Back on the Homestead
James
Opiana remembers when his mother was awarded their Hawaiian Homestead
lease in Nanakuli. He was 10 years old. As young as he was, he recalled
the sense of hope and excitement. The family immediately began the hard
work of hand clearing the land then purchasing a home near the airport
and moving it to their lot. In 1974 Mr. Opiana succeeded to his mother’s
lease which quickly turned into the “main house” for his growing family.
Though the lot had a history of flooding and drainage problems,
it wasn’t until early 2006 that Mr. Opiana’s family suffered serious
damage. After several drenching rainstorms, Mr. Opiana’s house
collapsed. The house was completely off its foundations and unlivable.
He was forced to leave and began searching for financing to repair or
replace his home. At the time Mr. Opiana had seven children, including
two step-children. He was a widow and suffered from health problems due
to an accident in 1997 that caused some paralysis.
After he could no
longer live on his property, he and 5 of his children moved in with a
niece. The other children were split up among other relatives. As time
went on, people began to use Mr. Opiana’s homestead property as a
dumping ground for abandoned cars and other debris. There was little he
could do to stop their actions.
In June 2008, the Department of
Hawaiian Home Lands notified Mr. Opiana that he was in violation of his
lease for (1) not residing on the property and (2) failing to maintain
his lot. DHHL scheduled a contested case hearing for September 2008 and
threatened to revoke his lease if he did not remedy the violations. Mr.
Opiana came to NHLC for assistance, although at the time, he had little
hope of rebuilding on the lot due to his financial situation.
Shortly thereafter NHLC attorney Chris Rothfus and legal assistant
Lenneth Lorenzo met Mr. Opiana and his eldest son. Together they walked
the length and breadth of the property and a serious discussion unfolded
about how Mr. Opiana and his family could help their father rebuild the
homestead.
In October 2008, Mr. Rothfus attended the contested
case hearing with Mr. Opiana and his family. Mr. Rothfus negotiated an
extension with DHHL enforcement officers to allow Mr. Opiana time to
obtain financing and begin the construction of a new home. In the
ensuing months NHLC attorney Camille Kalama, who assumed the case from
Mr. Rothfus, followed up with DHHL and Habitat for Humanity on behalf of
Mr. Opiana.
By May 2009, Mr. Opiana had successfully obtained
financing and was in the final steps of getting DHHL’s approval to allow
Habitat for Humanity to assist him in building a home. DHHL gave Mr.
Opiana an additional six months and in June 2009 the DHHL approved Mr.
Opiana’s plan and he was able to start the demolition of his existing
home. Today Mr. Opiana is getting ready to set the rebar, install the
plumbing, and electricity and will be pouring the concrete foundation.
Although the property is no longer considered flood prone, he requested
the house be built six feet above grade. And most importantly, once the
house is complete, his son and daughter plan to move back “home”.
