David Y. Ige

(Kapolei, Oʻahu) – The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands’ (DHHL) update of its General Plan has been adopted by the Hawaiian Homes Commission (HHC). DHHL’s General Plan, updated every 20 years, establishes statewide policies that guide land management and programs over the next two decades. The Department last updated its General Plan in 2002.

DHHL’s General Plan provides a comprehensive policy that ensures coordinated and integrated orderly social, physical, and economic development of Hawaiian Home Lands. It establishes goals and objectives that guide the implementation of the program. The plan is followed by detailed Island and Regional plans that are updated on a rotating basis and on their respective timetables.

“This document is a result of months of consultation with homesteaders and applicants on the Waiting List,” said Deputy to the Chair Tyler Iokepa Gomes. “As we enter into the next 100 years of this program, it is critical that we have this foundation to chart the direction and use of trust lands to continue the work to fulfill Kūhiō’s vision.”

An HHC investigative committee was appointed at the August 2020 Commission meeting to oversee the process and met frequently over the 20-month planning period. In accordance with HRS § 92-2.5(b), the members of the investigative committee included Randy K. Awo, Russell K. Kaʻupu, Zachary Z. Helm, and Chair William J. Aila, Jr.

Three rounds of multifaceted Beneficiary Consultation meetings were hosted virtually between 2021 and 2022 to provide background on the General Plan process and explore existing conditions and future policies related to a variety of topics, including Land Use, Water Resources, and Infrastructure; Housing and Food Production; and Healthy Communities and Natural/Cultural Resource Management; and Economic Development and Revenue Generation.

As part of the Beneficiary Consultation process, DHHL also hosted eight statewide Open House events in August 2022 that provided 223 beneficiaries the opportunity to review and provide input on the building blocks developed out of the Beneficiary Consultation meetings that became the draft General Plan. All DHHL beneficiaries, with a valid mailing address, received an invitation to participate in the curation of the plan.

The draft General Plan was formally opened for Beneficiary Comment in August 2022. In October 2022, the final draft of the plan was presented to HHC along with the report of the Commission’s investigative committee. The final General Plan document was approved by HHC at its November 2022 meeting.

To view the General Plan, or learn more about DHHL’s planning system, visit dhhl.hawaii.gov/po/general-plan-2022.

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About the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands:

The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands carries out Prince Jonah Kūhiō Kalanianaʻole’s vision of rehabilitating native Hawaiians by returning them to the land. Established by U.S. Congress in 1921, with the passage of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act, the Hawaiian homesteading program run by DHHL includes management of over 200,000 acres of land statewide with the specific purpose of developing and delivering homesteading.

Media Contact:

Cedric Duarte

Information and Community Relations Officer
Department of Hawaiian Home Lands
(808) 620-9591

[email protected]