Why so much contempt and anger surrounding the PLDC?

The PLDC and Act 55 recently became household words through-out the State, albeit frequently preceded by other words not normally used in polite conversation.

Why so much contempt and anger surrounding the PLDC?

The Public Land Development Corporation (PLDC) was established in law as Act 55 in 2011 after the Legislature passed and the governor signed Senate Bill 1555 CD1.

The purpose of the PLDC is to make it easier to develop projects on public lands and thus generate more money for the state. The law allows such developments to be “exempt from all statutes, ordinances, charter provisions, and rules of any government agency … .” Basically all projects would be exempt from all land use laws, including local zoning, general plan and affordable housing requirements, building height and density restrictions and coastal setbacks and public access rules.

According to the law as it is now written, the PLDC could identify what they consider underutilized public lands, then select a private development partner and construct a new hotel, shopping center, or housing development without complying with the Kaua‘i General Plan or the County Zoning Ordinance (CZO).

It’s no wonder people are outraged and refuse to be mollified by reassurances that the “intent” is not to develop in inappropriate areas, nor to commercialize our parks or disregard County General Plans, the CZO and other public interest safeguards. Proponents of the PLDC are quick to point out that the law says “public land planning activities of the corporation shall be coordinated with the county planning departments and the county land use plans, policies, and ordinances.”

Students and practitioners of the law will tell you that words matter, “coordinating with” does not mean “complying with”.

Further fueling the public’s disgust and outrage over the PLDC is the sleight of hand manner in which it was passed into law.

Experienced legislators understand that the key to passing legislation is to “just get it to Conference Committee” which is the final stage of the legislative process. Thus there is a tendency among some to downplay and avoid if at all possible the controversial elements of a proposal during the early stages, add them during later hearings and finalize the package during “conference.” While these joint House/Senate committees do hold public meetings, public testimony is not allowed and negotiations are conducted in private.

To the general public it looks at first glance like there were at least four opportunities for the public to weigh in and testify on this important issue before it got to the Conference Committee. But in fact that is not the case.

1. SB 1555 proposing the creation of the PLDC was introduced Jan. 26, 2011, and its first public hearing in the Senate Water/Land/Housing Committee was held Feb. 8, 2011, (public notice given Feb. 2, 2011). At this time SB 1555 did not contain any provisions for exempting projects from “all statutes, ordinances, charter provisions, and rules of any government agency … .” It also provided for an 11-member Board of Directors and required Neighbor Island representation. There was minimal public testimony. A Senate Draft 1 version was passed with minor technical amendments.

2. On March. 1, 2011, the Senate Ways and Means Committee held a “public decision making” (public notice given Feb. 25, 2011). While written “comments” may be offered, no public testimony is accepted. A Senate Draft 2 version was passed with minor technical amendments.

3. On March 18. 2011 the House Water/Land/Ocean Committee held a public hearing (public notice given March 15, 2011). A House Draft 1 was passed, dramatically amending the original version by adding in exemptions from county permitting and zoning requirements and deleting the requirement for Neighbor Island representation.

The general public at this point had no way of knowing that the bill was significantly changed and now grants to the PLDC broad exemption powers while taking away Neighbor Island representation (where most public lands are located).

4. On April 7, 2011, the House Finance Committee held a public hearing The public was given less than two-hours notice prior to the hearing. After minimal public testimony, a House Draft 2 was passed including additional changes.

The public was given less than two-hours public notice by the House Finance Committee for the one and only opportunity to testify (in Honolulu) on the exemption provision and stripping out of Neighbor Island representation.

The measure then went to Conference Committee where no public testimony is allowed and additional very significant changes were made. Emerging from Conference Committee SB 1555 CD1 was then approved by the entire House and Senate and signed into law by the Governor shortly thereafter.

It’s no wonder Kaua‘i people are outraged and demanding a repeal. I share that outrage and commend the Kaua‘i County Council for also joining in with their unanimous support for repealing Act 55 and the PLDC.

• Gary Hooser is currently on leave as director of the state Office of Environmental Quality Control and running for election to the Kaua‘i County Council. Hooser served in the Hawai‘i State Senate representing Kaua‘i and Ni‘ihau from 2002 until 2010 and was Majority Leader in the Hawai‘i Senate from 2006 until 2010. This column represents his personal perspective only.