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DHHL adopts Molokaʻi Coastal Homestead Community Resilience Plan to address erosion, flooding and cultural stewardship
Summary
The Hawaiian Homes Commission adopted the Molokaʻi Coastal Homestead Community Resilience Plan, a beneficiary‑driven blueprint identifying five resilience goals and 26 strategies for coastal erosion, flooding, mauka restoration and evacuation planning; staff said adoption unlocks site‑assessment funding opportunities and implementation HUI formation.
The Hawaiian Homes Commission voted to adopt the final Molokaʻi Coastal Homestead Community Resilience Plan (MCH CRP) after staff and consultants summarized a multi‑year planning process that included beneficiary workshops, field visits and technical analyses.
Planner Nancy McPherson and consultant Cody Winchester said the plan identified 14 challenges (coastal erosion, flooding, invasive species, wildfire risk and sedimentation), combined those with asset inventories to generate a vulnerability and risk analysis, and recommended five geographic resilience goals: emergency evacuation and public safety; mauka restoration; water‑flow and flood prevention; residential retrofits/relocation; and ma uka restoration for habitat and soils. The plan also lists 26 community strategies and 10 DHHL projects that staff tied to implementation tiers (site assessment and preliminary design; detailed design and permits; construction).
Beneficiaries and homestead association leaders emphasized urgency and requested clearer agency kuleana appendices and a community‑led implementation HUI to guide projects, workforce training and long‑term stewardship. Staff said the plan had a 30‑day beneficiary review and incorporated community comments identifying existing hazard‑mitigation projects, recognizing community contributors, clarifying agency roles, and urging faster movement toward implementation.
Commissioners praised community leadership and moved to adopt the plan; commissioners stressed the need to align funding and to integrate the MCH CRP with forthcoming Molokaʻi island and statewide climate planning. Staff said adoption enables pursuit of site‑assessment and preliminary design funding (e.g., from the National Fish & Wildlife Foundation) and starts work on the implementation HUI and interdivisional coordination.
The commission adopted the plan by voice vote. Next procedural steps include standing up the implementation HUI, pursuing implementation funding and coordinating project sequencing with beneficiaries and partner agencies.
