Saint Francis Mānoa Entrance, the View Makai looking in, 2024

 

Sign this petition to the Hawaiʻi State Legislature including Senator Donna Mercado Kim and Senator Donovan Dela Cruz, to Save Saint Francis Mānoa from being completely destroyed forever by for-profit development !!! 

Ask the Hawaii state legislature to take posession by eminent domain of this 11.2 acre exquisitely beautiful sanctuary property, to protect a historic Hawaiian heiau, sacred burials (iwi kupuna), countless magnificent old trees, threatened migratory bird habitat and a legacy wahi pana (legendary place) for Catholics and Hawaiians because of its connection to Saint Marianne Cope and the Molokaʻi peninsula of Kalaupapa!

Besides your own state senator and representative, email Senator Donovan Dela Cruz, Chair of the Senate Ways and Means Committee  (sendelacruz@capitol.hawaii.gov) and Senator Donna Mercado-Kim  Chair of the Senate Committee on Higher Education. (senkim@capitol.hawaii.gov)

 

Please do not donate, but please do share widely. Donations go to Change.org and not to this petition or cause

Eminent Domain is the stateʻs legal prerogative to condemn and purchase  private property for a fair price for the public good.

We can all advocate and work actively with the legislature and the University of Hawaii and other interested entities to  protect the natural, religious and cultural legacy of Saint Francis Mānoa, forever.

We also request that the legislature stipulate protection of the many old, magnificent trees on this property,  precious habitat and flyway for the much beloved and threatened Manu-O-Kū  (white fairy tern) and the Kolea (Pacific Golden Plover) which fly thousands of miles every winter from Alaska returning faithfully to the same wintering grounds.  Saint Francis Mānoa is a sanctuary space for them too and Avalonʻs development would be tragic for these sensitive birds.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Manu-o-Kū over Kiawe tree, Saint Francis, Mānoa

 

Ideally there would  be an explicit stipulation that the historic buildings be preserved and repurposed, that the many magnificent old trees will be protected in perpetuity, and that the property will be maintained for educational purposes forever, to honor, teach and celebrate Hawaiian history, language, and culture, fostering reverence for nature, environmental stewardship and world peace.

 Collaborative ownership with Kamehameha Schools Pauahi Foundation, and other nonprofits supporting Hawaiian scholarship and conservation of nature might be possible with University of Hawaii Mānoa Kamakakūokalani Center for Hawaiian Studies in a leadership role in networking and facilitating. 

Only contiguous University of Hawaii ownership can avert the nightmarish disruption of traffic and roadways throughout the entire area which is inherent in Avalon's high density proposal. UH Mānoaʻs central campus directly abuts the Saint Francis property on the Universityʻs mauka boundary. 

Otherwise, the Saint Francis Mānoa site lies at the end of a 20 foot wide road in lower Mānoa valley which provides the only access and egress to the 11.2 acre property. The massive Avalon project would create a traffic nightmare that would start with the roar of demolition and construction vehicles and blight the valley forever. 

 176 houses and 360 cars at the end of 20 foot wide Påmoa Road, is  simply just not a workable idea.  This inappropriately sited proposal would necessitate the widening of multiple feeder routes including historic Alaula Way and Pāmoa Road, and possibly even major thoroughfares like University Ave and East Mānoa Road as they absorb the impact of an estimated more than 1,000 additional vehicle trips per day. This would forever scar and destroy the character of iconic Mānoa Valley.

Avalon's massive high density development,  would contravene the city of Honolulu's Complete Streets Ordinance's mandates for safety and walkability. 

The project should  require a full scale EIS under the HRS 343-5-1 for its inherently proposed use of public funds and lands for the many implied road changes which would be required as well as for its potential to destroy a historic Hawaiian site and burial ground and an almost century old legacy site for Catholics and Hawaiians linked intimately to Kalaupapa.

 The Saint Francis ʻaina just mauka of the University campus in the ʻili of Kauwalaʻa, (sacred servant) has an intimate connection  to Kalaupapa and the legacy of  Mother Marianne Cope. Her artifacts were until recently displayed in a beautiful large koa and glass case in the entryway of the historic convent.

Canonized by Pope Francis in 2012, Saint Marianne Cope  served most of her adult life at Kalaupapa caring for and easing the suffering of Hansens Disease patients, most of whom were Hawaiian. The Saint Francis property was acquired with the help of residents of the Molokaʻi peninsula colony in her honor, to provide a place of permanent retirement for the Sisters of Saint Francis. 

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Plumeria Trees below Waʻahila Ridge, Saint Francis, Mānoa

Saint Francis Mānoa 11.2 acre site contains a heiau acknowledged in the archeological literature with significant walls still standing. (see Kūkaōʻō Heiau in Mānoa Valley pp. 25-30 "archeological studies in Mānoa Valley" amongst other citations) It is frequented by Manu-O- Kū  and Kōlea protected by the migratory bird act which thrive in the flyway and shade of the many exquisite old trees on the property. Historic buildings include the school itself built in 1931, the convent, the chapel, 2 swimming pools designed for teaching swimming and long used to impart water survival skills to keiki, a building which until recently housed an elderly day care for kupuna, the Dever house at the back of the campus and the Catholic Newman Center on the makai boundary with the University of Hawaiʻi Mānoa.

Avalon bought the property for 24 million in early 2023 even though it was appraised at 40 million. The University of Hawaii was only able to offer 16 million because it did not receive funding from the legislature, something former Governor and current Regent Neil Abercrombie recently called "almost criminal". Besides eminent domain, a public private partnership could also be considered. 

This is a priceless place, a puʻuhonua (refuge) of incredible beauty and tranquility. It should remain as a school and be used for educational purposes in perpetuity, preserved as a sanctuary of nature, and to honor its sacred history for Hawaiians. It could be open to the entire community as a botanical garden, a  place of serenity and spiritual healing, with a special focus on teaching Hawaiian history, language, culture and reverence for nature.

 

 

 

 

 

 

 

Saint Francis Mānoa ancient wall detail near entrance, with Night Blooming Cereus