Invoking a famous speech by the Rev. Abraham Akaka, delivered by the late Kawaiaha‘o Church pastor on the day after Congress approved statehood, Gov. Neil Abercrombie spoke Wednesday of the next great transition for the Hawaiian people as he signed into law a settlement of long-standing ceded land claims against the state.
The message in Akaka’s speech on March 13, 1959, was one of self-affirmation and the need to live up to the true meaning of aloha: "It is the unconditional desire to promote the true good of other people in a friendly spirit, out of a sense of kinship," Abercrombie quoted Akaka. "Aloha seeks to do good with no conditions attached."
He added, "In the spirit and in the legacy of Abraham Akaka, we go forward today — a new day."
Abercrombie laid to rest more than three decades of negotiations between the state and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs in resolving a contentious issue dating from the formation of the state agency in 1978, over the amount owed OHA from revenues generated by lands once belonging to the Hawaiian kingdom.
"This is a great day," said Daniel Akaka, a U.S. senator and brother of the Rev. Akaka, after Wednesday’s bill-signing ceremony. "I feel many things are coming about properly and in a pono way for Hawaii, and I’m happy that this has come about.
"It will solidify Hawaii."
The festive ceremony at historic Washington Place brought together various pillars of the Native Hawaiian community who have tried for decades to negotiate a settlement, only to see past attempts come tauntingly close, most recently in 2008 when a proposal cleared the House but died in the Senate.
Colette Machado, chairwoman of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs board of trustees, called the moment of the signing surreal.
"I said, ‘Hallelujah! Thank you, Jesus, for allowing this to happen,’" Machado said. "I was just overwhelmed with joy."
She praised Abercrombie for his leadership in bringing all parties together to attain the deal, which was announced in November.
"He willed it to happen," she said.
Senate Bill 2783, introduced by the governor’s administration, was advanced unanimously and without any changes made by the Legislature.
The settlement does not involve any money, but instead conveys to OHA about 25 acres of contiguous and adjacent parcels of land in Kakaako valued at about $200 million. The state and OHA agree the $200 million approximate settlement amount represents a reasonable compromise of the disputed claims.
Under the new act, which takes effect July 1, all disputes and claims relating to OHA’s portion of income and proceeds from the public trust lands from Nov. 7, 1978, (when OHA was created) through June 30, 2012, will be considered settled. The agreement does not preclude future claims or claims brought prior to 1978.
The state’s highest court said in 1987 that the share of the state’s revenue from former crown lands to which OHA is entitled was a matter for the Legislature, but resolving the dispute proved elusive.
"We concentrated on the mission at hand," Abercrombie said. "We did not get distracted by side issues or personal ideology or personalities and as a result we were able to put the good of the Native Hawaiian people in a context of what was good for Hawaii overall.
"We realized that not only could it be done, that it needed to be done, but that we could do it now."
The deal gives OHA a foothold in an area that Abercrombie envisions as an urban village. Although OHA has the development rights and the ability to master-plan the land, the land is still subject to zoning and permitting conditions of the Hawaii Community Development Authority.
A separate proposal still alive in the Legislature would give OHA more flexibility in developing on at least two of the parcels.
Kamana‘opono Crabbe, OHA chief executive officer, said it was too soon to say when a master plan could be expected. He said there still exists a "transition period" of six months to a year to further assess the properties and "to help us with what steps we need to take for master planning and options for development."
"We are already aligning our resources and personnel appropriately to meet the demands necessary to move forward with it as a very formidable project that we need to provide greater revenue and cash flow to support our operational costs, plus many of the programs we fund through our grants program," Crabbe said.
Machado of OHA said it would work with the governor and the HCDA to move forward as quickly as possible on a master plan. She said the steps are now possible with the issue of the ceded lands claims behind them.
"Today, we celebrate a settlement of $200 million — a debt paid," she said. "This is the only way we can move forward."
