State Department of Land and Natural Resources offices scattered around West Hawaii will be consolidated under a plan to build a new office building on the road to Honokohau Harbor.
The facility will house administration, a base yard and a community center capable of hosting up to 200 people, according to a pre-assessment by The Limtiaco Consulting Group. The Honolulu-based firm is drafting an environmental assessment and seeking input on how construction might impact biological, archaeological and historic resources.
DLNR has a $500,000 budget request in the Legislature for design and construction of the roadways, water and wastewater and electrical infrastructure needed at the site.
The Kealakehe project will house some eight divisions of the state’s land governance. As leases on several DLNR sites get set to expire, the center will house the divisions of Boating and Ocean Recreation, Conservation and Resource Enforcement and Aquatic Resources, which are now located at the Honokohau Small Boat Harbor. Also sharing the space will be the state Commission on Water Resource Management and divisions of Forestry and Wildlife, State Parks, Engineering and State Historic Preservation.
The project would put forth a modern, energy-efficient building that would allow the divisions to reach out to and interact with the public more effectively, according to the pre-assessment letter. The current DAR facility is set up in two trailers surrounded by chain-link fence at the southwest end of the marina.
Located on open state-owned land between the harbor and Queen Kaahumanu Highway, the proposed site is adjacent to Kaloko-Honokohau National Historical Park. Cultural, historical and biological impact — as well as the potential effect on traffic — will be analyzed in coming months as part of the EA process.
Further detail on the project was not available from DLNR.
Send comments by March 27 to Carty Chang, Chief Engineer, DLNR, Engineering Division, P.O. Box 373, Honolulu, HI 96809, or by fax to 587-0283. Additional copies should be sent to Claire Oshiro, Environmental Planner, The Limtiaco Consulting Group, 1622 Kanakanui St., Honolulu, HI 96817.