Kahuku family awaits eviction

Today is Hina‘i Eugenio’s birthday. And while he’s celebrating his 11th year with his friends at Kahuku elementary, his family is waiting for state sheriffs to evict them from their home in Kahuku.

“We’re scrambling now to get everything out of the house,” Hina‘i’s father, Guy, Eugenio told the Independent this morning via the phone.

41 years ago, Guy was born in the Kahuku Villages. His grandparents, with surnames Agcoili and Eugenio, labored for the sugar plantation. Today, Guy is a heavy equipment operator working for a paving company. His wife, Lynn, is a custodian at Kahuku High School.

In 2006, Continental Pacific, a Florida-based real estate firm, purchased the Kahuku Villages parcel, including the Kahuku golf course, from the former Campbell Estate, with the goal of transforming the area into a luxury subdivision. 13 of the 70 families accepted a deal to purchase their lots for $150,000. Others chose not to, arguing that the price was actually much higher when infrastructure costs are taken into consideration. The city council also allocated funds to purchase the parcel and keep the families in their homes, but Mayor Caldwell hasn’t moved forward with this plan. And recently it has surfaced that Lex Smith, attorney for Continental Pacific and campaign head for Caldwell’s mayoral run, purchased three of the homes.

In the Eugenio case, Continental Pacific sought the removal of the family because their home stands in the path of a roadway which Continenal Pacific seeks to build. According to the Eugenio family’s attorney, Tony Locricchio, the family won six bouts with the Florida company in court, but lost when the company sought summary judgement against the Eugenios. Locricchio is currently appealing that judgement in Federal District Court in San Francisco.

At the time of this writing, the Eugenio family is awaiting the arrival of state sheriffs. They are planning to move to his in-law’s home nearby.

“We wanted to stay because it’s the house our kids grew up in,” Guy said.

Correction: Updated to clarify the basis for the eviction.