Hawai‘i County Council considering a bill to require native, lei-making plants in county landscaping
The bill was amended to include lei-making flora that may not be indigenous to Hawai‘i but are not invasive.
A bill that would require the use of native plants in landscaping on Hawai‘i County properties is getting closer to a reality.
On Wednesday, the Hawai‘i County Council voted unanimously on first reading to pass Bill 184. The bill will have its second and final reading at the next council meeting.
Using native plants on county-owned properties provides an opportunity to demonstrate environmental stewardship through sustainable landscaping practices, according to the measure that was introduced by Council Member Ashley Kierkiewicz.
“Native Hawaiian plants contribute to the protection and restoration of Hawaiʻi Island’s natural resources, biodiversity, watersheds and cultural landscapes,” the bill states. “Their use in public landscapes supports endemic wildlife, improves ecosystem resilience, reduces erosion, conserves water, and helps maintain the island’s ecological character.”
Kierkiewicz said this is not an absolute mandate.
“We recognize that every location is different and departments need flexibility in considering things like public safety and engineering requirements and climate and irrigation needs and maintenance and cost,” she said.
“Native plant” is defined in the bill as a plant species identified by the State Department of Land and Natural Resources, Division of Forestry and Wildlife, and the University of Hawai‘i at Mānoa, College of Tropical Agriculture and Human Resilience, as endemic or indigenous to the Hawaiian Islands.
This also includes Polynesian-introduced “canoe” plants traditionally brought to Hawaiʻi before Western contact, including but not limited to kukui (candle nut tree), kalo (taro), niu (coconut), noni and kamani (tropical tree).
The bill was first discussed during the council’s Policy Committee on Health, Safety and Wellbeing on Sept. 1. During that meeting, Kierkiewicz said this bill is an opportunity for the county to lead by example.
“We’re telling community members to plant native and strengthen, bolster that native ecosystem,” the councilwoman said. “That’s something that we should be doing and leading as a county.”
Kierkiewicz said she also sees planting native species on county properties as a chance to educate people about these plants and their ecological and cultural importance.
“There is an element of the bill that does encourage some interpretive signage and educational materials where appropriate,” she added.
Hawai‘i County Council Member Holeka Inaba said he loved the measure during committee. He suggested including non-invasive lei plants for community members.
Inaba told Big Island Now that he was not aware of any code or rule that prohibits non-commercial harvesting of flora on county property in reasonable quantities.
“As we know, around the island, making lei is a tradition that we carry on and some of those plants may not fit within the native plants but would provide a great value to the community,” Inaba said.
The latest draft of the bill included an amendment for non-native plants that could be used on county properties, including plumeria, carnation, pakalana, pikake, pua kenikeni, gardenia and crown flower.
During Wednesday’s meeting, Inaba said a community member reached out about picking tiare (gardenia) that grows at the West Hawai‘i Civic Center.
“We have ‘a‘ali‘i (hardy shrub) there, which we know is native, but we also have that resource that community obviously knows about and requested to use,” he said.
Council Member Dennis “Fresh” Onishi supported the measure to the extent that no plants were put in that dig up sidewalks or roadways because of their root systems.
