(BIVN) – Kona’s Simmy and Lokelani McMichael made the trip to Hilo on Monday to testify before the Hawaiʻi County Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Commission on behalf of some treasured coastal lands along Aliʻi Drive.

Simmy McMichael submitted three different suggestions for parcels that PONC might consider prioritizing for purchase and preservation:

Suggestion 20-001 Keakealaniwahine at Banyans, N. Kona, Hawaiʻi, TMK No. (3) 7-6-014:013.

Suggestion 20-002 Pahoehoe 1st Laʻaloa, N. Kona, Hawaiʻi, TMK No. (3) 7-7-008:120, 124

Suggestion 20-012 Magic Sands Laʻaloa, N. Kona, Hawaiʻi, TMK No. (3) 7-7-004:063

Simmy said that for the Banyans parcel “to be available, with willing sellers, is phenomenal. We could never get this in the past. The county tried. The county failed.”

McMichael talked about her opposition to development on the parcel. “They were going to build a five-story condo right on our beach,” she told the commission. “I stopped it, and this seller is more than willing to sell it to PONC.”

Big Island Video News will be featuring more video from this meeting in which multiple suggestions were made for other parcels in Hāmākua, Kaʻū, and North Kohala.