a family burial. Many of my family members have done this for generations. My `ohana will continue to be buried at Kaipu`uelelu. To continue cleansing, gathering, and honoring our kupuna, we need access to the kai (ocean) directly across the street from where they are laid to rest. DATED: Popoki-Halona, Puna, Hawaii, October 20, 2026. Me ke ha`aha`a, 01 ILA KEALOHA 13 of 13 NATIVE HAWAIIAN LEGAL CORPORATION 1164 Bishop Street, Suite 1205 Honolulu, Hawaii 96813 Telephone: (808) 521-2302 TERINA K. FA`AGAU 11511 ASHLEY K. OBREY 9199 Attorneys for Appellant BEFORE THE BOARD OF APPEALS COUNTY OF HAWAI`I STATE OF HAWAI`I `OHANA O MOKUHULU, KAIMU CASE NO.: PL-BOA-2026-000127 MAKENA, AND KALAPANA, WRITTEN TESTIMONY OF NAINOA Appellant, ROSEHILL vs. JEFFREY DARROW, PLANNING DIRECTOR, COUNTY OF HAWAI`I, Appellee, and KAIMU COVE, LLC., Landowner. WRITTEN TESTIMONY OF NAINOA ROSEHILL I, NAINOA ROSEHILL, declare under penalty of perjury that the following is true and correct: 1778. My Background I am a Native Hawaiian whose ancestors inhabited the Hawaiian Islands prior to 2. I am a member of Appellant `Ohana o Mokuhulu, Kaimu Makena, and Kalapana (the "`Ohana"). I am the son of Leslie Uhaunani Enriquez Rosehill and a lineal descendant of the `ohana (families) of Mokuhulu, Kaimu, and Kalapana. I am 27 years old. 4. I was raised in Lower Puna and attended Kamehameha Schools Hawaii. I am a contemporary fine artist. I now live in the Hawaiian Paradise Park subdivision. My Kuleana to Pu`ilima Through my mother, I am a Kaho `okaulana of Kaimu and Mokuhulu. My great - great -grandmother, Lepeka Kaho`okaulana, was raised in Mokuhulu, an `ili `aina mauka of Pu`ilima. 6. I learned the cultural environment of Kaipu`uelelu and Pu`ilima ambiently, meaning I absorbed it by being around my family and their lived experiences over many generations, rather than through formal instruction. 7. My uncle Howard Konanui was at one time a primary caretaker of our family graves at Kaipu`uelelu, as was my mother. My aunty and uncles, including Bernice Walker and Sam Kaho`okaulana, fished at Pu`ilima when they were growing up, and they showed me the trails and fishing spots. 8. My kupuna buried at Kaipu`uelelu include my great -great-grandmother, Lepeka Kaho`okaulana. My uncle Howard Konanui told me that my great -great -great-grandfather, Makap6 Kaho`okaulana, is buried in Kaimu. I believe he may be buried at Kaipu`uelelu, but I do not know the exact location. 2 9. Because it is the birth and final resting place of so many of my kupuna, my relationship to this area is spiritual. My primary role is as one of the many caretakers of Kaipu`uelelu, which lies directly across from Pu`ilima. My caretaking centers on my family's graves. Most of my family's graves are on the mauka side of Kalapana-Kapoho Road, directly across from the property. Many more unmarked graves keep the iwi of our older `ohana. 10. The earliest I remember being in this area and helping to care for it is around 2013, when my grandfather died. My grandfather's ashes were spread at Pu`ilima. Since his passing, I generally go at least once a month. Care of the cemetery involved weeding, cleating debris, and supervising that the general traffic of people in the area isn't disrupting or damaging to the cemetery. Why This Matters To Me 11. I have on occasion walked the `a`a trail from Mokuhulu to one of our family's fishing spots at Pu`ilima, to learn about the history of the place and how it was used. That trail is on the Pohoiki side of Pu`ilima. It ends at an `a`a cliff above the ocean. From where the `a`a trail ends, it is unsafe to try to descend the cliff and the rocks along the coast down to the beach at Pu`ilima. My Aunty, Bernice Walker, had taken me along the trail and to the coast there to show me where our family fished, and what papa (reefs) were used for certain activities. 12. I was not able to take or walk along our family's fishing/gathering trail to the pebble and boulder beach at Pu`ilima before it was razed. The access trail has now been completely razed. After the access trail was razed, I visited the property a handful of times to observe the changes that were happening there. 13. Although I do not recall the exact dates, in 2023, my uncle and I retrieved some milo logs from the property, which we used for personal and cultural/educational purposes. 3 When we retrieved the logs, I saw the property had already been razed, and I understood that they came from the portion of the old milo grove on the property, which was no longer there. We took the logs because we did not want the milo, which had grown there for generations, to go to waste. So we gave it new life through teachings and kalai umeke, traditional wood bowl carving. 14. This complex of `aina, Pu`ilima and Kaipu`uelelu, is the foundation of our `ohana and community. They are symbols of our lived traditions, vehicles for elders to teach the value in caring for ocean resources. 15. I am concerned about the dignity of Kaipu`ueletu, the cemetery where my family is buried. Caring for our kupuna there is my kuleana, passed down to me from my uncle Howard Konanui and my mother, who cared for these graves before me. 16. Many of the graves, including those of our older `ohana, are unmarked, and they rest directly across from Pu`ilima, where my grandfather's ashes were spread. I have already seen the fishing/access trail to Pu`ilima and the old milo grove on the property razed. 17. Based on what I have seen, I expect further abuse of and encroachment on the area by negligent parties with commercial interests in it, and I fear that the resting places of my kupuna will not be treated with the respect they deserve.The dignity of the dead is an essential part of both moral and positive law. I ask that the Board allow no further development or activity that will desecrate this special place. DATED: Pahoa, Hawaii, October 21, 2026. NAINOA ROSEHILL E