The Maui County Council is considering a bill to revive plans for an agricultural park on 100 acres on Lanai.
Bill 205, introduced by Council member Gabe Johnson, would authorize Maui County to take over the privately owned land currently leased by the state Board of Land and Natural Resources.
The plot of land, at Miki Basin near the Lanai Airport and owned by Pulama Lanai, was leased by BLNR in 1994 for 55 years so the state
Department of Agriculture could create an agricultural park there.
But that hasn’t happened, and the state has no plans to do so. Johnson, who holds the Lanai residency seat, hopes that transferring the lease to the county would spur action on developing the agricultural park, especially since Maui voters
approved a charter amendment in 2020 to create a Department of Agriculture to support farmers and ranchers and promote locally grown food.
“I’ve been working on this since the minute I got elected. I’ve been meeting with the state to have them sign the lease over to the county, (and) we’ve got a new Department of Agriculture — it makes perfect sense,” Johnson said.
The new department opened for business in July and already manages the Kula Agricultural Park. Johnson said $1 million in county funds has been set aside to establish the Lanai site.
Johnson said 95% of the
island’s food supply is imported on a weekly barge. Occasional disruptions in barge service, which are
often weather-related, can leave grocery shelves empty, and “with global warming and climate change, it’s only going to get worse,” he said.
Lanai farmers also are interested in the establishment of an agricultural park, which would offer reasonably priced and long-term leases.
“We want to truly use this park as a catalyst into our future agricultural endeavors,” said Negus Manna, president of the Hawaii Farmers Union United’s
Lanai Chapter, during a
Dec. 2 Maui County Council hearing on Bill 205. “This project is critical to the growth and diversification of Lanai’s economy. For too long Lanaians’ economy has been almost entirely dependent on a single industry — first the pineapple industry and now on luxury tourism.”
Time constraints at the meeting kept the measure from passing on first reading, making it impossible
for it to be enacted before Mayor Michael Victorino leaves office in January.
Johnson said Victorino supported the bill, but he isn’t sure whether it’s a priority for Mayor-elect Richard Bissen.
Bissen said he’s not familiar with the bill but that
increased agriculture is a “high priority” for his administration.
“I don’t know what the cost to the county would be, I don’t know where the location is, I don’t know those details, but I think the concept of increasing agricultural parks, when you talk about food sovereignty, when you talk about food security … I think (an agricultural park) is part of a winning strategy,” he said.
Bissen is still in the process of filling out his administration, including the leadership of the Agricultural Department. Current Director Rogerene “Kali” Arce and Deputy Director Weston Yap were appointed in July when the agency started up.
A spokesperson for
Bissen said Saturday that more than 300 resumes for leadership positions in his administration have been submitted so far.
Maui County also faces a 180-day deadline to take over the lease that was imposed by BLNR on Nov. 10. The board, noting costly and time-sensitive lease obligations that, “while not insurmountable, are substantial,” wants to rid itself of the failed project and will terminate the lease regardless of whether the county is able to take it over.
Johnson said he’s worried that bringing a new administration and County Council up to speed on the issue could eat into that six-month window to pass Bill 205.
