Honolulu’s proposed land gift for a Hawaiian homestead community in Kailua has been rejected after soil studies found the 10-acre former school site unsuitable for residential development. The decision pulls the plug on a long-discussed plan to create new Native Hawaiian housing on Windward Oʻahu, with unstable ground — not a lack of housing need — emerging as the deal-breaker.
DHHL Says Kailua Site Is Too Risky To Develop
In a July 16 letter to the Honolulu City Council, Hawaiian Homes Commission Chair Kali Watson said the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands had completed its due diligence and found “extremely expansive” soil conditions at the former Kalaheo Elementary School site. The department said it remains open to discussing other city-owned parcels for homesteads, according to DHHL’s letter.
The problem was more than a technical footnote. Preliminary testing by GeoLabs found soil that expands and contracts dramatically, while nearby homeowners reported damage tied to shifting ground; one resident told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser that he spent about $70,000 repairing foundation, sewer-pipe and retaining-wall problems at his hillside home.
City Required Engineering Review Before Conveyance
Honolulu’s 2024 resolution approving the conveyance required DHHL to assess the site’s topography, soil conditions, infrastructure and potential effects on surrounding properties before the transfer could proceed. The council also required a survey of existing soil-related damage to homes bordering the parcel, as detailed in the Honolulu City Council resolution.
GeoLabs concluded that remedies needed to make the site workable would be extensive, potentially ineffective and not cost-effective for the proposed homestead development. That finding effectively transformed what had been pitched as a bargain public-housing opportunity into a costly engineering gamble.
Former School Property Sat Unused For Decades
The city purchased the Kalaheo property from Kaneohe Ranch in 1961 for school use and retained it for more than six decades after the Department of Education abandoned plans for an elementary school there. The education department later developed Kainalu Elementary School on a separate site, while existing schools in the area were deemed to have enough capacity, according to the Star-Advertiser’s report…