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They are how we protect our special coastal places

04 • 22 • 2013

Surfrider's Hawaii Chapters Help Repeal the PLDC!

One of the top legislative priorities for Surfrider’s Hawaii Chapters this year was the repeal of the Public Lands Development Corporation. (“Those are four words that should never go together,” one activist said.) The bill creating the PLDC was pushed through the legislature at the last minute in 2011, and it was designed to create partnerships between the Dept. of Land & Natural Resources (DLNR) and private companies to develop “underused” public lands, harbors and coastal areas to raise revenue for the state. But the controversial government agency drew criticism from across the state, and environmental groups like Surfrider and Sierra Club joined forces with social and labor groups like Aikea and Local 5 to oppose the broad land-use exemptions created by the PLDC. Even though the PLDC was supported by the Governor, politicians and big developers, the grassroots groups worked together to organize enough public opposition to demand repeal of the bill creating the agency. Feeling the pressure, almost all of the politicians who once supported the agency then voted against it. On April 22, 2013, Governor Abercrombie signed the new law repealing the PLDC.