Council approves eminent domain to obtain land for Pohoiki Road – West Hawaii Today

A land dispute regarding a pair of Puna land parcels Hawaii County needs access to in order to reopen Pohoiki Road seems unlikely to be resolved cordially.

In order to reopen Pohoiki Road — which closed more than six years ago when lava from the 2018 Kilauea eruption buried a large stretch of the pavement — the Department of Public Works needs to widen the road. And in order to widen the road, DPW needs permission from landowners to access properties adjacent to the road.

DPW director Steve Pause told the County Council earlier this month that his department has secured rights of access for all but two relevant parcels. Lacking consent from the owner of those two parcels, the council stated its intent to initiate the eminent domain process, which allows the government to seize private property for public us.

The two parcels in question are together about 660 acres in size. The larger of the two — 657 acres — is subject to an arrangement with Puna Geothermal Venture, whose facility partially extends into the property.

At the time, A. Lono Lyman, a manager for property owner Kapoho Land and Development Co., said he had not had any substantive discussions with Pause or the county regarding the use of his land, but added he would be open to negotiations.

On Wednesday, Pause told the council that he had spoken to Lyman after the previous discussion. However, he did not sound optimistic that a mutually agreeable arrangement could be reached, saying that he and Lyman ultimately “agreed to disagree.”

“Mr. Lyman did follow up on June 10 with a letter to Mayor (Mitch) Roth, and he expressed a desire to settle,” Pause said. “But, by my interpretation, it was more of a demand.”

Pause said Lyman’s letter included several unspecified conditions for the use of the land, which Pause consulted with Roth and the county corporation counsel about.

Lyman did not testify at Wednesday’s meeting.

Pause had previously told the council the amount of construction required on the parcels is minimal, involving less than a single acre across both, and largely amounting to slope cutbacks and grading. He also said access to all parcels needs to be resolved before the project can be put out to bid.

The council voted unanimously Wednesday to approve the resolution authorizing eminent domain proceedings, thereby passing its second of two required readings.

“It’s not pretty,” said Puna Councilwoman Ashley Kierkiewicz, who had encouraged Pause to reach out to Lyman after the previous council meeting. “I don’t want to cause division in the community. But we need this road back. It’s been six years.”

Lyman had previously suggested to the Tribune-Herald that he intends to fight the eminent domain process in court.

Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.