HILO —Mayor Billy Kenoi and his staff plan to meet next week with Abel Simeona Lui and others who claim Native Hawaiian title to almost $6 million worth of Kawa Bay property Hawaii County has purchased for an oceanfront park.
HILO —Mayor Billy Kenoi and his staff plan to meet next week with Abel Simeona Lui and others who claim Native Hawaiian title to almost $6 million worth of Kawa Bay property Hawaii County has purchased for an oceanfront park.
The planned meeting comes almost four years after the county began the process of acquiring the 784-acre parcel and almost four months since a judge granted eviction orders against Lui and a group who live with him in tents and wooden structures. Lui says he’s lived on the property for 20 years. His attempts to fight the county purchase in state and federal courts have been rejected, and Lui himself was ejected from a Kona courtroom in November.
The county administration has been meeting with Ka‘u residents and working on a management plan for the property, Deputy Managing Director Wally Lau said Thursday. He said Kenoi is sensitive to Lui’s claims, and he wants to make sure the management plan incorporates all aspects of the issue.
“He wants to do it the pono way,” Lau said of the mayor. “Then we’ll reassess where we’re at.”
That doesn’t mean the county isn’t going to proceed with plans to make the park, Lau said. Kenoi and his top staff attended a community meeting last month in Naalehu where almost 100 residents made their opposition clear about Lui’s continued tenure on the property. Kenoi did not return telephone messages for comment Thursday.
Lui claims his great-great-grandfather, Timoteo Keawe, got the land in a royal grant and that under kingdom law, it could be leased but never sold. But the state Supreme Court in 2007, in an 83-page opinion, ruled the Apikis — another Native Hawaiian family that traces its roots six generations to a Kawa Bay fishing village — and other families had no ownership interest in the land.
When asked about the mayor’s planned visit, Lui said, “I have no comment to make.”
Lui and some of his supporters say they’ve been caring for wildlife on the property as well as picking up wind- and surf-borne debris and planting gardens. They’ve also installed two portable toilets and they pay for their upkeep to keep the area clean for visitors, they say.
The property contains Hawaiian artifacts and the beach is considered one of the best surfing spots in the area, as well as being home to sea turtles and other wildlife.
Lui claims he doesn’t restrict public access to the property, but some people have reported Lui has intimidated them or turned them away and prevented them from getting on the property for hiking or caring for family artifacts. Ka‘u Councilwoman Brittany Smart has said the community seems deeply divided on the issue, and she’s stressed that a management plan must be very transparent and provide clear time lines for actions.
Lau agrees.
“This is not something that we’re just putting on a back burner,” Lau said. “We’ve got to make sure we’re covering all the bases.”