Report Title:

Waimano Ridge; Development Prohibition; Established

Description:

Prohibits development of state-owned land on Waimano ridge until an updated master plan is developed; establishes reporting requirements for department of health; establishes a process for developing the master plan. (HB1141 HD2)

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1141

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2005

H.D. 2

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

relating to Waimano ridge.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that certain uses of state-owned lands in the Waimano ridge area of Oahu have created unnecessary friction between the state administration and surrounding community residents. Over the past five years, the state administration has systematically increased the use of state-owned lands in the Waimano ridge area in ways that have disenfranchised the surrounding community residents and placed them in potential harm's way.

In 2000, the state administration announced that it would be operating a juvenile sex offender treatment facility at the site of the former Waimano home for the developmentally disabled. The announcement was given without prior notice to the community. In fact, there are reports that the department of health selected the site as early as 1998, without informing the community of its intentions.

After consistent public pressure, the state administration consented to holding public hearings in the Waimano ridge community. After receiving overwhelming community opposition to the project, then-governor Cayetano promised the Waimano ridge community that the siting of the treatment facility would be only temporary.

In 2001, in anticipation of governor Cayetano's proceeding with the relocation of the sex offender treatment facility, the legislature appropriated funds to move the treatment facility to another location. However, the move never occurred, leaving area residents to believe that they had been misled.

In 2003, rather than follow through with the administration's promise to relocate the facility, the department of health announced that it planned on expanding the facility and its uses to include a drug treatment center. The administration also stated that it would not guarantee that the juvenile sex offender treatment center would ever be relocated.

More recently, testing of viruses and other potentially dangerous specimens have occurred at the department of health's laboratory located on state-owned Waimano ridge lands. While the original master plan for the area did envision the laboratory being built there, area residents were led to believe that the laboratory was to be used primarily to test water quality and food samples. Due to the heightened state of terrorism awareness and recent outbreaks of Norovirus, West Nile virus, and bird flu, testing for these potentially fatal diseases has been occurring without the knowledge of area residents. In fact, the Waimano community has not been briefed by the department of health on the safety protocols it is utilizing to safeguard the health and safety of the surrounding community, nor has the department been forthcoming in exactly what it is testing in its laboratory.

The legislature also finds that all these potentially dangerous activities are being conducted within close proximity to public schools. These activities place children at risk, and the legislature believes that the concerns of these students and their parents have gone unheeded by the department of health and the state administration for too long.

The legislature further finds that in the early 1990s, there was a collaborative government and community effort to develop a master plan for the Waimano ridge area. This master plan was formulated by the department of health with community input and was designed to create a "totally integrated community" where activities on the state-owned Waimano ridge lands would be community-friendly. Unfortunately, the legislature finds that the department of health and the state administration have strayed from the original intent of the master plan and have approved uses of the Waimano ridge lands without discussing or informing the Waimano community of their intentions. Accordingly, the legislature finds it necessary to arrest the development of the state-owned Waimano ridge lands until such time as the department of health can assure the area residents that its current and planned uses will not jeopardize the health, well-being, and safety of the Waimano community.

Therefore, the purpose of this Act is to prohibit the expanded use and further development of state-owned land and buildings in the Waimano ridge area of Oahu until the master plan is updated and presented to the neighborhood boards in the Waimano ridge area, providing full disclosure of current and planned activities of the department and any other government or private agencies, with a particular focus on:

(1) The specific types of laboratory tests conducted, the potential dangers involved, and the precautions taken to assure the health and well-being of the surrounding communities; and

(2) The types and extent of treatment programs performed, such as drug rehabilitation and sex offender programs, and the safeguards in place to protect the residents, particularly children of the Waimano ridge area.

SECTION 2. (a) Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, no state or county agency, commission, or department shall grant, approve, or issue any lease or permit that authorizes the new or expanded use or further development of existing leased lands or facilities on state-owned land in the Waimano ridge area of Oahu until an updated master plan in accordance with section 3 of this Act is developed and appropriately communicated to the area residents, and until the public health, well-being, and safety is assured.

(b) The prohibition established under this section shall apply to state and county agencies and private lessees of state-owned lands in the Waimano ridge area as identified in Executive Order No. 1020, dated May 10, 1943, as amended by Executive Order No. 1319, dated March 30, 1949, as amended by Executive Order No. 1334, dated July 14, 1949, as amended by Executive Order No. 2273, dated May 2, 1966, as amended by Executive Order No. 2287, dated September 7, 1966.

(c) For the purposes of this section, "development" includes:

(1) Any grubbing, earth-moving, building, or mining operation;

(2) Any new use, material change in use, intensity of use, or appearance of any structure or land; or

(3) The division of land into two or more parcels;

provided that the term shall not include basic repair and maintenance activities taken to avoid the degradation or disrepair of existing lands and facilities.

SECTION 3. (a) The department of health, in consultation with the department of land and natural resources, Waimano ridge homeowners, interested members of the Pearl City community, and other stakeholders, shall prepare an updated master plan for the future use of the state-owned Waimano ridge lands.

(b) The department of health shall conduct public hearings in the Waimano ridge community to garner public input on formulating the updated master plan and shall provide notice and accept testimony consistent with the requirements set forth in chapter 92.

(c) Upon the completion of a draft updated master plan, the department of health shall submit the draft master plan to the neighborhood board or boards representing the Waimano ridge area for their review and recommendation. If any of the neighborhood boards, by majority vote, recommends any amendments to the draft updated master plan, the department of health, upon the completion of the revisions to the draft updated master plan recommended by the neighborhood board or boards, shall resubmit the plan to the neighborhood board or boards representing the Waimano ridge area for their review and comments.

If no agreement can be reached between the neighborhood board or boards and the department of health regarding any proposed future use of the state-owned Waimano ridge lands contained in the draft updated master plan, the department shall append documentation and supporting information of the disagreement to the plan and the reasons for the disagreement. The department of health shall allow the neighborhood board or boards representing the Waimano ridge area to append any documentation supporting their reasons for disagreement to the draft updated master plan.

SECTION 4. The legislature recognizes the deep concerns that may be expressed by members of surrounding communities when faced with potential harm, whether real or perceived. It is incumbent upon the organizations involved to advise the community of the activities being conducted, the potential dangers involved, and the precautions taken to assure public safety.

The legislature finds that it is in the best interest of the entire state that the activities of the department of health at Waimano ridge continue and expand if necessary but do so without compromising the health, well-being, and safety of adjacent communities. The appearance of deadly viruses and microbes as well as the use of lethal chemicals and biological organisms by terrorists require immediate action to test, identify, and, where necessary, implement a community response plan to protect the public.

The department of health shall prepare and disseminate an annual report detailing the various activities on Waimano ridge, including but not limited to:

(1) The types of tests being conducted, the dangers involved, and the precautions taken to assure the safety of both laboratory personnel and surrounding communities;

(2) The types and extent of treatment programs that may be conducted, such as drug rehabilitation and sex offender programs, and measures employed to protect the public; and

(3) The number of public informational meetings conducted, the subjects covered, and the community's reaction or degree of acceptance to the department's presentation.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2010.