About 50 people packed a Kaua’i-Ni’ihau Island Burial Council meeting yesterday, urging the advisory body to not allow construction of a house over an ancient Hawaiian graveyard.

After hearing five hours of testimony, the eight-member panel adjourned without making a decision on what to do about a house Joseph Brescia is building on a 15,600-square-foot beachfront lot that contains at least 30 burials.

Several Native Hawaiian groups yesterday said they want to be parties to deliberations that the council is expected to make at its November meeting, which has not been scheduled.

“I hope they follow the letter of the law and preserve the burials in place and stop the building of the house,” said Kai’ulani Huff, who camped on the beach by the property for 16 weeks starting April 3 in an effort to protect the burials.

Although Huff and others are accused in a lawsuit by Brescia of trespassing on his property, Huff said she camped on the public beach.

On April 3, the council voted 4-2 (with several members absent) to preserve the burials in place. Since then, at least two council members have said they didn’t believe that vote would allow the landowner to build.

Brescia proceeded with building the foundation of the house over the summer, based on state Historic Preservation Division approval of a burial treatment plan for the site.

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(Source: Honolulu Advertiser)