Governor wants firms to develop public land with state

The Abercrombie administration wants state lawmakers to create a new development authority for state harbors and parks that would partner with the private sector on recreational and leisure projects to bring new revenue for the state.

The proposal is similar to the administration’s 21st-century schools initiative to develop underused public school land and use the revenue to modernize schools. Both concepts are attempts to find more politically palatable strategies to develop public land in the wake of the backlash against the Public Land Development Corp., which was given broad exemptions from land use and zoning laws as incentives to attract commercial projects.

Gov. Neil Abercrombie has said he would consider a repeal of the PLDC, but the governor still favors public-private partnerships to maximize the use of public land.

The development authority for harbors and parks would be governed by a five-member board similar to the PLDC, but would not have the same regulatory exemptions. The new authority would be able to tap into the expertise of staff at the Hawaii Community Development Authority, which oversees redevelopment in Kakaako and Kalaeloa. The administration, which was in discussion with lawmakers about an educational facilities trust to develop public school land, also now prefers going through the HCDA in the 21st-century schools initiative.

"It provides additional tools for our toolbox," William Aila, director of the state Department of Land and Natural Resources, said of a development authority for harbors and parks. "It satisfies the public’s concerns about having overall broad exemptions without a narrow purpose."

The new authority would identify small-boat harbors, boating facilities and parks that are suitable for development, conduct marketing analysis to determine the best revenue-generating programs for the land, and enter into agreements with private developers.

State House and Senate lawmakers will weigh the Abercrombie administration’s new proposals as they decide whether to repeal or substantially amend the PLDC.

"I think this is going to help the administration really focus on what they want to achieve, and then be able to communicate that to the public," said Rep. Cindy Evans (D, Kaupulehu-Waimea-Halaula), chairwoman of the House Water and Land Committee.

"And I think it’s been very difficult in communicating what that bill (for the PLDC) was really going to do, and I think that’s how the bill got in trouble," she said.

Evans, who hopes to hold a committee hearing on a repeal of the PLDC in early February, said she is starting from the position that the PLDC should be repealed but wants to hear arguments in favor of amendments or alternatives.

"We are going to change something," Evans said of the PLDC. "Repeal or amend, but it’s got to change."

Other lawmakers say that state departments already have the ability to develop public land, but department officials, including at the DLNR, have cited regulatory barriers and a lack of resources as reasons that projects do not move forward. The PLDC was intended to give the DLNR more flexibility through exemptions to partner with the private sector on projects, but has been caught up in a political maelstrom that may be fatal.

"I just don’t understand how it got so blown out of proportion," said Sen. Malama Solomon (D, Kaupulehu-Waimea-North Hilo), chairwoman of the Senate Water and Land Committee, who favored the PLDC in part because of the potential to improve parks. "It’s a sad state of affairs, really, because if we don’t have the PLDC, I don’t see how these goals can be accomplished."