The Kaua‘i Island Burial Council yesterday deferred its decision on how a Wainiha landowner should handle historic remains discovered during excavation last year at the site of his proposed home. Three hours of discussion at the Historic County Building exposed
The Kaua‘i Island Burial Council yesterday deferred its decision on how a Wainiha landowner should handle historic remains discovered during excavation last year at the site of his proposed home.
Three hours of discussion at the Historic County Building exposed deep-rooted concerns over the lack of protection for sacred ground, deficient disclosure of known encumbrances and uncertainty over what documents are public records.
Concerned community members from Kealia to Ha‘ena asked the council to stop Joseph Brescia from building a house where archaeologists have found 30 burials and scattered remains — believed to be part of a Polynesian cemetery some eight centuries old.
“When you squat on their bones, you squat on my head,” Kapa‘a resident Ka‘iulani Edens-Huff said.
The California-based contractor is in the county Planning Department’s design review stage. He needs the council to OK his proposed burial treatment plan before a building permit will be issued.
The county Planning Commission on Dec. 11 approved plans subject to certain conditions for Brescia and Red Hot Chili Peppers lead singer Anthony Kiedis to build homes on adjacent lots in the Wainiha subdivision.
Brescia, represented by Lihu‘e-based attorney Walton Hong, has fought since 2001 to start construction.
Some of the delays have been due to legal challenges, such as a shoreline setback case that local environmentalists eventually won in 2005 at the state Supreme Court.
For this and other reasons, Brescia has moved the house farther from the coast four times and redesigned the house 15 times, Scientific Consulting Services senior archaeologist Michael Dega said.
Brescia hired SCS Archaeology to survey the property at the county Planning Department’s instruction. The first of four phases began in March. Excavation work was completed in December, Dega said.
All 30 burials discovered during that time have been preserved in place while the council makes its decision, he added.
Brescia’s burial treatment plan recommends relocating six burials that fall directly under the proposed house site to other locations on the property and keeping the other 24 burials in place.
Councilmembers said they were uncomfortable in making a decision on how the burials should be treated. Their role is limited to whether the remains should be kept in place or relocated.
“This man has spent a lot of money … but being pono, being right, I don’t think this house should be built yet,” Councilwoman Barbara Say said. “I’m sorry, I just can’t approve with all good feeling … I need to sleep at night. It could be my family. When you have 30, God knows how much more there is.”
She likened Brescia’s situation to buying a new car that turns out to be a bad choice and having to cut your losses and trade it in.
“Maybe the gentleman that owns this property could get a nice tax write-off,” Say said. “Give it back to the state … give it back to Hawaiians.”
Brescia sat quietly next to Hong during the meeting. He did not voice any public comments.
In the past, he has accused environmentalists of using “stall tactics” to prevent him from building the home on his land.
Residents voiced their dismay over the state Department of Land and Natural Resources Historic Preservation Division’s refusal to release the burial treatment plan to the public.
Local attorney Harold Bronstein said when he requested a copy of the plan last week, officials said it was a confidential document.
“It’s impossible,” he said, to provide intelligent comments without having seen the plan.
Similarly, Bronstein said he had tried since May to obtain a copy of the inventory survey which was not provided to him until yesterday at the meeting.
Nancy McMahon, the state acting archaeology branch chief, said the council is in charge of releasing these records.
The council effectively decided it would make the plan available to the public by not voting to declare the material “sensitive,” which would have allowed the state department to keep the documents private.
The division’s concerns in part stem from alleged instances on Neighbor Islands where individuals have disturbed remains after learning the specific whereabouts of certain burials.
Council Chair Mark Hubbard said he empathized with the residents, urging the public to use its discretion with the material.
“Every grave is sacred. Every grave is put in a certain place for a purpose,” said Jeff Chandler, a native Hawaiian who sought the burial plan to “make a better decision.”
Hong did not return a call seeking comment.
McMahon noted that efforts are ongoing to develop a system where encumbrances, such as human remains on a property, are more effectively disclosed to prospective buyers.
“There will be no more ignorance that there are burials on the property,” she said.
But regardless of whether such information appears on title searches, councilmembers and residents said it is a well-known fact that sandy areas were common burial grounds.
“It’s abominable for this gentleman to want to build a house on burials,” Puanani Rogers said. “Whatever you do with burials … it must be respectful.”
The council has 45 days from the meeting yesterday to make its decision on what to do with the remains. The council plans to vote on the burial treatment plan, which could include further recommendations, at its March 6 meeting, Hubbard said.
• Nathan Eagle, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 224) or neagle@Kaua‘ipubco.com.
