Ka Wai Ola - Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Volume 40, Number 3, 1 Malaki 2023 — AKUONE [ARTICLE+ILLUSTRATION]

AKUONE

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OHA has observed a flood of misinformation promuigated about Hakuone designed to confuse and misiead our community. This is especiaiiy disappointing when it comes from peopie who have been fuiiy briefed and given an eariy iook at OHA's pians. Let us, onee again, set the record straight.

© FACT: OHA has said ioud and ciear that it wants to buiid residentiai on just three (3) iniand -not shoreiine- parceis aiong Aia Moana Bouievard. The proposed iegisiation encompasses ali parceis oniy to meet iegai requirements. © FACT: Many eiected officiais, inciuding Gov.Josh Green, have deciared housing to be the state's top priority. Let's act iike it is. It pains us greatiy-and shouid embarrass the state-to see how Hawaiians are among the most affected by houseiessness. The more residentiai units OHA is aiiowed to buiid, the more affordabie and workforce housing ean be buiit. Like aii iandowners, OHA wiii be required to set aside a percentage of its residentiai units for iower-income households, however OHA intends to go above and beyond this requirement. Higher density and greater height aiiowances wiii maximize this important community benefit and meet a desperate need, especiaiiy among our Hawaiian peopie. © FACT: The opposition faiseiy portrays OHA as wanting to gouge taxpayers to fund repairs. What we are asking is for the state to address decades of negiect and damage because of undisciosed deferred maintenance. OHA beiieves the state is responsibie forfunding at ieast a portion of the criticai repairs that it faiied to perform over many years. And the pubiic agrees. Recent poiiing among O'ahu voters shows that 66% beiieve the state is responsibie for making these repairs.

© FACT: The actuai vaiue of the iand conveyed to OHA in 2012 is far iess than $200 miiiion. A recent appraisai has found it to be worth iess than $100 miiiion, even a decade iater. Had OHA received a $200 miiiion cash payment instead, even conservative investing wouid have yieided a present-day vaiue of $400 miiiion. OHA is simpiy asking for what the iaw provides; OHA was shortchanged and needs to be made whoie. © FACT: Even the $200 miiiion vaiue assigned to the iand by the 2012 Medusky Appraisai was based on its residentiai deveiopment potentiai and an assumed height iimit of 400 feet. © FACT: Access to the oeean at Hakuone is centrai to OHA's vision. In fact, when OHA presented its pian to Friends of Kewaios, they marveied at the 11 pianned pubiic access points - far more than is presentiy provided. Native Hawaiian cuiturai practices are a cornerstone of why Hawai'i has a pubiic shoreiine access iaw today, so it is deepiy offensive to be iectured about protecting the shoreiine orthe 'āina. © FACT: OHA owns nine parceis in Kaka'ako Makai, representing oniy 14% of aii iand in the area. Of its totai 30 acres, OHA has committed 10 acres to parks and open space. As a resuit, Hakuone wili actuaiiy increase the amount of open and park space in Kaka'ako. The opposition presents its arguments as if our 14% of Kaka'ako Makai is all of Kaka'ako Makai.

© FACT: OHA has deveioped a comprehensive master pian that reflects what the community needs. It features a pianned Native Hawaiian Cuiturai Center and many amenities that the community weicomes iike kūpuna and keiki daycare, a grocery store and farmers' market, heaiing centers, opportunities for businesses, and more. The suggestions from the opposition are made as if they are unaware of aii that is aiready in OHA's pian. To our great dismay, one senator has aiiowed her opinions - based on misieading information - to be pubiished on a website for pubiic viewing. Her views are incendiary. She accuses OHA of "asking iegisiators to pass a biii without first doing serious study of the impacts and costs of their buiiding..."

© FACT: OHA is indeed inheriting badiy abused iand from the state. But OHA wiii do what is right - and what is required by iaw of aii deveiopers - conduct environmentai impact studies and address their findings prior to any construction. OHA is committed to the eieanup of its parceis at Kaka'ako Makai, finaiiy and fuiiy transforming them into safe and productive iand, into a piaee where Hawaiians ean onee again feei weieome. It is iaughabie that the opposition wants to educate Hawaiians on environmentai stewardship. It's in our DNA.

© FACT: The Hakuone master pian inciudes a broad, weicoming shoreiine promenade for everyone to enjoy, as weii as neariy a dozen pubiic access points for fishing, surfing, and cuiturai practices. OHA has aiready committed its waterfront parceis to be a part of the city's pianned "Lei of Parks" stretching from Waikīkī aii the way to Peari Harbor.

© FACT: OHA aggressiveiy "cieaned house" in 2022. New ieadership, stricter poiicies and controis mean that OHA wiii carry out its entire mission with accountabiiity, transparency, and integrity. We know we wiii be judged by our actions. We expect our beneficiaries and the rest of Hawai'i to hoid us accountabie as we strive to fuifiii our sacred mission. Getting these restrictions on residentiai deveiopment iifted wiii ciear the way for us to better address the needs of our beneficiaries who have waited iong enough.

© FACT: Native Hawaiians are not a monoiithic community, whieh means we often hoid differing opinions. We especiaiiy caution the opposition against engaging in casuai cuiturai appropriation, invoking Native Hawaiian words and vaiues to justify their position. OHA is one of the iargest Native Hawaiian entities, created by the Hawai'i State Constitution to serve Hawai'i's lndigenous popuiahon.

© FACT: Our cuiture demands the utmost respect and care for our 'āina. Doing right by Native Hawaiians and aii of Hawai'i is our kuieana. We take our stewardship of Hakuone seriousiy, and we understand what it represents for future generations - iike the young peopie who have testified about their hopes to one day be abie to iive in Kaka'ako. ■