RES 155 Draft 01 2018-2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

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WHEREAS, the Amy B. H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden located in the ahupua'a of Kealakekua, District of South Kona, Island and County of Hawai`i, is included on the prioritized list of lands to be considered for acquisition in the Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Commission's 2018 Annual Report to the Mayor dated December 31, 2018, identified as Tax Map Key Numbers (3) 8-2-013:014; (3) 8-2-013:002; (3) 8-2-013:003; (3) 8-2-014:043; and (3) 8-2-015:059, containing a combined area of approximately 13.6 acres; and WHEREAS, Section 2-218(a) of the Code provides, in pertinent part, that: "The Council shall, by resolution, select the land or lands to be preserved ..." and "[w]here there are multiple lands under consideration at any one time, priority shall be given to ... lands where matching funding is available to leverage the County contribution."; and WHEREAS, the Amy B. H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden was established to preserve native plants of Hawaii; provides a seed bank for critically endangered plant species which were brought to the Amy B. H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden for protective cultivation and storage; contains over 200 species of endemic, indigenous, and Polynesian-introduced plants; and serves as a backstop against extinction; and WHEREAS, the Amy B. H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden consistently attracts over 14,000 visitors and approximately 2,000 students of all ages annually, has been the main venue for annual celebrations and programs such as the Grow Hawaiian Festival, and educational partnerships with Hua 0 Ke Ao (a youth `aina-based gardening program for students K-12) and the Hawai`i Island School Garden Network which connects keiki with real food, healthier eating habits, and the `aina itself); and WHEREAS, the Friends of the Amy B. H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden, a local community based 501(c)(3)non-profit Hawaii Corporation(hereinafter"Friends of the Garden") is presently negotiating a purchase of the Amy B. H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden and has secured funding commitments from the State of Hawai'i's Legacy Land Grant Program,the United States Department of Agriculture's Community First Program, and the Atherton Foundation; and WHEREAS, the County of Hawai`i desires to leverage its potential contribution to the acquisition of the Amy B. H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden by joining with the Friends of the Garden to acquire title or conservation easement(s) in all or part of the Amy B. H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden; and WHEREAS, the acquisition of title or conservation easement(s) for the Amy B. H. Greenwell Ethnobotanical Garden would be significantly beneficial to the County of Hawai`i and our island community as a method of preserving history specific to the ahupua`a of Kealakekua, sustaining rare and native plant species critical to perpetuating traditional and customary native Hawaiian practices, safeguarding our valuable cultural resources for future generations, and perpetuating the uniqueness and rich historical and cultural significance, of the ahupua`a of Kealakekua; now, therefore, 2