FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE: FROM COMMUNITY CALL TO COUNCIL ACTION — COUNCIL CHAIR TOMMY WATERS ADVANCES WAILUPE PROTECTION

HONOLULU — The Honolulu City Council today unanimously (8-0-1) adopted Resolution 26-151, CD1, introduced by Council Chair Tommy Waters, authorizing up to $7 million from the Clean Water and Natural Lands Fund to help permanently protect approximately 2.9 acres of culturally significant land in Wailupe.

The property contains iwi kūpuna sites, burial rock shelters, trail segments, ceremonial pits and other historic and cultural features. The measure authorizes the city to acquire a perpetual conservation easement that would protect the land from future development and preserve the cultural landscape for generations.

“This is what responsible leadership should look like: listening to the community, respecting cultural knowledge and turning shared concerns into accountable action,” Waters said. “Protecting Wailupe is essential not only for preserving our history but also for fulfilling our responsibilities today and ensuring a meaningful legacy for future generations. I fully support the city's initiatives to safeguard more conservation lands, and I am committed to championing these efforts for the benefit of those who will come after us.”

Under the proposed partnership, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs would acquire ownership of the property through its Legacy Lands Program, the City would hold the perpetual conservation easement and Puʻuhonua o Wailupe would continue its community-based cultural stewardship of the site.

“Four years ago, our community had to stand in the path of heavy equipment to protect iwi kūpuna,” said M. Healani Sonoda-Pale, co-founder and board member of Puʻuhonua o Wailupe. “Chair Waters listened, took our concerns seriously and helped turn an urgent call for protection into lasting action. The passage of Resolution 26-151 brings us closer to ensuring Wailupe remains a puʻuhonua, a place of refuge where our kūpuna can rest undisturbed, descendants can fulfill their kuleana and future generations can learn from this sacred place.”

Puʻuhonua o Wailupe has stewarded the property for more than four years, organizing community workdays, restoring native and Hawaiian plants, reducing wildfire and erosion risks, and working with descendants, cultural practitioners, educators, neighborhood organizations, and government agencies. The property would also support ʻāina-based education and provide future generations with opportunities to learn about Wailupe's cultural and historical significance.

“Preservation of this significant cultural site is critical to holding Hawaiʻi’s history and how we move forward together,” said Shareen Murayama, a Kaiser High School educator and poet, in testimony supporting the resolution. “We teach because we want to make an impact over the next hundred years. Your decision would impact generations.”

The resolution received broad community support, with 36 individuals and organizations submitting testimony in support, none in opposition and three offering comments before the Council’s Committee on Zoning and Planning.

The Council’s action builds upon Waters’ earlier work to strengthen protections for the area. After heavy machinery was observed operating near known burial sites in February 2022, Waters introduced Resolution 22-36, calling for improved coordination between the City’s Department of Planning and Permitting and the State Historic Preservation Division to prevent the destruction of historic and cultural resources.

Resolution 26-151 authorizes up to $7 million for the conservation easement, subject to a formal appraisal, title review, and legal and financial due diligence. It also requires the Department of Housing and Land Management to report to the Council every six months until the transaction closes.

“For four years, the Wailupe community has carried this kuleana with persistence, dignity and care,” Waters said. “It was the city’s responsibility to listen, act and build a lawful path toward lasting protection. This resolution does that while requiring independent appraisal, full due diligence and continued public accountability. I am grateful to the descendants, community members, the Department of Housing and Land Management (DHLM), and the Clean Water and Natural Lands Advisory Commission (CWNLAC) who help move this work forward.”

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