THE SENATE

S.C.R. NO.

134

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

AUTHORIZING THE LEASE OF SUBMERGED LANDS AT KEEHI SMALL BOAT HARBOR FOR REDEVELOPMENT, MANAGEMENT, AND OPERATION BY HONOLULU MARINE, INC., FOR A commercial ship repair facility.

 

WHEREAS, Honolulu Marine, Inc., dba Kewalo Shipyard (Honolulu Marine), currently operates a commercial marine railway/ship repair facility at 123 Ahui Street, a 103,597 square foot waterfront parcel on the Ewa boundary of Kewalo Basin; and

WHEREAS, the land under Honolulu Marine's facility is owned by the State of Hawaii and leased to Honolulu Marine pursuant to Harbor Lease No. H-86-23; and

WHEREAS, the term of Honolulu Marine's lease is for thirty-five years and expires in 2021; and

WHEREAS, Honolulu Marine's lease is managed by the Hawaii Community Development Authority (Authority); and

WHEREAS, the Authority is tasked with redeveloping the Kakaako business district, which includes the parcel occupied by Honolulu Marine; and

WHEREAS, the Authority has already advised Honolulu Marine that it must vacate the Kewalo Basin property as soon as possible; and

WHEREAS, Honolulu Marine has been working closely with the Authority and the Department of Transportation, Harbors Division, in an effort to identify an alternate site for Honolulu Marine to move; and

WHEREAS, Honolulu Marine has identified and inspected a parcel under the management of the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation, located adjacent to the Keehi Small Boat Harbor; and

WHEREAS, the unimproved dirt lot, which covers 50,400 square feet of total area, is currently used, on a month to month tenancy, as a base yard for a nearby construction project; and

WHEREAS, although the Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation's parcel is only one-third the size of Honolulu Marine's existing facility, if the necessary improvements and submerged lands lease are granted, it is the best option available, given the Authority's need to have Honolulu Marine vacate its existing facility as soon as possible; and

WHEREAS, Honolulu Marine proposes to operate a ship repair facility using a newly constructed one hundred twenty foot by sixty-four foot floating drydock in lieu of a commercial marine railway; and

WHEREAS, if established, Honolulu Marine will have the ability to perform ship repairs on shore, on the drydock, and in the water; and

WHEREAS, in addition, the scope of operations Honolulu Marine anticipates it will undertake at the new facility includes, but is not limited to:

(1) The construction of new commercial vessels;

(2) Repair and maintenance of vessels owned by Honolulu Marine's sister company, P&R Water Taxi, Ltd.;

(3) Repair and maintenance of vessels owned by the United States Navy; and

(4) Repair and maintenance of private commercial tugs, barges, and fishing vessels; and

WHEREAS, Honolulu Marine is interested in a long-term lease of the fast and fronting submerged lands under which a minimum term of twenty-five years is necessary to ensure Honolulu Marine can recapture funds it will be required to invest relocating and developing the parcel as necessary to resume operations; and

WHEREAS, under Honolulu Marine's proposal, the fast land parcel that Honolulu Marine is interested in leasing at Keehi Small Boat Harbor would require the following minimum improvements:

(1) Install a chain link fence around the entire boundary;

(2) Grade and level the property;

(3) Provide utilities and security lighting (i.e., water, sewage, electricity, etc.);

(4) Erect a forty-foot by one hundred foot fabrication shop;

(5) Erect a forty foot by one hundred foot two level combination office building and storeroom; and

(6) Pave the surface of the lot; and

WHEREAS, because Honolulu Marine seeks to employ the use of a floating drydock, a one hundred thirty-five foot by twenty-five foot finger pier is required to secure the position of the drydock and maximize operating efficiency; and

WHEREAS, a finger pier would allow Honolulu Marine to secure the floating drydock and haul vessels out of the water on one side, while simultaneously having the capability of performing in water repairs on vessels secured on the opposite side of the pier; and

WHEREAS, in total, Honolulu Marine anticipates it will need to lease a total area of one hundred thirty feet by one hundred sixty feet (twenty thousand eight hundred square feet) of submerged land area for its operation; and

WHEREAS, there are multiple incidental benefits that will favorably accrue to the area if the Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation leases the Keehi Small Boat Harbor parcel to Honolulu Marine such as:

(1) The generation of revenue for the State over a long term;

(2) The proposed improvements to the Keehi Small Boat Harbor parcel will dramatically increase the current value of the land; and

(3) The presence of Honolulu Marine in a lot that has experienced chronic criminal activities should mitigate such activities; and

WHEREAS, the Board of Land and Natural Resources is already authorized to lease the fast lands under the provisions of chapter 171, Hawaii Revised Statutes, and only the prior approval of the Governor and prior authorization of the Legislature by concurrent resolution pursuant to section 171-53(c), Hawaii Revised Statutes, are required to include the submerged lands of Keehi Small Boat Harbor in a lease to a private entity; and

WHEREAS, the Legislature desires to enable the Board of Land and Natural Resources to lease certain submerged lands within Keehi Small Boat Harbor to Honolulu Marine for the redevelopment, management, and operation of certain fast and submerged lands as a commercial marine ship repair facility; and

WHEREAS, in order to process the above-described leases, all appropriate authorizations are required; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Board of Land and Natural Resources is authorized to lease, pursuant to section 171-53(c), Hawaii Revised Statutes, to Honolulu Marine, Inc., both fast and submerged lands at Keehi Small Boat Harbor for the redevelopment, management, and operation of a commercial ship repair facility; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the authorization provided under this Concurrent Resolution relates to the approximately fifty thousand square feet of fast and submerged lands located within tax map key 1-2-25-24 and a portion of the Kapalama Channel seaward of the Bascule Bridge; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Concurrent Resolution does not impute or imply legislative approval of the decisions that must be independently made by the Board of Land and Natural Resources in approving the issuance of any lease, nor imply any intent to include under this Concurrent Resolution any other fast and submerged land leases; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this Concurrent Resolution does not impute or imply legislative approval of the decisions that must be independently made by other state or federal agencies that may have jurisdiction over the navigable waters that may be impacted by the lease of submerged lands authorized for lease under this measure and that Honolulu Marine is requested to obtain the permits and approvals necessary to redevelop, manage, and operate its commercial ship repair facility; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, and the Chief Executive Officer of Honolulu Marine, Inc.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Submerged Lands; Lease Authorization; Shipyard Facility