Fern Acres is a subdivision near Mountain View on the Big Island in Hawai'i. It has 2000 2 acre lots, community maintained paved roads, electricity and telephone services. Fern Acres Community Association was formed in 1967. It has a set of bylaws and a board of directors which is elected periodically by its members.

Board Members:

• President:          Frank Commendador
• Vice President:   xxxxxx xxxxxxxx
• Secretary:         Claudia Ziroli          
• Treasurer:         xxxxx xxxxxxxxx
• At Large:           Robin Stetson
• At Large:           xxxxx xxxxxxxxx

Board Meeting Minutes: (to be added)

Fern Acres Community Association Office:

• Location:          Poll 11 Lehua Street 
• Hours:              Thursday, 9 am - 3 pm 
• Manager:          Shelly Sherman
• Phone:             (808) 968-6006

Area Map:

Fern Acres Road Map:

Short History of Fern Acres

Crescent Acres was the original name of the subdivision in the 1950s; this was legally changed in 1967 and the change was filed with the State and County with mixed results. The tax office lists both names and "Crescent Acres" still pops up unexpectedly from time to time. A recent newspaper ad placed by a local Real Estate company listed properties for sale in Crescent Acres with no mention of Fern Acres at all !!  There is also a county street map in book form that is excellent except that it lists Fern Acres as an alternate name for Crescent Acres.

So, was Crescent Acres a substantially different place than Fern Acres? You bet.

When lots in Crescent Acres were advertised in Japan in the late 60s, this was a "future" planned community featuring a large lake, golf course, clubhouse and a resort !!  A number of you own what was to be "lakeside property." Of course creating these amenities would have taken over half of your land! We have no information about how these "natural wonders" were to become reality. Copies of a map showing the location of the lake, golf course, riding stables and even a zoo are in scrapbooks in the office.

Ironically, as the year 2002 began, we continued to work towards such basic items as paving the roads and making electric service available to all lots. Right now, the only body of water in our future is the large pond that appears on Puhala during heavy rain.

It would be great if anyone who originally purchased property in 'Crescent Acres' would send in an account of the sales pitch at the time for our records.

It is unfortunate that Hawaii County allowed developers to create subdivisions merely by sending in bulldozers to cut so-called "roads" before selling lots with no expectation or requirement of any further infrastructure. In 1975, the one-lane roads were in a battle with the aggressive flora and there was only a lone tractor-mower defending the roads. We've come a long way in establishing decent roads and electric service for over 90% of the lots but we're still using a mower to do battle with the bushes.

When it comes to playing the back 9 on the golf course or making a visit to the zoo, we're afraid that won't be possible. However, some might want to argue about the zoo.