Report Title:

RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the Fourteenth Legislature, Regular Session of 1988, authorized the Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) to lease approximately three hundred plus acres of submerged and tidal lands in the central triangular section of Keehi Lagoon (Triangle) to a private developer for recreational, educational, research, and commercial, and light industrial purposes pursuant to sections 171-53 and 171-60, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

WHEREAS, the Concurrent Resolution provided a deadline of July 1, 1993 for execution of the lease, otherwise the approval would be withdrawn; and

WHEREAS, in 1990, the final environmental impact statement for the Keehi Lagoon Recreation plan was completed by the Department of Transportation and accepted by the Governor; and

WHEREAS, the development objectives for Keehi Lagoon included the use of private sector funds to implement the recommendations of the updated Keehi Lagoon Recreation Plan by lease of the Triangle area, "as is", to a private developer and the generation of revenues to the State by the lease; and

WHEREAS, S.C.R. No. 33, S.D. 1, H.D. 1, was adopted by the Sixteenth Legislature, Regular Session of 1992, extending the Legislature's approval of the July 1, 1994 deadline which has expired; and

WHEREAS, the statewide small boat harbor system has a severe backlog of needed repairs with Keehi alone requiring over $8 million including replacement of all mooring facilities which have deteriorated so badly that 67 of 355 boat slips have been removed for safety reasons; and

WHEREAS, boating funds are and will continue to be insufficient to meet the increasing backlog, and general funds are not available or may not be an appropriate expenditure for this purpose; and

WHEREAS, private companies continue to express an interest in managing and/or developing Keehi Lagoon and, in the absence of state funds, may be the only means to effect needed repairs and development of this valuable resource; now therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-first Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2001, the Senate concurring, that BLNR is requested to meet with all stakeholders and users of Keehi Lagoon, including canoe-paddling clubs, to review all alternatives and to develop a consensus agreement on how best to realistically proceed with effecting needed repairs and development of this marina; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of BLNR and to all listed lessees and users of Keehi Lagoon.