County advances eminent domain move for Puna road widening
County moved to condemn 3.74 acres in Keonepoko Iki for Government Beach Road widening after talks failed, setting up a property-rights fight over Puna access.
Hawaii County moved a step closer to forcing a sale of private land in Puna, arguing that widening Government Beach Road is a public-safety necessity for drivers, emergency access and congestion in Hawaiian Beaches, Shores and Pāhoa. The county is seeking about 3.74 acres from Lum Family Enterprises LLC in Keonepoko Iki.
The resolution at the center of the fight identifies portions of Tax Map Key Nos. (3) 1-5-009:012 and 058 and says the land would be condemned for the construction and improvement of Government Beach Road, a public roadway. Introduced by Council Member Heather Kimball, the measure was routed to the Legislative Approvals and Acquisitions Committee and was last modified May 13, 2026. County officials say the Department of Public Works could not reach an agreement with the landowner after negotiations.
The county’s case rests on the road itself. Government Beach Road has been described in county records as narrow, winding and heavily traveled, and a 2024 county communication said the “mile[s] long line of traffic” through Hawaiian Beaches/Shores and toward Pāhoa was especially stressful because there are so few other roads out of the emergency area. An older petition about Old Government Beach Road went further, saying the 3.8-mile route dates back to pre-contact days, serves as the only legal easement to some populated properties and is difficult for most emergency vehicles to traverse.
That is where the property-rights question sharpens. Corporation Counsel Sinclair Salas-Ferguson told the council the resolution would let the office go to court if settlement talks fail, but eminent-domain law still requires just compensation to the owner. In practical terms, the county is saying the public need is strong enough to justify taking private land now, while Lum Family Enterprises LLC still retains the right to negotiate a price or challenge the taking in court.
The dispute lands in a broader Lower Puna landscape still being reshaped by recovery work after the 2018 Kīlauea eruption. County materials say Highway 137 reconstruction began January 9, 2025 and is expected to finish in the third quarter of 2026, while Pohoiki Road restoration began in the second quarter of 2025 and is expected to wrap in the fourth quarter of 2026. The county puts the combined work at about $50 million, with 75% covered by FEMA and 25% by state recovery funds.
Just days earlier, the county also announced it had purchased the 364-acre Honolulu Landing property for $3.7 million after more than two decades of advocacy. Together, the moves show how aggressively Hawaii County is shaping land use, access and infrastructure in Puna, where every road and parcel carries consequences far beyond a single project.
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