At the request of Bowers and Kubota, Nohopapa Hawai‘i, LLC conducted a Cultural Impact Assesment to inform an Environmental Assessment supporting the Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation, Harbors Division (HDOTH), Private Land Acquisition Project located at Hilo Harbor within the ahupuaʻa of Waiākea, Hilo Moku (Hilo Hema/South Hilo), Hawaiʻi Mokupuni, TMKs (3) 2-1-007:004, -005, -046, -048, and (3) 2-1-009:003 and -004. Through ethno-historical background research and community engagement efforts, this CIA provides an assessment of the proposed project’s potential impacts to cultural resources, defined as practices and features, which may include Traditional Cultural Properties (TCP) of ongoing cultural significance that may be eligible for inclusion on the Hawaiʻi Register of Historic Places, in accordance with Hawai‘i Revised Statutes (HRS) Chapter 6E guidelines for significance criteria (AR §13-284) under Criterion E.
 

The HDOTH proposes to purchase, demo, and redevelop roughly 9.5 acres of privately-owned land abutting Hilo Harbor by creating new harbor entry points and internal stacking lanes for Matson, Pasha, and Young Brothers, Ltd. cargo trucks - the harbor’s primary users. The proposed project will result in additional acreage for HDOTH to increase the efficiency of their cargo delivery as well as improve traffic flow conditions within an unobstructed

traffic lane going in both directions along Kalanianaʻole Avenue between Kūhiō and Kahanu Streets. At the time of writing, the proposed project included the demolition and removal of all existing structures within the project area footprint - parcels (3) 2-1-009:003 and -004, (3) 2-1-007:004, -005, and -046.