213                
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES             H.C.R. NO.            
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 1999                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                                
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                     HOUSE CONCURRENT
                        RESOLUTION

REQUESTING A FEASIBILITY STUDY OF THE "GRATIS" CONVEYANCE OF
   LANDS SITUATED IN MAUNALAHA, OAHU, INTO A COMMUNITY LAND
   TRUST HELD IN PERPETUITY AND MANAGED BY THE MAUNALAHA VALLEY
   COMMUNITY ASSOCIATION.



 1       WHEREAS, under Act 225, Session Laws of Hawaii 1981, the
 2   Legislature found documented evidence which clearly indicated
 3   that the various governments of Hawaii since monarchial days
 4   had expressed an intent to grant long-term tenure to the
 5   persons who had resided for many decades in Maunalaha Valley,
 6   Honolulu, Oahu; and 
 7   
 8       WHEREAS, based on these findings, there was a moral
 9   obligation to offer the Maunalaha Valley residents an
10   opportunity to negotiate long-term leases with the Department
11   of Land and Natural Resources for parcels upon which their
12   homes are located; and
13   
14       WHEREAS, at various times after the issuance of these
15   leases, Maunalaha residents have requested assistance from the
16   Legislature in the form of infrastructure development or
17   housing funds to improve their living conditions; and
18   
19       WHEREAS, other requests have also been made to allow self-
20   help housing as a means to improve the living conditions of the
21   residents; and
22   
23       WHEREAS, today, substandard infrastructure as well as
24   descendant provisions in the leases prevent many of the
25   Maunalaha residents from acquiring conventional mortgage loans
26   to improve their homes; and
27   
28       WHEREAS, over the years, various alternatives have been
29   proposed to secure a permanent resolution to the predicament of
30   the residents of Maunalaha Valley; and
31   
32       WHEREAS, one suggestion that deserves further investigation
33   is the "gratis" conveyance of the land in fee into a community
34   land trust to be managed by the Maunalaha Valley Community
35   Association; and

 
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                                  H.C.R. NO.            
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1       WHEREAS, the Legislature is committed to seeking a
 2   permanent resolution of the land tenure dilemma faced by
 3   residents of Maunalaha Valley; now, therefore,
 4   
 5       BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the
 6   Twentieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session
 7   of 1999, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Land and
 8   Natural Resources is requested to study the feasibility of the
 9   "gratis" conveyance of the fee simple interest in the land
10   currently occupied by Maunalaha residents on Oahu into a
11   community land trust to be held in perpetuity and managed by
12   the Maunalaha Valley Community Association for the benefit of
13   the residents of Maunalaha and their descendants; and
14   
15       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Land and
16   Natural Resources report its findings and recommendations to
17   the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the
18   convening of the Regular Session of 2000; and
19   
20       BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this
21   Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the
22   Board of Land and Natural Resources.
23 
24 
25 
26                         OFFERED BY:  ____________________________