Advertisement - Click to support our sponsors.

20-acre preserve
proposed for Maui

Another 24 acres in
the Palauea parcel
would be developed

By Gary Kubota
Maui correspondent

WAILUKU -- A developer has proposed giving 20 acres of land in South Maui to the University of Hawaii for Hawaiian studies and archaeology while developing the remaining 24 acres of the parcel.

But some native Hawaiians say that while the idea seems good, they want the larger Hawaiian community involved in the planning, because they fought to protect archaeological sites on the land.

"When it came to fight and shove, the university scholars weren't around," said Leslie Kuloloio, whose Hawaiian family has lived in Makena for generations.

The project, scheduled to be reviewed by the Maui Planning Commission today, will require zoning approval by the Maui County Council.

The site at Palauea is on 44 acres of land, south of the Kea Lani Hotel, between the old Makena Road and Wailea Alanui Drive.

Developer C. Everett Dowling is considering a
44-acre site in South Maui. Part would become
upscale homes, the rest preserved and donated to UH.

Investors led by Everett Dowling want to set aside the 20 acres as a cultural preserve managed by the university and develop the remaining 24 acres into 17 1-acre lots.

Dowling, managing partner of Palauea Bay Investors LLC, is also a member of the university's board of regents.

The investors would pay for the development of the cultural preserve, including a caretakers' dwelling, a garage and a university workshop.

At the adjacent Wailea resort, half-acre lots have sold for about $1 million, according to investors.

Stephen Goodfellow, a partner, said the developer will be working with the burial council and cultural resource commission on Maui in the planning. "We thought it was the best use of the property," Goodfellow said. "It's very low-density."

University of Hawaii professor Michael Graves said the cultural preserve will serve as a valuable educational resource for training in archaeological and Hawaiian studies.

"It's really a nice opportunity," said Graves, the special assistant to the university's senior vice president, Dean Smith.

Native Hawaiians say investors would have had difficulty building a high-density development because of the archaeological sites. A study done in 1992 identified 16 sites, many built before the arrival of westerners. A heiau, a religious complex with more than 200 features, was built sometime between 1500 and 1750, according to the study.

South Maui resident Diane Shepherd said she hoped the county would buy more beach parcels near the Palauea project to enhance the significance of the cultural preserve. "The village wouldn't be there if there wasn't a coastline," Shepherd said.

Rudy Luuwai said there are Hawaiians who have passed down oral histories about Palauea through their families, and they should be consulted in the planning.

"I think they should get the people involved, not only the archaeologists," he said.