THE Office of the Attorney General and the Department of Public Lands do not support Senate President Jude U. Hofschneider’s Senate Bill 22-31, which proposes to allow municipal governments to regulate golf courses on public lands.
In separate comments, Attorney General Edward Manibusan and DPL Secretary Marianne Concepcion-Teregeyo cited the CNMI Supreme Court opinion in Teregeyo v. San Nicolas, 2018 MP 17, which held that management of any public land must be under the oversight of DPL, not the mayors of the municipalities, or any local government entity.
The fees and other revenue on the use of a municipal golf course must also be collected and expended by DPL.
The constitutionality of the measure can be challenged in court if S.B. 22-31 is enacted into law, the AG said in his written comment to the Senate Committee on Resources, Economic Development & Programs chaired by Senate Vice President Justo Quitugua.
For her part, Concepcion-Teregeyo said DPL would not object to S.B. 22-31 if the intent is only to allow a municipal golf course on private land.
However, she said, if the future intention is for the Legislature to enact legislation for DPL to set aside public land for a municipal golf course, then “we kindly request the review of Teregeyo v. San Nicolas, 2018 MP 17.”
She added, “I bring this up not only to bring [to your] attention that the Legislature cannot infringe on DPL’s authority to set aside public land, but because the establishment of a municipal golf course is likely to be operated by the municipality. If such is the case, the conclusion of the above Supreme Court ruling indicated that ‘We hold that Mayors fall outside the central government, being instead representative of and responsible to the local municipality for the execution of Commonwealth law and the delivery of public services. We further maintain the Commonwealth Legislature cannot take the administration of public lands away from the central government’s executive branch and transpose such responsibility to an entirely separate entity without any executive oversight.’ This brings to question the operation of the proposed municipal golf course. If on public land, then the funds remaining must be remitted to the Marianas Public Land Trust. Without identifying such, the expenditure would divert public land revenues from MPLT.”
Competing interests
The DPL secretary said, “There are competing interests from municipality designated sites for recreational areas, veterans cemeteries, agricultural homesteads, village homesteads, government offices, commercial leases, and now to add municipal golf courses.”
She said it is DPL’s intent to adhere to and work mutually with the leaders of each municipality. “After all, it is you and your constituents that will be served by the available public land.”
The Tinian leadership itself, she said, has expressed its desire for DPL to aggressively plan for, design, fund, and distribute village and agricultural homesteads to a growing list of eligible applicants.
According to Concepcion-Teregeyo, the total golf course land size on public lands on Saipan is 349 hectares while the total golf course land size on public land on Rota is 91 hectares. She said these courses are either on private land or public land.
She said DPL generates $645,392 in lease revenue yearly from golf courses on Saipan, and $195,600 from golf courses on Rota. DPL remits this revenue, minus operating expenses, to MPLT yearly.
Since 2006, she said, DPL has remitted $26,000,855.39 to MPLT.
“Should this municipality golf course become a reality, how does the municipality propose to transfer revenue to MPLT?” Concepcion-Teregeyo asked.
She said the current land size on Tinian is 10,177 hectares. Of this, she added, a percentage is unsuitable: rocky, cliff line, water table, etc.
DPL has been obligated by previous legislation to designate areas for specific intended purposes.
Public Law 14-19 requires DPL to designate no less than 100,000 square meters for essential and non-essential Tinian Municipal Civic Center uses.
In 2004, P.L. 14-41 designated no less than 100,000 square meters to be assigned to Northern Marianas Housing Corp. for future house lots and homes.
P.L. 17-12, which was passed in 2010, designated half of all available public land on Tinian for homestead purposes.
Additionally, P.L. 19-85 was passed in 2017 to establish a new public highway (Route 205) that would provide vehicular access to the future Kastiyu homestead area and provide multiple connections to the existing roadway network on Tinian.
Concepcion-Teregeyo noted that the most pressing designation of land on Tinian is the designation of two-thirds of the island that will be leased to the U.S. military.
In 2019, she said, DPL fulfilled its constitutional mandate of creating a Comprehensive Land Use Plan to determine “how we will continue to manage and dispose of public land which will be updated every five years and has all the updated data of how land has been designated.”
The 2019 Comprehensive Public Land Use Plan indicates that of 10,177 hectares of total land size on Tinian, the suitable land size is 627 hectares.
The DPL secretary said there are 517 applicants on the waiting list for agricultural homestead and 275 applicants for village homestead.
Public purpose
According to Concepcion-Teregeyo, a public land designation must serve a public purpose.
She said public purposes that have been approved are generally for public recreation, such as beaches, community resource and community recreation areas, rights of way, ponding basins, etc.
DPL, she added, will always comply with public laws. “It is always our intent to work with the leadership of each municipality and the Legislature; however, no matter how much we want to comply, if there is not enough public land available, the program itself will become obsolete as there will no longer be available public land for designation, especially for future generations.”
