Jeff Stone, a local real estate developer in Hawaii, had previously received all of the necessary permits from the City and County of Honolulu to build two single-family homes in Aina Hiana. However, after several state officials noted that there may be a historical or cultural site on the development, the city has temporarily suspended these permits.
Chairman of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, William Aila, had requested the city order that work be stopped at the project site until developer Jeff Stone completes an archaeological survey as requested by the State Historic Preservation Division. Aila wrote in an open letter, “The permit was not sent to SHPD prior to the issuance thus putting the division in the difficult position of having no opportunity to request an AIS (archaeological inventory survey) be conducted before the project started. Had SHPD been afforded an opportunity to review the permit, the city could have required that an AIS be done as a permit condition, avoiding the difficult situation we are now in.”
According to George Atta, the director designate of the city Department of Planning and Permitting, the property in Aina Haina was not flagged by State Historic Preservation Division and that no records were found in the Planning Department’s files of historic sites of cultural significance on the property.
