HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

72

TWENTY-EIGHTH LEGISLATURE, 2015

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting kamehameha schools to refrain from developing the parcel in hawaii kai commonly known as the "great lawn".

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, the Great Lawn in Hawaii Kai is bordered by Hawaii Kai Drive, Kalanianaole Highway, and Keahole Street across from Maunalua Bay, and is a familiar site to Hawaii Kai residents as well as visitors to Hawaii Kai; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Great Lawn is zoned as preservation land and is one of the few remaining undeveloped parcels of land in Hawaii Kai; and

 

     WHEREAS, Kamehameha Schools, who owns the land under the Great Lawn, expressed plans in 2013 for the development of the Great Lawn into a shopping complex with Foodland as its anchor tenant; and

 

     WHEREAS, the proposed development of the Great Lawn created widespread reactions throughout the Hawaii Kai community, prompting the need for a town hall meeting; and

 

     WHEREAS, more than three hundred people were in attendance at a town hall meeting held on March 21, 2013, at Kamiloiki Elementary School to voice their thoughts and opinions about the possible development of a shopping complex on the Great Lawn; and

 

     WHEREAS, in response to the outpouring of reactions to the proposed development of the Great Lawn, Kamehameha Schools has temporarily suspended its plans to develop the 4.5 acre property at the entrance of Hawaii Kai into a shopping complex; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Great Lawn is an iconic landmark to Hawaii Kai residents who have become familiar with and accustomed to the Great Lawn as an aesthetically pleasing reminder of Hawaii's natural beauty; and

 

     WHEREAS, there are other suitable site locations in Hawaii Kai for a Foodland shopping complex, for example, the Kalama Village Shopping Center could attract the kind of business that Kamehameha Schools has envisioned; and

 

     WHEREAS, the preservation of the Great Lawn will serve as a model for future lands in need of preservation and protection; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-eighth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2015, that Kamehameha Schools is requested to refrain from developing the parcel in Hawaii Kai known as the Great Lawn and instead preserve the land in its natural state; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees and the Chief Executive Officer of Kamehameha Schools and the Chairperson of the Hawaii Kai Neighborhood Board.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Great Lawn; Kamehameha Schools; Development