A City Council committee will consider a resolution this week calling for disbanding the Clean Water and Natural Lands Commission, which was set up after voters approved a 2006 change to the City Charter setting aside funds for protection for “still undeveloped and important environmental and aesthetic assets…vulnerable to ongoing development, commercial interests, and urban sprawl.”
Mayor Mufi Hannemann, who publicly opposed the 2006 charter amendment, has refused to follow the process previously established by the council, apparently because the independent commission is outside of his direct control.
The commission makes recommendations to the council on projects to be supported by funds set aside in a Clean Water and Natural Lands Fund. The 2006 charter amendment provides that the money can only be spent for purposes have not traditionally been funded by the city, such as the preservation of natural areas.
Its creation was strongly supported by environmental groups and the general public, and its elimination is likely to put Hannemann at odds with the environmental community.
Resolution 149, introduced on June 17 by council chair Todd Apo, would replace the independent commission with a committee that would “advise the city administration on the expenditure of moneys in the Fund.” It is scheduled to be considered by the council’s Budget Committee at its meeting beginning at 9 a.m. on Wednesday, June 30..
Testimony regarding Res. 149 can be submitted to the Budget Committee via email.
Apo’s proposal would eliminate specific requirements for relevant experience and expertise, and instead simply provides that the mayor and the council would each name four members, with the ninth member to be chosen jointly.
The commission is currently required to have members with particular expertise, including at least one scientist, one representative from an environmental or land conservation organization, one member of an agricultural association, one water expert, a public recreation specialist, and at least one member knowledgeable about Hawaiian cultural.
The latest move appears to follow through on Mayor Mufi Hannemann’s publicly announced plan earlier this year to bypass the commission in order to divert money from the Clean Water and Natural Lands Fund for transit oriented development along the proposed rail transit line and for other administration-backed purposes.
According to the resolution:
…although the Commission has worked diligently and recommended to the council projects to be funded from the Fund and the council has appropriated moneys from the Fund in accordance with the Commission’s recommendations, the city administration has not implemented the projects, and in the budget documents submitted to the council for Fiscal Year 2010-2011 has proposed its own projects to utilize moneys in the Fund….
Hannemann’s budget designates $3 million from the fund to purchase land for a proposed regional park in Nanakuli, located in Apo’s council district, where it is popular with voters. The Nanakuli project was never submitted to the commission for review, although the commission invited such a move. Instead, Hannemann inserted it into his proposed budget in a direct challenge to existing city law.
Marjorie Ziegler, chair of the commission, said over the weekend that she had not been notified of the resolution by the council or the mayor’s administration, and had not yet seen a copy.
Commission member and former chair, UH law professor Denise Antolini said she heard about the resolution from a private citizen.
“I find it highly disrespectful for neither the Mayor nor the Council to provide notice to the Commission about this resolution,” Antolini said in a statement emailed to iLind.net.
The commission has developed a reputation for careful study and review of each proposal submitted for funding by the CWNL Fund, including site visits and careful prioritization. It’s lengthy recommendations can be found online via the city’s Docushare system.