HAR §15-215-44
HAR §15-215-44. Landscape
Length: 4,801 wordsOfficial source
Cite as Haw. Code R. § 15-215-44
It is not practicable to eliminate the use of compost or mulch in landscaping or to quarantine all new materials, as
required in §15-215-44(b)(3) and §15-215-44(b)(7), respectively. We recommend deleting those provisions or revising
them to state that state guidelines should be followed.
Additionally, we note that §15-215-44(b)(2) merely discourages palms and §15-215-26(d)(4) prohibits palms from being
used to satisfy street tree requirements. We recommend aligning these provisions.
Hunt Comments on HCDA’s KAL Draft Rules (July 2025)
Page 4 of 5
#
Section
Comment
5.
§15-215-47
Parking and
Loading.
The landscaping requirements for parking and loading areas under §15-215-47(g)(1) and (2) and are overly burdensome
and cost-prohibitive. We recommend HCDA remove these sections or align with City & County standards.
For example, six-inch caliper trees are quite large (equivalent to a 300-gallon tree or approximately 28-30 feet tall). For
the VA clinic parking lot, tree sizes varied from 2-inch to 4-inch caliper trees.
6.
15-215-49
Saratoga main
street frontage
overlay
Hunt anticipates that Parcel 6B will be utilized as a drainage basin in the future to service the nearby parcels. The
language under 15-215-49 (b)(7), requiring drainage basins along the Saratoga main street frontage zone to be set back
to accommodate active pedestrian-design elements, could reduce the basin’s drainage capacity.
We recommend that HCDA revise this requirement to align with City & County sidewalk and landscape strip standards.
This would ensure pedestrian accessibility while preserving the functionality of essential drainage infrastructure.
7.
Figure 2:
Regulating Plan
We caution against upzoning parcels that will not likely redevelop within the next 20-30 years, as this will unnecessarily
increase the public infrastructure burden:
-
Update/downzone the Barbers Point Elementary School parcel to T2 or PRU (instead of T3)
-
Housing that already exists (i.e. Kalaeloa Rental Homes) should stay T3 and not be upzoned
8.
Figure 4: Building
Development
Standards
We request increasing the height limits for all transect zones. Once setbacks, open space, drainage, streets/alleys,
easements, parking loading, and other layout practicalities (e.g. fire access, utilities, building separations) are
incorporated, reaching the maximum FAR becomes infeasible.
The diagram below, provided by Gentry, demonstrates what a 1.0 FAR might look like on a 1-acre parcel after HCDA
requirements and layout practicalities are incorporated, and illustrates the impracticability of the height limit.
Hunt Comments on HCDA’s KAL Draft Rules (July 2025)
Page 5 of 5
#
Section
Comment
9.
Figure 6: Street
Trees
We request that gallon size or caliper be used when specifying the type or size of tree planting, as this is standard
practice and is easier to confirm compliance at time of planting during construction.
From: Micah Witty-Oakland <micah@legacyventureshi.com>
Sent: Wednesday, September 17, 2025 3:50 PM
To: Tam, Ryan AM <ryan.am.tam@hawaii.gov>
Cc: Alex Bugaj <alex@legacyventureshi.com>; Pamela Witty-Oakland
<pamela@legacyventureshi.com>
Subject: [EXTERNAL] Comments: Kalaeloa Proposed Master Plan and Rules Amendments
Aloha Ryan,
Mahalo for HCDA's work on the Kalaeloa Community Development District Master Plan and
Rules Amendments. On behalf of Legacy Ventures, working with DHHL to develop a motorsports
facility in Kalaeloa, we respectfully request that HCDA reinstate “Raceway track” as a defined
use classification and include it in the land-use matrix.
This use was previously defined as:
•
“Raceway track” means a facility used or intended to be used for the racing of
automobiles, motorcycles, or bicycles.
