Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 10, Number 5, 1 May 1993 — A Bellows community we can all live with [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

A Bellows community we can all live with

by Rowena Akana Trustee-at-large As the federal government debates whether to demilitarize Barbers Point Naval Air Station, it continues to harbor another base far less impor-

iaiii uul i a i iuuie valuable — Bellows Air Force Station. Bellows occupies 1,493.15 acres of Windward O'ahu, of whieh 1,456.93 acres is ceded lands held in trust for Hawai'i's inhabitants. The station's current esti-

mated value is more than $88 million. As a Hawaiianmanaged and planned eommunity, the land value would be priceless for so many with so few housing options. The time has eome to make Bellows available for Hawaiians' housing needs. Bellows, unlike mueh of Hawaiian Home Lands, is a fairly

large parcel of land resplendent with utilities, roads and water in plaee. The state has zoned the land for 5,000 single family units and an equal amount of agricultural plots. Rentals (in Waimānalo) are less expensive than most of Honolulu and hous- < pc epll fr\r hcilf thp

average single family home prices, added to whieh most of the area is flat, on or near the beach and only two miles from Kailua. As early as 1966. the federal govern-

ment reanzea it aia not really need the Windward land base. The director of the Bureau of the Budget determined " ... that the [Bellows] property hereinafter described is no longer needed by the United States ..." (deed dated July 25, 1966, p. 2). Since then, the military has made no serious attempt to defend the recreation facility as a

necessary military activity and has admitted the communications facility could be easily relocated. The Marine Corps small unit exercises, if ever all that vital, could continue on a permit basis as they do on other state lands. Hoarding land for no other reason than it's pretty to look at seems a bit foolish when compared to the dire needs in the Hawaiian eommunity for housing. Aside from the operational specifics, there remains the more fundamental question: to whom does the land belong? The Bellows property, formerly publie lands of the Kingdom, then the Republic, then the Territory of Hawai'i, was subsequently commandeered by the president for the War Department in 1917 and 1928, and last used as an airfield during World War II. The Admissions Act of 1959 and the Conveyances Procedures Act of 1963 require ceded lands be retumed when no longer needed for federal purposes. Hawaiians are entitled to rev-

enues from ceded lands, and failure to move on the reversion of Bellows denies Hawai'i's original inhabitants their rightful benefits. In any event, the military states a weak case for federal retention and the people of Hawai'i have a strong, legitimate elaim on the property. Hawai'i already has a state agency to manage revenues from the ceded lands trust for the betterment of Hawaiians, an agency mandated to promote a body responsible to the needs of the indigenous community — a Hawaiian govemment. A Hawaiian govemment, with a vested interest in the indigenous community, would do right by its people and prepare Bellows for a high-quality, low-cost masterplanned community. Conveyances could be issued, orders given, documents signed, rules written and procedures implemented to transfer control of the Bellows land to OHA or its eonstitutional successor, whieh would contract to redesign and

rebuild the land and its properties. Perhaps in a short decade or two, a smartly planned, quality community would be ready to house and employ several thousand Hawaiians. Since the Legislature still debates a Hawaiian ConCon, OHA remains the only existing agency that could kick-start the legislative process, hire the eontractors, secure the proper papers and ensure that "affordable housing" is really housing Hawaiians ean afford. OHA has done more for the Hawaiian community than any other government agency, and is the only existing entity with the means to accomplish such a task. But given the ehanee, a Hawaiian government certainly could do no worse than its precedessors with a parcel of ceded land. The military doesn't need it, the state can't handle it, so perhaps it's time for a Hawaiian government to manage it.