Governor’s Land Summit forges path for land planning initiatives

The Bureau of Statistics and Plans, Guam Coastal Management Program in partnership with the Department of Land Management, Guam Ancestral Lands Commission, and Chamorro Land Trust Commission held the Governor's Land Summit on July 25, at the Dusit Beach Resort.

The 2023 Governor's Land Summit, the first in over 20 years, called for the participation of subject matter experts from government of Guam agencies and organizations to determine the status of reserved government lands and discuss plans which would require additional land.

In attendance were over a hundred participants including representation from management and staff from the Department of Public Works, Guam Power Authority, Guam Waterworks Authority, Guam Housing Corporation, Guam Economic Development Authority, Guam Housing & Urban Renewal Authority, Guam Regional Transit Authority, Office of Infrastructure, Guam Police Department, Department of Parks and Recreation, and Department of Agriculture; with each agency presenting their current land inventories, land use plans, and challenges in the implementation of programs and projects spanning from major development for utilities, infrastructure, government facilities, and housing to parks and conservation.

The discussions contributed to the government of Guam's ongoing efforts to update the comprehensive development plan for Guam.

"The path forward in effectively meeting the needs of our people, that path, is forged in discussions and information provided in forums such as today's land summit. It is also found in other serious land planning initiatives such as the Guåhan 2050 Sustainability Plan being spearheaded of course by the Bureau of Statistics and Plans," stated Gov. Lourdes Leon Guerrero during her opening remarks at the summit.

A presentation from Jay Merrill, Market Research & Development, introduced attendees to the Guåhan 2050 Sustainability Plan and planning framework. Merrill is on the Lynker team, which has been contracted to assist the Bureau of Statistics and Plans in coordinating a multidisciplinary approach for the development and implementation of the Guåhan 2050 Sustainability Plan.

Merrill stated in his presentation, “This is a process that hopefully is going to bring the community together, and bringing it together means that we first need to come to a consensus as to what the agencies, government, planners, and everyone else in this community feel is going to be most important to identify what we really mean by a comprehensive development plan. But probably most important of all is to identify where we think this plan is going to take us. Try and identify from the best input we can get from all of the people involved in planning, and all of the people involved in public engagement, and particularly the public itself, What is the vision for Guam? What do we want this island to be like in 2050?”

The land summit brought light to not only land use challenges but opportunities for increased collaboration and enhanced coordination amongst the government.

To name a few, opportunities that include leveraging over one hundred and fifty million dollars in federal funding for broadband development; and the development of the Guam Habitat Conservation Plan which could potentially save millions of dollars and years in time for private and government development in areas with listed endangered species, such as other development projects discussed during the summit to include development of affordable housing and Guam Police Department strategic plans to expand facilities needed throughout the island.