HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

64

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

REQUESTING THE BOARD OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES TO REVIEW AND UPDATE THE KEEHI LAGOON RECREATIONAL PLAN AND EXPLORE THE LEASING OF UNUTILIZED FAST AND SUBMERGED LANDS AT KEEHI LAGOON FOR THE PRIVATE DEVELOPMENT OF BOATING AND OCEAN RECREATIONAL FACILITIES.

 

WHEREAS, for years the State has had a pent-up and continued increase in demand for quality berthing and moorage space at both public small boat harbors and private marinas throughout the State; and

WHEREAS, in 1990, the Department of Transportation completed the final environmental impact statement for the Keehi Lagoon Recreation Plan (Plan), with the Governor's acceptance, which proposed a significant increase in the number of needed recreational and commercial boating berths; and

WHEREAS, the development objectives for Keehi Lagoon proposed the use of private sector funds to implement the recommendations of the updated Plan by leasing unimproved and unused areas to a private developer and generating lease rent revenues for the State; and

WHEREAS, over the last 20 years, the State has continued to encourage the private sector to develop marina facilities to help meet the demand for berthing space, but due to the prolonged and costly process for obtaining necessary county, state, and federal permits and approvals and the resulting lack of available capital financing, only Ko Olina Marina has been completed and is in operation; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR) is actively exploring various alternative means of improving and redeveloping state boating facilities without relying on state resources, including participation by the private sector; and

WHEREAS, public boating funds are and will continue to be insufficient to meet the increasing backlog and demand for boating facilities, and general funds are not available for this purpose during this period of limited revenues; and

WHEREAS, private companies continue to express an interest in developing boating and ocean recreation facilities in Keehi Lagoon and, in the absence of state funds, these companies may be the only means for this facility to achieve its maximum potential; and

WHEREAS, given the significance of this issue, the Legislature reaffirms the provisions of H.C.R. No. 68, H.D. 1, which was adopted by the 2003 Legislature to address the same issue, as well as the efforts initiated by DLNR to begin development of the unutilized portions of Keehi Lagoon; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, that the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) is requested to meet with all stakeholders and registered users of Keehi Lagoon, including the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and canoe-paddling clubs, to review and update the Plan, and, in particular, to discuss the feasibility and means by which unutilized and underutilized areas of Keehi Lagoon may be used productively; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that BLNR is requested to explore the leasing of unutilized fast and submerged lands, excluding those areas within the State's Keehi Small Boat Harbor or those currently used by canoe paddlers, for private development of boating and ocean recreational facilities; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that BLNR not use this Resolution to satisfy the requirements of obtaining legislative approval for the leasing of submerged lands and lands beneath tidal waters under the terms, conditions, and restrictions provided in section 171-53 (c), Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Governor is requested to consider transferring lands in or around Keehi Lagoon from the Department of Transportation to DLNR should any of those fast and submerged lands be identified as land suitable for the development of small boat and ocean recreational facilities; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Director of Transportation, the Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, and to the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, who is requested, in turn, to transmit copies to all listed lessees, licensees, and other registered users of Keehi Lagoon.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

LEASING KEEHI LAGOON LANDS FOR BOATING AND OCEAN RECREATIONAL FACILITIES