We Did It, Kauaʻi. The Fight to Stop HoKua Place is Over!

Written By Fern Holland

On Thursday, May 27, 2021, HG Kauaʻi Joint Venture LLC withdrew their amended petition, resulting in a victory for hundreds of Kauaʻi residents that have opposed HoKua Place since 2005. The sprawling 769-unit subdivision was proposed to be constructed along the Kapaʻa Bypass Road. In recent hearings, HG Kauaʻi Joint Venture LLC requested a District Boundary Amendment to transition 96 acres of agricultural land in Kapaʻa to urban land for the development. 

Local residents voiced concerns about the development worsening existing traffic congestion, its overall unaffordability, and the lack of infrastructure (potable water, waste water services, adequate roads, etc.) available.


This was not a singular effort –– the collective “we” that stands victorious today includes Kauaʻi as a whole. We applaud the LUC (Land Use Commission) for exposing the development’s alarming flaws and its potential impact on the quality of life for everyone on Kauaʻi.To everyone who testified and spoke up in all the ways that they could: Thank you. We also want to extend our deepest gratitude to Uncle Liko Martin, Friends of Mahaʻulepu, the Kauaʻi Chapter of the Sierra Club, and Community Coalition Kauaʻi who helped lead this charge; and to Bianca Isaki and Lance Collins for their legal counsel.

Together, we rallied for our voices to be heard and achieved a well-deserved win for our home.  




Fern Holland

Fern Ānunenue Holland was born and raised on Kauaʻi and has been active in local issues relating to heavy pesticide use, land management, native ecosystem restoration, food sovereignty, and regenerative agriculture locally for over a decade. She received her Bachelor of Science with triple majors in Wildlife Management, Environmental Science and Marine Biology from Griffith University’s School of Environment on the Gold Coast in Australia in 2009.

Since then, Holland has worked professionally as an environmental scientist and consultant for ecological, contaminated land and other environmental assessments, both in Hawaiʻi and overseas.

Holland was an integral part of the development and passing of Kauaʻi County Bill 2491 for disclosure, buffers and protections related to biotech experimental research practices. She also organized the 2013 March in March in Poipu and later the September Mana March in Lihue for the passing of Bill 2491. Holland worked closely on and is featured in the award winning documentary, Poisoning Paradise. She has worked for over 15 years on environmental justice issues associated with industrialized agriculture and biotech pesticide and GE experimentation in Hawaiʻi and globally.

Holland is also a graduate of HAPA’s 1st cohort from the Kuleana Academy and ran for the House of Representatives in District 14 in 2016 and Kauaʻi County Council in 2022. She is a founding board member of I Ola Wailuanui, the Kauaʻi based non profit that is working to restore the Wailua fishpond and agricultural systems and protect the former Coco Palms parcels for the betterment of community and the environment.

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