MEDIA RELEASE

The Final Environmental Impact Statement (FEIS) for the Kona Judiciary Complex has been published and is available on the Office of Environmental Quality Control website.

The FEIS identified seven Candidate Sites in the Kailua-Kona area:

Candidate Site
 Tax Map Key (TMK)*
 Land Owner
 A Kaloko Makai 3-7-3-009:025 SCD-TSA Kaloko Makai LLC
 B Kealakehe (1)
 3-7-4-020:007 Dept of Land and Natural Resources/County of Hawaii
 C Civic Center 3-7-4-020:003 Dept of Hawaiian Homelands (DHHL)
 D Lanihau/DHHL 3-7-4-008:005 3-7-4-021:008 Lanihau Properties LLC/DHHL
 E LaiOpua 3-7-4-021:023 LaiOpua 2020 (DHHL)
 F Makalapua Center 3-7-4-020:010 Queen Liliuokalani Trust
 G Kealakehe (2) 3-7-4-020:004 3-7-4-020:007 Dept of Land and Natural Resources/HHFDC;

Dept of Land and Natural Resources/County of Hawaii

The sites were evaluated and rated in the FEIS according to lot size, slope, access to utilities, roadway and pedestrian access, environmental resources, land ownership, land use classifications, community effects and other criteria.

The FEIS is subject to acceptance by the Governor. If the governor accepts the FEIS, a FEIS Notice of Acceptance is published.

The final selection of a site will be made by Chief Justice Mark Recktenwald after publication of the Notice of Acceptance. It is anticipated that the Chief Justice will make his decision by early 2012.

The Kona Judiciary Complex will replace inadequate, separate court facilities with a single, modern facility capable of serving the anticipated population growth in the West Hawaii region.

Persons seeking more information on the Kona Judiciary Complex Site Selection process may contact the project’s planning and environmental consultant, Jeffrey Overton, at Group 70 International, Inc. at (808) 441-2104 or KonaJudiciary@group70int.com.

For information on other matters, contact Joseph Earing in the State Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS) Planning Branch at (808) 586-0500.

— Find out more:
http://www.courts.state.hi.us/news_and_reports/press_releases/2011/12/final_eis_courthouse.html

Judiciary Site Evaluation Criteria (Hawaii 24/7 photo by Karin Stanton)