A descendant to Hawaiian royalty has sued Kawaiaha'o Church and state officials over the discovery of 69 human remains during construction of the church's planned $17.5 million multipurpose center.

In a suit filed in state Circuit Court on Wednesday, Abigail Kawananakoa alleged that church officials and construction workers conducted trenching work within the burial plot of her ancestor Queen Kapi'olani and those of other Hawaiian families.

Kawananakoa, Kapi'olani's great-grandniece and an heiress to the Campbell Estate fortune, also alleged that the church, with the aid of officials with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, circumvented state burial laws to fast-track the development of the new center.

"This project is about greed, not God," Kawananakoa said in an e-mail to The Advertiser. "I must take this to court because I cannot allow the desecration of Hawaiian graves to continue."

The church said it disputes many of the allegations in Kawananakoa's lawsuit and said it "scrupulously followed" requirements set by the DLNR and other state regulatory agencies. It added that it made no attempt to circumvent a review of the project by the O'ahu Burial Council and is complying with additional guidelines set up last month by the DLNR.

In an e-mailed response to The Advertiser yesterday, the church said it has tried to meet repeatedly with Kawananakoa to address her concerns but was rebuffed. The e-mail did not address Kawananakoa's allegation that trenching work encroached on the Kapi'olani family's burial plot.

In April, church officials denied that the Kapi'olani plot had been impacted, saying Kawananakoa was "placing her personal agenda above the church and the wishes of the congregation." But a month later, they said they were unsure whether construction work had dug into the Kapi'olani plot.

"At this time, in an abundance of caution, we would rather state that it is uncertain whether the Kapi'olani plot has been impacted," the church said in a May e-mail to The Advertiser.

Called "the Westminster Abbey of Hawai'i," Kawaiaha'o is one of the state's oldest and best known churches. It is listed on the national and state registers of historic places and is the final resting place of King William Charles Lunalilo.

LARGE DISCOVERY

The new multipurpose center — next to the church sanctuary — aims to expand the church's membership, which has declined in recent years. The center — which will include classrooms, a $1 million kitchen and office space — replaces the church's old Likeke Hall, which was also built on a former cemetery.

The Kawaiaha'o iwi discovery is one of the largest on O'ahu, exceeding those found at Wal-Mart's Ke'eaumoku location and the Ward Village Shops in Kaka'ako, whose building plans were delayed for months due to the discovery.

George Van Buren, an attorney for Kawananakoa, alleged in the lawsuit that the church and DLNR officials should have known it would unearth human remains because the property had once been a cemetery.

Van Buren added that Kawaiaha'o officials and the DLNR disregarded the advice of the church's archaeological consultants, who recommended a subsurface archaeological study for iwi, or bones, and other cultural artifacts before building.

"Kawaiaha'o Church was concerned that any archaeological inventory survey would discover a concentration of human burial remains in the graveyard that could hinder and/or perhaps halt construction of the multipurpose center," Van Buren said.

DLNR officials would not comment, saying they have not yet reviewed Kawananakoa's lawsuit.

ANOTHER LAWSUIT

Dana Naone Hall, former chairwoman of the Maui-Lana'i Island Burial Council, said she also plans to sue DLNR and church officials over their handling of the matter.

Naone Hall, whose relatives are buried at the church's cemetery ground, noted that state laws require Kawaiaha'o officials to conduct an environmental assessment of the property since the church is a designated historic site.

"Your illegal determinations constitute a concerted effort by the DLNR, entered in cooperation with the representatives of Kawaiaha'o Church, to circumvent the plain requirements of our state's burial law," Naone Hall said.