Bill Text: HI SR42 | 2018 | Regular Session | Amended


Bill Title: Urging All Policymakers And Residents Of The City And County Of Honolulu To Support The Waianae Sustainable Communities Plan And The Preservation Of Ohikilolo.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 6-0)

Status: (Passed) 2018-04-19 - Report and Resolution Adopted. [SR42 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2018-SR42-Amended.html

THE SENATE

S.R. NO.

42

TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018

S.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

URGING ALL POLICYMAKERS AND RESIDENTS OF THE CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU TO SUPPORT THE WAIANAE SUSTAINABLE COMMUNITIES PLAN AND THE PRESERVATION OF OHIKILOLO.

 

 


     WHEREAS, more than six hundred acres of former ranchland in Ohikilolo on Oahu have been considered as a possible landfill, golf course, and luxury subdivision; and

 

     WHEREAS, in a 1994 archaeological study of Ohikilolo entitled, "Archaeological Investigation of Lowland Keaau Valley on the Leeward Coast of Oahu", conducted by the International Archaeological Research Institute, Inc., researchers recorded four hundred sixty-one sites in just sixty acres of Ohikilolo and stated that the area surveyed should be recommended to the National Registry of Historic Places; and

 

     WHEREAS, there is speculation that more archaeological sites exist in other areas of Ohikilolo; and

 

     WHEREAS, the kupu ka aina and native Hawaiian families of the Waianae coast consider Ohikilolo to be part of Kanehunamoku, the sacred lands of Kane, the Hawaiian sun deity, and believe that Lailai, the first human, was born in this valley; and

 

     WHEREAS, in the Kumulipo, the Hawaiian creation story, Lailai becomes the mother of the Hawaiian race; and

 

     WHEREAS, Ohikilolo and Keaau Valley represent a complete kaananiau, a land district stretching from the mountains to the sea; and

 

     WHEREAS, after being deeded to a servant of Kamehameha I, Ohikilolo was used for much of its history as a ranch, and due to its vast amount of land, a Japanese corporation has been interested in turning it into a golf course, and similarly, the City and County of Honolulu has considered using the land as a dumping facility; and

 

     WHEREAS, currently, parts of Ohikilolo are the property of the Pickering family of Arizona; and

 

     WHEREAS, possible development in Ohikilolo by the Pickering family has been an issue for approximately eight years; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2007, according to property documents, Robert Pickering acquired, for $3,800,000, seven hundred thirty-five acres of land in Ohikilolo and the surrounding area zoned as AG‑2 land; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2010, the Pickering family had the idea to put a luxury housing development on the property; and

 

     WHEREAS, according to Tim Pickering, the land was never developed because he could not find any investors, nor could he negotiate retrofitting the area with roads and adding sewer lines; and

 

     WHEREAS, to date, Mr. Pickering has not filed for any building permits or conditional use permits for Ohikilolo; and

 

     WHEREAS, area residents were worried when they recently discovered a $3,500,000 real estate listing from Chaney Brooks and Company for the sixty acres that include most of the archaeological sites; however, representatives of the real estate company stated that the listing is from roughly six years ago and the property is no longer publicly on the market; and

 

     WHEREAS, in March 2017, residents worried that Makaha La, another development advertised online and in the Honolulu Star-Advertiser, would stretch into Ohikilolo; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2017, community members formed a group known as "Friends of Ohikilolo" dba Na Kiai No Kanehunamoku, which has registered as a non-profit pursuant to section 501(c)(3) of the United States Internal Revenue Code, with the aim to preserve the Leeward Oahu coastline from Kepuhi Point to Kaena Point; and

 

     WHEREAS, to protect the entirety of Ohikilolo, Friends of Ohikilolo has suggested the State conduct a Traditional Cultural Properties study, which goes beyond analyzing physical features and includes the cultural significance of an area; and

 

     WHEREAS, Friends of Ohikilolo aims to preserve Ohikilolo as an open space, which is consistent with the Waianae Sustainable Communities Plan; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2018, that all policymakers and residents of the City and County of Honolulu are urged to support the Waianae Sustainable Communities Plan; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that all policymakers and residents of the City and County of Honolulu are urged to support the preservation of Ohikilolo as an open space; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, Chief Executive Officer of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Chairperson of the Land Use Commission, Administrator of the State Historic Preservation Division of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Director of Planning and Permitting of the City and County of Honolulu, Chair of the Honolulu County Council, Chair of the Waianae Neighborhood Board, Friends of Ohikilolo, and Pickering Family.

Report Title: 

Waianae Sustainable Communities Plan; Ohikilolo; Preservation; Historic Place

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