Senate committee advances funding plan for Kanahili homestead community center

The Senate Committee on Hawaiian Affairs advanced Senate Bill 1549 on Feb. 13, moving the bill forward with the chair’s recommendation after several community members described a 16‑year planning process for a Kanahili Homestead community center and park improvements.

The bill would authorize the use of bonding to fund construction of a multigenerational community hale and associated amenities in the Kanahili Homestead. Colleen Watson, representing the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, told the committee the measure “facilitates that transition” when counties are better positioned to maintain infrastructure and “mandates them to, if we submit the proper application requesting they’re taking it over, they’re required to respond in a timely manner.”

The Kanahili Homestead Association and project partners presented the committee with the project’s history and fundraising status. Evalani Lebon McBrayer, president of the CALPEO Homestead Association and Oahu Mokupuni Council representative, summarized the timeline: the community organized in 2009; residents and designers developed a park and, with a $500,000 donation from developer Ed Cobell of DeBartolo Development, completed a first phase that includes a playground and courts; the association incorporated as a 501(c)(3) in 2019; and by 2022 a plan and budget for a community hale were complete.

“Phase 1 of the park was complete, which consisted of a playground, a basketball court, a volleyball court and some green space,” McBrayer said. She told senators the association has raised $200,000 toward the project and engaged the nonprofit SHADE Institute for design work.

Patty Tonkaio, a beneficiary of the Hawaiian Homes Trust, told the committee the project aligns with federal and state responsibilities under the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act of 1921 and the Admissions Act of 1959 and argued the homestead program “is not only about awarding leases. It’s about building our community.”

Dean Sakamoto of SHADE Institute, the nonprofit public‑interest design foundation that helped produce the community plan, described multiple community workshops and engagement sessions during the COVID period and afterward. He said the plan includes a community center (the initial build priority), a hula mounded area, a lei/garden space, a certified kitchen, a craft pavilion for kupuna, and open areas for native Hawaiian games and martial arts practice.

Committee members asked for clarifications on fundraising and design. Senators were told some earlier funds from DeBartolo were used for design work and that the association had raised $200,000 in private or donated funds. No formal amendments were requested during the public decision meeting.

On the recommendation of the chair, the committee voted to pass SB 1549 unamended. Chair Richards and the vice chair voted aye; Senator Ihara was recorded as excused; Senators Keohokalole and Decor were recorded voting aye. The chair declared the recommendation adopted.

The Kanahili proponents asked the legislature to authorize bonding as a cost‑effective financing mechanism and to move the bill forward so the community can begin construction of infrastructure intended to support cultural practice, recreation and intergenerational activities.