History
December 2025
On November 30th, DHHL / Cadence 19 sends out "90-Day Notice To Vacate" letters to 6 residents of one building, without giving them or anyone else any Notice of Eligibility or any Comparable Housing options. This is a clear violation of multiple aspects of the URA! The Notice include a threatening-sounding clock-is-ticking statement that says: Notice is hereby given that the Displacing Agency elects to terminate your tenancy in ninety (90) days ... and you are hereby to quit and deliver up possession of the property you occupy on or before (about Feb 28). If you do not vacate the Premises by that date, the Displacing Agency will initiate legal proceedings to recover possession of the Premises, along with any rents and damages.
On December 1st, the first resident files a lawsuit against DHHL (Kali Watson and Christian O'Conner) and Nalu Waipouli LLC (Mark Development CEO Craig Watase) to officially complain to a court-of-law about this mismanagement of relocation requirements and processes and terrible communications throughout the past 2 years. Suddenly, about a week later (on Dec 10th) Cadence 19 sends out "Conditional Notices of Eligibility" to all residents via certified mail.
Shortly thereafter, two more residents sue DHHL, Nalu Waipouli LLC, and Cadence 19 Development Services LLC for other different violations of the URA law, and request a halt to all relocation activities and illegal notices until a qualified competent URA company can come in and fix the deficiencies in the Relocation Plan and execute it fairly and properly. Residents also testify at the December 16 Hawaiian Homes Commission meeting. Suddenly, 3 days later and with only one-day's notice Craig Watase schedules in-person Fri/Sat/Sunday Dec 19-21st meetings at Waipouli where he attempts to reassure residents that eviction is not imminent and takes questions, but is generally noncommittal on most topics and claims to have zero knowledge or experience with the URA or how it works. He does commit to prioritizing low-income Waipouli residents to move right to the top of the existing waitlists for other low-income housing complexes that Mark Development manages on island... that seems great, but also is that really fair to his existing waitlist people who may have been waiting years already?
Here is Civil Beat news article link regarding the lawsuits and recent updates: https://www.civilbeat.org/2025/12/kaua%CA%BBi-renters-are-fighting-a-hawaiian-homesteads-condo-project/
November 2025
As more details of the Updated Relocation Plan come to light, there are concerning details included that are not true and that are not following the law. Just a few examples include:
- It says that the plan was prepared by Revival under its President Chad Wakefield's guidance. InterWest (who had contracted Revival to help draft the original plan) said they had nothing to do with all the revisions made to this new "Updated Plan".
- It says that only 49 households are now eligible for relocation support, but it also says correctly that anyone who was a resident as of Feb 2024 is eligible for benefits - including households who have already vacated the property, but were never told they were eligible in a timely manner. Those who have already left Waipouli are still eligible for relocation support and reimbursements.
- The "market analysis" included in the Updated Plan is an unverified and unvetted simple online search of sites like Zillow, Craigslist, Apartments.com, Rent.com, and Mark Development's own low-income apartment complexes, many of which are actually not available to rent due to having long established waitlists, already-rented, scams, etc.., or they are actually not functionally-equivalent units because they do not have things like the same or bigger square footage size, full kitchens, dishwashers, air conditioning, and other Waipouli apartment features that are requirements of providing "as good or better" housing per the URA spirit and letter of the law. Everyone involved knows just how difficult and expensive it will be to find local comparable units to Waipouli especially given the reasonable rent costs and good quality of the apartments - which Craig Watase (CEO of Mark Development) fully admitted to a group of about 25 residents in an in-person meeting at Waipouli on December 19, 2025.
Everyone is wondering, now that DHHL has finally acquired the property - what happens next? Are we eligible for help? Will they start trying to move people out? No communications are forthcoming, beyond announcing the acquisition and how/where to drop off rent checks to Mark Development.
Some residents continue to petition and attend Hawaiian Homes Commission and DHHL monthly meetings to try to get answers to these questions on the record.