With the City and County of Honolulu also pursuing a dirt track facility, reinstating this
classification would ensure consistency across jurisdictions and provide clarity for both public
and private sector motorsports initiatives.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide comments on the proposed amendments to Kalaeloa’s
Master Plan and Rules. We appreciate HCDA’s continued efforts to ensure the plan and rules
reflect strong foresight for practical and compatible uses that will help Kalaeloa thrive.
Mahalo,
Micah Witty-Oakland
Legacy Ventures
524 Keawe Street #110
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813
Direct: 808-679-7668
July 21, 2017
Office of the Navy Inspector General
Washington, D.C.
Captain Richard D. Hayes III
Regional Engineer Navy Region Hawaii
Naval Facilities Hawaii 400 Marshal I Road
Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam, Hawaii 96860
Elizabeth Merritt, Attorney
National Trust for Historic Preservation
1785 Massachusetts Ave NW
Washington, DC 20036
Acting Deputy Federal Preservation Officer
1322 Patterson Avenue SE, Suite 1000
Washington Navy Yard
Washington, DC 20374-5065
DoD Federal Preservation Officer
3400 Defense Pentagon
Washington, DC 20301-3400
Managing Director
Council on Environmental Quality,
722 Jackson Place, NW,
Washington, DC 20503
Steven Chang, PE
STATE OF HAWAII
DEPARTMENT OF HEALTH
P. 0. BOX 3378
HONOLULU, HI 96801-3378
Denise Emsley, Public Affairs
Naval Facilities Hawaii 400 Marshal Road
Joint Base Pearl Harbor Hickam, Hawaii 96860
LT Gary J. Riley, MSCE, PE, USPHS
U.S. EPA Region 9, Superfund Division
75 Hawthorne Street
San Francisco, CA 94105
Aloha e, Captain Richard D. Hayes, Ms. Denise Emsley,
These are my comments on the Proposed Plan, Barbers Point Sanitary Landfill by NavFac
Hawaii, Solid Waste Management project.
I, Michael Kumukauoha Lee, recognized Native Hawaiian cultural practitioner of limu,
Papakilohoku and recognized cultural descendant of the ahupua'a of Honouliuli, Ewa, is most
sincerely requesting further investigation and documentation into the disregard of established
Federal and State of Hawaii laws that should be protecting our native cultural resources and
identified important ancient Hawaiian habitation area used for centuries.
This is a depraved indifference to the rights of my Hawaiian cultural practice and iwi kupuna
burials in this area. There is cause of standing of imminent harm to my family’s Hawaiian
cultural resources.
I am referencing the site which today is used as a military toxic waste dumping place
contaminating the subsurface fresh water systems which directly sustain my cultural limu
medicine practice. The Ewa shore was once known as the Hale o Limu – House of Limu, for the
many abundant varieties of limu varieties sustaining our Hawaiian people and the once thriving
fisheries supporting also our turtles, seals and reef fish.
This area, prior to being taken over in WW-II for a Navy air base, was a well known wetlands,
ancient pond on land in the Ewa, Oahu area called Kalaeloa under the jurisdiction of the US
Navy which has been in the news recently. Many maps and old air photos, as well as the Navy
Base Realignment and Closure studies conducted by the Tuggles in 1997-99, show this area as a
wetland and pond area. While the use of the area was justified under the emergency defense
conditions of WW-II, the Navy must now fully restore the area to natural conditions and stop the
contamination and pollution of our reef, fisheries and limus, not to mention the possible health
issues to our people swimming in tide pools containing cancerous chemicals.
Please see attached addendum with photos. Because this activity clearly has had an Adverse
Effect under NEPA, NHPA, Hawaii State Law, the Hawaii State Constitution, Article XII,
Section 7, a Cultural Landscape Report and Biological Hazards analysis needs to be done as
mitigation and remediation for the prior military use of this area. This would be the fair response
and certainly not just putting some dirt over the cancerous chemical contamination and leaving it
to pollute and kill our fisheries, endangered reef animals and young children swimming there.
