STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1501

                                 Honolulu, Hawaii
                                                   , 1999

                                 RE: H.C.R. No. 213
                                     H.D. 1




Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say
Speaker, House of Representatives
Twentieth State Legislature
Regular Session of 1999
State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committee on Water and Land Use, to which was referred
H.C.R. No. 213 entitled: 

     "HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING A FEASIBILITY STUDY
     OF THE "GRATIS" CONVEYANCE OF LANDS SITUATED IN MAUNALAHA,
     OAHU, INTO A COMMUNITY LAND TRUST HELD IN PERPETUITY AND
     MANAGED BY THE MAUNALAHA VALLEY COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this resolution is to request the Department
of Land and Natural Resources to study the feasibility of the
"gratis" conveyance of the fee simple interest in the land
currently occupied by Maunalaha residents on Oahu into a
community land trust to be held in perpetuity and managed by the
Maunalaha Valley Community Association for the benefit of the
residents of Maunalaha and their descendants.  

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this
resolution from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and three
individuals, and in opposition from the Board of Land and Natural
Resources.  

     Your Committee finds that many families of Hawaiian ancestry
living in the Maunalaha region of Makiki Heights have been living
in the area for a very long time, some since the Great Mahele.
The land is owned by the state and leased to the residents, who
live in substandard homes, some in tents.  They cannot qualify
for loans, in part because of their non-ownership of the
property, but primarily because of the substandard
infrastructure, and thus cannot upgrade or rebuild their homes.  

     Your Committee revised this resolution by:  


 
                                 STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1501
                                 Page 2

 
     1.   Removing the provisions relating to the conveyance of
          land; 

     2.   Changing the title and contents to urge the Department
          of Land and Natural Resources to assist the residents
          of Maunalaha Valley in improving infrastructure, and
          suggest legislation or other measures to suspend the
          succession rights provisions of leases to facilitate
          the acquisition of loans; 

     3.   Requesting the department to consult with financial
          institutions to determine the specific obstacles that
          prevent Maunalaha residents from receiving loans; and 

     4.   Making technical, non-substantive changes for the
          purposes of style and clarity.  

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your
Committee on Water and Land Use that is attached to this report,
your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No.
213, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to the
Committee on Judiciary and Hawaiian Affairs, in the form attached
hereto as H.C.R. No. 213, H.D. 1.

                                   Respectfully submitted on
                                   behalf of the members of the
                                   Committee on Water and Land
                                   Use,



                                   ______________________________
                                   Romy M. Cachola, Chair