The state House voted Friday to give final approval to a $200 million settlement between the state and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs over former crown land revenue, a historic moment that Colette Machado, OHA chairwoman, described as "a victory for our people."
OHA will begin the planning process to redevelop land near the waterfront in Kakaako that the state will transfer to settle OHA’s share of former crown land revenue since 1978. OHA has discussed moving its headquarters and pursuing commercial projects that would fit within the state’s plans for urban renewal.
"We want a sense of place that would represent the cultural well-being here," Machado told reporters.
Machado said OHA intends to work with a coalition of community activists, surfers and fishermen that successfully fought to prevent residential and waterfront development. She said a potential companion bill that would give OHA flexibility to develop high-rise apartments would enhance the opportunity to bring Native Hawaiian families into Kakaako. But that bill might not advance this session.
"We don’t want to leave anybody out," she said of community activists such as Friends of Kewalos. "It would be very insensitive."
Gov. Neil Abercrombie, who sat with Machado, former Gov. John Waihee and other prominent Hawaiian leaders in the House gallery to witness the vote, called the settlement "a great step forward."
The governor said he had the late Adelaide Keanuenueokalaninuiamamao "Frenchy" DeSoto and Kinau Kamalii, the "mothers" of OHA, in mind. He said he believed Queen Liliuokalani would have been proud that the long-standing dispute had been resolved.
OHA has been due a portion of the state’s revenue from former crown lands since the agency was created by a state constitutional amendment in 1978. OHA separately receives $15.1 million annually in revenue payments and expects to eventually negotiate a global settlement with the state over all ceded land claims.
"We have established a foundation for the future not just of Native Hawaiians, but of all Hawaii," the governor said.
Abercrombie said he will sign the settlement bill — Senate Bill 2783, which passed the House and Senate unamended — at a ceremony at Washington Place.
Abercrombie and Machado would not directly say whether they wanted the Legislature to pass the potential companion bill, Senate Bill 682, but said a residential option in Kakaako makai could help provide housing for Hawaiians and working families. If OHA were given such flexibility, it could also significantly increase the value of the land.
The companion bill has cleared the Senate, but state Rep. Marcus Oshiro (D, Wahiawa-Poamoho), chairman of the House Finance Committee, said Friday he does not intend to hear the bill before a key procedural deadline next week. He said he saw no need for lawmakers to change any restrictions on residential development at this stage in Kakaako’s planning.
"The most important bill was approved today," Oshiro said of the settlement. "It’s going to be signed into law, and we’re going to celebrate this happy moment."
The Senate would have to add the language from the companion bill into a House bill on a similar subject for the idea to be considered in conference committee before the session ends in May.
State Senate Majority Leader Brickwood Galuteria (D, Downtown-Waikiki) said senators would regroup and speak to OHA about how to proceed. Senate leaders, as well as Abercrombie and Machado, sought to keep the two bills separate because they did not want to lose focus on the settlement as the priority.
"We’re pleased that we were able to pass such landmark legislation," Galuteria said of the settlement. "It was important that the two weren’t tied together so as not to hamper today’s settlement."
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