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The commentary by Kanekoa Kaumuali‘i Clifton Crabbe, regarding the settlement of the Kakaako Makai property owned by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs (OHA), makes more sense than Keli‘i Akina’s companion commentary (“OHA should realize the site is not a pono place to build housing”; and “It’s time for OHA to change its messaging about Kakaako Makai,” Star-Advertiser, Island Voices, May 15).
Crabbe’s history and assessment of the landfill area concluded that the land really should be returned to the state of Hawaii with just compensation for OHA.
Building high-rise residential towers on a former dump site is just asking for trouble. The land needs to become a state park for all the residents and visitors of Honolulu.
Akina’s continued drive to overdevelop Kakaako Makai into some kind of “Hawaiian village” with high-rises will continue to face failure because the project is more destructive than productive for the kanaka maoli whom OHA claims to be serving.
Why not develop other ceded lands or even acquire new land from the state in trade for Kakaako Makai? This is the kind of help OHA needs to provide true cultural villages for kanaka maoli.
John Shockley
Makakilo
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