SCR144

WHEREAS, when the Legislature enacted Act 183, Session Laws of Hawaii 2005, establishing important agricultural lands, it declared that the people of Hawaii have a substantial interest in the health and sustainability of agriculture as an industry in the State and that there is a compelling state interest in conserving the State's agricultural land resource base and ensuring the long‑term availability of agricultural lands for agricultural use; and

WHEREAS, this is in accord with the State's responsibility under Article XI, Section 3, of the Hawaii State Constitution to conserve and protect agricultural lands; and

WHEREAS, certain agricultural lands are also important because of their special historical, cultural, and visual value to the State and are akin in many ways to landmarks; and

WHEREAS, these "historic agricultural landmarks" should be preserved and perpetuated as agricultural land for the benefit of the people of Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, agricultural lands, such as the George Galbraith Trust agricultural lands north of Wahiawa, Oahu, are intertwined with the historic and cultural fabric of the surrounding towns and their people; and

WHEREAS, the Galbraith lands in question are pineapple plantation lands and home to former and current pineapple workers, many of whom have lived and worked on the pineapple plantation lands for decades; and

WHEREAS, many of the workers who left the pineapple plantation camps settled in surrounding towns, and their families are still living there today; and

WHEREAS, the pineapple industry is a significant part of Hawaii's history; and

WHEREAS, Wahiawa, in particular, was once known as "The City of Pines" or "Land of a Million Pines" and considered the hub of the world's pineapple industry; and

WHEREAS, the Galbraith lands in question are, in essence, a prime example of agricultural lands that have a special historical, cultural, and visual value to the people of Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, part III of chapter 205, Hawaii Revised Statutes, establishes standards and criteria for the identification, as well as the designation, of important agricultural lands; and

WHEREAS, state and county agricultural policies, tax policies, land use plans, ordinances, and rules are required to promote the long‑term viability of agricultural use of lands designated as important agricultural lands by, among other things, facilitating the long‑term dedication of important agricultural lands for future agricultural use through the use of incentives; and

WHEREAS, instead of acquiring the Galbraith lands in question, the State should restrict the land use to preserve and perpetuate it as agricultural land for the continuing benefit of the people of Hawaii; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, the House of Representatives concurring, that the City and County of Honolulu is urged to initiate and advance the process, pursuant to section 205‑47, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to identify and map the Galbraith lands in question as important agricultural lands; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Honolulu City Council is urged to adopt the important agricultural lands maps delineating the Galbraith lands in question, once they are submitted; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Agriculture and the Office of Planning are urged to support the designation of the Galbraith lands in question, as important agricultural lands; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, upon receipt of the important agricultural lands maps delineating the Galbraith lands in question, the Land Use Commission is urged to identify and designate the Galbraith lands in question, as important agricultural lands; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that, once the Galbraith lands, in question, are identified and designated as important agricultural lands, the Land Use Commission and the City and County of Honolulu are urged to restrict the land use to facilitate the long‑term dedication of the Galbraith lands in question, as agricultural lands to preserve and perpetuate the lands for the continuing benefit of the people of Hawaii; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chair of the Board of Agriculture, the Director of the Office of Planning, the Chair of the Land Use Commission, the Chair of the Honolulu City Council, and the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu.

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Important Agricultural Lands; Galbraith Lands

THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	144
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008
STATE OF HAWAII