Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 18, Number 5, 1 May 2001 — High and dry in MAUNAL AHA [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

High and dry in MAUNAL AHA

Long-awaited infrastructure in sight

Story and phctos by Manu Boyd Coco Needham and her family have lived at Maunalaha, an unobtrusive community in Honolulu's Makiki Valley, for generations. And for generations, 'ohana like the Needhams have gone without typieal, government-supplied infrastructure. Land tenure research reveals that Hawaiians have continuously inhabited the area since before the 1848 Māhele. TTie kingdom, territorial and state govemments have all acknowledged obhgation to the community, yet the Maunalaha issue is treated with less-than-reasonable attention. The Maunalaha Valley Community Association, over whieh Needham presides, was established in 1977 to lobby the legislature to enact laws to protect the community from the growing threat of eviction. For decades, residents were relegated to 30-day, month-to-month leases, causing undue hardship. Residents weie not allowed to purchase the Iand fee-simple, while affluent settlers, according to Needham, gobbled up hundreds of acres of Tantalus land, dirt eheap. In 1981, Act 225 enabled residents to negotiate longterm conservation land leases with the

state, and in 1983. 65-year leases were signed. But inadequate infrdstructure has barred building and home improvement loans, again causing undue hardship to the generations-old community. At the forefront of the issue are badly needed water lines and fire flow protection - a measure addressed by SB 1356 SDI "Making an Appropriation for the Residents of Maunalaha Subdivision." At press time, the measure had been attached to the govemor's state budget bilL HB 200, calling for the appropriation of $680,000 in general obIigation bond funds to install a water line and fire hydrants along Round Top Drive and Maunalaha Road to provide fire flow protection to the state-leased subdivision. OHA testimony supported the state budget funding mechanism, and also acknowledged the need for an additional $2.45 milhon for road improvements. Maunalaha is a Native Hawaiian settlement in a portion of Makiki Valley, accessible from Round Top Drive, just ma uka of the Makiki Pumping Station. Meaning "flat mountain," the valley is created by a lower, ironwood-lined pu'u that divides the ridges of Kaiwiokaihu and 'Ualaka'a. In the Māhele, the valley is listed as an 'ili 'āina (land parcel) of Poloke granted to Chief Keawehano. Lilikalā Kame'elei-

hiwa's "Native Land aruJ Foreign Desirr" identifies Keawehano as "a lesser konohiki (land manager) with a haif-'ili award on O'ahu." Little is known about him, but according to Needham, the area inhabited by the Maunalaha community was identified as "'Ōpū." Rich cinder slopes absorb quickly, diminishing the threat of flooding while providing for a lush landscape. "For years, this plaee has been known for lei sellers," said Kaikai Spencer, a long-time resident. "Plumeria, pīkake and ginger are still plentiful. Leis were made and sold in town down by the harbor. That's how they made their living." Bella's Lei Stand at the Royal Hawaiian Shopping Center, established by former Maunalaha resident Bella Moses in the 1940s, is still operated by her 'ohana who eall Maunalaha home. "Maunalaha was also known for sweet potato as far back as the time of Kamehameha the Great," said Spencer. "I remember 'the sweet potato man' who lived in the back of the valley. He used to harvest his 'uala (sweet potato) and walk them down to Watanabe Market." In 1977, the Hawai'i Nature Center was established on the opposite side of Makiki Valley, under the jurisdiction of the State Parks Division. With plans for

an expansive state park, Maunalaha residents were threatened with eviction, charged with having no legal right to remain on the land. Thanks to the tenacity of the kupuna who lobbied the legislature, the community was spared. Today, the residents share valley resources with the Department of Forestry and Wildlife, the State Parks Division and the Hawai'i See MAUNALAHA on page 7

OHA trustees and staff v«ted Mauna<aha last month to gathef informat1on.

MAUNALAHA from page 1 Nature Center. Over the past decade, OHA, through its housing programs, has advocated for justice for the Maunalaha community. "Until infrastructure is provided and basic improvements are made, Maunalaha residents will eonōnue to live in sub-standard conditions within urban Honolulu," Needham concluded. ■

Trustee Akana and MVCA President Coco Needham discuss inaccessibllity of Maunalaha lots from Tantalus Drive and the prohibitive cost of driveway construction due to the steep grade and unstable cinder soil.

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