Guam senators moved forward on legislation Tuesday that would allow the CHamoru Land Trust Commission to lease a Mangilao lot near Fadian Cove for mineral extraction, with the ultimate goal of generating revenue for the commission and creating new homestead lots once the land is cleared.
In a session debate that began Monday and continued to Tuesday afternoon, senators spoke of the need to protect the environment, cultural and historical sites and the aquifer.
At the same time, thousands of applicants are waiting for lots from the CHamoru Land Trust Commission, which has “a multi-million-dollar shortfall to survey new homestead lots and improve them with access and utilities,” according to the bill.
The bill stated the property “generally lying between the Gloria B. Nelson Public Service Building and the coastline, is owned by the CLTC; however, the land is presently inaccessible and undevelopable. This lot contains quality limestone aggregate for construction purposes,” which could yield $1 million a year for the land trust.
The money could be used to survey commission properties, develop infrastructure and allow properties to be leased to CHamoru Land Trust beneficiaries.
Before moving Bill 7-38 to the voting file, senators approved a series of amendments to require environmental safeguards, make sure the aggregate extracted from the site is available for community housing and infrastructure projects, and establish lifeline rates so families can afford construction materials.
Sen. Joe S. San Agustin, who introduced the bill, said the measure was meant to “turn untouchable land into homesteads for our families.”
Sen. Telo Taitague, who introduced the amendments, said the bill was “definitely not perfect. Even with these amendments incorporated, it's not perfect. We are at the beginning of a road that we can provide some kind of safeguards, which we did with these amendments, but there's still a lot of work to do to make sure that we protect our people's environment and protect most especially the ability for affordable housing for our future.”
Sen. Chris Barnett, who spoke against the bill, said people currently living on the property would be displaced by future mining activities, and he noted that neighbors testified against the measure.
He also said Guam Boonie Stompers, Inc., a hiking group, was opposed to the bill, and offered testimony stating that “it is in the best interest of this community to preserve access to Fadian Cove."
Sen. Therese Terlaje said the CHamoru Land Trust Commission “was not created to take care of the construction industry.”
“I would like to have some comfort that we are not going to threaten our aquifer. It's a double whammy. We have an aquifer because we have limestone and a limestone forest, and they want the limestone, and in order to get it, they have to bulldoze the limestone forest,” she said. “And we have no one in here to tell us, ‘Don't worry, this is going to be safe for our aquifer,’ while we have people suffering from contamination of the aquifer that everyone told us was safe. And I just can't understand why we would not pause for that reason alone.”
Ultimately, senators speaking in favor of the bill said they wanted to provide homes and infrastructure for people who have been waiting decades for CHamoru Land Trust Commission properties.
“It’s a delicate balance, environment and providing people with properties that they can build their homes,” Vice Speaker Tony Ada said. “But when they build their homes, it should be on properties that already have infrastructure.”
