PLDC should adopt clear rules to counter fears about its mission

Love may make the world go round — but fear makes us blind, deaf and sometimes needlessly hysterical. That seems to be the case with the uproar over the Public Land Development Corp.

My past, as someone who has fought for Native Hawaiian rights, is well-known. I stand on that history of activism as I once again reaffirm here the public testimony I gave last month in support of the PLDC.

The spectacle and noise of the well-intentioned protests by good people across the islands have obscured and drowned out this fact: The state attorney general has clarified in writing that the PLDC will not be exempt from environmental impact statement requirements and the provisions of Chapter 343 as well as Hawaii’s historic preservation laws.

In order to allay the fears of those troubled by what they were told by certain groups leading the protests, the PLDC should include the following statements in its rules:

» Projects developed by the PLDC are not exempt from the provisions of HRS Chapter 343 (environmental impact statements).

» Projects undertaken by the PLDC are not exempt from state historic preservation requirements under HRS chapter 6E (archeological inventory survey).

» Developers of projects undertaken by the PLDC shall ensure that consultation is undertaken with persons and groups whose cultural resources and practices may be impacted.

Adding a section defining words and phrases in the act that might be misunderstood would be helpful.

It should include defining "culturally sensitive development" as development that ensures that the diversity of cultural resources — burials, archeological sites, trails and accessways or endemic species — are protected and preserved according to Hawaii laws. This will keep us from trying to force-fit diverse cultural resources into one review process that may not be equipped to handle the uniqueness of each asset.

We appear to have lost sight of the fact that the PLDC represents a big step forward by the state toward discharging its obligation to make optimal use of public land in a manner that delivers economic, environmental and social value to the public and to Native Hawaiians. For decades now, the state has routinely leased public land to private non-local companies.

With the creation of the PLDC, we stand on the brink of developing local private/public sector partnerships, driven by local/ Native Hawaiian understanding of what our energy, food, housing, harbor and community needs are. Those who are protesting this historic step forward should ask:

» Would I like to see a new community center in my county?

» Would I like to see improvements to the state of our harbors?

» Would I like to see greater opportunities for local businesses to benefit from the development of public lands that to date have flowed largely to outside private sector companies?

» Would I like to see greater protections for labor and a package of benefits for the public and for Native Hawaiians as part of every PLDC proposal?

If the answer to these questions is yes, then the energy now being directed into misguided protests should instead be channeled into strengthening the rules governing the PLDC.

It should also be directed to drawing the counties into participating fully in the legislative process and oversight of projects proposed by the PLDC.

One of the ironies of the current hysteria is that people would find many fears allayed if they simply went to the governor’s website with its list of facts — http://manage.hawaii.gov/gov/faq/public-land-development-corporation-pldc.

Nationally, we are in a season of serious misinformation and nostalgia tinged with amnesia. Let’s not mirror that locally. On the matter of the PLDC, we need to move forward. We can do it.