On November 5, 2002, Kauai voters approved an amendment to the County Charter that established the “Public Access, Open Space, Natural Resources Preservation Fund” and stipulated that each year a minimum of one half of one percent of the County’s certified real property taxes would be deposited into the fund.

The charter amendment further specified that the fund would be used to acquire lands or property entitlements for the following purposes:

1. public outdoor recreation and education, including access to beaches and mountains;
2. preservation of historic or culturally important land areas and sites;
3. protection of significant habitats or ecosystems, including buffer zones;
4. preserving forests, beaches, coastal areas, and agricultural lands;
5. protecting watershed lands to preserve water quality and water supply;
6. conserving land in order to reduce erosion, floods, landslides, and runoff;
7. improving disabled and public access to, and enjoyment of, public land and open space; and
8. acquiring disabled and public access to public land and open space.

On December 15, 2003, as the charter amendment directed, the County Council enacted Ordinance 812 to establish procedures for the administration and priorities for the expenditure of the fund.  The ordinance also established a nine-member advisory commission, the “Public Access, Open Space, and Natural Resources Preservation Fund Commission,” and attached it administratively to the Planning Department.