State deputy sheriffs have evicted six families from a Hawaiian homestead property in Waimanalo that has also been used as a farm for abandoned animals.
Brothers Nowlin and Weston Correa were locked out of the 105-acre property Monday, but were allowed back in to remove their belongings Wednesday as about a dozen deputy sheriffs looked on.
The Correas’ nephew, Claude Colton, remained on the property with some 100 animals without permission. The animals include turkeys, tortoises, goats and geese and a miniature bull and pig.
Department of Hawaiian Home Lands spokesman Punialoha Chee said in an email that the agency is giving the farm time to relocate livestock, but that it must eventually vacate the location. The department gave Colton an application for possible use of the land but explained to him that demand for land in Waimanalo is great, Chee said.
Colton, who does not live on the property, said his uncles have allowed him to run the small roadside sanctuary rent-free on their lot along Kalanianaole Highway for the past five years. He expects that eventually someone from the state will talk to him about his farm, but until then he plans to continue its operation.
The sanctuary takes in animals that pet owners no longer want and has become an unofficial roadside zoo where motorists can stop and look at animals. Colton also gives talks to visiting groups of schoolchildren at the farm near Waimanalo Beach Park.
Colton, 38, said the farm is dependent on donations, most of which come from people driving by the farm. If the farm is forced to move, he said, he can house the animals elsewhere, but the community will lose a valuable resource.
Marcie Nelson of Hawaii Kai said she passes the farm regularly while taking her son, Mason, 9, to school.
"It’s sad (if) the animals have to go," she said, adding that her son enjoys seeing the animals as they drive by. "I always see people stopped here."
Supporters have created a Facebook page to save the farm.
About a dozen state deputy sheriffs were at the scene Wednesday morning when six families were evicted from the property.
The eviction stems from a dispute between DHHL, which owns the Waimanalo plot, and Colton’s uncles, who once held a month-to-month permit to lease the land.
The Correa brothers lost their permit to the property in 2009 for several violations, including grading land without a permit, but didn’t vacate the property.
Weston Correa said he’s lived at the property for 28 years and has operated pony rides for children from there.
"It’s a real detriment to society, what (DHHL is) doing," Correa said. "We deal with the public. Our gates were never closed."
In July, the brothers agreed to vacate the property by Sept. 25 but later reversed course and had been trying to fight the eviction. A hearing regarding a status update on the case is scheduled for Friday in Kaneohe District Court.
