Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 38, Number 4, 1 April 2021 — E Ho'oulu i ko Lāhui [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

E Ho'oulu i ko Lāhui

j LEO ELELE w > TRUSTEE MESSSAGES /

One of the great goals of King Kalākaua was to Ho'oulu Lāhui, or to increase the Hawaiians and the Nation. After working for two anel a half months on SB 1334, OHA's Kaka ' ako Makai bill, I had an epiphany upon recalling the words of our last Mō'ī Kāne, King David La'amea Kalākaua, to "Ho'oulu Lāhui" whieh literally means "to increase

the Nahon." His words called upon Hawaiians to seek greater involvement in their government in response to changing poliheal winds whieh sought to diminish Hawaiians' power to control their poliīieal and eeonomie destinies. Kalākaua's words ring true for me today as I reflect upon how we all must now engage with our state legislature to do what is best for all of Hawai'i, especially as it relates to OHA's plans to steward and develop its Kaka'ako lands, and to thereby be able to better steward and care for its Native Hawaiian beneficiaries. State legislators were told of our vision, our hopes, and our dreams for Kaka'ako Makai to create a Hawaiian cultural gathering spot, a Hawaiian sense of plaee, a plaee where Hawai'i's people could work, live, and play in an area accessible to jobs, commerce, shopping, mass transit, parks, and the oeean. Those conversations were invigorating and exciting, in part because of the assumptions by some that the Office of Hawaiian Affairs was just another developer with no stake and no eonneehon to the land, the oeean, and the people, and that we were out to make as mueh money as possible with little eoneem for the 'āina, our lāhui, or the people of Hawai'i. As the Indigenous and Native people of Hawai'i, nothing could be further from the tmth. On Tuesday, March 9, the Senate passed SB 1334 SD1, allowing for residential housing on some of OHA's Kaka'ako parcels, and raising the allowahle height for two of OHA's

lots on busy Ala Moana Boulevard from 200 to 400 feet. Senators overwhelmingly understood that it made sense to allow for the development of residential housing away from the shoreline and in the business corridor, and that such a development would be in the best interest of not only OHA's Native Hawaiian beneficiaries, but for all of Hawai'i as a means to

address Hawai'i's perennial housing shortage. On March 15, OHA learned that the House will not be scheduling hearings on our bill meaning that unless something drastic happens, OHA's Kaka'ako bill will not pass this year. The OHA trustees' obligation to their Native Hawaiian beneficiaries is to protect their rights and to ehallenge laws whieh unconstitutionally prevent them from developing their makai properties as private developers mauka of Ala Moana are now allowed to do. One strategy is to legally ehallenge HRS 206E-3 1.5(2) as "special legislation" whieh preserves view planes for residential towers mauka of Ala Moana Boulevard by prohibiting Hawaiians from building housing on any of its 30 plus acres of its Kaka'ako makai lands. Another strategy is to pass SB1334 SD1. This isn't about OHA but is instead about "special interest" politics. OHA is entitled to parity with the same zoning allowances that other mauka developers have already received. HRS 206E-3 1.5(2) discriminates against Hawaiians and favors special interests over the public interest. It must either be overturned by a court or repealed by passage of SB1334 SD1. I eall upon Hawaiians to ho'oulu lāhui, to increase your knowledge and understanding of how Hawaiians' rights to self-determination in the use of their trust lands will benefit Hawaiians in peipetuity. Mahalo a nui loa! ■

Carmen Hulu" Lindsey Chsir, TrustBB, Msui