[{"_1":2,"_87":-5,"_88":-5},"loaderData",{"_3":4,"_26":27},"root",{"_5":6,"_17":10,"_18":19,"_20":21,"_22":10,"_23":-5,"_24":-5,"_25":10},"user",{"_7":8,"_9":10,"_11":10,"_12":-5,"_13":-5,"_14":15,"_16":-5},"roles",[],"isAuthenticated",false,"isPremium","planName","subscriptionStatus","featureFlags",{},"insightsBudget","isDevelopmentHost","userPreferences",{},"recaptchaSiteKey","6LcvOJcUAAAAAHsB-gPGfGktcRlKpH7OTIU_dMTD","isImpersonating","impersonation","affiliateStatus","isFreedomPortal","routes/v2/article/layout",{"_28":29,"_30":31},"notFound",true,"relatedArticles",[32,75],{"_33":34,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":40,"_41":42,"_43":44,"_45":46,"_47":48,"_49":50,"_51":52,"_53":54,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":60,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":66,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},"mediaId",6506553,"mediaKeyId","5617975-39f0bb8b447498da7f2f712babe23229","parentId",5617975,"title","Council hears mixed testimony on naming Mapulehu and Hamakualoa cultural preserves; action deferred","audioSeconds",5191,"startMs",681000,"endMs",5872000,"viewUrl","/Search/View?dp=1&key=5617975-39f0bb8b447498da7f2f712babe23229&start=681&end=5872","thumbnailUrl","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5617975-39f0bb8b447498da7f2f712babe23229/thumbnail_681000.jpg","articleUrl","/articles/6506553/Maui-County/Hawaii/Council-hears-mixed-testimony-on-naming-Mapulehu-and-Hamakualoa-cultural-preserves-action-deferred","mediaUrl","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6506553-420e7d7c69b6fbe34d034ea707df5705/orig.mp4?Expires=1770437980&Signature=KN0uN3TTksWEJvvlSyyToKvdMYuQCGWbOAlBaHJsyAMk2N61WS4qqOKESpX6efH7hYpyMa2afobcJiQTLwK0spEnSwTKTOtastlGKFruMUeaBDfjn3JwIUlY2XnLjaHmtp-HzSg9WhJYuyfVDGwKqg81MuUMrbR5Mrliu-YqIrlWHkWRifFcVkCd6-vW6jtUq2NJLrgcSzZc3Y0OtqaSe5xnRhSjQT4q2DXfmNghNhHFyNXv4QeUa084dck0Tn~jq0h9sMvLSPXsVc5QNVyVJtX7UEBiY6HYlZT5WR99NcMGciuE0v1Az9qZtLjxC4JeqGPm7DlMUbmxFA95fbc-TA__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","author","Maui County","date","2025-08-21T00:00:00Z","article","The Maui County Council Committee on Aloha ʻĀina received a departmental presentation and public testimony on two bills (Bill 106 and Bill 107) that would name two county-owned parcels on Molokai as cultural preserves: Mapulehu (a county parcel off Kamehameha V Highway near Kaunakakai) and Hamakualoa (lots in the Haʻiku Sugar East subdivision). The Office of ʻŌi? Resources (department staff identified in the record as the director and deputy director) provided maps, summarized site characteristics and described the department mission to protect cultural resources.

Department presentation and parcels
Deputy director and staff outlined parcel boundaries and described the sites as county-owned property with archaeological sensitivity and community stewardship activity. The department presented the preserves under existing Title 12 (parks/facilities) code language as an initial vehicle for protection while acknowledging Title 12 is not an exact fit for every desired use or rule set.

Community testimony and central issues
Multiple testifiers, including lineal descendants and community stewards, supported protection but requested stronger, place-based language and protections that enable living stewardship rather than passive preservation. Joycelyn Costa, who testified in support, urged healing-based stewardship and use of traditional names and practices. \"I think our language and our intentions need to be what our culture represents,\" Costa said, calling for names and protections that reflect kuleana and legacy.

