Trends & Issues

Historic Hawai‘i Foundation has issued a revised brochure to assist owners of vintage and vernacular homes in Hawaii with maintenance and preservation guidelines. Originally published in the mid-1980s by the County of Kauai, the reissued brochure has been updated to include revised practices related to sustainability and environmental guidelines, including energy and water efficiency, lead paint and vegetation. The recommendations are not complicated or costly. Rather, these are maintenance-oriented guidelines and financially feasible considerations to help owners solve normal wear and tear problems. These guidelines are based on the Secretary of Interior’s Standards for the Treatment of Historic Properties with Guidelines for Preservation, which are the foundation for many rehabilitation and home improvement projects in Hawaii. The purpose of this brochure is to address typical repairs necessitated by island environmental conditions – rain, humidity, strong sun, salt-air, mildew, algae and many pests that contribute to house upkeep challenges. The process of keeping your property in a state of utility through maintenance and repairs is important. Rehabilitation makes possible efficient, continuing use while saving those features of your property that are significant to its original appearance and design. 3185 Elua (Photo by Pat Griffin) 4696 Hoomana (Photo by Pat Griffin) Plantation House at Grove Farm Museum (Photo by HHF) Waimea Plantation Cottage (Photo by HHF) Good building maintenance is good housekeeping, Keep as much as possible of original materials, features, finishes, construction techniques and examples of craftsmanship that characterize the home. Keep the original style and character. If you have to replace deteriorated features, replace them with components that match the original in design, color, texture and, where possible, materials. [...]

The field of historic preservation is closely related to land use planning and its associated regulations, such as zoning, subdivision regulations and design controls. Many of these systems use overlapping terminology, with similar connotations but important distinctions. “Districts” are specific geographic areas that are regarded as distinct units because of a particular characteristic. In a land use context, there are several types of districts. Land Use Districts In Hawai‘i, the State Land Use Law (Chapter 205, Hawai`i Revised Statutes) was adopted in 1961, establishing a framework of land use management and regulation in which all lands in the State are classified into one of four land use districts: Urban, Rural, Agriculture or Conservation. Within these broad districts, more specific regulations occur. Urban districts are primarily under the jurisdiction of the respective Counties, which control them through County ordinances or rules Rural districts have shared jurisdiction between the State and County Agricultural districts are under the jurisdiction of the State Land Use Commission Conservation districts are administered by the State Board of Land and Natural Resources Zoning Districts Zoning is the control of the use of land and buildings. It is comprised of two parts: a map showing the geographic area where a “zone” applies, and the language that describes the allowed uses and buildings within that zone. Since first established in the early 20th century, traditional zoning regulation was based on allowed uses—such as Residential, Commercial and Industrial—and separating those uses (so that, for example, a slaughterhouse would not be allowed in a residential neighborhood). Over time, many municipalities have added a mix of uses that may be allowed or required in some circumstances. Zone District language also addresses [...]

By Lilinoe Andrews Specialist, University of Hawaiʻi – West Oʻahu Hawaiian diacritical marks comprise just two symbols: the glottal stop (ʻokina) and the macron (kahakō). Are they important? Worth the extra time it takes to insert them into your text? That depends, so let’s discuss. Simply speaking, the two diacritical marks are a way to show how a Hawaiian word should sound to a person unfamiliar with a particular word. More importantly, those two little marks are keeping the Hawaiian language alive. In 1826, a committee of seven missionary gentlemen thought diacriticals were important enough to wrestle mightily with them in the challenge to put the once oral language to print. They decided, after doing similar work in Tahiti, that Hawaiian should have just twelve letters. The ʻokina appeared in Andrews’ dictionary in 1865 and the kahakō in Judd, Pukui, and Stokes’ dictionary and grammar in 1945. In 1978 the ʻAhahui ʻŌlelo Hawaiʻi published “Recommendations and Comments on the Hawaiian Spelling Project” and standardized the use of the ʻokina and kahakō. Not only do the ʻokina and kahakō change the sound of a word, they often end up changing its meaning. For example, these are separate words: pau=completed paʻu=soot paʻū=damp, soaked pāʻū=woman’s skirt Diacriticals are important to keeping Hawaiian (the fastest growing native language in the U.S.) alive because they help expand the lexicon and give the language the subtlety that fluent speakers know by heart. And they are helpful for those unfamiliar with the language, like little cheat marks to keep you from getting your pāʻū all paʻū. Your kumu hula would not be happy. There are a few contexts where diacriticalizing is not seen. For example, in the Niʻihau church where the [...]

 By Julia Rochhi, National Trust for Historic PreservationHomeowners face some of the most cutting impacts of natural disaster: physical displacement, loss of property, financial uncertainty, and stress. And as recent events have proved, you can never take too many precautions ahead of a natural disaster.But what if you own a historic property? Are there additional steps you should be taking? And what resources are available to you—the historic property owner—in the disaster's wake?Fortunately, there's a wealth of information out there to help historic property owners minimize the impact to their building as well as strengthen their building's resistance to extreme wind, rain, and other climatic forces.This toolkit compiles the essential steps you can take before and after the storm.1. Create a disaster preparedness plan for your home or property ahead of time. Following a checklist in times of crisis can help focus your attention and keep you from missing important details.2. Check your insurance coverage. Older and historic properties often use materials or building techniques you can't easily replicate today, which makes insurance companies far less likely to cover damage. A great option for insuring historic homes is National Trust Insurance Services (a National Trust subsidiary). NTIS can help value your property and ensure sufficient protection.3. Print important information and documents ahead of time. Disasters often cause power outages and service disruptions, so in this wired age of computer and smartphone reliance, it's helpful to have critical info already at your fingertips.4. Secure your property. Your two most important tasks immediately following a hurricane are to ensure the safety and security of people working on site, and to keep valuable or important building fabric from the debris heap. Saving architectural fragments, building materials, decorative plaster, [...]