One of the largest owners of undeveloped land in Lahaina, Kamehameha Schools, intends to dramatically improve stewardship of its property in the wake of the Aug. 8 wildfire disaster, which the trust has been accused in litigation of partly facilitating.
The trust, which owns about 1,160 acres of largely fallow former sugar cane plantation land in Lahaina, plans to expand agriculture and forestry on roughly 960 acres mostly above developed parts of the West Maui town, while also pursuing residential, commercial and recreational development on about 190 acres partly bordering neighborhoods destroyed by flames nearly a year ago.
“Though nearly nine months have passed since the tragic Lahaina fires, our hearts and attention remain with all those affected as we see the ongoing need to malama (care for) Lahaina and its ‘ohana (family) and kaiaulu (community),” Jack Wong, Kamehameha Schools CEO, said in a May 3 message posted on a website for the project. “Our vision is to see Lahaina flourish again as a place of abundance.”
Kamehameha Schools is pursuing what it calls a community-driven holistic approach to better manage a contiguous, roughly 1,160-acre parcel stretching from the mountains almost to the sea.
Different types of planned uses are divided generally by elevation of the land.
In the uppermost region, covering about 235 acres, the plan is to extend upland rainforests farther down the hillside and to restore dryland forest with native plants partially propagated from seeds collected in West Maui and protected by fencing to keep out wild animals.
In a midlevel region covering about 725 acres, the plan is to reestablish groves of food trees that the trust said historically nourished Lahaina, possibly including breadfruit, mango, avocado and kukui.
Pastures for raising livestock and limiting growth of non-native grasses also are planned in this region along with taro farms and continued support for existing agricultural tenants, which include Ku‘ia Agricultural Education Center/Hawai‘i Farmers Union Foundation and Maui Ku‘ia Estate Chocolate.
Kamehameha Schools also said the bottom part of the midlevel area, near the Lahaina Bypass highway, will accommodate community plans for a memorial and educational opportunities.
On the lowest tier, comprising about 190 acres mostly below the bypass route, the trust envisions housing that helps alleviate a pressing community need in the wake of the disaster that destroyed about 3,500 homes. Commercial and community centers, parks, places for cultural practices and possibly a school or other educational facilities also are planned in this region.
There is no estimated development timetable from Kamehameha Schools for parts of the vision, which the trust is discussing with government officials and community leaders.
Sterling Wong, a Kamehameha Schools spokesperson, said plans for the residential and commercial development area are in a very early stage that includes collaborating with stakeholders.
“We are in conversations with community and government leaders to understand the opportunities for us to work together as a collective to rebuild Lahaina and contribute to its resiliency,” he said in a statement. “We cannot do this alone as we recognize that the county and state will be integral to advancing any proposed projects.”
A representative for Maui County Mayor Richard Bissen said they were unable to comment on the trust’s plan at such an early stage of the process.
Comments about the trust’s plan in Lahaina also could not be obtained from Gov. Josh Green.
Realizing the trust’s vision could take many years, given the need for government approvals and development of infrastructure.
The 1,160 acres of land had long been part of the Pioneer Mill sugar cane plantation operated by Amfac, one of Hawaii’s “Big Five” companies that dominated the local economy in its plantation era. The 6,000-acre plantation shut down in 1999 after 139 years in business.
Kamehameha Schools, which owns about 2,500 acres in Lahaina, had leased the fertile land suited for agriculture to Amfac. The balance of the trust’s land in Lahaina is part of a more mountainous region.
The Aug. 8 wildfire swept across part of the trust’s dry largely fallow land, which led many survivors of the fire to include Kamehameha Schools as a defendant in litigation over the disaster, which killed 102 people.
Plaintiffs in more than 400 lawsuits allege that the Lahaina fire was started by Hawaiian Electric power lines that blew down in gale-force winds. Many cases also allege that the fast-moving inferno was fueled by dry vegetation on land owned by the state, county and private entities including the trust long known as Bishop Estate.
“Large landowners, including Bishop, State and Maui County, were on notice from a 2018-2019 report from Hawai‘i Wildfire Management Organization that it was their duty to reduce fire risk to Lahaina and other vulnerable places on Maui with proper vegetation management of flammable fuel loads on their land,” one lawsuit states. “And yet, on information and belief, they undertook no or poor vegetation management.”
A tentative settlement involving all litigation over the disaster, which Bloomberg News reported is for more than $4 billion, is pending final agreement.
Kamehameha Schools, an educational trust benefiting Native Hawaiian children using revenue from assets valued in 2023 at about $15 billion, said it is committed to helping survivors and managing its land through culturally rooted stewardship that helps Lahaina’s recovery.
“We hope to contribute to a more resilient community, where revitalized lands and waters sustain and nurture generations to come,” the trust said on the website ksbe.edu/lahaina presenting its conceptual vision.
