A proposed zero-rent 65-year harbor lease extension for the U.S. Coast Guard on Maui was put on pause Friday.
The Hawai‘i Board of Land and Natural Resources on Friday was set to approve a proposal by the U.S. Coast Guard that would lease out more than 18,000 acres at the Mā‘alaea Small Boat Harbor in Wailuku, which would be used to develop expanded Coast Guard facilities.
The USCG proposal would construct a new command center, a marine maintenance bay, an armory, and sleeping quarters for Coast Guard personnel. The project was anticipated to begin construction in 2031 and be completed by 2033.
Cory Fagan, commanding officer of USCG’s Honolulu civil engineering unit, told the BLNR on Friday that the Coast Guard’s Maui station conducts an average of seven search-and-rescue cases per year, but the current station is undersized for the station’s current staffing.
But the BLNR pumped the brakes on the project, delaying any action on the proposal pending a closer review of the project’s potential impacts.
Currently, the land in question is only being used for paid public parking, but that space is at a premium for people attempting to launch boats into the harbor. Meghan Statts, administrator for DLNR’s Division of Boating and Ocean Recreation, said there are about 15 available stalls for boat trailers, but added that the boat ramp at the harbor is in need of dredging and isn’t usable.
“Mā‘alaea Harbor was always historically a very sensitive area for fishing,” said Maui BLNR member James Carpio on Friday. “And this spot would be like the last area that we could actually increase our trailer boat capacity for fishermen … I would say it would be premature to actually take over this area, which would be the closest for the fishermen and the public.”
Moreover, the lengthy term of the proposed lease raised eyebrows. Testifier James Maioho said a 65-year lease extension with no return on revenue to the state — the proposal specifically says the annual rental cost to the USGS would be “gratis” — “sets a dangerous precedent.”
“I’m not asking for an outright rejection, I believe the Coast Guard deserves a lease,” Maioho said. “But I think it has to be considered in terms of what is the benefit here for the taxpayers of Hawai‘i.”
Ultimately, Carpio moved to defer the matter based on concerns about the project location and the impacts of wastewater runoff. He suggested that the site could be relocated elsewhere, but Statts told him that there are no alternative sites in the area that are under DOBOR jurisdiction.
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