Bill Text: HI HB764 | 2010 | Regular Session | Introduced

---

Bill Title: State Parks; Residential Leases; Advisory Committee

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2009-05-11 - Carried over to 2010 Regular Session. [HB764 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2010-HB764-Introduced.html

---

Report Title:

State Parks; Residential Leases; Advisory Committee

 

Description:

Authorizes the department of land and natural resources to issue residential leases in state parks; establishes an advisory committee to monitor compliance with the leases.

 

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	764
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

Relating to public lands.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the department of land and natural resources requires more flexibility to negotiate and enter into long-term residential leases for state park land.  Long-term lessees can provide valuable caretaking services for state parks.  For example, the Kahana Valley State Park is a model for such endeavors.

     In 1965, the State condemned the ahupua‘a o Kahana for use as a state park, making it the only landowner in the State of Hawai‘i, outside of the Robinson family of Ni‘ihau, to own an intact ahupua‘a.  An ahupua‘a, a triangular slice of land running from the mountains to the ocean, was the major land division used by pre-contact Hawaiians, as it included all of the elements necessary for their existence: the uplands, the lowlands, the shore, and the ocean.

     While the families living in Kahana at the time of the condemnation were of varied ethnic backgrounds, many of them were native Hawaiian, and the people of Kahana in general lived a simple, subsistence lifestyle in harmony with native Hawaiian values and traditions.  The people of Kahana lobbied the legislature after the condemnation to allow them to stay in Kahana and preserve this rural native Hawaiian-influenced lifestyle.  In 1970, a governor's task force proposed the concept of a living park that would allow the families to stay and in some way participate in the park.  The governor recommended the concept to the department of land and natural resources.  The residents were allowed to stay on the land under revocable leases.

     The State determined that each Kahana family would contribute twenty-five hours of interpretive services per month to the park, to preserve, restore, and share the history and rural lifestyle of the ahupua‘a with the public.

     Act 5, Session Laws of Hawaii 1987, authorized the department of land and natural resources to issue long-term residential leases to persons who had lived continuously in Kahana valley or had permits allowing them to reside on certain parcels of land within Kahana valley.  As a condition of holding a lease, these qualified persons agreed to participate in interpretive programs in Kahana valley state park.

     The lessees have not only acted as caretakers of the valley, but also shared their knowledge of the valley and interpreted the significance of the valley's resources for the public's benefit and enjoyment.  The authority to issue leases pursuant to Act 5 expired on January 1, 1992.

     The purpose of this Act is to:

     (1)  Authorize the department of land and natural resources to issue long-term residential leases to qualified persons, on the condition that lessees participate in the state park's caretaking programs; and

     (2)  Establish an advisory committee with representatives from specific, interested organizations to facilitate operations and compliance with the state park residential leases.

     SECTION 2.  Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, including chapter 171, Hawaii Revised Statutes, the department of land and natural resources is authorized to negotiate and enter into long-term residential leases for sites in state parks with acreage greater than five thousand acres but not more than six thousand acres, with the lease term not to exceed beyond fifty years, with persons who reside and have continuously resided in the same state park since before 1987 and have served as caretakers of the state park.

     The lands eligible for long-term residential lease negotiations under the provisions of this Act are limited to those determined eligible by the department of land and natural resources.

     SECTION 3.  The lessees agreement to participate in, and become an essential part of, the caretaking programs in the state park as directed by the department of land and natural resources shall be considered valuable consideration for a lease granted pursuant to this Act.  The department of land and natural resources shall establish a monitoring system and enforcement mechanism to ensure compliance with these agreements, which shall work in conjunction with the state park advisory committee as established pursuant to this Act.

     SECTION 4.  The leases under this Act shall be exempt from all statutes, ordinances, charter provisions, and rules of any governmental agency related to zoning and construction standards for subdivisions, the development and improvement of land, and the construction of units thereon; provided that the department of land and natural resources finds the exemptions are consistent with the purposes of this Act and the leases meet minimum requirements of health and safety.

     SECTION 5.  There is established a state park advisory committee, which shall advise the department of land and natural resources on matters related to the management of leases under this Act, including eligibility requirements for applicants for leases and the monitoring of lessee compliance with participation in the interpretive programs.

     The advisory committee shall consist of seven members appointed without regard to section 26-34, Hawaii Revised Statutes, as follows:

     (1)  One member representing the department of land and natural resources, as designated by the chairperson of the board of land and natural resources;

     (2)  Two members who are lease holders, as designated by the chairperson of the board of land and natural resources;

     (3)  One member of the Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, as designated by the corporation;

     (4)  Two members of the public, as designated by the governor; and

     (5)  One member of the board of trustees of the office of Hawaiian affairs, as designated by the board.

     SECTION 6.  The authority granted by section 2 of this Act shall expire:

     (1)  When all leases have been negotiated and recorded in the bureau of conveyances for all parcels meeting the criteria in this Act; or

     (2)  On June 30, 2014;

whichever occurs first.

     SECTION 7.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

 

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________