The University of Hawaii stands to lose control of 990 acres of agricultural land in Kapolei mauka of its new West Oahu campus as lawmakers consider transferring the property to the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.
A joint panel of the state Senate Higher Education and Water and Land committees voted this week in favor of Senate Bill 2907, which would transfer fee title ownership to the department that manages some 1.3 million acres of state land.
Lawmakers are still debating whether to also take away undeveloped portions of the 500-acre makai lot where the University of Hawaii-West Oahu campus now sits on about 80 acres.
Legislators have criticized UH for not making use of the lands, especially in light of the Kapolei school’s financial troubles.
It’s unclear what DLNR would do with the agricultural lands, but Director William Aila submitted written testimony in support. Land Division Administrator Russell Tsuji said the department would be interested in generating revenue from the commercially zoned lands around the existing campus, prompting discussions about possibly including parts of the makai land in the transfer.
UH officials are against the bill, saying the university’s Board of Regents is working on a plan for potential revenue-generating uses.
"We believe the lands are an asset that can be used to help fulfill the mission and vision of UH-West Oahu," Howard Todo, UH’s chief financial officer, told the Senate committees Tuesday. "We think that the board, through its stewardship of this property, can promote and support the university’s educational and research mission using these lands."
Lawmakers questioned why UH didn’t start planning sooner.
"It sounds as if you’ve had a lot of time to think about this," said Senate Higher Education Chairman Brian Taniguchi (D, Makiki-Tantalus-Manoa).
Both the mauka and makai parcels — referring to their location above and below the H-1 freeway — were donated to the state about 15 years ago by the former Campbell Estate in a deal that required a portion be used for a long-planned UH-West Oahu campus to serve the Leeward Coast. The college had been operating for decades out of portable classrooms in Pearl City before opening the Kapolei campus in fall 2012.
UH is required to set aside at least 200 acres total for educational use under the agreement with Campbell, said Donna Kiyosaki, West Oahu’s vice chancellor for administration.
A private developer was initially expected to build the Kapolei campus in exchange for development rights on up to 200 acres of the 500-acre site for homes and commercial development. But that deal fell apart with the collapse of the credit market, and the state sold general obligation bonds in 2010 to pay for the first phase of construction for the campus. The college issued revenue bonds and took out a loan to pay for the rest of the build-out.
But the school has been unsuccessful in selling off parts of the makai lands to help cover its borrowing debt and fund expansions to the campus as enrollment has grown by almost 19 percent since opening to 2,400 students. UH-West Oahu is seeking an extra $3.5 million from the Legislature for operations next year and $30 million for capital improvement projects.
Sen. Malama Solomon, chairwoman of the Water and Land Committee, grilled UH officials about existing zoning rights on the two parcels to get a sense of potential uses. She was clearly frustrated when officials were slow to respond.
"Guys, this is public-domain land. The taxpayers have a right to know what is going on out there, what is actually permitted. … What’s the answers?" Solomon (D, Kaupulehu-Waimea-North Hilo) said. "I think that the university has been really negligent in really informing the Legislature as to how we’re utilizing these lands."
Kiyosaki said the 500-acre lot is zoned urban, with portions approved for residential, commercial and retail uses. The 990 mauka acres are zoned for agricultural use.
Solomon and Taniguchi recommended amending the bill to transfer only the agricultural acres to DLNR — for now. They plan to ask the Ways and Means Committee, where the bill would head next, to consider including portions of the undeveloped 500-acre lot if DLNR can identify individual parcels by tax map key numbers.
The Water and Land Committee voted 5-0 in favor, with one senator voting with reservations. The Higher Education Committee voted 4-0 to advance the bill, also with one vote with reservations.