Why aren’t the State and Federal laws that are supposed to protect us and our cultural heritage
being followed? Why was I, as the officially recognized cultural and lineal descendant of this
area not fully consulted on the project plans in the very beginning before they proceeded with the
very first meeting? It strongly appears there was an attempt to hide this and not notify me, which
is inexcusable as I have been a Section 106 consultant in prior Navy projects and I have
recognized cultural descendant status from Honouliuli Ewa by the City, State and US Navy.
The person chosen as the Navy’s Hawaiian consultant with regard to this site’s cultural and
religious resources is not the area’s officially recognized Hawaiian cultural practitioner by the
Oahu Island Burial Council and State of Hawaii Historic Preservation Division, as I am. Further,
his unlicensed hearsay site analysis has allowed the Navy to override the advice of the SHPD’s
chief archeologist who recommended an Archeological Inventory Survey and no use of heavy
construction machinery on the very fragile wetland, wildlife refuge and 10,000 year old Ordy
pond. This current Navy dump site is in fact also an ancient water pond and wetlands of very
high Hawaiian cultural and Western scientific value surrounded by many archeological sites.
This is a fact and documented in reports and maps prior to the Navy use of the area and after the
closing of the Navy air base. The Navy is trying to escape responsibility for this environmental
and cultural injustice.
I must constantly rely upon vigilant protection of my religious, traditional and customary Native
Hawaiian practices and cultural and natural resources or I will loose them forever. As the kahu,
or keeper, of the iwi kupuna in this area, as recognized by the Oahu Island Burial Council and
State of Hawaii Historic Preservation Division, it is my responsibility to ensure the protection
and safety of all the bones and objects within my family’s burial complexes in this area. There
has been no adequate archeology surveys of this area since the 1990’s, known to have Hawaiian
many archeological sites and wahi pana. Further, no comprehensive studies have been done to
prove the environmental safety and no ill effects on the fisheries, reef and to human occupants
living and using this area for sustenance and recreation.
Also, as a long time kahunalapa’auokekaiolimu, or Native Hawaiian practitioner of limu
medicine, disturbance of the fresh water source and water conditions in these interior wetlands
adversely affect my protected cultural limu practice. Fresh water flows through an extensive
network of underground interconnected Karst caverns and channels from the mountains to the
sea and contains the nutrients that feed the foundation of our Ewa eco-system food chain. This
Navy dump area is among the last remaining large ancient pond and wetlands in the entire
Honouliuli Ewa area of my practice, as the rest have been damaged by land development using
heavy equipment crushing the subsurface mountains to the sea Karst water transport system.
I view this threat to my cultural practices as significant and have the justification under the
Hawaii State Constitution to protect my cultural rights in this area. The Hawaii State
Constitution, Article XII, Section 7, provides protection for subsistence, cultural and religious
purposes possessed by ahupua'a tenants. I am urging an immediate investigation and mitigation
because my rights are being violated and my important cultural resources are being damaged
without adequate protection.
This project is receiving Federal funds on US Navy administered Federal property and must
comply with the National Historic Preservation Act (NHPA), National Environmental Protection
Act (NEPA), Chapter 6E of the Hawaii Revised Statutes, Navy environmental directives and
NAGPRA. They should perform an Archeological Inventory Survey, Cultural Landscape Report
and Biological Environmental Hazards Report and not just rely upon unprofessional unlicensed
hearsay advice.
I have a long standing officially documented vested interest in this area as a recognized Kahuna
Lapa'au La'au o Limu and have successfully challenged these culturally protected rights in court
and obtained a favorable ruling from the First Circuit Court of the State of Hawaii. Due to the
urgency of this construction activity and damage already done I am requesting your expeditious
attention to this investigation and reply within two weeks.
Aloha,
91-1200 Keauniu Drive, Unit 614,
Ewa Beach, Hawaii 96701
808-683-1954
Please see Addendums, Attachments, Legal Documents and Photographs
Native Hawaiian Cultural Practitioner and recognized Kahuna Lapa'au La'au o Limu at
Kualaka’i Beach, Oahu which is directly below the Navy toxic waste dump site.
