Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 11, Number 4, 1 April 1994 — Olomana land-swap bill still alive [ARTICLE]

Olomana land-swap bill still alive

by Patrick Johnston A last-minute amendment by House Rep. Devon Nekoba, D-50th Dist. (MaunawiliEnchanted Lake) has kept alive a controversial bill that originally offered to exchange 28 acres of valuable ceded land in Honolulu for a larger but economically insignificant parcel of land in Kailua. The unamended version of H.B. 3106 would have given Japan-based Asahi Kanko 28 acres of revenue-generating ceded lands in Kapālama in exchange for 370 acres the company owns in Kailua at the base of Mount Olomana.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources banned most development on Mount Olomana in 1991, leaving the state open to a suit from the Japanese company. The state then offered Asahi the more valuable Kapālama property, now being leased to Gem stores for $140,000 a year. However, because of its importance as part of the ceded land base and a source of revenue for OHA, the exchange proposal drew widespread protest from OHA and other members of the Hawaiian community. OHA supported the preservation of Mt. Olomana but felt it shouldn't occur at the expense of the Hawaiian people. Nekoba then added an amendment to the

bill that deleted any reference to the Kapālama property. The amendment also stated that no exchange would take plaee if it would "reduce the combined land holdings of the ceded land trust." Nekoba said in a press release he regretted introducing the legislation, adding that he had intended for it to be seen, not as a threat to the Hawaiian community, but rather as an expression of support. The amended bill means Kapālama is out of the picture but it keeps alive the land-swap option and does not eliminate the possibility

that ceded lands could be used as part of the deal. Negotiations between the state and Asahi are expected to re-open with the understanding that OHA will be included in the discussions.