Hawaii Land Development Corp Still Controversial

Sophie Cocke/Civil Beat

An agency tasked with developing public lands that has raised concerns from environmentalists and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs is under attack by lawmakers this session.

A dozen bills have been introduced that aim to restrict the powers of the controversial Public Land Development Corporation, an agency that passed quietly into law last year. But it's unlikely that anything will come of them because they have to go through Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz, chair of the Senate Committee on Water, Land and Housing, who created the corporation.

The senator has also introduced five bills of his own, most of which would expand the PLDC's powers. This despite telling Civil Beat just before the session started that he wasn't planning to sponsor any PLDC bills. Asked in January whether he expected any bills to be introduced this session that would amend the corporation, Dela Cruz said, "I don't know, but I'm not introducing any."

But he apparently was in the middle of drafting his own measures. That obfuscation raises concerns about Dela Cruz's intentions when it comes to public perception and the transparency of public debate about the agency's operations.

The PLDC is designed to fast-track development on state lands through public-private partnerships. It's governed by an executive director and five-member board and has additional oversight from the Board of Land and Natural Resources, which must approve any land transfers to the corporation.

Dela Cruz has maintained that the PLDC has the potential to reinvigorate the urban landscape, shore up dilapidated parks and recreation areas and provide the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources with a healthy revenue stream by leasing its lands. The department, which has struggled with budget cuts, hopes that the money could help support its conservation mission and be filtered to such projects as protecting the state's watersheds.

But the PLDC's critics have expressed alarm about its broad powers.

"If you look at the law that passed, it's so vague and so broad that the public has no input," said Rep. Jessica Wooley, who is proposing a bill to restrict the PLDC's powers. "I have a lot of concerns about what might happen."

Dela Cruz continues to bush off efforts by other lawmakers to curb the corporation's powers.

"I think change is a scary thing," he said. "But sticking to the status quo is more frightening. We need to create more opportunities for housing, for economic development and create a committed revenue stream for DLNR."

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