September - October 2025
In September DHHL meets multiple times with HHFDC and attempts to close the purchase by Sep 30, but ultimately closes on Oct 31. Notices about the purchase finalization are sent out to residents in mid October.
On a separate project website (created way back in April) managed by Cadence 19 on behalf of DHHL and that was NOT shared with residents, Cadence 19 posted an Updated Relocation Plan dated Oct 15. It was largely the same as the Draft Plan with the same InterWest and Revival branding so it looks like it was updated and sanctioned by them, but actually Cadence 19 just took the Draft Plan and made a few changes throughout the document and reposted it as an Updated Plan to show HHFDC and HUD to secure the funding. It is still not in compliance with the URA on multiple things. It was only discovered by detailed digging among some residents and advocates.
June - August 2025
Sometime between May and August, Melissa Mann ends up no longer employed by InterWest. DHHL retains her services independently under her new company Cadence 19 Development Services, and terminates InterWest's / Revival's services in August. This eliminates two very experienced larger companies with established track records of managing relocations in 38 states and replaces them with a brand new startup company with no track record.
May 2025
The Option To Purchase deadline of May 7 passes, resulting in a $500K fee DHHL must pay to the owner for delays in closing since they still don't have funding secured.
On May 8th at the Hawaiian Housing and Finance Development Corporation (HHFDC - which is providing a $13.7M loan for the project) meeting, Christian O'Conner and Craig Watase testify that ALL relocations for this project will be subject to Last Resort Housing. This is a blanket determination that can be made for an entire project under HUD URA law in order to help promote fairness in relocation support determinations for all existing residents, and follows previous testimony and planning documents that indicate Last Resort Housing will be virtually certain to be needed given the challenging and very expensive housing market on Kauai.
Waipouli residents testify at a Hawaiian Homes Commission meeting, click here to view the testimony. Resident concerns were also supported by JoAnn Yukimura, former Mayor of Kaua'i (here) and Rowena Pangan who spoke on behalf of her Native Hawaiian family members (here).
In late May, Melissa Mann creates Cadence 19 Development Services LLC, a brand new business in California with her as the sole member-owner.
March - April 2025
In March the Draft Relocation Plan is denied by HUD.
InterWest begins quickly scheduling more resident interviews to try to correct some deficiencies in the Draft Relocation Plan, as there is another Option To Purchase deadline on May 7th coming up. No updates to the Plan are shared with residents.
Residents are told different things about the relocation details and answers to questions depending on the staff member involved and whether communication was on a call or over email. This increases confusion and concern among all residents.
February 2025
Kaua'i County Council Chair Rapozo and Councilwoman Cowden sent letters to HUD expressing their concerns about the process, execution, and potential shortfalls of the Draft Relocation Plan.
The initial February proposed closing date in the Option To Purchase contract passes by.
January 2025
Tenants begin complaining directly to HUD about the treatment they are receiving, which includes improper processes and procedures not in compliance with the URA, poor planning and execution, and poor communication
On January 8 the Kaua'i County Council holds an informational hearing to respond to resident complaints and concerns. Despite being invited, DHHL Chair Watson does not attend. Four others do:
- Christian O'Conner (financial consultant for DHHL on this project, and Director of Development for Kalania'ole Development and Regional VP of The Michaels Organization Real Estate Development)
- Craig Watase (head of Mark Development, who's new subcompany Nalu Waipouli LLC now owns Courtyards at Waipouli. This is the unnamed developer partner that DHHL Commissioners were wondering why the partner being given a 65 year lease wasn't named yet when the special vote happened. Craig and Chair Kali Watson have worked on development projects together at least as far back as the 1995 Princess Kehanu Estates page #14)
- Melissa Mann (still Sr Project Manager for InterWest at this point, but that will change soon)
- Russel Kaupu (Real Property Development and an attorney, from the Office of Chair Watson)
The Council had concerns about DHHL and its project partners trying to force or coerce people to move off island, the nature of communications so far, and the proposed relocation budget amount being too low given how challenging the housing market is here on Kauai. The Relocation Plan comment period was extended to the end of January.
