Punaluʻu Lease Ends as CDP Engages Landowners
By Jessica Andrews & Kaʻū News Staff
Hawaiʻi County Council Member Michelle Galimba endorsed a plan for Kaʻū Community Development Plan (CDP) Action Committee members to reach out to landowners near Punaluʻu Beach to find out what their hopes for the area are.
Coming after the outgoing District 6 representative deployed her own survey, Galimba noted the situation is complicated and the public needs more information on who the landowners even are and what their plans might be.
At their July 28 meeting in Nāʻālehu, the committee formed a two-person team consisting of Taylor Spurgeon and Kaweni Ibarra. According to Chair Jason Masters, one initial task is identifying landowners, including Black Sand Beach LLC, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, and Colony 1 at Sea Mountain.
Vice Chair Kaʻohinani Mokuhaliʻi suggested this initial contact could lead to a larger permitted interaction group, or PIG, to evaluate how to move forward. Committee members David Kuahiwinui and Gary Davis expressed interest in joining a PIG, with Kuahiwinui emphasizing the need to ensure everyone, especially kūpuna, has a chance to weigh in.
The committee’s July decision came while the county was still negotiating the potential acquisition of Punaluʻu Beach Park with its current owner, Black Sand Beach LLC.
However, the county announced Aug. 27 that its lease for the 6.8-acre park will end on Aug. 29 after negotiations concluded without an agreement. County-managed park services will cease, and the facilities will revert to the landowner.
Since 1954, the county has leased the site to provide public shoreline access, with the current agreement executed in 1998 for $1. To protect community access, the county recently proposed a 10-year lease starting at $159,300 annually, but the landowner declined. The county also conducted an appraisal to purchase the property through its open space preservation (PONC) program, but the LLC declined to sell.
The 6.8-acre site reverting to the landowner includes the park’s pavilion, restrooms and parking areas. The county noted it could not simply offer more money to buy the property, as PONC rules legally prohibit offers exceeding the appraised value.
“We made multiple good faith offers that would protect the public interest but unfortunately were unable to reach a solution that is acceptable to the community,” Mayor Kimo Alameda said, noting the county will work to minimize disruption.
Masters, a former candidate for the District 6 County Council seat, noted efforts to develop the Punaluʻu area have surfaced his whole life. Guy Enriques, who is advancing to the Nov. 4 General Election for the District 6 seat, noted the Kaʻū community successfully opposed Black Sand Beach LLC’s 2024 plans to create Punaluʻu Village, a 225-unit development.
“Today, what is staring us in the face is the loss, or I prefer the taking, of the county beach park by Black Sand Beach LLC for the purpose of building more paid parking to support this failed development,” Enriques said, urging the CDP to weigh in.
Masters said he wants to help create a vision that would make the community proud, noting the area’s infrastructure, old restaurant, and tennis courts have been in disrepair for decades.
“So, what would the community like to see happen there, and how can we work with all of the existing property owners and create something we can be proud of?” Masters said.
