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Hawaii Capital National Heritage Area Designation
Legislation to designate the Hawaii Capital National Heritage Area was introduced in the U.S. Senate and U.S. House during early 2009; it was not scheduled for committee hearings.
In Hawaii, however, the Tantalus Community Association, Papakolea community organizations, and various Nuuanu residents contacted Senator Fukunaga to request that their neighborhoods be excluded from the scope of the Hawai'i National Heritage Area project. Their requests were subsequently forwarded to members of Hawaii's Congressional delegation.
In 2009, Papakolea community organizations (Papakolea, Kalawahine Streamside, Kewalo and Papakolea Community Development Corporation) opposed inclusion of Papakolea communities within the project's boundaries when House and Senate committees considered resolutions to support the federal NHA designation. Papakolea organizations raised concerns over potential National Heritage Area (NHA) legislation conflicting with provisions of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act and other native Hawaiian programs. During 2010, Department of Hawaiian Homelands was asked to make a determination on this issue.
A 2010 resolution, Senate Concurrent Resolution 138, SD1, asked the Hawaii Capital Cultural Coalition to provide a status report on the organization's development of the management plan as part of the proposed designation of Hawaii Capital National Heritage Area and the organization's efforts to address concerns raised by residential property owners, was introduced and reported out of the Senate. The resolution died in the House of Representatives.
Area legislators have continued to encourage Hawaii Capital Cultural Coalition organizers to work with residential communities to address concerns raised by property owners in various neighborhoods identified in the NHA designation. |
