THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

177

TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2013

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

Urging the State to purchase AGRICULTURAL land from dole food company, inc.

 

 


     WHEREAS, article XI, section 3, of the Constitution of the State of Hawaii mandates that the State shall conserve and protect agricultural lands, promote diversified agriculture, increase agricultural self-sufficiency, and assure the availability of agriculturally suitable lands; and

 

     WHEREAS, the State imports eighty-five to ninety percent of its food; and

 

     WHEREAS, the State has approximately 494,407 acres of agricultural land classified from very good to fair; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Office of Planning, in cooperation with the Department of Agriculture, prepared a report detailing a strategy to increase food security and food self-sufficiency; and

 

     WHEREAS, the report advises the State to improve agricultural infrastructure, including parks, irrigation systems and distribution systems/facilities; and to support multi-functional food hub facilities or food incubator facilities to handle aggregation, processing, treatment, and distribution; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Legislature supports the Department of Agriculture's Agricultural Parks Program, which provides public lands at reasonable cost and long-term tenure to farmers; and

 

     WHEREAS, the State recently acquired approximately 1,700 acres of fallow agricultural land formerly known as the Galbraith Estate; and

 

     WHEREAS, more than 1,200 acres of the land formerly known as the Galbraith Estate has been transferred to the Agribusiness Development Corporation; and

 

     WHEREAS, Dole Food Company, Inc. has listed 123 parcels for sale totaling approximately 22,500 acres identified by tax map keys 6-1-02-01, 6-1-02-23, 6-1-02-24, 6-2-02-02, 6-2-02-04, 6‑2‑02-23, 6-2-05-02, 6-2-05-35, 6-2-06-01, 6-2-06-06, 6‑2‑07‑02, 6-2-07-04, 6-2-07-07, 6-2-07-08, 6-2-07-11, 6‑2‑08‑01, 6-2-08-04, 6-2-08-05, 6-2-08-06, 6-2-08-08, 6‑2‑08‑09, 6-2-08-10, 6-2-08-11, 6-2-08-16, 6-2-08-19, 6‑2‑10‑02, 6-2-10-03, 6-2-10-04, 6-2-10-06, 6-2-10-10, 6‑2‑10‑11, 6-2-10-12, 6-2-11-02, 6-2-11-03, 6-2-11-04, 6‑2‑11‑05, 6-2-11-06, 6-2-11-07, 6-2-11-08, 6-2-11-09, 6‑2‑11‑10, 6-2-11-13, 6-2-11-16, 6-2-11-17, 6-2-11-18, 6‑2‑11‑19, 6-2-11-20, 6-3-01-02, 6-3-01-03, 6-3-01-05, 6‑4‑01‑01, 6-4-01-04, 6-4-01-05, 6-4-01-12, 6-4-02-01, 6‑4‑03‑01, 6-4-03-03, 6-4-04-01, 6-4-04-06, 6-4-04-08, 6‑5‑01‑14, 6-5-01-44, 6-5-01-45, 6-5-01-46, 6-5-02-01, 6‑5‑02‑05, 6-5-02-06, 6-5-02-07, 6-5-02-08, 6-5-02-11, 6‑5‑02‑18, 6-5-02-19, 6-5-02-23, 6-5-05-02, 6-5-05-03, 6‑5‑05‑04, 6-6-10-10, 6-6-12-01, 6-6-14-04, 6-6-22-01, 6‑6‑23‑03, 6-6-24-01, 6-6-25-01, 6-6-25-02, 6-6-25-06, 6‑6‑27‑08, 6-6-27-09, 6-6-27-10, 6-7-01-05, 6-7-01-08, 6‑7‑01‑26, 6-7-01-30, 6-7-01-34, 6-7-01-37, 6-7-01-63, 6‑7‑02‑04, 6-7-02-14, 6-7-02-35, 6-7-02-36, 6-7-02-46, 6‑7‑03‑02, 6-7-03-05, 6-7-03-06, 6-7-03-07, 6-7-03-09, 6‑7‑03‑10, 6-7-03-11, 6-7-03-17, 6-7-04-01, 6-7-04-04, 6‑7‑09‑03, 6-7-13-07, 6-8-02-05, 6-8-03-09, 6-8-06-17, 6‑8‑07‑05, 7-1-02-04, 7-1-02-06, 7-1-02-23, 7-1-02-34, 7‑1‑02‑35, 7-1-02-36, 7-2-01-03; and

 

     WHEREAS, the total asking price for the purchase of Dole Food Company, Inc.'s land is between $175,000,000 and $200,000,000; and

 

     WHEREAS, the State can float general obligation bonds and revenue bonds that do not exceed its annual debt service limitations;

 

WHEREAS, the bonds are to be paid back from tenants with current leases including revenues from the Waiahole Ditch;

 

WHEREAS, lands that are suitable for conservation or preservation should be transferred to the Department of Land and Natural Resources; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2013, the House of Representatives concurring, that this body supports and urges the State to purchase 123 parcels of agricultural land, totaling approximately 22,500 acres, from Dole Food Company, Inc.; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources; and Chairperson of the Board of Agriculture.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Dole Food Company Inc.; Purchase; Agricultural Land