STAND. COM. REP. NO. 972

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    H.B. No. 324

       H.D. 2

       S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Shan S. Tsutsui

President of the Senate

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2011

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committees on Economic Development and Technology and Water, Land, and Housing, to which was referred H.B. No. 324, H.D. 2, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HISTORIC PRESERVATION,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to establish the South Kona Wilderness Area to be administered by the Department of Land and Natural Resources.

 

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources.  Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Department of the Attorney General and The Resort Group.  Your Committees received comments on this measure from The Nature Conservancy and five individuals.

 

     Your Committee on Water, Land, and Housing previously heard and amended a comparable measure, S.B. No. 1154, and your Committees have amended this measure by incorporating the provisions of S.B. No. 1154, S.D. 2, as part I.  Your Committees have further amended this measure by incorporating the language from S.B. No. 176, as part II.  As amended, this measure:

 

     (1)  Establishes the South Kona Wilderness Area;

 

     (2)  Designates the lands to be included in the South Kona Wilderness Area, and clarifies the descriptions of Kaulanamauna and Manuka;

 

     (3)  Prohibits construction of new homes or other structures within one thousand feet of the shoreline within the South Kona Wilderness Area;

 

     (4)  Authorizes the Department of Land and Natural Resources to acquire private lands in the South Kona Wilderness Area by donation or by a dollar-for-dollar exchange;

 

     (5)  Designates the lands within the South Kona Wilderness Area as lands within the conservation district;

 

     (6)  Requires the Department of Land and Natural Resources, in cooperation with appropriate county, state, and federal agencies; the Aha Kiole Advisory Committee, established pursuant to Act 212, Session Laws of Hawaii 2007; and Paa Pono Milolii, a Hawaii nonprofit corporation to develop a comprehensive management plan;

 

     (7)  Authorizes the Legislature to designate a contiguous geographical area in the State as a historical district, and establishes the West Oahu Historical District; and

 

     (8)  Makes technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

 

     Your Committees have heard the concerns raised by the Attorney General, as well as the concerns of The Resort Group relative to the Kapu‘a parcels.  While your Committees agree that these private property issues need to be addressed, the recommendations to remove a significant portion of the lands from the proposed South Kona Wilderness Area need further clarification.  Your Committees ask that the parties continue the dialogue in order to determine how best to address these concerns.

 

     To this end, your Committees note that the effective date of this measure is July 1, 2030, to allow for further discussion.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Economic Development and Technology and Water, Land, and Housing that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 324, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 324, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Ways and Means.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Economic Development and Technology and Water, Land, and Housing,

 

____________________________ DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair		____________________________ CAROL FUKUNAGA, Chair