Historic village
lease plan aired

A Kona developer says
residents would pay
to preserve the site

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By Rod Thompson
rthompson@starbulletin.com

HOKULIA, Hawaii >> The state is preparing to lease a 9 1/2 -acre former Hawaiian village in Kona to a nonprofit corporation that will fund its preservation.

State-owned Hokukano Village, uninhabited since the 1800s, is on the coast of the 1,550-acre, upscale Hokulia residential project now under development.

John De Fries, president of Hokulia developer Oceanside 1250 Partners, said Hokukano Village has the most intense collection of cultural sites in the area.

The state does not have money to care for the village, he said.

A plan to be considered tomorrow by the state Board of Land & Natural Resources calls for the village to be assigned to the state Historic Preservation Division, which will lease it to the Hokukano Historic Preservation Corp. for 65 years.

Residents in Hokulia must fund the corporation, De Fries said.

A number of court complaints have been filed against 1250 Oceanside Partners, including alleged improper handling of Hawaiian burials.

A land board staff report says, "The re-interment was conducted with the full participation of lineal and cultural descendants." Some persons complained later.

The state attorney general issued an opinion that none of the various pending legal issues bar leasing the village to the preservation corporation.

De Fries said he does not know of any public opposition to having the corporation protect the village.