Volcano Cymbidium Acres includes 175 private lots (there were 177 private lots at the time of the bankruptcy – see below), of which 21 access only on to Wright Road without one of the private roads running along the property, and so are not included in the Volcano Cymbidium Acres Road Maintenance Corporation (VCARMC) assessments. Being one of the smaller subdivisions on the Big Island, both in terms of private lots and roadway, there are about 3 miles of private roads to maintain. Yet, the annual assessment is lower than many other larger subdivisions.

The subdivision was originally named Kilauea Settlement Association, by the owners and sub-dividers R.C. Moore and Barbara Tanigawa. Building construction along Wright Road began in 1939 at the corner of Laukapu and Wright Road. Development of the initial subdivision began in the early 1960s. Construction of new homes within that subdivision began in 1962.

In March 1967, the partially built subdivision was sold at a foreclosure auction to Marine Finance Development, Inc. In November 1967, a Road Maintenance Escrow Fund for Non-dedicable Roadways was agreed to and signed by Marine Finance Development, Inc., the County of Hawai’i, and the Bank of Hawai’i (as the escrow agent). Construction plans for completing the development of the subdivision were then prepared. Final approval of the subdivision map by the County of Hawai’i Planning Commission was granted on November 18, 1968, with final approval for the road construction granted by the Chief Engineer for the County of Hawai’i on March 28, 1969. This included a notation “Since the roadway was constructed on a non-dedicable standard, it shall remain under private ownership.”

In June 1972, Marine Finance was merged with and into THC Financial Corp., with a Certificate of Merger issued by the State of Hawai’i Department of Regulatory Agencies. THC Financial Corp. filed for Chapter 11 bankruptcy on December 8, 1976. Following this bankruptcy, ownership of, and responsibility for maintaining, the private roads changed trustees several times. VCARMC, a 501(c)(4) non-profit corporation, was established in 1996, and on July 21 of that year signed an agreement with the County of Hawai’i to manage the remaining road maintenance funds and to provide maintenance and repairs of the subdivision roads. (Note that roadway ownership shown on the Tax Map Key (TMK) was not updated at that time, but it was updated in 2024).

In its final decision, the bankruptcy court granted an undivided interest of the private road parcels to the 177 lot owners within Cymbidium Acres. An undivided interest is not separated into parts or shares. If you are one of the 177 lot owners and your driveway meets or connects to one of the roadway lots, or one of the roadway lots runs along your property, it does not mean that you have an absolute right to that portion of the roadway lot.

In 2009, the Board requested, and the County of Hawaii Planning Department approved, name changes be granted for Road A (Olomea Road), Road C (Liko Lehua Road), and Road E (Kawailehua Road). The approval letter dated September 21, 2009 can be viewed here.

Due to limited funds, labor for weed spraying and pothole repairs have been done by volunteers within the Association. Mowing, ginger removal, and major roadway repairs are contracted via competitive bidding, although it has been difficult to find contractors willing to bid on the small contractual work.

This website has been developed for the purpose of keeping our members informed, making it easier to communicate with the Board of Directors, and inform visitors and interested persons about our lovely neighborhood in the mountain rainforest near the Volcanos National Park.