Honolulu officials brief council on Clean Water and Natural Lands Fund; chair presses for earlier due diligence

The Honolulu City Council Committee on Zoning and Planning received an informational briefing Thursday on the Clean Water and Natural Lands Fund, the city program that buys and stewards conservation and agricultural lands, with department officials and partners outlining the fund's history, current holdings and pipeline, and changes to application and stewardship processes.

Deputy Director Kat Tashner, Department of Housing and Land Management, said the fund was created by a voter-approved charter amendment in February 2006, began operations in February 2007 and made its first acquisition in 2010. Tashner said voters approved later charter amendments in 2016 and 2022 to establish an advisory commission and to create a stewardship fund for lands previously acquired with Clean Water monies, respectively. "This is one of the best parts of my job," Tashner told the committee, describing staff work to monitor and steward sites purchased with fund dollars.

Kevin O'Shea, director designate for the Department of Housing and Land Management, gave a financial overview, saying the fund receives one-half of 1% of the city's real property tax each year — about $8 million to $9 million — and that the department currently shows roughly $35 million in the fund's portfolio balance. He said completed…