(State) H(h)istoric preservation still a priority

Preserving Hawaii’s historic sites and resources remains a priority for a majority of Hawaii residents, a survey completed earlier this year says.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources’ State Historic Preservation Division requested the survey as it completes a five-year plan to run from October through October 2017. A draft plan is available online at hawaiihistoricpreservation.com. The public may provide comments on the plan through Sept. 17.

“Hawaii has unique sensitivity, moral obligation and legal responsibility to protect Native Hawaiian burial sites,” the draft plan said. “The community (puts) values (on) places shaped by humans for human needs. These are not just buildings, and include both designed and vernacular landscapes; ethnographic landscapes and battlefields. In addition there are views and scenic corridors that enhance a community and can be part of the cultural landscape.”

Attempts to reach SHPD Friday were unsuccessful. A DLNR spokeswoman said the division administrator was out of the office Friday.

Included in the document are survey results outlining Hawaii residents’ feelings and preferences about historic preservation and the state’s role in preservation.

Two-thirds of survey respondents — 67 percent of the 812 survey takers — said historic preservation is a public benefit the government should fund, while only 9 percent said they disagreed with government funding. About a quarter of responses, 24 percent, were neutral on the question.

Fully 85 percent of respondents said preserving Native Hawaiian cultural sites is important.

Survey takers were more split on the economic impact such preservation can have. Just less than half — 46 percent — said the state should “actively preserve sites of cultural importance, even if it hurts economic development,” while 20 percent disagreed. The remaining third, 36 percent, said they were neutral on the topic. About 16 percent of respondents said historic preservation prevents or hinders growth in their communities, while 51 percent disagreed.

Rapid growth is threatening communities’ quality of life, 48 percent of respondents said. A fifth of respondents, 20 percent, disagreed with that sentiment.

Respondents also split on what should be done with burial sites. Nearly half, 46 percent, said the community should preserve burial sites and forego development of the area, while 31 percent said they would rather see the community “deal appropriately” with burial sites and then develop the area. More survey takers — 43 percent — said development on the summit of Mauna Kea for astronomy purposes should be allowed to continue, while 23 percent said the university should stop development on the summit because of its significance to Native Hawaiians.

About 50 people attended a May meeting in Kona. Comments during that meeting focused on West Hawaii residents’ belief that SHPD did not follow through with enforcement of historical site protections. SHPD officials blamed a lack of resources — the plan notes the division has 19 full-time employees, while the state has about 49,0000 cultural, historical, archaeological or architectural sites to protect. The division has added about 1,200 sites annually since 2003. In 2011 alone, division employees provided about 2,100 opinions, memos and programmatic agreements, the plan said.

“SHPD has authority to ‘review and comment,’ but does not have direct authority to impose or enforce preservation conditions,” the plan said. “Instead, the local jurisdiction may include preservation conditions as part of the county’s permit. There is a disconnect between those making the recommendation (the state) and those implementing and enforcing it (the county).”

The National Park Service Historic Preservation Fund grant program requires SHPD to complete the plan. The last National Park Service-approved plan was finished in 2001. The service rejected a 2009 draft plan.