HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES 552 Draft 01 2024-2026A RESOLUTION AUTHORIZING THE DIRECTOR OF FINANCE TO ENTER INTO NEGOTIATIONS FOR THE ACQUISITION OF LANDS OR CONSERVATION EASEMENTS FOR ALL OR A PORTION OF THE PROPERTIES IDENTIFIED AS
TAX MAP KEY NOS. (3) 8-1-009:007 AND 008, ALSO KNOWN AS KŌKUA KEALAKEKUA, SITUATED IN THE AHUPUA‘A OF KA‘AWALOA, DISTRICT OF SOUTH KONA, UTILIZING THE PUBLIC ACCESS, OPEN SPACE, AND
NATURAL RESOURCES PRESERVATION FUND.
WHEREAS, Chapter 2, Article 42 of the Hawai‘i County Code 1983 (2016 Edition, as amended) (hereinafter “the Code”), establishes a Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation
Fund; and
WHEREAS, Section 2-214.1(c) of the Code provides that the Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Fund shall be used for “acquiring lands or property entitlements
in the County of Hawai‘i 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; and
(5) Protection of watershed lands to preserve water quality and water supply”; and
WHEREAS, Section 2-217 of the Code provides, in part, that the duties and responsibilities of the Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Commission (hereinafter
“the Commission”) include developing and submitting to the Mayor an initial prioritized list of qualifying lands worthy of preservation and updating the list annually by December 31
of each year; and
WHEREAS, the Kōkua Kealakekua Property, described in Exhibit A, attached hereto and incorporated herein by reference, consists of approximately 1.26 acres, and is ranked the highest
priority for acquisition in the Commission’s 2025 Annual Report to the Mayor dated December 31, 2025; and
WHEREAS, Section 2-218(a) of the Code provides, in pertinent part, that: “[t]he 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, on April 25, 2025, the State of Hawai‘i Board of Land and Natural Resources approved for a Legacy Land Conservation Grant Award in the amount of $700,000 to nonprofit Hoʻāla
Kealakekua Nui to purchase and protect the Kōkua Kealakekua Property, a significant amount of matching funding for the acquisition; and
WHEREAS, Hoʻāla Kealakekua Nui’s mission is to engage in collaborative stewardship of Kealakekua Bay’s natural and cultural landscape to benefit the whole community, including guests
and future generations, through active restoration, outreach, and education; and
WHEREAS, Kealakekua Bay is threatened by unmanaged tourism, habitat degradation, overuse, and desecration of cultural sites; and
WHEREAS, the Kōkua Kealakekua Property sits mauka of the Kaʻawaloa trailhead, also known as Captain Cook Monument Trail, and will become a managed gateway to accessing the 537-acre Kealakekua
Bay State Historical Park, a vast cultural and natural landscape that contains heiau complexes, anchialine ponds, the historic Kona agricultural field system, fishing villages, burial
grounds, and Kealakekua Bay, which is a Marine Life Conservation District, home to a coral reef ecosystem and diverse marine habitat; and
WHEREAS, the acquisition of title or conservation easement for the Kōkua Kealakekua Property would be significantly beneficial to the County for the following reasons:
Protecting cultural and natural resources;
Preserving and restoring native species;
Facilitating responsible managed public access to Ka‘awaloa trail;
Enabling descendant and community-based management, stewardship, and economic development; and
Perpetuating the lifestyle, culture, and history of South Kona; and
WHEREAS, there has been great support from organizations for the conservation of the Kōkua Kealakekua Property, including Hōʻala Kealakekua Nui, the Trust for Public Land, along with
State of Hawai‘i Board of Land and Natural Resources; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I that, pursuant to Chapter 2, Article 42 of the Code, the Director of Finance is hereby authorized to enter into negotiations for
the acquisition of lands or conservation easements, or both, for all or a portion of the properties identified as Tax Map Key Nos. (3) 8-1-009:007 and 008, also known as the Kōkua Kealakekua
Property, situated in the Ahupua‘a of Ka‘awaloa, District of South Kona, utilizing the Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Fund.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Director of Finance is hereby authorized to initiate any funding mechanisms required for the acquisition of lands or conservation easements for all or
a portion of the properties, in accordance with the terms of this resolution.
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the County Clerk shall transmit a copy of this resolution to the Honorable C. Kimo Alameda, Mayor of the County of Hawai‘i; Diane Nakagawa, Director of Finance;
Dawn N. S. Chang, Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources; Summer Sylva, Interim Chief Executive Officer, Office of Hawaiian Affairs; and Deborah Chang, Chairperson of
the Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Commission.
Dated at _____________, Hawai‘i, this ______ day of ___________________, 20___.
INTRODUCED BY:
_______________________________________
COUNCIL MEMBER, COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I