HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOMM. 008 Geographical Limits of the County
EDMUND HAITSUKA
Chairman
DAVID FUERTES
Vice Chair
DAPHNE HONMA
CASEY JARMAN
JAMAE KAWAUCHI
JOSEPH KEALOHA
ALAPAKI NAHALE-A
SUSIE OSBORNE
TODD SHUMWAY
SCOTT UNGER
2009-2010
HAWAI‘I COUNTY
CHARTER COMMISSION
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To: Edmund K. Haitsuka, Chair
Members of the Hawai‘i County Charter Commission
From: Levi K. Hookano, Attorney
Date: April 16, 2009
Re: Article I, Section 1-2: Geographical Limits of the County
Chair Haitsuka and Members of the Charter Commission,
At the April 9, 2009 Charter Commission meeting, a question arose regarding the
geographical limits of the County. This memo will address what constitutes the phrase
“within the shores thereof and the waters adjacent thereto” in Article I, Section 1-2
means. From the research it appears that the County extends seaward three nautical miles
from the shore.
Act 39 from the Session Laws of 1905 created the County of Hawai‘i. It
established that “[t]he Island of Hawaii and all other Islands lying within three nautical
miles of the shores thereof, and the waters adjacent thereto, shall be the County of
Hawaii[.]” This provision eventually became Hawai‘i Revised Statutes (“HRS”) § 61-1.
In 1988, however, HRS Chapter 61 was repealed in its entirety by Act 263.
Chapter 4 of the HRS does provide additional guidance in this matter. Chapter 4
establishes boundaries, and in HRS § 4-1(1) it does state that the island and county of
Hawai‘i shall be divided into nine districts. [Emphasis added]. According to HRS § 4-3,
the boundaries of the island and county of Hawaii and its districts include the
“archipelagic waters and smaller islands adjacent thereto.” This could be cross
referenced with Article XV of the Hawai‘i State Constitution, which states that the
boundaries of the State shall include the “appurtenant reefs and territorial and
archipelagic waters.” The Ninth Circuit Court of Appeals found that the term “territorial
waters” includes “the waters extending seaward three nautical miles from the coastline.”1
Basically, county laws could be enforced up to three nautical miles from the
shoreline of the island. The enforcement of county laws in this area falls under the
1 Island Airlines, Inc. v. Civil Aeronautics Board, 62 P.U.R.3d 290, 352 F.2d 735.
Department and Board of Land and Natural Resources pursuant to HRS § 26-15(b) and §
199-4.
If you have any further questions regarding this matter, please do not hesitate to
contact me.
Levi Hookano
Commission Attorney
Cc: Karen Eoff, Commission Secretary
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