Kamehameha Schools has unveiled its plan for limited development at Keauhou Bay. The trust owns 54 acres at the West Hawaii harbor, most of which has remained undeveloped despite the land being zoned for resort use. That could change in the near future.
A draft environmental assessment for Kamehameha Schools’ Keauhou Bay Management Plan was published June 23 and describes plans for new development at the bay. The plan would reconfigure the area to better reflect its cultural significance — the bay was the birth site of King Kamehameha III, who was stillborn in 1814 but was resuscitated after the prayers of a high priest. Marissa Harman, Hawaii Island director of asset management for Kamehameha Schools, said the plan has been developed with feedback from community stakeholders to steer usage of the bay toward something more sensitive to the cultural value of the space, while allowing for a certain degree of commercial use.
“Although zoning allows us to develop the entire parcel, we’re choosing not to,” Harman said, adding that what development does take place will be low-impact. Harman acknowledged that the area is in high demand, and said the plan aims to balance the various uses of the bay while minimizing conflicts between users. The first big change proposed by the plan would be to shift commercial activities from the bay itself to a site on the southern edge of Kamehameha Schools’ property.
The existing buildings — occupied currently by Fair Wind Snorkel Cru.