A relaxing, educational experience and opportunity to taste samples of freshly picked limu.
However does this limu contain cancer causing contaminants? The Navy has no studies showing
the subsurface water under the dump site which was a WW-II coral quarry dug right down to the
ground water and ocean tide level isn’t poisoning limu, fish, sea creatures and people.
Kualaka’i Beach, Oahu is an especially beautiful showcase of both Hawaiian limu and Ewa
Plains Karst. A wide range of both Hawaiian limu and Karst (limestone) formations can be seen
in this location as well as often seen sea turtles and Hawaiian monk seals sunning on the beach.
The limu shown in the surf is all edible or has a Hawaiian cultural medicinal use. Where are the
studies showing the Navy toxic dump isn’t poisoning this important Hawaiian cultural resource?
Activities of ancient Hawaiian culture are found throughout this coastal area and burials are
known to be found in the nearby sand dunes. At one time the Ewa fisheries and limu were highly
abundant in this area before WW-II. Hawaiian cultural history has stories of the sister of the
revered goddess Pele visited this place called the Spring of Hoakalei. The very first Polynesians
were known to have made their first landings here. They were attracted by the lushness, richness
and beauty that would sustain centuries of native Hawaiian families.
It is very important to understand that the fresh water flowing through the subsurface caves and
channels nourishes the wide variety of “House of Limu” sea algae. Limu actually requires fresh
water in order to survive. Without it the shoreline limestone rocks are bare and lifeless and an
entire ecosystem is killed off. This is documented Western science and not a “Hawaiian belief”
Known since ancient times as the “House of Limu” for many varieties and flavors as well as
medicinal uses. All of the geological formations are ancient coral reef.
Reef fish, sea turtles and monk seals are often seen in the shallows and near shore waves.
The natural attraction is great but we do not know how much invisible pollution and cancerous
chemical contamination is being carried and transmitted through the food chain to humans.
Mike Lee’s entire cultural practice is based upon the connectedness of the upland Karst water
system where this very old Ti plant grows, with the beach areas makai at Kualaka’i – Nimitz
Beach where he picks limu for food and medicinal purposes. Limu colonies vary greatly in type
and quality depending upon the season of the year. Each has a unique taste and the fresh karst
limestone water affects all of this and all creatures big and small depend on this resource or the
area becomes a lifeless sea desert.
Found in Karst sinkholes are even honey bee hives important for pollination of area plants.
They are attracted to the subsurface fresh water. Clearly an entire ecosystem of insects, birds,
plants fish, etc all depend on the Ewa Plain karst water system. Chemical contamination and
destruction of this extremely important upland to lowland shoreline ecosystem and the Hawaiian
cultural history that supported centuries of Hawaiian families clearly shows we do not have a
sustainable culture and are killing off all our resources that sustain natural life on the Ewa Plain.
WRITTEN DIRECT TESTIMONY OF MICHAEL KUMUKAUOHA LEE
I am Native Hawaiian and a Hawaiian cultural practitioner. I have been recognized by several
government entities as a Hawaiian cultural practitioner, such as the Honolulu City Council, the
First Circuit Court, the Oahu Island Burial Council, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs. Please
refer to my affidavit for more information regarding my heritage and background as a recognized
Hawaiian cultural practitioner.
I live at 91-1200 Keauniu Drive, Unit 614, Ewa Beach, Hawaii 96701, which is about 3 miles
from the site. I am familiar with the area as it lies within my family’s Ahupua’a Honouliuli in
the Moku (or district) of Ewa. I am currently the only descendent recognized by the Oahu Island
Burial Council (OIBC) to protect the iwi kupuna, or royal bones and burials, located within the
Ahupua’a Honouliuli. I have been involved in several case hearings to protect the iwi kupuna
and my cultural practices in this area. Please see my affidavit for more details.
