Kamehameha Schools has surprised and delighted Windward residents by withdrawing its request before the state Water Commission for 4.2 million gallons of Waiahole Ditch water. Kamehameha
withdraws water requestThe decision not to seek Waiahole
water pleases area residentsBy Diana Leone
dleone@starbulletin.comJust 16 hours before a public hearing on the matter set for 4 p.m. yesterday, Kamehameha trustees decided unanimously not to seek water from the Waiahole Ditch.
"This has been quite a surprise for a lot of us. It's a welcome surprise," said Kala Hoe, whose family has generations of history in Windward Oahu. "It's really exciting for me to see Kamehameha, such an influential entity, making the right decision.
"We expected to have a fight today," Hoe said, but instead, "we are able to come at this more as an ohana."
Kamehameha Chief Executive Officer Hamilton McCubbin called the pleas of Windward residents who met with trustees Wednesday "so heartfelt, so visionary." He said the residents, some of them Kamehameha Schools graduates, asked the trust to "look at the facts and join us."
The trustees decided that Kamehameha needs to look at alternative ways to get water for landscaping the proposed Waiawa by Gentry housing and golf development in Central Oahu, McCubbin said.
The contract with Gentry to develop Kamehameha land was entered into in the 1980s by a prior board of trustees.
The current trustees' decision, McCubbin said, reflects their understanding of their "fiduciary duties" as encompassing more than finances. "It says we must now take seriously our commitment to culture, to stewardship of resources and development of commitment to the Hawaiian community."
That view springs from Kamehameha Schools' strategic plan, finalized in October after input from 4,000 alumni and community members over a year and a half about what they want from the trust, McCubbin said.
A key value of the plan is to "malama aina" -- take care of the land.
Kamehameha Schools, formerly known as the Bishop Estate, is a tax-exempt charitable trust to educate children of native Hawaiian ancestry. It owns 300,000 acres statewide, making it the state's largest private landholder.
Windward parties had said through EarthJustice attorney Kapua Sproat that they intended to formally contest Kamehameha, if it had gone ahead yesterday with its water request. Sproat praised Kamehameha's decision yesterday.
Neil Hannahs, Kamehameha land assets director, said the trust will continue to work with Gentry to explore alternate ways to provide landscaping water for its proposed development.
"This could be the beginning of a very maika'i change," said Vince Dodge, director of the 'Ai Pohaku Workshop, which takes Leeward teens to work in Waiahole Stream kalo loi as part of their reconnection with Hawaiian culture. "All of us are very excited."
