Residents can nominate sites around the Big Island to be acquired and preserved through Hawaii County’s Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Commission.
As it does every year, the PONC is soliciting applications for properties whose preservation would ensure public access to beaches or mountains, opportunities for education or outdoor recreation, or otherwise have cultural significance.
County Finance Director Deanna Sako said that as of December, the PONC had $21.2 million in funds to acquire land, which it does every year. The PONC is funded by 2% of the county’s real property tax revenue.
Following the nominations to the PONC, Sako said the commission will evaluate the suggestions, conduct site visits and eventually rank the nominations into a prioritized list that will be submitted to the mayor’s office by the end of the year.
After that, the Hawaii County Council will discuss the list next January, and vote whether to go forward with an acquisition.
Should the council vote in favor of an acquisition, the Department of Finance will begin negotiations with the property owner for an eventual purchase.
While the 2022 list is has not yet been brought to the council, Sako said that the PONC has acquired in this manner more than 10,000 acres of land since 2006.
The 2021 list included 26 properties around the island, but the highest-priority sites were largely shoreline and forest parcels in North Kohala. Topping the list was a 42.5-acre stretch along the North Kohala coast, with the second-place site being a 3-acre parcel in Keaukaha across from Leleiwi Beach Park.
“The county charter is very clear what we can do with these lands,” Sako said. “So, we can’t do too much with them. Mostly they’re used as open spaces … even the park land we get, the most we can do is build restroom facilities.”
Sako said that the PONC will consider all nominations, but generally prefers if the owner of a suggested parcel has been contacted before a nomination is submitted.
Properties whose owners are aware of and willing to participate in the process are placed higher in the prioritized list, as are those that have commitments for matching funds, which in the past have been secured from the state and the U.S. Fish and Wildlife Service.
Nominations for the PONC can be submitted until Jan. 31. Submissions must include a summary of how the public would benefit from the acquisition, descriptions of resources and hazards on the property, and more.
Submission forms can be found at tinyurl.com/3e5nv93m.
Email Michael Brestovansky at mbrestovansky@hawaiitribune-herald.com.