The unearthing of 11 sets of ancient Hawaiian burial remains could pose a hurdle for a major commercial and residential renovation planned for the Ward Centers complex in Kaka'ako.

The O'ahu Island Burial Council yesterday heard from two Native Hawaiian families that want the iwi, or human remains, to stay exactly where they were found on the construction site. But representatives from landowner/developer General Growth Properties Inc. submitted a detailed burial plan to relocate the remains to a different part of the project site.

The $100 million-plus expansion plan for the Ward Village Shops includes a Whole Foods Market, an upscale supermarket, a 17-story rental apartment building, assorted retail shops and a seven-story parking complex. The project would incorporate the existing Pier 1 Imports outlet.

The remains were found in March primarily in the 'ewa-makai and diamondhead-makai sections of the nearly 5-acre property. General Growth wants to relocate the iwi to the diamondhead-mauka portion of the site.

"We'd like to move them to a safe place," said Dwight Yoshimura, a General Growth senior vice president.

But Paulette Kaleikini of the Keaweamahi 'ohana, which has been recognized as cultural descendants of the area by the state Historic Preservation Division of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, said the iwi should be preserved where they were found.

"They were laid to rest by their 'ohana and they should stay there," Kaleikini said. "I think they have time to go back and redesign their structure ... to accommodate our kupuna who were there first."

Manuel Kuloloia of Maui, who is also seeking cultural descendant status, said his family would prefer to see the iwi remain undisturbed.

The council is charged with making a recommendation to the Historic Preservation Division, which has the final say on the matter.

A motion to reject General Growth's burial plan in favor of keeping the remains where they are was defeated in a 5-2 vote, with several council members saying they wanted more information about the case. Members subsequently voted to defer further action until the council's next meeting.

The council has 45 days from yesterday's hearing to send a recommendation to Historic Preservation, but General Growth officials said they would agree to a time extension. The developer is barred from working in the burial areas until the matter is settled.

After the meeting, Yoshimura declined to say what would happen to construction plans if General Growth is required to leave the remains in place, noting that he wanted to first review that information with burial council members and cultural descendants. He also would not disclose the cost of relocating the iwi.

Carolyn Norman, another member of the Keaweamahi family, and Kaleikini both said they don't want to block the development, just ensure that the remains of their ancestors are undisturbed.

The remains were found in "flex" and "semi-flex" positions, indicating they are ancient, Kaleikini said.

The Keaweamahi family also has been involved in a dispute over iwi found during construction of the Wal-Mart/Sam's Club complex on Ke'eaumoku Street. That issue has not yet been resolved, and the iwi have remained in a trailer on-site since 2004.

Reach Gordon Y.K. Pang at gpang@honoluluadvertiser.com.