Department of Hawaiian Home Lands

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

February 26, 2021

DHHL Announces Beneficiary Consultation on General Plan

(Kapolei, Oʻahu) – The Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL) is seeking beneficiary input as part of its 2022 General Plan update Beneficiary Consultation process.

The General Plan, which is updated every 20 years, establishes statewide policies that guide land management and DHHL programs over the consequent two decades. As one piece of the planning framework, the General Plan provides a comprehensive policy that ensures coordinated, integrated, and orderly social, physical, and economic development of Hawaiian Home Lands through the establishment of goals, objectives, and implementing actions. DHHL’s General Plan is followed by detailed Island and Regional plans that are updated on a rotating basis and on their own timetable. The last General Plan was published in 2002.

DHHL will host six virtual Beneficiary Consultation meetings in two parts. Part one will include meetings on March 3, 8, and 9, 2021. These meetings will aim to provide an overview of the General Plan update process and schedule and collect beneficiary feedback on the Department’s progress and vision for the next 20 years.

Part two will include meetings in April to discuss land use designations and collect beneficiary feedback on future land use.

Beneficiaries can find links to access the meetings on the Department’s website, dhhl.hawaii.gov/po/general-plan-2022.

“The Department invites its beneficiaries to take part in this initial opportunity to provide critical input into future policies and overarching strategies that guide DHHL’s utilization of trust resources in the implementation of the Hawaiian Homes Commission Act,” said Deputy to the Chair Tyler Iokepa Gomes. “We have heard resoundingly from beneficiaries that there are voices that desire to be heard and this is a great opportunity to gain knowledge and understanding of the Department’s processes and also to provide critical and foundational feedback that will guide DHHL over the next couple of decades.”

In September 2020, the Hawaiian Homes Commission (HHC) selected a General Plan investigative committee comprised of Commissioners Randy Awo, Russell Kaupu, Zachary Helm, and Chair William J. Ailā, Jr., pursuant to Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes Section 92-2.5 and Hawaiʻi Administrative Rules Section 10-2-16 (b) (1). The committee participates in permitted interaction group meetings related to the update of the General Plan and engages with DHHL staff on beneficiary outreach methods and policy considerations that are based on the feedback of beneficiaries.

Upon completion, a draft General Plan update and final General Plan will be presented to the full Commission at a regularly scheduled HHC meeting. DHHL anticipated a final draft to be completed by June 2022.

To learn more about DHHL’s planning system and for more information on the General Plan update and related Beneficiary Consultation meetings, 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]