Q&A
What is the project?
The project is the Kamehameha Schools (KS) Keauhou Bay Management Plan (KBMP). The KBMP is a long–term management and land use plan that will guide and prioritize Kamehameha Schools (KS) actions for the future planning, improvement, and operational use of approximately 32 acres of KS and former Kamehameha Investment Corporation (KIC) lands in the Keauhou Bay area in alignment with the 22 acres currently under lease to the Outrigger Kona Resort and Spa.
Why is KS doing this project now?
KS has always valued these specific land holdings due to their importance as a cultural/heritage resource area; an ocean recreational use area; a coastal environment area; and as part of an existing residential and resort community. Additionally, KS has specific commitments to the protection and preservation of historic sites in the area including the birth site of Kamehameha III, Mo‘ikeha Cave, Ho‘okūkū Pond, and other areas of significance including the former grounds of Ka Holua o Kaneaka, a once prominent hōlua slide built in honor of Kamehameha III. Finally, as KS is the major landowner at Keauhou Bay along with the State of Hawai‘i, KS has a responsibility to appropriately manage its lands in a manner that does not increase congestion or conflict of competing uses along the bay front as well as proactively address ongoing illegal access/trespassing and other unauthorized activities.
What are the existing conditions of the lands?
These lands comprise a majority of the bay front of Keauhou and He‘eia Bay. Existing uses of these lands include a cultural heritage managed area for the Kamehameha III birth site and adjacent wahi kūpuna sites; programming, training, recreational use, and commercial ocean access for kayakers, snorkelers, and other ocean recreational users; park and open space; and for vehicle parking and boat trailer storage.
Educational programming occurs in formal and informal ways. KS conducts two programs; the Ipukukui and Ho‘olauna programs provide week long culturally based activities for students between a range of 6–12th grade at Keauhou with approximately 1,000 students participating during 8 weeks of the year. Additionally, community collaborators such as the Keauhou Canoe Club, Nā Pe‘a, and the Polynesian Voyaging Society also utilize the bay area and KS lands for cultural educational activities on a limited basis.
What are the goals of this plan?
The plan seeks to achieve the following:
- Establish and expand place-based cultural stewardship activities to cultivate a strong Native Hawaiian identity.
- Support engaging, high-quality, and meaningful educational experiences that include a strategic collaboration with other organizational partners
- Support nurturing a positive and enduring relationship with community members within the Keauhou Bay region that share similar values and a commitment to education,‘āina, and culture
- Optimize and invest in revenue opportunities that align to the betterment of our beneficiaries or the management of our assets and provide long-term economic returns
