HANEO‘O Land UNDER THREAT OF DEVELOPMENT

Ke Ao Hali‘i (KAH) is seeking to acquire, protect and steward land just mauka of Koki Beach in the ahupua‘a of Haneo‘o. This ‘āina is highly significant ecologically and culturally, and is under imminent threat of subdivision and development.

The property consists of eight parcels totaling 115.6 acres, including TKMs 14007005, 14007023, 14007012, 14007011, 14007019, 14007022, 14007021 and 14007020.

The current owners, Ranch Partners LLC, have submitted an application for consolidation and resubdivision of the eight parcels, to create seven 5-acre parcels that could be sold and developed. The Director of Planning approved the subdivision application in August. The approval is currently on hold due to an appeal filed by the Haneo‘o/Hamoa Village Hui, but the threat that these parcels will be sold off and developed is very real.

Ke Ao Hāliʻi (KAH) affirms its support of the Haneo‘o/Hamoa Village Hui and recognizes the Hui members’ leadership and long-standing relationship to the ahupuaʻa of Haneoʻo. KAH’s role is to assist in the protection and stewardship of a threatened, culturally and ecologically significant portion of the ʻāina, in alignment with the Hui’s broader vision for community-based, culturally grounded mālama ʻāina.

The Haneo‘o/Hamoa Village Hui has requested that KAH serve as the nonprofit applicant for funding to acquire and steward this land on behalf of the Hui.

Ke Ao Hāli‘i has been awarded up to $3,000,000 from the County of Maui Open Space Fund in the FY27 budget, and up to $600,000 from the State of Hawai‘i Legacy Land Conservation Program, towards the purchase of this property.

KAH has extended an offer to the current owners, Ranch Partners LLC, for the appraised fair market value of the property, and remains hopeful that the owners will accept the offer and enable KAH to protect this property and the Hāna community to steward it into the future.

History & background

Haneoʻo and surrounding areas of Hamoa is a landscape rich in wahi kupuna, or ancestral places, that connect us to our past and to the stories of our ancestors. Protecting and preserving this special landscape is integral to keeping these connections alive today and for future generations. The following highlights the main reasons to support a conservation purchase and permanent protection of these Haneoʻo lands:

» Permanently protect Haneoʻo’s prominent Hawaiian cultural landscape and the numerous cultural sites still cared for by ʻohana and practitioners, while protecting the integrity and continuation of the area’s ongoing cultural and religious practices, including but not limited to subsistence fishing practices, kilo, and mālama iwi kūpuna.

» Effectively prohibit future subdivisions and development of Hawaiʻi’s agricultural lands, while protecting Hāna’s agricultural traditions. With its prime location and agricultural designations, the lands of Hāneoʻo are at risk of being sold to high-scale residential developers.

» Ensure the integrity and health of Hāna’s freshwater and ocean resources, including endemic and endangered marine species.

» Use of public funds for the protection of Haneoʻo is a proactive opportunity for the County and State to uphold their constitutional obligations to protect Native Hawaiian subsistence, cultural, and religious practices and Public Trust resources.