HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

22

THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2024

H.D. 2

STATE OF HAWAII

S.D. 1

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

AUTHORIZING THE ISSUANCE OF A TERM, NON-EXCLUSIVE EASEMENT COVERING A PORTION OF STATE SUBMERGED LANDS AT WAIKIKI, HONOLULU, OAHU, FOR CONSTRUCTION, USE, REPAIR, AND MAINTENANCE OF STEPS.

 

 

     WHEREAS, an existing seawall fronts state submerged land identified as Tax Map Key:  (1)3-1-039: seaward of 065, Waikiki, Honolulu, Oahu; and

 

     WHEREAS, concrete steps were previously constructed on the makai side of the existing seawall on state submerged lands; and

 

     WHEREAS, the concrete steps were removed from the state submerged lands in 2021; and

 

     WHEREAS, HTH DH Ventures, LLC, a Hawaii limited liability company, is the owner of property identified as Tax Map Key:  (1)3-1-039:005, Waikiki, Honolulu, Oahu, which benefits from easements across the property identified as Tax Map Key:  (1)3-1-039:044, Waikiki, Honolulu, Oahu, and the privately held portion of the property identified as Tax Map Key:  (1)3-1-039:065, Waikiki, Honolulu, Oahu, including across the seawall, for beach access purposes; and

 

     WHEREAS, HTH DH Ventures, LLC, requested the approval of the Department of Land and Natural Resources' Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands to reconstruct the concrete steps on the state submerged lands in the same location, alignment, configuration, and footprint as the previously existing concrete steps; and

 

     WHEREAS, by letter dated May 4, 2023, the Department of Land and Natural Resources' Office of Conservation and Coastal Lands approved the construction of the concrete steps; and

 

     WHEREAS, on October 13, 2023, under agenda item D-14 of a meeting of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, the Board approved a grant of a 25-year non-exclusive easement to HTH DH Ventures, LLC, to run with the land and inure to the benefit of the abutting real property, to resolve the encroachment; and

 

     WHEREAS, the total encroachment area was determined to be 26.5 square feet, more or less, subject to review and approval by the Department of Accounting and General Services' Survey Division; and

 

     WHEREAS, the grantee shall pay the State the fair market value of the non-exclusive easement as consideration of the use of public lands, to be determined by an independent appraisal, subject to review and approval by the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2022, the National Oceanic and Atmospheric Administration issued a technical report that found that sea level rise will create a profound shift in coastal flooding over the next thirty years by causing tide and storm surge heights to increase and reach further inland; and

 

     WHEREAS, by 2050, moderate and typically damaging coastal flooding is expected to occur on average more than ten times as often as it does today and can be intensified by local factors; and

 

     WHEREAS, in Hawaii, sea-level rise and coastal erosion are occurring at an accelerated rate, with moderate estimates projecting the sea level to increase by six to eight inches by mid-century; and

 

     WHEREAS, the practice of issuing easements to private landowners for state submerged lands on a case-by-case basis is not prudent as a long-term strategy when considered in relation to the public trust doctrine and in the context of planning for landscape-scale adaptation and retreat; and

 

     WHEREAS, section 171-53, Hawaii Revised Statutes, requires the prior approval of the Governor and prior authorization of the Legislature by concurrent resolution to lease state submerged lands; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2024, the Senate concurring, that the Board of Land and Natural Resources is hereby authorized to issue a non-exclusive easement, with a term not to exceed twenty-five years, covering a portion of state submerged lands identified as Tax Map Key:  (1)3-1-039: seaward of 065, Waikiki, Honolulu, Oahu, for the construction, use, repair, and maintenance of concrete steps pursuant to section 171-53, Hawaii Revised Statutes; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources and Governor.

Report Title: 

Board of Land and Natural Resources; Easement; Waikiki