Other testifiers pressed for clarity on how naming would interact with existing land titles and rights. Kaneali‘i Williams, who identified family land commission awards overlapping the proposed preserve area, urged that lineal descendants be included at the center of planning and warned that county action should not criminalize Kanaka exercising kuleana on their lands.

Several speakers, including representatives of local stewardship groups, asked the committee to consider a “biocultural reserve” model or similarly tailored designations that allow active restoration, native plant propagation and customary practice. Some testified that the current “cultural preserve” language in Title 12 is broad and may not provide the specific protections or management rules the community seeks.

Legal and administrative context
Corp. Counsel advised that the bills under consideration would rename county-owned parcels and do not, by themselves, change zoning or transfer land titles. Committee members and staff discussed that more-tailored code language, administrative rules or separate ordinances may be required to define permitted uses, access rules, and funding/maintenance mechanisms for each preserve.

Committee action and next steps
Chair Kiani Rollins Fernandez said the department should consult with community stewards and the office would return with refined language and options; the committee deferred the bills. Director-level staff asked for time to convene internal teams and provide recommended phrasing so the committee can consider definitions that match community intent.

Ending
Committee members and testifiers agreed on the need for place-based definitions and ongoing consultation. The committee closed oral testimony and deferred action on Bills 106 and 107 to permit further engagement between department staff, lineal descendants and stewardship groups prior to a future committee report-back or ordinance drafting session.

","mediaType","Video","parentTitle","Maui County - K?mike Aloha ??ina (2025-2027) on 2025-08-21 10:00 AM","oneSentenceSummary","On Aug. 21 the Maui County Committee on Aloha ʻĀina took testimony on Bills 106 and 107 to name two county-owned Molokai parcels — Mapulehu and Hamakualoa — as cultural preserves and deferred further committee action for additional community consultation.","taxTitle","Maui County, Hawaii","taxId",12846,"location","headline","","shortSummary",{"_33":76,"_35":36,"_37":38,"_39":77,"_41":78,"_43":79,"_45":80,"_47":81,"_49":82,"_51":83,"_53":84,"_55":56,"_57":58,"_59":85,"_61":62,"_63":64,"_65":86,"_67":68,"_69":70,"_71":68,"_72":73,"_74":73},6506558,"Molokai community presents climate adaptation master plan; council defers action",328,334000,662000,"/Search/View?dp=1&key=5617975-39f0bb8b447498da7f2f712babe23229&start=334&end=662","https://assets.pipeline.soar.com/5617975-39f0bb8b447498da7f2f712babe23229/thumbnail_334000.jpg","/articles/6506558/Maui-County/Hawaii/Molokai-community-presents-climate-adaptation-master-plan-council-defers-action","https://secure.pipeline.soar.com/6506558-58ab35064ed2e9d6fddcfbcbee258b5a/orig.mp4?Expires=1770437980&Signature=a2Qz-FrggIQnkJrAiUxazWWS6KKlikCDOG~xGE1dePlj9SySPXlTuKNeWNWpOVoerEq0axw9u35Stn20dv6fJ1FZOv5SXuhU3CBdohSmi1-QhdbP9cWeL2qqtp5tKdTy~kuy-NkSxH6SK7xqIDePR6r1pTAE9o6-0gPABbHeTWErEY7T-oRlfiN4-9uAjxmLPsDCb40BVa3Hm384jTOfvIA7XaBs7ExsOwDc1GxkcZS4xZn8kGv8wdgQ1cFoDjoYmk0lnBxv12urT-phLyd5wWaMtDvslGj~faWOOhZUWLikSK8cs3ilSgw7a831mn~IRT~KS394-qsJbpTzkee9tQ__&Key-Pair-Id=KUT5TJCACFTXG","The Maui County Council Committee on Aloha ʻĀina on Aug. 21 heard a presentation on the Molokai Climate Change and Sea Level Rise Adaptation and Resiliency Master Plan, a community-led effort completed by Sustainable Molokai and partners and submitted in April 2024. Tyronee Williams, former executive director of Sustainable Molokai, presented the project’s process and findings and said the plan was grounded in sustained community outreach across Molokai’s districts.

