Bill Text: HI SCR125 | 2016 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Kaanapali Beach Restoration
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)
Status: (Passed) 2016-06-02 - Certified copies of resolutions sent, 06-02-16. [SCR125 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2016-SCR125-Amended.html
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THE SENATE |
S.C.R. NO. |
125 |
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TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2016 |
S.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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SENATE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
REQUESTING COLLABORATIVE EFFORTS FOR STEWARDSHIP AND PRESERVATION OF WAIPIO VALLEY.
WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that Waipio Valley, located on Hawaii Island, is an area with great cultural, historical, genealogical, and agricultural significance; and
WHEREAS, Waipio Valley is a revered wahi pana, or sacred place, and has served as a cultural and demographic center for the Native Hawaiian culture for many centuries, housing precious resources including multiple heiau, an extensive taro loi and auwai system, fishponds, burial sites, ocean culture, and incomparable scenic beauty; and
WHEREAS, the Task Force to Preserve Waipio Valley, formed pursuant to House Resolution No. 277, Regular Session of 1990, found a need to protect and preserve the cultural, aesthetic, and agricultural integrity of Waipio Valley and identified several concerns including:
(1) Health and safety issues arising from a lack of public facilities and substandard infrastructure aggravated by unregulated access into the valley;
(2) Demographic changes on Hawaii Island and in the Hāmākua region impacting the natural and cultural resources of the valley; and
(3) Environmental concerns related to stream management and flood control to preserve and protect life and property; and
WHEREAS, the University of Hawaii at Mānoa Department of Urban and Regional Planning compiled community planning and ahupuaa management reports in 1999 and 2000 and offered possible solutions to many of the issues identified; and
WHEREAS, the Waipio Valley Stakeholders Alliance was formed in July 2015, and includes representation from the Waipio Taro Farmers Association, Waipio Community Circle, and Hā Ola O Waipio Valley, their voices representing the many perspectives of the Waipio community; and
WHEREAS, the Waipio Valley Stakeholders Alliance works collaboratively with various community resource partners to proactively implement solutions to issues that have negatively impacted the valley, including addressing road access and safety issues and implementation of the Waipio Valley Stream Management Plan; and
WHEREAS, the Bishop Museum has owned and managed five hundred thirty-seven acres of Waipio Valley property, representing approximately sixty per cent of the valley floor, for the past one hundred thirty years and has publicly announced its intent to sell its interest in order to enable the museum to move forward with a new strategic management plan; and
WHEREAS, the land, which is divided into approximately one hundred tax map key parcels, contains a majority of the taro growing lands as well as significant cultural sites such as Pākaalana Heiau; and
WHEREAS, most of the taro production lands are leased to Waipio families, many of whom have cared for their āina for many generations, and the announcement by the Bishop Museum to sell their lands has created a great deal of uncertainty and anxiety for the taro farming families of Waipio Valley and the future of their beloved and well-cared for farms; and
WHEREAS, the Waipio Valley Stakeholders Alliance is fully committed to take the lead on stewardship efforts to transition the Bishop Museum lands, and is currently working with many stakeholders, community leaders from groups who have experienced similar situations, and others who have expertise in land acquisition and land management to identify possible options that will ensure that the Bishop Museum can remain solvent and continue its important work caring for Hawaii's cultural treasures, while at the same time honoring Waipio Valley's past, present, and future to ensure that the land remains in the loving, caring hands of the Waipio families as it has for centuries; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2016, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Waipio Valley Stakeholders Alliance is requested to coordinate with the Bishop Museum, Kamehameha Schools, Friends of the Future, County of Hawaii, Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Trust For Public Land, State of Hawaii, and other interested parties who may be invited by the Waipio Valley Stakeholders Alliance to provide their guidance and manao regarding the future preservation and stewardship of Waipio Valley; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Waipio Valley Stakeholders Alliance is requested to submit a report of the results of stewardship meetings including findings, recommendations, and any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2017; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Chair of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Hawaii State Director of the Trust for Public Land, Mayor of the County of Hawaii, Community Liaison of Waipio Valley Stakeholders Alliance, President of the Bishop Museum, Chair of the Board of Trustees of Kamehameha Schools, and President of the Board of Directors of Friends of the Future.
Waipio Valley; Collaborative Stewardship; Preservation
