Toll booth, cultural center proposed for Maunakea Access Road – West Hawaii Today

Two years after the Hawaii Supreme Court ruled that the access road to the Maunakea summit had been illegally seized and designated as state property in 2018 by the Hawaii Department of Transportation, plans to manage it going forward are under discussion.

The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands — which the court determined is the rightful manager of the land on which a four-mile stretch of the road is located — has received several proposals for projects on the road and surrounding area.

The ideas include installation of a toll booth and charging for access to the summit, construction of a gift shop and cultural center, operation of educational tours, and environmental restoration efforts, among others.

At a meeting Thursday, the Maunakea Stewardship and Oversight Authority — the new state agency tasked with taking over management of the summit region from the University of Hawaii — discussed partnering with DHHL and other groups to help determine the best path forward.

“Early indications are that there will be a working group comprised of the authority, (the Center for Maunakea Stewardship, the Department of Land and Natural Resources), DHHL and other immediate stakeholders who can look at what the potential would be on a holistic comprehensive basis,” MKSOA Executive Director John De Fries said. “And in the meantime, DHHL is obligated to continue in the process of reviewing the proposals that they have received.”

DHHL planning office staff members presented two proposals and preliminary feedback at a meeting of the Hawaiian Homes Commission meeting last month.

Both proposals come from DHHL beneficiaries in the form of land-use requests under DHHL’s Aina Mauna Legacy Program, which was developed to oversee the trust’s lands surrounding Maunakea.

One of the proposals was submitted by the Waimea Hawaiian Homesteaders Association, also known as Waimea Nui. The group’s proposal includes building a cultural center, having trained cultural stewards on site and community and youth development opportunities. It would be funded in part by an access fee, but the presentation did not include cost or revenue estimates.

The other proposal is from Koa Kia‘i, a Native Hawaiian group led by Kalaniakea Wilson, a local tour company operator. It suggests installing a toll booth, parking lot, bathrooms, gift shop, playground, workout area and food truck along the access road, as well as operating astronomy, cultural and environmental tours. The proposal also includes cultural monitoring and ecological restoration measures.

The applicants estimate a cost of $1.5 million to implement the proposal, and a revenue of $1.75 million from the toll and parking fees in the first year of operation.

A survey of DHHL beneficiaries suggested preference for the Waimea Nui plan, but respondents also expressed desire for the two organizations to find a way to work together.

While it will ultimately be up to DHHL to make a decision, MKSOA Board Chair John Komeiji said the authority could serve in an advisory capacity and help align the proposals with broader management plans for the mauna.

“They have to make the decision. There are two beneficiary groups that are making the proposals, so they are … duty-bound to consider both proposals,” he said during Thursday’s board meeting. “But I think our job is to figure out, give them an overall holistic view of what is occurring now, how that might interface with whatever proposal.”

De Fries said he had invited a DHHL planning office staff member to join MKSOA’s Joint Management Committee meeting this week to further discuss the project and potential working group.

Email Grace Inez Adams at grace.adams@hawaiitribune-herald.com.