Save Kailua’s Agricultural Lands!

*A view of Maunawili shows Auloa Road in the foreground and abundant agricultural fields at the base of Olomana, on land that is now owned by HRT/Weinberg. (Roscoe C. Wriston, 1936, Lyman Museum.)*

The State has an obligation to “conserve and protect agricultural lands, promote diversified agriculture, increase agricultural self-sufficiency and assure the availability of agriculturally suitable lands.” (Hawai‘i State Constitution, Article XI, Section 3.)

The Ko‘olaupoko Sustainable Communities Plan (KSCP), which was adopted by the City Council in August 2017 (Section 3.4.), identifies preventing conversion of agricultural lands to non-agricultural uses as a core priority for Ko‘olaupoko. Citing the KSCP, the State Department of Agriculture (DOA) has written that “an agricultural subdivision is in violation of Section 205-4.5(a), Hawai‘i Revised Statutes, when the primary use of the proposed subdivision is for residential purposes.” (Letter to K. Sokugawa, DPP, from S. Enright, DOA, May 25, 2017)

*Lo‘i kalo at Hoʻokuaʻāina in Maunawili.*

Hui Maunawili-Kawainui and our partners have serious concerns about “agricultural subdivisions.” Throughout Hawai‘i we have seen agricultural subdivisions turn into “fake farms” too often in recent years. They all result in the same outcome: the loss of our most fertile lands that can increase local food production and decrease our dependency on imported food.

The significant deposits of nutrient-rich Hanalei soil in Maunawili combined with fresh water resources are too important to squander. They confirm the potential for the valley to provide an important base for enhanced local food security through managed and thoughtfully developed food-producing farms.