Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 22, Number 10, 1 October 2005 — Prominent cultural sites that have been or could be saved from development include: [ARTICLE]

Prominent cultural sites that have been or could be saved from development include:

I<OI<OII<I & MOOKINI HEIAU Although state ownership of Kokoiki - the birthplace of Kamehameha I - and Mo'okini Heiau ensures the sites' protection, the private lands surrounding them were recently subdivided and put up for sale. In an effort to maintain the cultural integrity of the sites, Kamehameha Schools is in the process of finalizing a deal with two private owners to purchase the 163 acres encircling the sites for $5.2 million. "The return on the purchase of the parcels will be in culture and education, not in eeonomics," said the director of the school's land division, Neil Hannahs.

MOLOKA I RANCH Occupying lands onee owned by Princess Bernice Pauahi Bishop, Moloka'i Properties Ltd. (formerly Moloka'i Ranch) has long butted heads with the island's Native Hawaiian conununity. The company, whose parent corporation is based in Singapore and has roots in Aotearoa (New Zealand), is now offering a controversial truce: in return for allowing Moloka'i Properties to build a 200-lot luxury residential development at Lā'au Point, the company would plaee 29,200 acres of its land into a eommunity trust. On top of that, the company would set aside another 29,000 acres for agricultural and open space easements. Altogether, the lands included in the agreement account for 85 percent of the fonner ranch's property - and one third of the

entire island. The community has yet to agree to the deal. KEOLONĀHIHI STATE PARK While it was purchased before the Legacy Lands Act was passed, the acquisition of this 1.25-acre parcel in Kailua-Kona represents an example of the type of cultural preservation the state may look into. In May, the state released $600,000, whieh was matched by federal funds, to buy a parcel that connected two sites the state already owns. The first site is the 12acre Keolonāhihi State Park, located makai of Ali'i Drive. The other is the 16-acre Keākealaniwahine complex on the mauka side of the highway. Together, the three sites comprise the Hōlualoa Royal Center and contain numerous archaeological fea-

tures. The owner of the parcel had originally planned to turn it into a condominium development before agreeing to sell it to the state. MŪ OLEA POINT One of TPL's more recent projects was a deal to protect this 70-acre site in Hāna, Maui, whieh is the home of a heiau and King Kalākaua's summer residence. TPL purchased the property from a private owner for $4 million using a combination of federal, county, state and private funding (including $342,000 from OHA) and then transferred the parcel to Maui County in February. A Hāna community group will advise the county on how the property should be managed □