A Circuit Court judge on Friday rejected claims by a Maui activist that Kawaiaha‘o Churchon O‘ahu had violated state laws in its plan to construct a multipurpose center on church grounds. But the decision doesn’t mean construction can move forward.
A Circuit Court judge on Friday rejected claims by a Maui activist that Kawaiaha‘o Churchon O‘ahu had violated state laws in its plan to construct a multipurpose center on church grounds.
But the decision doesn’t mean construction can move forward. The case is one of two stemming from the construction plans. In the other case, last month a judge granted a preliminary injunction and ordered the church not to start building.
The Friday case concerned Dana Nanoe Hall, who sued the state in 2009 citing 10 complaints against Kawaiaha‘o. Among them were that the church has failed to conduct an environmental assessment for the project, did not obtain the necessary permits and had failed to protect Native Hawaiian rights.
Hall sought an archeological survey of the site before construction continued. She argued that the grounds were a burial site before Christian missionaries arrived in Hawai‘i.
The church argued that the burial remains, discovered during construction, are exempt from the state’s Native Hawaiian burial law because the remains are Christian burials of Hawaiians located primarily in a church cemetery.
The ruling by 1st Circuit Court Judge Karl Sakamoto was not immediately available Friday. Civil Beat left a message with David Kimo Frankel, the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation attorney representing Hall.
But, in response the ruling, Kawaiaha‘o Church Kahu Curt Kekuna issued a press release in which he said, “Based on what we heard from the court, we are pleased with the court’s ruling. However, we will await the written ruling and confer with our legal counsel before deciding what our next steps might be.”
Hall is a Native Hawaiian who engages in traditional and cultural practices, including malama iwi, or caring for ancestral remains. Hall said members of her family are buried at Kawaiaha‘o.
The state’s Department of Land and Natural Resources was sued because it is charged with implementation of state historic preservation, which includes a burial sites program.
Kawaiaha‘o is a historic Congregational church with a congregation that includes many Hawaiians.
The court had previously found that Hall lacked standing in the case and failed to produce factual evidence to support her claims.
The new multipurpose center is being constructed on the a site of a structure that was demolished.
Other judge, other case
The other lawsuit against Kawaiaha‘o, filed by Paulette Kaleikini, charged that the church was moving forward with construction on the multipurpose center without complying with a state agreement to relocate graves to another part of the church’s cemetery. Kaleikini also claimed ancestors were interred on church grounds.
“We are doing what the judge directed us to do, which is complete all excavation and do a decertification process so the excavation site is no longer a cemetery,” said John Williamson, a spokesman for Kawaiaha‘o. “It has added some time to the project.”
In a second statement released late Friday, Kekuna said the church was “saddened that we could not find a solution that was acceptable to all interests outside of the courtroom,” adding that the church had tried “very hard to balance” the needs of the church and its congregation “and to be sensitive to the concerns raised” by some Hawaiians.
“Obviously this has been very difficult,” said Kekuna, “but we hope with the court’s ruling today we will be able to proceed in full compliance with both Judge Sakamoto and Judge Nacino’s order,” said Kekuna.
Circuit Court Judge Edwin Nacino made the ruling in the Kaleikini case.
• Honolulu Civil Beat is an online news source serving Hawai‘i. Read more at www.civilbeat.com.
