Bill Text: HI SB639 | 2010 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: State Parks; Residential Leases; Planning Council
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2009-05-11 - Carried over to 2010 Regular Session. [SB639 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2010-SB639-Amended.html
Report Title:
State Parks; Residential Leases; Planning Council
Description:
Authorizes the department of land and natural resources to issue residential leases in state parks; establishes a planning council to monitor compliance with the leases. (SD1)
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THE SENATE |
S.B. NO. |
639 |
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TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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A BILL FOR AN ACT
RELATING TO PUBLIC LANDS.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the department of land and natural resources requires more flexibility to negotiate and enter into long-term residential leases for state park land. Long-term lessees can provide valuable services for state parks. For example, the Kahana Valley State Park is a model for such endeavors.
In 1965, the State condemned the ahupua‘a o Kahana for use as a state park, making it the only landowner in the State of Hawai‘i, outside of the Robinson family of Ni‘ihau, to own an intact ahupua‘a. An ahupua‘a, a triangular slice of land running from the mountains to the ocean, was the major land division used by pre-contact Hawaiians, as it included all of the elements necessary for their existence: the uplands, the lowlands, the shore, and the ocean.
While the families living in Kahana at the time of the condemnation were of varied ethnic backgrounds, many of them were native Hawaiian, and the people of Kahana in general lived a simple, subsistence lifestyle in harmony with native Hawaiian values and traditions. The people of Kahana lobbied the legislature after the condemnation to allow them to stay in Kahana and preserve this rural native Hawaiian-influenced lifestyle. In 1970, a governor's task force proposed the concept of a living park that would allow the families to stay and in some way participate in the park. The governor recommended the concept to the department of land and natural resources. The residents were allowed to stay on the land under revocable leases.
The State determined that each Kahana family would contribute twenty-five hours of interpretive services per month to the park, to preserve, restore, and share the history and rural lifestyle of the ahupua‘a with the public.
Act 5, Session Laws of Hawaii 1987, authorized the department of land and natural resources to issue long-term residential leases to persons who had lived continuously in Kahana valley or had permits allowing them to reside on certain parcels of land within Kahana valley. As a condition of holding a lease, these qualified persons agreed to participate in interpretive programs in Kahana valley state park.
The lessees have provided valuable interpretive programs for the valley, and shared their knowledge of and the significance of the valley's resources for the public's benefit and enjoyment. The authority to issue leases pursuant to Act 5 expired on January 1, 1994.
The purpose of this Act is to:
(1) Authorize the department of land and natural resources to issue long-term residential leases to qualified persons, on the condition that lessees participate in the state park's interpretive programs; and
(2) Establish a planning council with representatives from specific, interested organizations to facilitate operations and compliance with the state park residential leases.
SECTION 2. Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, including chapter 171, Hawaii Revised Statutes, the department of land and natural resources is authorized to negotiate and enter into long-term residential leases for sites in state parks with acreage greater than five thousand acres but not more than six thousand acres, with the lease term not to exceed beyond fifty years, with persons who reside and have continuously resided in the same state park since before 1987 and have participated in interpretive programs for the state park.
The lands eligible for long-term residential lease negotiations under the provisions of this Act are limited to those determined eligible by the department of land and natural resources.
SECTION 3. The lessees agreement to participate in, and become an essential part of, the interpretive programs in the state park as directed by the department of land and natural resources shall be considered valuable consideration for a lease granted pursuant to this Act. The department of land and natural resources shall establish a monitoring system and enforcement mechanism to ensure compliance with these agreements, which shall work in conjunction with the state park planning council as established pursuant to this Act.
SECTION 4. The leases under this Act shall be exempt from all statutes, ordinances, charter provisions, and rules of any governmental agency related to zoning and construction standards for subdivisions, the development and improvement of land, and the construction of units thereon; provided that the department of land and natural resources finds the exemptions are consistent with the purposes of this Act and the leases meet minimum requirements of health and safety.
SECTION 5. (a) There is established a state park planning council, which shall advise the department of land and natural resources on matters related to the management of leases under this Act, including eligibility requirements for applicants for leases and the monitoring of lessee compliance with participation in the interpretive programs.
(b) The planning council shall consist of seven members appointed without regard to section 26-34, Hawaii Revised Statutes, as follows:
(1) Three members shall be lease holders or residents in the state park, designated by the state park resident association;
(2) One member shall be a faculty member from the University of Hawai‘i at Manoa, department of urban and regional planning, to be designated by the faculty chairperson of the department;
(3) One member shall be a member of the senate, to be designated by the senate president;
(4) One member shall be a member of the house of representatives, to be designated by the speaker of the house; and
(5) One member shall be the chairperson of the board of land and natural resources, or the chairperson's designee.
(c) The duties of the planning council shall be:
(1) To complete the master plan for the state park;
(2) Provide input for the master plan to advise and assist residents in the management of the state park;
(3) Determine the location for long-term residents homes;
(4) Establish criteria for eligibility for future issuance of long-term leases, including but not limited to:
(A) Participation in park programs; and
(B) Lineal descendents of families who once lived in the state park;
(5) Increase community participation and input into the master plan for the enhancement of community education and cultural awareness of the significance of the state park; and
(6) Work with the community to implement the master plan.
(d) The members of the planning council shall select a chairperson from among the planning council members and shall be reimbursed for expenses, including travel expenses, necessary for the performance of their duties.
SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
