Nanakuli-Maili

Nānākuli-Māʻili is a Leeward Coast community centered on Nānākuli, Māʻili, Lualualei, and the coastal neighborhoods along Farrington Highway. Daily life here is tied closely to family, schools, the ocean, and the long-standing Hawaiian homestead community. Board meetings show a place where multigenerational residents, DHHL beneficiaries, kūpuna, parents, farmers, nonprofit workers, and some newer first-time homeowners all show up and speak directly about what affects the area.

What distinguishes Nānākuli-Māʻili is the strength of its local identity and the way community life is organized through service, culture, and advocacy. Residents defend street names like Piliokahi Avenue because they see them as part of lived family and homestead history, not just signage. Events such as Christmas on the Avenue, the Lā Kūʻokoʻa Parade and Hoʻolauleʻa, and the Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalaniʻanaʻole Legacy Festival are treated as community-building efforts, with food distributions, resource vendors, youth gifts, kūpuna seating, school involvement, and large volunteer networks.

The landfill issue is one of the most consistent and emotional topics. Residents object to continued reliance on Waimānalo Gulch and strongly oppose new landfill siting in the Mākaʻīwa Hills/West Side area, saying the Waiʻanae Coast has carried too much of Oʻahu’s waste burden already. Other recurring concerns include homelessness and sweeps without enough shelter or treatment options, traffic safety, crime and vehicle thefts, school accountability at Nānākuli High and Intermediate, pressure from zoning or lot-size changes without matching infrastructure, ocean safety hazards after storms, and the need for better emergency alerts.