There are culturally very significant sites within this area and adjacent land parcels, namely the
extensive underground and interconnected “karst” or water system, and areas which have also
been proven to be a part of a burial complex of my Hawaiian family. Iwi kupuna are buried in
subsurface in the karsts in and around this site and parcel area. The subterranean karst
topography is characterized by an extensive system of porous channels and caverns that have
been carved out by flowing groundwater over time.
The karst system underneath the proposed site is culturally significant for two reasons. First, as
stated above, iwi kupuna are buried within it and such places are sacred to Native Hawaiians. As
the kahu, or keeper, of the iwi kupuna in this area, and it is my responsibility to ensure the safety
of all the bones and objects within my family’s burial complex. Second, fresh water flows
through an extensive network of underground interconnected caverns from the mountains to the
sea and contains the nutrients that feed the foundation of our food chain. The fresh water
nourishes the algae and limu at the sea coast, and in turn the algae and limu are the food for all
the mollusks, opihi, haukiuki, invertebrates, crabs, lobsters, shrimp, and the puumoo or chiton,
that Native Hawaiians use for traditional ceremonies, such as the Mawaewae ceremony for
newborn babies. The fresh water running through the cavern system exits into the sea through
water holes along the Ewa shoreline. In ancient times, the Ewa shoreline was called Haleolimu,
or the house of limu, due to the abundant amount of limu that thrived there. Today there is
substantially less limu due to polluted urban runoff.
Furthermore, as a long time kahunalapa’auokekaiolimu, or Native Hawaiian practitioner of limu
medicine, any disturbance in the fresh water source or water conditions at the Ewa seashore will
adversely affect and could destroy the limu and thereby degrade my cultural practice or make
such cultural practices impossible. I visit the Ewa seashore at least twice a month to identify
and/or gather limu for my limu medicine practice. I also teach others about the practice of limu
medicine. I was one of the co-founders of the Ewa Limu Project, the purpose of which is to
restore the limu along the Ewa Beach coastline, while making every effort to replant for future
harvest and to educate the community to replant and strengthen the various types of limu found
there. The Honolulu City Council honored the co-founders for the success of the project, as
evidenced by a certificate that I received on January 28, 2004, entitled “Honoring and
Commending the Ewa Limu Project.” See my affidavit for more details.
I view the potential threat to my cultural practices as significant and does not even mention the
underground karst system throughout the area and the importance of it to my iwi kupuna and
cultural practices. I have a right under the Hawaii State Constitution to protect my cultural rights
in the area. The Hawaii State Constitution, Article XII, Section 7, provides:
The State reaffirms and shall protect all rights, customarily and traditionally
exercised for subsistence, cultural and religious purposes and possessed by
ahupua'a tenants who are descendants of native Hawaiians who inhabited the
Hawaiian Islands prior to 1778, subject to the right of the State to regulate such
rights.
The people that were chosen as consultants with regard to cultural resources are not Hawaiian
cultural practitioners in the area. Urban and storm water runoff from the construction and project
site entering the sea by way of above ground or through the Karst limestone will devastate the
limu and other sea life at the Ewa seashore. With large erratic rainstorms becoming more
frequent in our state, I believe managing polluted runoff is a legitimate concern, with potentially
significant impacts in the area.
• I am a Papakilohökü and a Native Hawaiian practitioner of limu medicine and a practitioner of
the Hä;
• My knowledge of limu was taught to me by my grandfather, Kino Guerrero and Uncle Walter
Kamana;
• My knowledge of Hä comes from Aunty Alice Holokai;
• I possess knowledge of the Kaona of the 2102 lines of the Kumulipo;
• I am compelled to come forward at this time to reveal certain facts regarding significant Native
Hawaiian cultural sites due to the threat of imminent harm, alteration, and destruction of sacred
sites;
Proper identification and protection of historic and cultural sites. Protection of exercise of my
religious and traditional and customary native Hawaiian practices and historical, cultural and
natural resources my practices rely upon.
