OHA secures key support for Kaka'ako Makai land

News Release from Office of Hawaiian Affairs

HONOLULU (March 29, 2014) - The Office of Hawaiian Affairs has won key support as it pushes for state lawmakers to give the agency the ability to pursue residential development on at least three of the 10 parcels it owns in Kaka'ako Makai.

In an editorial Friday, the Pacific Business News said that "in all fairness, state lawmakers should pass legislation   to allow OHA to maximize the value of several parcels of land that it now owns" as part of an estimated $200 million settlement with the state to resolve a longstanding dispute over ceded lands revenues.

But OHA is not seeing resistance from Kamehameha Schools and Howard Hughes Corp., the two major developers in Kaka'ako Mauka, as suggested in the editorial; however, it is true that a coalition of surfers has been vehemently opposed to efforts to roll back restrictions that have been in place on the lands since 2006.

In its editorial, PBN mentioned that Senate Bill 3122 and companion House  Bill 2554 would eliminate the restrictions placed on the land eight years ago and enable OHA to commission a master plan for the area.

"We support the passage of either SB 3122 or HB 2554 for two reasons," the PBN editorial said. "First, is the issue of fairness. It would be unfair for the state to negotiate a payout to OHA of land supposedly valued at $200 million and then not allow OHA to maximize the value of that land.

"Second, it seems imprudent to rush into vertical development of Kaka'ako Mauka without including Kaka'ako Makai in the conversation. It is, after all, one area of Honolulu, and the fact that Ala Moana Boulevard runs through it does not make one part more important than the other."

To read the PBN editorial, click here:  LINK