A video of this Council meeting can be seen here: COUNCIL HEARING
A Kauai Now news article about the hearing is here: NEWS ARTICLE
December 2024
Tenants testify at a DHHL Commission meeting that they still haven't received a Relocation Plan! Following this outcry Melissa Mann then quickly sends out an Advisory Notice on Dec 16th saying now a Relocation Plan is available and there is a 30 day public comment period ending on January 16.
But the Plan itself was NOT provided along with the notice. At first tenants were told there was only one hardcopy of the Plan held in the property office and that they would have to schedule time to go in-person and review it there! But after multiple inquiries they finally emailed a copy out to some tenants on December 19. Some tenants still were not sent the Relocation Plan as of January 8.
June - November 2024
For many months, no Relocation Plan is developed or shared with tenants, despite DHHL's continued attempts to secure both State and Federal funding. Proposed closing dates keep getting delayed.
Beginning in August some outreach is done by InterWest to collect resident information about existing housing contents and relocation preferences and needs. Hastily scheduled in-person meetings with only a day's notice were held at or near the Courtyards facility approximately August 8-14, but many tenants complained that they were unable to attend meetings on such short notice, and that nobody from InterWest was actually available to talk to during their scheduled meeting times. Some households complained that their calls and inquires to InterWest went unanswered.
On November 11, 2024 a Relocation Plan is drafted, but it is not shared with tenants or given any public review process. By the time of this plan, only 43% of households had been contacted per InterWest. It appears this was an attempt to provide documentation to HUD to show requirements were being met in order to again attempt to secure the federal funding.
May 2024
Sometime between February and May, DHHL hires InterWest Group, a reputable tenant-relocation company with support from Revival Development Services. Combined they have completed many relocation projects across 38 mainland states and the US Virgin Islands. Melissa Mann is the Senior Project Manager for this effort.
DHHL and Interwest send out "General Information Notices" to existing tenants. This is a key first document per the URA. They use a standardized HUD form template for this notice.
Prospective new tenants of the complex MUST be told about the ongoing sale in process! This is a URA requirement. Unfortunately over the next several months, some tenants sign leases and move in (some are even recruited) without ever receiving any official warning about the status of the property or what might happen due to the sale.
February 2024
DHHL applies for ~$20 Million in federal funding to be able to make the purchase. This funding comes with Uniform Relocation Act (URA) requirements from the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD) that says existing tenants must be moved into as-good or better nearby housing and financially-assisted to do so due to using public tax money to displace people. These laws passed in 1970 were designed to ensure uniform, fair, and equitable treatment for people displaced by federal projects, offering assistance and just compensation.
On February 9th
DHHL begins "Initiation Of Negotiations" (ION) to purchase Courtyards at Waipouli. This is a key legal event that triggers the start of benefits eligibility and other requirements of the URA.
January 2024
On January 16, 2024 DHHL initially votes NOT to acquire Courtyards at Waipouli. Commission meeting video with testimonies link here, with the vote taken at about timestamp 4:16:00: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=5PPlC0Q4mO8&list=PL8PeMLFDM5Q7zvSRt_mLiUQmOuL5GiG18&index=53
Then in a hastily-called special meeting on January 26, only 10 days later later, one member changes their vote and the deal is suddenly approved. DHHL Chair Watson states "we're (DHHL is now) the (main) developer, so we not only take on that responsibility, but the obligation of making sure it's done right". However some commissioners then raise serious concerns with having subcontractors and partners potentially benefitting substantially from this deal and not even being identified yet.
Watch the last 10 minutes of the meeting at timestamp 6:30:00 here: https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=L6o0MO_nI4Y&list=PL8PeMLFDM5Q7zvSRt_mLiUQmOuL5GiG18&index=51
And here is a related news article link: https://www.civilbeat.org/2024/02/kauai-may-lose-vital-workforce-due-to-dhhl-purchase/
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