About the Clean Water and Natural Lands Commission

In 2006, Honolulu voters approved Charter Question 3, which set aside a half-percent of real property tax revenues for land conservation purposes.  (Revised Charter of Honolulu (ROH), Section 9-204(a)).  Pursuant to the charter amendment, in 2007, the Honolulu City Council established the Clean Water and Natural Lands Fund (Ordinance 07-18) and the Clean Water and Natural Lands Commission (Reso. 07-355 CD1).  The Commission was established to advise the City Council on the use and expenditure of these funds.  Actual funding will be part of the City's annual budget process.

The City Council appointed nine members to the Commission who have held public meetings at City Hall regularly in an effort to develop a fair, balanced, and transparent process for that they can use in making their recommendations to the City Council.  Commission members come from a variety of conservation, science, education, policy, and cultural backgrounds. 

The Commission's role is to advise the City Council on the use and expenditure of the Clean Water and Natural Lands Fund.  To serve this purpose, the Commission has developed three documents that form and guide their decision making process.  These documents are (a) the Commission's Policy on Priorities; (b) the Application for Funding, and (c) the Commission's Matrix.

After receiving applications for specific projects, the Commission will review them carefully, invite public comment, and hold public hearings to review and assess the merits of each application.  It will then forward its recommendations on the applications to the City Council for further review and action. 

For a current listing of commissioners and their terms of service, CLICK HERE.