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| OHA Trustees, Gov. Linda Lingle and others gather in the governor's office for the announced ceded lands deal. - Photo: Blaine Fergerstrom |
Breakthrough in ceded lands dispute up for legislative approval
By Crystal Kua / OHA Director of Communications
An historic agreement struck between the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and the State Administration to settle ceded land revenue claims dating back 30 years is now in the hands of the state Legislature for approval.
The properties in the settlement include:
An 18.5 acre property zoned for commercial and mixed use in urban Honolulu that includes the site of the John Dominis Restaurant. The parcel would remain under the jurisdiction of the Hawai‘i Community Development Authority and as part of the agreement, another seat would be proposed to be added to the HCDA board and that person would be nominated by OHA.
This property, the site of the former Campbell feedlot in West O‘ahu, includes 110 acres of industrial-zoned property in Kalaeloa with the highest solar energy potential on the island which is another possible sustainable use of that parcel.
This 80-acre resort/hotel-zoned property that includes hotels, condos and a golf course along Banyan Drive is home to 80 percent of the hotel units in East Hawai‘i Island. |
Under the settlement announced by Gov. Linda Lingle and OHA Chairperson Haunani Apoliona on Jan. 18, OHA will receive a mix of land and cash valued at $200 million to settle the question of how much revenue remained in “dispute” following the partial settlement on revenues to OHA in 1993. The question of how much revenue remained to be paid stems from disputes between 1978 and 2008.
“It's fair to OHA, it's reasonable for taxpayers and it's the right thing to do,” Gov. Lingle told reporters during a news conference. “It's a fulfillment of an obligation that we have had since statehood and then specifically with OHA since 1978.”
The parties reached a settlement on the amount owed to OHA after four and a half years of negotiations and mediation.
“OHA and the executive branch have achieved mutual agreement to resolve these disputed issues. And we are now joined together, to request that the 2008 Legislature enact a statute to implement this agreement,” Chair Apoliona said.
The land parcels in the settlement include commercial and industrial properties on O'ahu and Hawai'i Island totaling 209 acres. The state will also pay OHA just over $13 million in cash.
This settlement completes resolution of the “disputed revenue issues” that were not completed by the partial settlement between the State and OHA in 1993. The long-standing disputes related to payment of ceded lands revenues to OHA have involved the state Courts, the state Legislature and four state administrations back to the formation of OHA.
Also part of the settlement, the minimum amount of proceeds OHA would receive from the public land trust would be fixed at $15.1 million going forward.
“The settlement today is just, fair and reasonable for all the people of the State of Hawai'i, and, in my view, clearly for the beneficiaries of the Office of Hawaiian affairs,” Attorney General Mark Bennett said. “This is not … a matter of an option for the state. It is a matter of a legal requirement embodied in our constitution.”
OHA Attorney William Meheula said during the press conference: “I think we intelligently came up with a resolution that I think is going to be long-lasting.”
“The focus, first of all, was not only on properties that could be developed in a culturally sound way but also on producing outstanding revenues that can be put into beneficiary programs,” OHA Land Management Hale Director Jonathan Likelike Scheuer told reporters.
The land transfers in this settlement will add to OHA's recent purchase of Waimea Valley on O'ahu's North Shore and Wao Kele O Puna on Hawai'i Island.
“OHA's Real Estate Vision, Mission and Strategy Policy, as approved by the OHA Board of Trustees, is driven by the objective of protecting and preserving our lands and their cultural significance while creating financially viable property investments,” Apoliona said.
As part of an effort to educate the public about the ceded lands issue, OHA produced a one-hour live broadcast on KITV, “Ceded Lands: The People's Legacy,” which featured University of Hawai'i professors Davianna McGregor and Jon Van Dyke, and Apoliona, Meheula and Scheuer.
OHA commissioned Ward Research to conduct a poll of Hawai'i residents on the questions of back-due payment owed to OHA over ceded land revenues.
More than two-thirds polled (68%) by Ward Research believe the Legislature should approve a settlement that both the state and OHA have agreed to.
When told that OHA and the state have been negotiating for years on a fair amount for back-due payment, 45 percent of those polled said the state should pay what is legally owed, 38 percent said the state should pay whatever it can, and only 8% favored paying nothing.
For further information on the settlement, visit the OHA web site at www.oha.org.
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