Liliuokalani trust weighs
Kona development
KAILUA-KONA » Preserving local culture and open space and providing affordable housing should be priorities for Queen Liliuokalani Trust land, residents say.
The trust, which underwent a management change last year, is exploring ways to capitalize on 3,500 acres in Kona.
The Keahuolu ahupuaa, or ancient land division, is the only source for future income for the trust that provides services for orphaned and destitute Hawaiian children, said Robert Ozaki, president and chief operating officer.
After a series of meetings in West Hawaii, board of trustees Chairman Thomas Kaulukukui Jr. and trustees David Peters and Patrick Yim now will develop general land use directions.
A preliminary plan likely will be complete by fall, Ozaki said.
This is an opportunity to create a vision for the land and seek its optimum use, Ozaki said.
He and the trustees met Thursday in Kailua-Kona with 60 residents, seeking input and hearing concerns.
Kaulukukui said the reaction at the meetings has been "cautious optimism that whatever we do we will do well."
At every meeting, residents stressed any development should allow them to live, work, play, learn and shop within the community, Ozaki said.
Trustees are devoted to caring for and respecting the land, collaborating with stakeholders and creating an income stream.
They also want to minimize the negative impacts on residents and create job and business opportunities, he said.
Residents have indicated they favor health care facilities, a performing arts and cultural center, and elderly and affordable housing.
They would like to see land at the higher elevations remain agricultural, the shoreline preserved and parks created.
Residents voiced concerns about existing traffic congestion, but opposed building roads across trust land.
Native Hawaiians urged that burials, trails and stone walls be preserved in place on the queen's land.
Constructing condominiums and high-end homes on the land is "useless to us," Jimmy Medeiros said. "They are just more congestion and troubles for us."
Others called for improving or repositioning the industrial area, and said that building heights should be restricted and utility lines should be underground.
Curbs, gutters and sidewalks are needed, and any additions should fit in with existing development.
Josephine Keliipio, however, said that's not good enough.
"It already looks like Southern California," she said. "Be Kona, not Southern California."
The trust already is developing 18 acres adjacent to the industrial park just north of Kailua-Kona. About half of the 11 lots are spoken for, Ozaki said.
The area also could become the new town center, he said, with a gathering place for Native Hawaiians and a center for culture, arts, entertainment and education.