STAND. COM. REP. NO. 3662

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    H.C.R. No. 112

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2008

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Water and Land, to which was referred H.C.R. No. 112 entitled:

"HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION URGING THE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES AND THE COUNTY OF HAWAII 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,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to urge the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the County of Hawaii to prepare a coordinated, comprehensive plan to address the needs and concerns of the lessees facing eviction upon the expiration of the leases at Kanoelehua Industrial Park.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by Hilo Fish Company, Inc. and Kanoelehua Industrial Area Association, Inc.  Testimony in opposition to this measure was submitted by the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

     Your Committee finds that the Kanoelehua Industrial Park in Hilo is comprised of approximately three hundred forty acres of public land.  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 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.  Your Committee further finds that 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.  As many as four hundred lessees may be displaced when these leases expire. It is not known whether the Department of Land and Natural Resources will offer lessees an opportunity to bid for their parcels when their leases expire or if the land will be restricted to commercial purposes instead.

     Your Committee further finds that 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 for use as a new industrial park.  However, it is unlikely that the new industrial park will be ready or available to accommodate lessees before the first leases in Kanoelehua Industrial Park expire.  Your Committee recognizes that the uncertainty of the status of these public lands makes it difficult for lessees to plan for their future.

     Your Committee urges the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the County of Hawaii 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.  Specifically, your Committee recommends that the Department of Land and Natural Resources and the County of Hawaii meet with interested stakeholders in developing the plan and that the plan be finalized prior to January 1, 2010.  Your Committee further recommends that the Department of Land and Natural Resources provide copies of the final plan to each lessee at the Kanoelehua Industrial Park and the Legislature prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2010.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water and Land that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of H.C.R. No. 112, and recommends its adoption.

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

____________________________

CLAYTON HEE, Chair