New State Lands Agency Violates Abercrombie Order on Public Meetings
The state’s new public lands board isn’t doing so well when it comes to keeping the public informed. The state board has been forced to cancel another public meeting because it failed to give the public adequate information about an upcoming meeting this week.
The Public Land Development Corporation violated a recent order by Gov. Neil Abercrombie to post agendas of meetings to the .
As a result, the recently formed private development arm of the Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, has canceled its meeting that had been set for Wednesday.
This makes two out of three meetings that the board has canceled because it failed to adequately inform the public.
It鈥檚 not a good start for the corporation, created in May under . The board has been criticized as wielding broad powers to develop state lands with limited oversight. Ninety-seven percent of state lands under DLNR are ceded lands that are supposed to be held in trust by the state.
The law allows the corporation to develop everything from hotels to parking lots, though its supporters say the board is not intended to encourage unrestricted development. Revenues from development are expected to help DLNR further its conservation mission.
The board’s first meeting in August was canceled because it did not inform , a news organization, of the meeting six days in advance. If the meeting had taken place, the board would have been in violation of the state . Environment Hawaii had previously requested to be notified of meetings and by failing to do so the board broke the law.
Last month, Civil Beat reported on the difficulties of gaining information about public meetings of boards and commissions and the antiquated procedures of the Sunshine Law. A few days later, Abercrombie issued an order requiring all state agencies, boards and commissions to post meeting notices on the state online calendar.
Former Gov. Linda Lingle had required all agencies to post to the state calendar when she was in office, noting that the public鈥檚 access to information was sorely lacking. Abercrombie renewed the policy.
The Public Land Development Corporation meeting was still listed on the state calendar this weekend, but the notice lacked the agenda. But on Friday DLNR, according to an online news item, saying that it was canceled. DLNR also has listed the meeting as canceled on its own website. (Civil Beat did not receive the email on Friday but did confirm that the meeting is listsed as cancelled on the DLNR website.)
Board members and state Sen. Donovan Dela Cruz who sponsored the legislation creating the board, have been traveling to neighbor islands and meeting with public officials and the community about potential development sites.
This week鈥檚 meeting was to decide on criteria for choosing an executive director for the corporation.