The plan, funded initially by a county grant awarded in 2020 and restarted after pandemic delays, documents existing conditions, compiles vulnerability assessments, and identifies priority adaptation strategies for coastal assets. \"This plan is the first of its kind, and the purpose of it is to give our community an opportunity to determine what critical infrastructure we'll need to relocate or rebuild or re-envision for our future,\" said Tyronee Williams, identified in the record as the project presenter and former executive director of Sustainable Molokai.

Why it matters: Molokai residents and department staff told the committee that the island’s main town and many lifeline services sit in low-lying areas that are increasingly exposed to flooding, erosion and episodic roadway failures. The plan aims to provide a locally driven, actionable roadmap so work on design, funding and construction can proceed in the coming years rather than waiting for crisis conditions.

Plan scope and methods
- The contractor conducted initial district meetings in Maunaloa, Ho‘olehua, Kaunakakai and Mana‘e and held at least five community workshops, one in each district, supplemented by focus groups, pop-up outreach and a do-it-yourself (DIY) sea-level-rise tour with on-site signs and QR codes. Presenters said the outreach counted overlapping attendance carefully and estimated broad island representation.
- Technical work included mapping of coastal inundation, identification of critical assets (roads, wastewater, transmission lines, fishponds), site surveys by engineering consultants (Sea Engineering), and layered mapping of existing land uses, habitat and vulnerable properties.
- The project team developed options for short-term (1–3 years), mid-term (3–10 years) and long-term (up to 20+ years) mitigation and adaptation strategies for 13 priority locations (the original scope anticipated 5–10).
- The plan calls for cost–benefit analyses for proposed projects and directs that analyses consider ecosystem services, property values, public works values and benefits to disadvantaged communities where appropriate.

Community, indigenous and agency engagement
Presenters and multiple public commenters said the plan was designed to be “by Molokai, for Molokai,” and to integrate traditional ecological knowledge with technical science. \"The goal of the plan is to create an action based document that is indigenous and community driven and community led,\" said a project presenter.

Nancy McPherson, a planner with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL), testified that DHHL participated in the planning and will use the plan’s data for its Molokai Coastal Homesteads Community Resilience Plan. \"We were really pleased that even though this is a county project, DHHL was included in the planning process and we were consulted with,\" McPherson said.

Key community concerns and technical issues
- Wastewater facility vulnerability: County staff and residents flagged the town wastewater treatment facility as a priority site. Presenters said county inundation studies show the facility will be affected when sea level rise reaches several feet; community concerns focus not only on facility equipment but also access to the site during floods and the broader service area.
- Cemeteries and burial sites: Committee members asked about protected burial sites such as Kapaakea Cemetery. Presenters said the plan addresses assessment steps, family notification, and potential relocation as a lengthy, multi-step process involving county, state and family coordination.
- Access and evacuation: Residents from East Molokai described changing evacuation practices as roads erode; one local testifier said the community had subdivided evacuation zones because some roads are no longer passable.

Implementation and next steps
Presenters emphasized that the plan is phase one: identifying priority sites, evaluating options with engineers, and documenting community priorities. The project team and county staff said additional work will be needed to design projects, identify funding, and coordinate with state agencies — actions that could take years.

Committee action
Committee chair Kiani Rollins Fernandez said the item would be deferred for later deliberation after members and staff had time to follow up with resource contacts. There was no vote recorded on the plan; the committee closed public testimony and deferred further committee action to a later meeting.

Ending: The project team and multiple testifiers told the committee they want funding and administrative support to move identified projects from plan to implementation. Presenters said they will continue coordinating with county departments, state agencies and community groups to refine designs and funding strategies.

","The Maui County Council Committee on Aloha ʻĀina on Aug. 21 heard a presentation on the Molokai Climate Change and Sea Level Rise Adaptation and Resiliency Master Plan, a community-led study completed by Sustainable Molokai and partners and submitted in April 2024.","actionData","errors"]

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Council hears mixed testimony on naming Mapulehu and Hamakualoa cultural preserves; action deferred

Molokai community presents climate adaptation master plan; council defers action