The County of Hawaiʻi announced Tuesday afternoon that it reached a “tentative agreement” to purchase the Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach Park for $1.46 million, weeks after lease negotiations with the landowner ended without an agreement and the County lost access to the park.
Mayor Kimo Alameda stated in a news release that he met with landowner to find a resolution.
“As a result of these direct conversations, we reached a compromise that preserves Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach Park for future generations while honoring the landowner’s own interests and concerns,” Alameda stated. “Protecting Punaluʻu requires both parties – the County and landowner – to work together, and I look forward to continuing to build this partnership for the benefit of our community.”
The purchase would occur through Hawaiʻi County’s Public Access, Open Space and Natural Resources Preservation Commission (PONC) program. The County offered to purchase the property for $1.46 million earlier this year, but Black Sand Beach LLC declined to sell the property at the time.
According to the news release, the County agreed to maintain an approximately quarter-mile section of Nīnole Loop Road, a portion owned by Black Sand Beach LLC, that connects the park with the County-owned section of the road, in an effort to reduce traffic on the private road and in exchange for Black Sand Beach allowing the public to access that segment.
Alameda said in a video on social media that visitors would enter the park from the Hilo side of Nīnole Loop Road using the County road and Black Sand Beach LLC would build gates around its portion of the road. Parking in the County-owned parking lot at the beach would remain free, and Black Sand Beach LLC would offer paid parking for visitors and tour buses on its property.
Hawaiʻi County leased the land from successive landowners since 1954. The park remains closed to the public until the purchase is completed or a temporary lease agreement is reached. The county maintained a parking area, restrooms, a pavilion, a campground and grills at Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach Park until the lease ended on Aug. 29.
According to “Place Names of Hawaiʻi” by Mary Kawena Pukui, Samuel H. Elbert and Esther T. Mookini, Punaluʻu is an ancient surfing area that was home to a village and heiau. The area is known for its unique sand, iconic Hawaiian species like spinner dolphins, green sea turtles, hawksbill sea turtles, recreational activities including fishing and snorkeling as well as freshwater springs and heiau.
Black Sand Beach LLC, owned by Eva Liu and managed by Kaʻū Valley LLC, purchased the property in May 2020, according to public records. According to LinkedIn, Liu is based in Menlo Park, California and refers to herself as founder of the Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach Stewardship Initiative.
Liu also owns Punaluʻu Water and Sanitation, which has been criticized as customers remain without water service following Hurricane Lala. The Hawaiʻi Public Utilities Commission is hosting a public meeting Monday to address concerns over service disruptions.
Colin Sakumoto, an attorney for Black Sand Beach LLC, declined Aloha State Daily’s request for comment on Wednesday.
Sakumoto told Aloha State Daily by email on Aug. 28 that the company would extend a 10-year conservation easement over Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach Park at no cost to the County, but Hawaiʻi County officials said that they had not received a written proposal for an easement from Black Sand Beach LLC at the time.
This isn’t the first time the County has explored purchasing Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach Park after proposals for development.
For example, the County proposed purchasing 150 acres from SM Properties in 2007 after Sea Mountain Five proposed to develop the Sea Mountain condominiums, now owned by Westgate Resorts, the Hawaiʻi Tribune-Herald reported. The County did not have money available to purchase or maintain the land and the developer would not sell.
Then Councilmember Bob Jacobson, of Kaʻū, said that the purchase would prevent the shoreline from being sold to commercial developers and protect the shoreline as a nesting area for hawksbill turtles and a habitat for green sea turtles.
PONC recommended the acquisition of Punaluʻu Black Sand Beach Park and adjacent lands, including the Nīnole Springs and Pond, in its report to the Mayor in 2006 to protect natural, cultural and historic resources, maintain existing access for recreational activities and subsistence fishing, and to expand and enhance County beach park facilities.
Liu’s Black Sand Beach LLC had proposed building 225 residential and vacation rentals at Punaluʻu Villages. The project stalled after Black Sand Beach LLC defaulted on a $3.4 million mortgage.
Haley Lehman can be reached at haley@alohastatedaily.com.
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