HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	136
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

urging the coastal zone management program under the office of planning to ascertain the disposition of title and ownership of acreage along the pearl harbor shoreline bordering waipahu and the westlock shorelines that accumulated as a result of mangroves, vegetation, and accreted land from rivers upstream.

     WHEREAS, there are hundreds of acres covered by mangroves and other vegetation along the Waipahu shoreline; and

     WHEREAS, the Twenty-sixth Legislature adopted H.C.R. No. 85, H.D. 1, in 2011, urging the Department of Land and Natural Resources to determine whether lands along the Waipio peninsula and Waipahu shorelines are accreted lands and therefore state property for prospective use as a state park; and

     WHEREAS, the Department of Parks and Recreation of the City and County of Honolulu conducted an initial assessment of the acreage on September 30, 2011, that found that dense vegetation and tangled mangroves prevented further assessments and ground studies from being conducted at that time; and

     WHEREAS, further assessments were not pursued because of financial constraints; and

     WHEREAS, the acreage does not have tax map identification and does not exist on maps prior to 1900; and

     WHEREAS, in 2007, United States Navy personnel surveyed the shoreline mangrove area and cleaned up debris and determined that the wet grounds behind and makai of Waipahu Intermediate School result from inland water and the debris along the shoreline came down from two streams; and
     WHEREAS, the United States Navy also made a determination of ownership and responsibility but only to the extreme high water mark; and

     WHEREAS, there was a joint clean-up event with the United States Navy in 2011 where an Admiral claimed that the land involved was not within United States Navy jurisdiction; and

     WHEREAS, the United States Navy denies ownership of the subject acreage; and

     WHEREAS, the City and County of Honolulu and the State have clear demarcation marks of the property, which are far in, mauka of the acreage; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2012, that the Coastal Zone Management Program under the Office of Planning is urged to ascertain the disposition of title and ownership of acreage along the Pearl Harbor shoreline bordering Waipahu and the Westlock shorelines that accumulated as a result of mangroves, vegetation, and accreted land from rivers upstream; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the owner, once determined, survey the land for hazards and environmental cleanup needs; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the process of accretion be studied in the event the land is not titled; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the land be designated for future use as a park or community garden; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Commander of Navy Region Hawaii, Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources,

Director of the Office of Planning, members of the Honolulu City Council, and Director of the Department of Parks and Recreation of the City and County of Honolulu.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Accreted Land; Waipahu and Westlock Shorelines; Coastal Zone Management