HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES 494 Draft 02 2020-2022
A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE TO NEGOTIATE A LONG-TERM LEASE OF APPROXIMATELY 1,000 ACRES OF COUNTY-OWNED, AGRICULTURAL-ZONED LANDS, BEING TAX MAP KEYS: 4-2-005:001
AND 4-2-005:005, KOHOLĀLELE, HᾹMᾹKUA, HAWAI‘I, WITH HUI MĀLAMA I KE ALA ʻŪLILI, PURSUANT TO CHAPTER 2, ARTICLE 19, SECTIONS 2-114 AND 2-120, OF THE HAWAI‘I COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION,
AS AMENDED).
WHEREAS, the County of Hawai‘i is the owner of certain agricultural-zoned lands located in Koholālele, Hāmākua, Hawai‘i, identified as Tax Map Keys: 4-2-005:001 and 4-2-005:005, comprising
a total of approximately 1,000 leasable acres; and
WHEREAS, in 1994, the Council of the County of Hawai‘i agreed to accept these lands via Resolution No. 232-94 and by Commissioner’s Quitclaim Deed as a settlement agreement with Western
Farm Credit Bank for retroactive real property taxes owed for lands used by Hāmākua Sugar Company, Inc.; and
WHEREAS, Koholālele is a wahi pana (storied place) with abundant ʻāina (land, earth) that historically provided sustenance and functioned as a safe place of refuge and learning for the
community of Hāmākua; and
WHEREAS, Koholālele, today, provides a unique opportunity for keiki, through kupuna, to engage in ‘āina stewardship, cultural practices, and land restoration within the various environmental
zones of the traditional ahupua‘a (land division usually extending from the uplands to the sea) boundaries of Koholālele, using Native Hawaiian ancestral practices and data sciences;
and
WHEREAS, the 2018 Hāmākua Community Development Plan prioritizes the protection and restoration of natural and cultural resources in the Hāmākua region, such as watershed systems and
agricultural lands, and encourages community-based collaborative management to address current and future needs relating to climate change resiliency, food security, ecosystem restoration,
and community-led economic development; and
WHEREAS, Hui Mālama i ke Ala ʻŪlili is a community-based 501(c)(3) charitable organization founded in 2015 whose mission is to reestablish the ecosystems that sustain the community through
place-based educational initiatives and ‘āina-centered practices that cultivate abundance, regenerate responsibilities, and promote collective health and well-being; and
WHEREAS, Chapter 2, Article 19, Section 2-114(c), of the Hawai‘i County Code 1983 (2016 Edition, as amended), provides in pertinent part that real property may be sold or leased through
negotiation upon a finding by the Council that the public interest demands it, and also upon approval of the minimum conditions and selection criteria of the Council; and
WHEREAS, Chapter 2, Article 19, Section 2-120(a)(2), of the Hawai‘i County Code 1983 (2016 Edition, as amended), provides in pertinent part that the Council may, by resolution approved
by a majority of its members, direct the Director of Finance to negotiate the disposition of real property by leasing it to a nonprofit organization, at such rentals and on such terms
and conditions as deemed proper; and
WHEREAS, Chapter 2, Article 19, Section 2-120(b), of the Hawai‘i County Code 1983 (2016 Edition, as amended), provides such lease of real property to nonprofit organizations may be made
without notice or appraisal as required in Chapter 2, Article 19; and
WHEREAS, the Council finds that these lands are appropriate to be leased by negotiation for the purposes of ‘āina stewardship, Native Hawaiian farming and gathering practices, regenerative
agroforestry, and diversified agro-ecological systems, which would fall within the goals and objectives of the Hāmākua Community Development Plan while also benefiting the County, tenant(s),
and the community; and
WHEREAS, the Council does not wish for these lands to remain idle and become overgrown and susceptible to fire hazards; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I that pursuant to Chapter 2, Article 19, Sections 2-114(c) and 2-120(a)(2), of the Hawai‘i County Code 1983 (2016 Edition, as amended),
the Council hereby finds that it is in the public’s interest that all or a portion of approximately 1,000 acres of Hāmākua land as described herein shall be leased by negotiation.