DHHL workshop reviews Act 14 progress and eight Hilo parcels that could close more than half the remaining gap

Riley, a DHHL staff presenter, told the Hawaiian Homes Commission in a workshop that Act 14 is "a settlement agreement to make the trust whole," and that the department's accounting shows a remaining Act 14 balance of 619 acres.

Riley said staff identified eight candidate parcels in Hilo totaling about 334 acres, which would close roughly 54% of that remaining balance. "The 1st reason is that it closes the remaining Act 14 gap by 54%," he said. The department arrived at the 619‑acre figure by reconciling a past Board of Land and Natural Resources (BLNR) action, subsequent acreage receipts (124 acres) and pending project needs.

Why the parcels matter, Riley said, is both to satisfy the settlement and to create development opportunities near services. He noted one parcel is industrially zoned and others are contiguous to residential and agricultural land near schools, jobs and infrastructure. The department emphasized that any acquisition would be conditional on due diligence, encumbrance resolution and coordination with relevant agencies. "Subject to getting all of the right questions answered prior to closing on the properties," Riley said, staff will move forward only if studies and interagency agreements permit it.

The chair also placed the workshop in historical context, recounting the earlier settlement and related funding that produced new homesteads under prior work by the department. Commissioners asked technical and policy questions and were told a formal vote or decision is scheduled for the next meeting.