The Legislature has found that historic sites and especially unmarked burial sites are at increased
risk of destruction and it serves the public interest to protect and preserve the traditional cultural
landscape. Furthermore, the Constitution of the State of Hawai'i, in Article 12, Section 7,
protects the exercise of traditional and customary practices and inherently, the resources these
practices rely upon.
My connection to 'Ewa, the individuals buried in the unmarked burial areas, the knowledge I
possess of traditional uses of the resources in the area, like limu, are important to the general
public as there are established healing properties for many common and fatal diseases society is
afflicted with. Preserving the cultural heritage of Hawaii is important to the wellbeing of the
populace. Article XII, Section 7, of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii states:
TRADITIONAL AND CUSTOMARY RIGHTS, Section 7. The State reaffirms and shall protect
all rights, customarily and traditionally exercised for subsistence, cultural and religious purposes
and possessed by ahupua'a tenants who are descendants of native Hawaiians who inhabited the
Hawaiian Islands prior to 1778, subject to the right of the State to regulate such rights.
Notwithstanding the strong Constitutional mandates and statutory obligations set forth to
recognize the duties of the State of Hawaii and its sub-agencies to protect the traditional and
customary rights of native Hawaiians and Hawaiians, the Hawaii Supreme Court has set forth
judicial guidance and interpretation in this regard as well.
In Public Access Shoreline Hawaii vs. Hawaii County Planning Commission (PASH), 79
Hawai’i 425 (1995), hereinafter PASH, the Hawaii Supreme Court, recognizing over 150 years
of court decisions validating the existence of Native Hawaiian traditional and customary rights as
part of the state’s common law, reiterated that:
The State is obligated to protect the reasonable exercise of customarily and traditionally
exercised rights of Hawaiians.
In Ka Pa’akai O Ka 'Aina v. Land Use Commission, 94 Haw. 31 (2000), hereinafter Ka Pa’akai,
the Hawaii Supreme Court, again noting it was clear that the State and its agencies are obligated
to protect the reasonable exercise of customarily and traditionally exercised rights of Hawaiians,
to the extent feasible, noted the findings of the Hawaii State Legislature in 2000 that:
[T]he past failure to require native Hawaiian cultural impact assessments has resulted in the loss
and destruction of many important cultural resources and has interfered with the exercise of
native Hawaiian culture. The legislature further finds that due consideration of the effects of
human activities on native Hawaiian culture and the exercise thereof is necessary to ensure the
continued existence, development, and exercise of native Hawaiian culture. Act 50, H.B. NO.
2895, H.D. 1, 20th Leg. (2000).
The Ka Pa’akai court also noted:
With regard to native Hawaiian standing, this court has stressed that "the rights of native
Hawaiians are a matter of great public concern in Hawaii." Pele Defense Fund v. Paty, 73 Haw.
578, 614, 837 P.2d 1247, 1268 (1992), certiorari denied, 507 U.S. 918, 113 S. Ct. 1277, The Ka
Pa’akai court also set forth an analytical framework, in that instance for the LUC to adhere to,
but in the spirit and intent of the law, a framework that all State and County entities should
follow, especially the DLNR, which is espoused as follows. The proper analysis of cultural
impacts should include:
1) the identity and scope of "valued cultural, historical, or natural resources" in the petition area,
including the extent to which traditional and customary native Hawaiian rights are exercised in
the petition area; (2) the extent to which those resources -- including traditional and customary
native Hawaiian rights -- will be affected or impaired by the proposed action; and (3) the feasible
action, if any, to be taken by the (agency) to reasonably protect native Hawaiian rights if they are
found to exist.
Via this Testimony, I am helping the DLNR fulfill their duty on behalf of the public.
I have been granted standing in the Papipi Road issue and Kalo'i Case issue, before this very
same DLNR for the very same area ('Ewa). I have also been recognized as a cultural descendant
by the O'ahu Island Burial Council to this very same area and the primary informant for the ali'i
burial complex and heiau which the OIBC officially recognized. I have a very strong, distinct
and vested interest in this area as a Kahuna Lapa'au La'au o Limu and successfully challenged
the CDUA for Kalo'i Gulch and obtained a favorable January 17, 2008 ruling from the First
Circuit Court vacating this Board's May 11, 2007 Order granting Haseko's request for a
conservation district use permit to discharge polluted stormwater into the ocean.
