HILO — Public opposition to a new state agency charged with developing public lands appears to be growing.
Hawaii County Councilwoman Brenda Ford will introduce at the Sept. 18 Planning Committee meeting a resolution to urge the state Legislature to abolish the Public Land Development Corporation. Meanwhile, state officials have agreed to work during the next legislative session to prepare a strategic plan to clarify the agency’s mission.
The PLDC was approved by the state Legislature on May 3, 2011, to form public-private partnerships between the state and private companies in order to generate funds for the Department of Land and Natural Resources while developing public lands.
The corporation was heavily criticized across the state this summer at a number of public hearings regarding the PLDC’s administrative rules. The majority of speakers at the hearings vociferously denounced the PLDC, saying that the corporation lacks oversight and has too much power to skirt zoning ordinances and other limits on development.
Ford said Thursday that when she attended a hearing in Kona last month, “not a single person stood up in support of the PLDC.”
“The biggest problem that I have with the law as it exists is that they can completely ignore and circumvent all of our building codes and zoning. They’re not required to do traffic studies. … In other words, home rule in Hawaii County could be suspended for those projects under the PLDC,” she said. “It is designed to eliminate all county control over our own destiny.”
Ford said she believes the bill that gave rise to the PLDC came from an attempt by legislators to try to create jobs for Hawaii residents during an especially difficult time. But, she said, that attempt was misdirected.
“I believe part of this is going to be used for hotels. We are going to have a major hotel in Kailua-Kona shut down on Oct. 31,” she said, referring to the Keauhou Beach Resort, which owner Kamehameha Schools said it would be shutting down because of low bookings. “We don’t need more resorts over here. We can’t support the ones we have. … Our community doesn’t want them building another Waikiki.”
Ford said that residents value the rugged, undeveloped nature of Hawaii Island, and added that infrastructure is not adequate to support much more development. Specifically, highways, police and fire departments, water and other county services would be sorely stressed by any further commercial or industrial development that could result from the PLDC’s efforts.
“We don’t need to go out looking to Honolulu to tell us, ‘We’re going to build X on your property,’” she said.
A co-sponsor of the bill that created the PLDC, state Sen. Malama Solomon said Thursday she continues to support the agency, but said that she supports efforts to further clarify its mission and goals. The Senate and House committees on water and land will work during the coming session to do so through a strategic plan for the PLDC, she said.
Solomon said she helped introduce the bill because she saw the possibility of replicating the “Yosemite Model” to provide more access to state lands for taxpayers.
“My intention was to really look at the national park model to be able to make our land more accessible to the public,” she said.
She added that she views public-private partnerships as the best way to raise the money to make more public land available.
“Just look at Hapuna Beach Park, the most used park on this island. The only decent restroom you can find there is the one managed by the Mauna Kea Beach Hotel,” she said. “That’s a good example of a private-public partnership.”
She said that much of the public outcry over the PLDC is due to the fact that members of the public aren’t fully aware of the PLDC’s organization and powers, and she blamed the agency’s public relations efforts for not doing a better job of educating the public.
“More work should have been done through public relations to explain the PLDC,” she said.
A frequently asked questions list with answers has been posted online to address some of the concerns the public has. It can be found at http://manage.hawaii.gov/gov/faq/public-land-development-corporation-pldc.
Solomon added that Ford and other members of the County Council need to remember that the state lands the PLDC is charged with developing belong to all members of the state, and not just Hawaii County.
“Does the County of Hawaii want to take over oversight of the parks?” she asked. “I’ve been in the Legislature for many years, and there’s been lots of attempts to get together with the counties to see about partnering. If Hawaii County wants to do that, and if they’re willing to go and develop these parks so more people can use them, then let’s talk.”