HomeMy WebLinkAboutComm No 0021.003 - Testimony - CA-7 - PONC fund and Maintenance fundTo: Hawaii County Charter Commission
From: Toni Withington for Ka Makani 0 Kohala Ohana - Kako'o, North Kohala
Subject: Proposed changes to the Charter regarding the Open Space Fund
Aloha Commissioners,
The residents of North Kohala have been greatly enriched and motivated by
participation in the process of purchasing community -identified important coastal
lands using the County's Open Space Fund. Please see the attached brochure. We
are proud to have worked with five other community groups in Kohala to nominate
lands to the annual PONC priority list since it started in 2006. Currently eight North
Kohala projects are on the list.
Together the groups have participated in the preservation of 390 acres of
coastal lands by raising $20.9 million from multiple sources, including the Open
Space Fund. These include lands on the leeward coast and on the northern coast in
an area identified as Kula Iwi 0 Kamehemeha - the homelands of Kamehameha I.
We are very grateful for the County's role in achieving this success. We want to
continue to preserve North Kohala's coastal lands with the goal of creating an open
coast resource to benefit our county and the entire state. There is no accessible
coastline in Hawaii with the scenic, historical and recreational open space values of
Kohala.
Please do not recommend changing the Charter to lower the 2% allocation to
the Open Space Fund. This would be a mistake. Also do not suggest changing the
provision saying land purchased "shall be held in perpetuity for the use and
enjoyment of the people of Hawai'i County and may not be sold, mortgaged, traded
or transferred in any way."I do not need to remind you that island voters have
three times told the County to set aside funds for the permanent protection of our
wahi pana.
We fully understand that some residents of Hilo do not like the Open Space
Fund. No properties in Hilo have been nominated to the PONC program. None of our
mayors have been fully supportive of the program. It is foot -dragging, not a lack of
important lands on the priority list, that has led to the build-up of the fund. We still
have four projects that have County Council authorizations calling on the Finance
Department to begin negotiations with owners. These have not been initiated.
Still, those of us who live outside Hilo have benefitted greatly from this
program. Our children and grandchildren will have access to places that our kupuna
have selected to preserve for everyone.
Please maintain the 2% contribution and the preservation in perpetuity
portions of the charter. The Maintenance Fund sections of the charter need
revision. We agree. As stewards of several coastal properties, we know that the
granting process is flawed. We want to help fix that. But leave the fund alone.
Malama Na Lihikai 0 Kohalanei,
Toni Withington, President
Comm. No. 21.3
Presenting
Kura kW_
Karnehameha
in North Kotula
Hapset"
PRESERVED
Kaparmia
Purchase
Underway
Nits
PRESERVED
Map createdby John Winter and Toni Withington 201
Lighthouse, were acquired in 2012 with money from the State
)I fundraising by Maika'i Kamakani 0 Kohala, the non-profit that
ie Trust for Public Lands helped arrange the purchase, which
ners.
)st, whose 50 acres includes much of Halawa Gulch and the
ed high on the County Priority List since 2012, and has been
itions are expected to start soon.
;ed the first 22 acres using Open Space funding in March 2018.
-ne of Hale 0 Ka'ili Heiau. Two other parcels on the cliffs, totaling
)ved and awaiting the beginning of negotiations.
Jing for 93.5 acres that includes Kapanaia Bay, Kapalama Heiau
:y Council approval, the County is seeking matching State Legacy
The North Kohala coastline has always been a place for fishing, gathering anc
changing that. The story of Kohala's local community effort to protect its acce
and engulfs many generations of people. What started in the 1970s as proti
developments has evolved into the purchase and conversion of hundreds of a
for the benefit of the people. Miles of coastal trails have been opened officially
consequence, the stewardship of the coast and its many historical and cultural
a continuing volunteer activity.
The 29 -mile coast was populated seven
hundred years ago, but archaeologists
are just beginning to understand the
treasure trove of knowledge about early
Hawaiian life on the undeveloped
leeward coast and the northern coast,
which was the homeland of
Kamehameha the Great.
Through the efforts of five Kohala
community organizations in partnership
with the County, State and Federal
governments, two Hawaii land trusts and
generous land owners, 390 acres of
coastal land have been dedicated to
open space in perpetuity during the last
seven years. In addition to the donations
of land owners, the partners raised a
total of $20.9 million to make the
transfers happen.
The County's 2% Open Space Fund and the State's Legacy Land Preservatioi
funding. The Trust for Public Lands and Hawaiian Islands Land Trust, as well a
donors pitched in. But it was the cooperative work of the Kohala groups that k
the North Kohala Community Development Plan, which was, and continues
remarkable is that the accomplishments were achieved with all volunteer labor
The five groups are Malama Na Wahi Pana 0 Kohala, led by Fred Cachola; Ka 1\
Kanoa Withington; Malama Kohala Kahakai, led by Gail Byrne Baber; Maika'i
Naihe Laxton, and the Kohala Historic and Cultural Preservation Group, led by t
annually nominated Kohala lands to the County's Public Access, Open Spac
(PONC) priority list since 2006. The current 2017 list of nine properties aroun
North Kohala.
Old Coast Guard Road and the parking lot at the bottom. The Hawaiian Island
Land Trust lists it as an Iconic Land for preservation. Talks are underway with the
owner. It was recently nominated to the County priority list.
Puakea Trail - The State was granted a trail corridor along the cliff top by
the State Land Board as a result of action brought by Kohala residents. The
trail is administered by the Na Ala Hele trail program.
- Because of outstanding historic sites and recreational use, this
,d out by the North Kohala Community Development Plan (NKCDP)
:ion. It has been on the County Open Space Priority List for
;ht times since 2007.
:he land was once listed on the County Priority List, the 17
d in 2011 with State Legacy Land Preservation Funds (LLPF)
and Atmospheric Administration (NOAA) grant with the
Public Lands. It is now part of Lapakahi State Historical Park.
Mahukona - The NKCDP also calls for public purchase of the 435 acres,
which has also been on the County Open Space Priority List for nine years
- number three priority for the past 2 years. Preliminary talks have been
held with representatives of the owner, Mahukona LLC, which took over
after foreclosure proceedings in 2012. It is Kohala's primary ocean
recreation area and home to hundreds of historic sites.
3r surf site and many historic sites, the
Focus of several legal battles to prevent
)tion homes. It was finally purchased in 2010
i the County Open Space Fund and the State
tle.
Lamaloloa - This 35 -acre parcel has appeared on the County Open
Space Priority List for five years. Surrounded by State land, it was
once slated for resort development. Kohala groups have been talking
with the owners about public purchase.
/0 parcels, totaling 77 acres, were
Is of the price coming from the State
ty Open Space Fund. The County holds
Kaiholena North - In the 1980s the land division of Kaiholena was rezoned for
resort and golf course. In 2000 it was subdivided into six parcels. All parcels were
named for public purchase in the NKCDP and listed annually on the County Open
Space Priority List for many years. The first three lots totaling 151 acres were
purchased outright by the County Open Space Fund in 2010. The land is culturally
and historically highly significant.
Kaiholena South - The last 35 -acre parcel was purchased in 2015 with funds
primarily from the State LLPF. The rest was raised by the Ala Kahakai Trail
Association, a locally controlled non-profit that works with the Ala Kahakai National
Historic Trail and the Kohala groups. Several private donors were joined by the
Hawaiian Island Land Trust (HILT), which holds a conservation easement on the
land as well.
tion efforts on this 64 -acre parcel only started in 2016
T h., I n , i r h U i i T