The Court remanded the decision "to the Board for receiving evidence and providing findings of
fact and conclusions based upon a supplemental record." The Court's decision was based on the
fact that "Haseko's water quality analysis failed to consider the cumulative impacts of the
proposed project with existing stormwater discharges; or nutrient loads from Haseko's proposed
stormwater outfall."
Any Relief Petitioner Seeks or Deems Itself Entitled to
Proper analysis of water quality and cumulative impacts of the proposed project with existing
stormwater discharges; or nutrient loads from proposed stormwater outfall as mandated by the
First Circuit Court in their January 17, 2008 Order.
Proper identification and protection of historic and cultural sites. Protection of exercise of my
religious and traditional and customary native Hawaiian practices and historical, cultural and
natural resources my practices rely upon, and underground water resources, such as the
underground stream (Karst) which was breached, be adequately and corrected.
Mr. Lee has lived in the Moku (or district) of Ewa for over 13 years. He uses the area of One’ula
in Ewa to gather limu and teach others. He also performs cultural practices related to
communicating and honoring his ancestors. (Lee Aff. 11.)
One of the primary traditional cultural practices in the Petition Area was the gathering of native
plant species. (FEIS, App. F at 91; 3/1/12, M. Lee 69: 19-25.)
Native Hawaiians traditionally gathered several types of limu in the Ewa area. (FEIS, App. F. at
98; Lee Aff. 4-9.))
The gathering of limu is a traditional and customary practice of Native Hawaiians. (3/1/12, M.
Lee 75:4-8; Lee Aff 6.)
Mr. Lee’s grandfather, Kimo Valentine Guerrero, and Walter Kamana taught him about limu and
the limu medicine. (3/1/12, M. Lee 60: 24-25, p. 61, l. 1; Lee Aff. 9.)
Mr. Lee can identify approximately seventy different types of Hawaiian limu by sight. (Lee Aff.
10.)
Limu gathering has taken place in the area around the Petition Area, and in areas that would be
impacted by the proposed development, for over 500 years. (3/1/12, M. Lee 70: 4-13.)
Mr. Lee and other Native Hawaiians regularly gather limu in and around the Petition Area and in
areas that would be impacted by the proposed development. (3/1/12, M. Lee 70: 11-17.)
In addition to limu, the high quality soils found in the Honouliuli area are also a Native Hawaiian
cultural resource. (3/1/12, M. Lee 75: 7-12.)
The health of limu depends on a mix of salt water and fresh water. (Lee Aff. 45-46.)
The urbanization of the Petition Area would significantly increase the area’s impermeable
surface thereby increasing the amount of surface water runoff. (Lee Aff. 47; 3/1/12 M. Lee, 94:
15-25, 95: 1-13; 96:17-20.)
Petitioner has not provided any studies regarding the impact that the increased urban and storm
water runoff would have on the limu and other sea life at the Ewa seashore. (Lee Aff. 47.)
Petitioner does not propose, or commit to, any specific measures to mitigate the impact of
increased runoff on the karst system and limu gathering rights.
One of the reasons the karst cave system is culturally significant is because it allows fresh water
to flow out to the ocean and nourish the limu and sea life. (Lee Aff. 45-47; 3/1/12 M. Lee 72: 3-
5.)
The fresh water karst and ancient burial cave system is the foundation for the limu at One’ula,
which in ancient times was called Haleolimu, or the house of limu, which supports large amounts
of sea life, a primary source of protein. (Lee Aff. 46; 3/1/12 M. Lee 72:1-5.)
Removal of freshwater from the underground karst system negatively impacts the health and
quantity of limu. (3/1/12, M. Lee 72: 3-23.)