Land Board urges wider use of Ala Wai land

By Kevin Dayton
Advertiser Capitol Bureau Chief

The state Board of Land and Natural Resources yesterday recommended that Gov. Ben Cayetano issue an executive order to allow a wider range of use for the 146 acres that make up the Ala Wai Golf Course.

Board members said yesterday's vote is not related to Cayetano's proposal to convert the golf course into a park with some commercial development.

However, the proposed order would allow for at least some of the new uses that Cayetano has proposed.

The 1960 executive order that turned the property over to the city specified use as a golf course, but the city now uses portions of the property as a baseyard for its work crews and a storage area for canoes. Ballroom dancing is held on the second floor of the golf course clubhouse, and the city plans to build a canoe halau on the land.

The land board proposed that Cayetano cancel the old executive order and approve one that allows uses for the land such as the halau.