HR95

WHEREAS, the Kanoelehua Industrial Park in Hilo is comprised of approximately three hundred forty acres of public land; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands oversees eighty leases related to the three hundred acres of the industrial park that are under its jurisdiction; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Land and Natural Resources oversees fifty‑two leases related to the forty acres of the industrial park that are under its jurisdiction; and

WHEREAS, most of the leases have term limits of fifty‑five years that will expire in 2016, although some of the leases will expire even earlier; and

WHEREAS, as many as four hundred businesses will be effected when these leases expire; and

WHEREAS, it is unknown whether the Department of Land and Natural Resources will offer lessees an opportunity to bid for their parcels when their leases expire or restrict the land to commercial purposes instead; and

WHEREAS, even if lessees have an opportunity to bid for their parcels when their leases expire, they would face eviction if they lose the bids; and

WHEREAS, Senate Concurrent Resolution No. 68, S.D. 1, Regular Session 2002, authorized the Department of Land and Natural Resources to designate approximately one hundred fifty acres of contiguous public land in South Hilo, in the area known as the Mana quarry, for use as a new industrial park; and

WHEREAS, while the Department of Land and Natural Resources has proceeded with an environmental review process for the new industrial park, it is unlikely that it will be ready or available to accommodate lessees before the first leases in Kanoelehua Industrial Park expire; and

WHEREAS, the uncertainty of the status of these public lands makes it difficult for lessees to plan for their future; and

WHEREAS, the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the County of Hawaii should have a coordinated, comprehensive plan to address the needs and concerns of the lessees facing eviction upon the expiration of the leases at the Kanoelehua Industrial Park; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, that the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the County of Hawaii are urged to prepare a coordinated, comprehensive plan to address the needs and concerns of the lessees facing eviction upon the expiration of the leases at the Kanoelehua Industrial Park; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the County of Hawaii are requested to:

(1) Meet with interested stakeholders to develop the plan;

(2) Finalize the plan before January 1, 2010; and

(3) Provide each lessee and the Legislature with a copy of the plan no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2010; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chair of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, the Chair of the Hawaii County Council, the Mayor of Hawaii County, the Director of the Hawaii County Planning Department, and the Director of the Kanoelehua Industrial Area Association, Inc.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Public Land; Kanoelehua Industrial Park

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	95
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII