The state Department of Land and Natural Resources has extended to October the deadline for Puʻuhonua O Waiʻanae (POW), one of Hawaii’s largest long‑standing homeless encampments, to vacate its makai shoreline site and relocate to a new kauhale community.
Board of Land and Natural Resources Acting Chair Ryan Kanakaʻole announced the extension Saturday, saying it followed a request from POW and coordination with the Governor’s Office. He said the Green administration has long supported POW’s proactive relocation to land that it purchased for permanent housing. His administration has championed state-backed communal villages, or kauhale, to create housing for unsheltered homeless people.
“Governor Josh Green’s administration has long supported and worked with POW, a community that has been proactive in relocating itself to land it purchased to give its members a better future. Governor Green respected founder Twinkle Borge and has continued to work in collaboration with this community,” Kanakaʻole said in a statement.
Borge, longtime activist and leader of the POW homeless encampment at the edge of the Waianae boat harbor, died in 2024.
Kanakaʻole said DLNR is working with community leaders to ensure residents move safely and the shoreline area is restored. He said the state is accelerating cleanup of the current site and construction of the mauka development, and the board has authorized a phased closure.
In a June 19 letter to Sen. Samantha DeCorte (R- Ko Olina, Nanakuli, Maili, Waianae, Makaha and Makua), Kanakaʻole said the extension is not indefinite and does not prevent law enforcement actions as the state moves toward permanently closing and restoring the area.
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More than 100 people remain at the makai encampment, but POW told the state it expects the population to drop by nearly half in the coming weeks and fall to about 30 by month’s end. DLNR said debris and structure removal will begin as areas are vacated, with contractors already being lined up.
POW has told the state that a small number of residents have indicated that they will not move mauka. DLNR said outreach workers are engaging them and the department is prepared to legally remove remaining occupants under standard procedures.
State homelessness officials are helping complete the remaining mauka housing units, which POW has agreed to accept. DLNR said the transition is entering its final phase, with the goal of closing and restoring the shoreline site while minimizing impacts on nearby communities.