Aloha mai Kākou, HB2616 is now open, and we can submit our testimonies in STRONG support. This is a crucial action to ensure our voices are heard!
Click here to visit the HB2616 page and click the "SUBMIT TEXTIMONY" button. If you haven't already, you'll need to create an account.
Use the template testimony script below, or feel free to write your own!
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Relating to the Banyan Drive-Makaokū Community Development District
Submitted by: [Your Name]
Position: STRONG SUPPORT
Aloha Chair Rep. Mark J. Hashem, Vice Chair Rep. Dee Morikawa, &
Members of the Committee on Water and Land
Rep. Della Au Belatti Rep. Justin H. Woodson
Rep. Linda Ichiyama Rep. Garner M. Shimizu
Rep. Kim Coco Iwamoto Rep. Kanani Souza Rep. Mahina Poepoe
I, [Your Name], submit this testimony in Strong Support of House Bill HB2616 relating to the Banyan Drive-Makaokū Community Development District / Waiākea Peninsula seeks to formally include Lineal Descendants of Makaokū in decision-making, restore cultural recognition and protection of this wahi pana. The proper place name, Makaokū, also known by the state-led proposed development in Senate Bill SB2001-Waiākea Peninsula Community Development Plan, is not merely a redevelopment area and must be treated with respect and dignity.
Makaokū is honored as kūpuna, an ʻāina rich with cultural history, genealogy, and ongoing stewardship amongst the Lineal Descendants of Makaokū known as Waiākea Ahupua’a Crown Land Heirs. This predates the Hawai’i State Legislature Act 153, session laws of Hawai’i 1976 codified in chapter 206E-3 of the Hawai’i revised statutes establishment of the Hawaiʻi Community Development Authority (HCDA) and the State of Hawaiʻi itself.
I offer this testimony in solidarity with the Lineal Descendants of Makaokū, cultural practitioners, and community advocates who maintain deep genealogical, cultural, and spiritual ties to this ʻāina. House Bill HB 2616 represents an important and necessary corrective step toward restoring trust, honoring ʻike kūpuna, and ensuring that development planning is grounded in place-based stewardship on designated Crown Lands in which the HCDA has proposed this re-development. By including Lineal Descendants, HB2616 gives an opportunity for the State of Hawai’i to uphold its fiduciary duty and public trust obligations to protect our Crown Lands.
Makaokū is a culturally rich and historically significant landscape, recognized by Lineal Descendants as a place of genealogy, ceremony, and ongoing Kuleana to protect, restore, and re-establish hope while strengthening our communities at large.
This bill appropriately acknowledges that:
• Lineal Descendants of Makaokū maintain genealogical ties to the ʻāina
• They carry kuleana to protect cultural and natural resources
• They hold ʻike that cannot be replicated through consultants or advisory groups
By formally including Lineal Descendants of Makaokū in governance, planning, and decision-making, this measure moves Hawaiʻi away from extractive and exclusionary development practices and toward a model of pono and restorative land management. Meaningful inclusion of Lineal Descendants in the deliberations of Crown Lands is not symbolic-It is Essential. Development that excludes them risks repeating historic patterns of dispossession and cultural erasure.
Development that prioritizes Lineal Descendants in these developmental planning affirms cultural continuity, community well-being, and responsible stewardship for future generations.
House Bill HB2616 represents an opportunity to:
• Restore cultural recognition to Makaokū
• Protect sacred and historic sites
• Ensure decision-making authority includes Lineal Descendants directly connected to the land
• Align development practices with Hawaiʻi’s constitutional and public trust responsibilities
I respectfully urge the Legislature to advance this bill and demonstrate a commitment to cultural integrity, community inclusion, and long-term sustainability for the Banyan Drive-Makaokū / Waiākea Peninsula region.
Mahalo for the opportunity to provide testimony in strong support.
Laulima I Ka Hāpai Pōhaku,
Many hands carrying the stones,
[Your Name]