BIL 078 Draft 03 2004-2006 - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

(c) In adopting each fiscal year's operating budget, the council shall appropriate a minimum of $250,000 to the Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Fund. (l) When the unencumbered balance in the fund (exclusive of bond proceeds) equals or exceeds $5,000,000, no further county appropriations shall be made until the balance falls below $5,000,000. (2) Nothing in this section shall prevent the Counci] from appropriating amounts in excess of the above minimum amounts to this fund. (d) The fund shall be used for acquiring lands or property entitlements in the county of Hawaii for the following purposes: (1) Public outdoor recreation and education, including access to beaches and mountains. (2) Preservation of historic or culturally important land areas and sites. (3) Protection of natural resources, including buffer zones. (4) Preservation of forests, beaches, coastal areas, natural beauty and agricultural lands. (5) Protection of watershed lands to preserve water quality and water supply. (e) There is established a Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Commission. There shall be nine members on this commission, appointed by the Mayor and confirmed by the Council. One member shall reside in each county council district. Staff support shall be provided by the Finance Department. The duties and responsibilities ofthis commission are: (1) To develop an initial island-wide prioritized list of qualifying lands worthy of preservation and submit it to the mayor. Priorities shall be listed on an island- wide rather than district basis. "fhe list shall include the significance of each parcel or entitlement identified, the reason for its priority, and its anticipated use after acquisition; (2) To update this list at any time, but at least annually by December 31 of each year; and (3) To explore methods of funding land acquisition and make recommendations to the Mayor. (4) The commission shall give emphasis to land acquisitions where the county's contribution can be leveraged to obtain state, federal, and/or private funds. (f) The prioritized list developed by the commission shall be submitted to the Mayor for comments and recommendation. Within 60 days after receipt, the Mayor will submit the list to the council with comments and recommendations. The Council shall, by resolution, select the land or lands to be preserved. Under no circumstances shall the purchase price paid for a property exceed the appraised value as prepared by an independent appraiser engaged by the county. Where there arc multiple lands under consideration at any one time, priority shall be given to coastal lands and lands where matching funding is available to leverage the county contribution. 2