#State Historic Preservation Division

Hawaiʻi’s Supreme Court ruled that a Maui cultural and environmental group can revive part of its legal challenge over a grading permit extension at Maui Lani Phase 9, while upholding the dismissal of a separate legal theory, in a decision the group says reinforces protections for ancestral Hawaiian burial sites in Central Maui.

The plan will guide how the state, county agencies, Native Hawaiian organizations and communities work together to identify, protect and steward Hawaiʻi’s historic and cultural resources from 2026 through 2034.

The petition emphasizes the urgent need for systemic reform to prevent the continued desecration and improper disturbance of burial sites across the islands, particularly in areas like the Central Maui “sandhills” and South Maui where development has historically threatened these sacred remains.

After ancestral bones were found at the site of a new mailbox park being developed in Hawaiian Paradise Park, there has been ongoing, contentious debate between community members on whether the project should continue in the same location.

DLNR’s State Historic Preservation Division is beginning the process to update the Statewide Historic Preservation Plan, which will guide preservation priorities, partnerships and strategies across Hawaiʻi through 2034.

ʻĀina Momona has submitted a formal complaint to the State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD) and the County of Maui regarding recent construction activities that have allegedly disturbed or threaten to disturb Mokuʻula, a sacred and historically significant site.

Since striking an agreement with the State Historic Preservation Division in April, Maui County has been enforcing historic guidelines more consistently in order for people to be approved for building permits.

Facing strong public opposition to modern home designs for rebuilding in Lahaina, the Urban Design Review Board on Tuesday began scrutinizing a lengthy draft guide outlining post-wildfire building standards for the historic town devastated by a deadly wildfire in August 2023. Off the cuff, board members expressed reservations about its 187-page length and a lack […]

A notice to proceed with construction of the Haʻikū Fire Station is scheduled for April 2026, if all permits and entitlements are approved. Then, in July 2028, the fully outfitted station is expected to be ready to house firefighters, fire trucks and other equipment, Fire Chief Brad Ventura told Maui County Council members in an […]

The Hawai‘i Intermediate Court of Appeals has issued a finding in favor of appellants in a case involving the Board of Land and Natural Resources and its handling of the state’s archaeological permitting process.

A bill that would change rules for assessing “historic” buildings in Hawaiʻi has crossed over from the Senate and is being considered by the state House of Representatives. Senate Bill 15 Senate Draft 1 would amend the definition of “historic property” by requiring that a property meets the criteria for inclusion in the Hawai‘i Register […]

By a 5-2 vote, the House Committee on Housing passed a bill Friday aimed at removing lengthy historic property reviews from delaying housing developments.

A report by the Hawaiʻi Housing Finance and Development Corp. says systemic barriers in Hawaiʻi constrain housing production and lie at the root of the state’s housing shortage and residents’ high cost of living.

Hamakua Poko Kai beach, also known to some as “Bones Beach,” on Maui’s north shore will be closed through Jan. 31 while work is underway to assess environmentally and culturally sensitive areas impacted by recent high surf.

The State Historic Preservation Division is considering developing sensitivity maps and one archaeological monitoring plan that all residential and commercial property owners can use so they don’t have to develop and pay for individual ones.

The Hawaiʻi Department of Health issued a Stop Work Order for the Individual Wastewater System project at 4400 Oneone Road, which uncovered multiple human burials . This decision comes after persistent advocacy from the local community, cultural descendants, and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs to protect iwi kūpuna (ancestral remains) and ensure the integrity of cultural and environmental resources in the area.

Nearly a year after the Maui wildfires, about 300 wildfire survivors are still waiting for the opportunity to move into 72 units at the ʻOhana Hope Village across from King’s Cathedral in Kahului.

Public comments are due April 8 on a Department of Hawaiian Homelands draft environmental assessment of its proposed 204 lots in a Wailuku single-family residential subdivision, according to the March 8 issue of The Environmental Notice.

Gov. Josh Green, M.D., signed the 10th Emergency Proclamation Relating to Wildfires, which contains amendments from previous versions aimed at increasing the availability of affordable housing for Maui residents, especially those displaced due to the deadly wildfires of Aug. 8, 2023.

“I’m really pleased. From the first photographs I saw it looked like everything was gone and that’s not the case. There are important historic buildings here that I think can be repaired,” said State Historic Preservation Division Administrator Dr. Alan Downer.