Jeff Chandler, represented by Alan Morikami of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, scored a partial victory in the Naue / Iwi Kupuna court case today.

Judge Watanabe stated in her decision that the State's Historic Preservation Division (SHPD) of the DLNR committed procedural errors during its handling of the case. State Archeologist Nancy McMahon, also running for county council, should have sent the revised burial treatment plan back to the burial council for consideration prior to giving approval to the project. However, liberties were taken and the council was not given an opportunity to weigh in on the preservation approaches suggested by the revised document.

While Watanabe did rule that the burial council be given the opportunity to review and comment on the revised burial plan, she did not explicitly prohibit the owner from continuing construction (likely saving the state an immediate lawsuit). She did advise the owner's attorney it would be wise not to engage in actions that might be affected by a future determination by the council.

There is also the question of whether the county's Planning Department has the authority to temporarily revoke the permits on the project. It would seem that if the Planning Commission's approval of the project was conditional on both the SHPD and the burial council's approval then the judge's decision to send the burial treatment plan's recommendations back to the burial council because the legal process was not follow should give grounds for the permits to be stayed.

The Planning Department was contacted and we are awaiting an answer on whether they plan to move ahead with revocation. We will post updates to this story as they become available.