REPORT TITLE:
Kakaako; HCDA


DESCRIPTION:
Returns Kakaako to the jurisdiction of the city and county of
Honolulu.  Repeals provisions relating to the Kakaako community
development district, and transfers the powers and duties of the
Hawaii community development authority with respect to that
district to the city's department of planning and permitting.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        
THE SENATE                              S.B. NO.           2020
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT
RELATING TO KAKAAKO.



BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 1      SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the Hawaii community
 
 2 development authority was created in 1976 to plan and revitalize
 
 3 urban areas in Hawaii deemed to be in need of redevelopment.  In
 
 4 that year, the first such area designated as a community
 
 5 development district was that of Kakaako, which was found to be
 
 6 underused and deteriorating but having the potential to
 
 7 contribute to the State's economic well-being.
 
 8      In creating the Kakaako community development district, the
 
 9 legislature made the following findings, now contained in section
 
10 206E-31, Hawaii Revised Statutes:
 
11      (1)  The Kakaako district is centrally located in Honolulu
 
12           proper, in close proximity to the central business
 
13           district, the government center, commercial,
 
14           industrial, and market facilities, major existing and
 
15           contemplated transportation routes, and recreational
 
16           and service areas;
 
17      (2)  Due to its function as a service and light industrial
 
18           area, the district was relatively underdeveloped and
 
19           had (especially in view of its proximity to the urban
 
20           core where the pressure for all land uses is strong)
 

 
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 1           the potential for increased growth and development that
 
 2           can alleviate community needs such as low-income
 
 3           housing, parks and open space, and commercial and
 
 4           industrial facilities; 
 
 5      (3)  The district, if not redeveloped or renewed, had the
 
 6           potential to become a blighted and deteriorated area.
 
 7           Due to its economic importance to the State in terms of
 
 8           industry and subsequent employment, there was a need to
 
 9           preserve and enhance its value and potential;
 
10      (4)  Kakaako had a potential, if properly developed and
 
11           improved, to become a planned new community in
 
12           consonance with surrounding urban areas.
 
13      Kakaako has always been a matter of concern between the
 
14 state government and city and county government.  One of the
 
15 reasons for the formation of the Hawaii community development
 
16 authority in 1976 was the city and county's inaction on basic
 
17 infrastructure in that area, including inadequate road and sewer
 
18 maintenance.  Consequently, the power of the Honolulu city
 
19 government was in effect ceded to the authority, which now has
 
20 the sole power to approve development projects in Kakaako.
 
21      Initially, the Hawaii community development authority
 
22 effectively carried out its legislative mandate, working to
 
23 address the need for improved infrastructure, more affordable
 

 
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 1 housing, parks and open space, and new commercial and industrial
 
 2 space in the urban core.  Through its sweeping powers, the
 
 3 authority was able to comprehensively plan, develop, and finance
 
 4 new projects, supplement traditional community renewal methods,
 
 5 and stimulate and coordinate public and private sector community
 
 6 development efforts at a time when such action was necessary to
 
 7 prevent blight and urban decay.
 
 8      The legislature finds, however, that after over twenty years
 
 9 since the creation of the Hawaii community development authority,
 
10 those same sweeping powers -- in the areas of planning, land use,
 
11 zoning, and land development -- are now hampering efforts by the
 
12 community and private sector to expand the revitalization of
 
13 Kakaako, resulting in the same problems in that district that the
 
14 authority was intended to prevent.
 
15      For example, many projects that were abandoned in the 1980s
 
16 have resulted in displaced businesses and vacant lots that
 
17 continue to attract vagrants and loiterers.  Businesses displaced
 
18 by impending construction wonder why they were forced to move.
 
19 In many cases, the construction never started when the economy
 
20 changed, yet evictions and demolition continued.  A number of
 
21 lots have remained vacant for years, not only because of the lack
 
22 of money for development, but because of the many restrictions on
 
23 the land, rendering the property nearly unmarketable.
 

 
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 1      Moreover, developments, once approved by the Hawaii
 
 2 community development authority, must also get additional
 
 3 approval from the county's department of planning and permitting.
 
 4 This double layer of bureaucracy imposed by both the State and
 
 5 county further renders property unmarketable and frustrates small
 
 6 landowners who simply seek to renovate or make other minor
 
 7 changes to their properties.
 
 8      Many improvements were needed in Kakaako before the creation
 
 9 of the authority that were not being done.  The authority has
 
10 fulfilled its statutory objectives.  Today, however, the
 
11 authority has outlived its usefulness with respect to Kakaako.
 
12 The national trend is away from redevelopment agencies similar to
 
13 the Hawaii community development authority, and instead allowing
 
14 communities greater flexibility in deciding their own futures,
 
15 such as through the creation of business improvement districts.
 
16      The legislature further finds that government should not be
 
17 in the business of development.  Rather, government should be
 
18 actively involved in assisting the private sector by guiding the
 
19 land use approval process and expediting that process, not
 
20 planning development itself.  This is what is currently happening
 
21 in Kakaako, however, which may be characterized as a top-down, or
 
22 "big brother" process, where little, if any, public input is
 
23 permitted into proposed developments.
 

 
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 1      While this process may have been appropriate in 1976, upon
 
 2 the creation of the Hawaii community development authority, it is
 
 3 no longer appropriate in the year 2000.  Planning developments in
 
 4 Kakaako should no longer be the role of state government.
 
 5 Government agencies should simply select from among the best
 
 6 proposals for various developments, not plan the development
 
 7 itself.  The State should be working closely with the private
 
 8 sector, allowing the private sector to initiate the planning
 
 9 effort.
 
10      The legislature finds that while this intrusion on the
 
11 jurisdiction of the city and county of Honolulu by the state
 
12 government may have been justifiable in 1976, the time has come
 
13 to return Kakaako back to the city and county.  Returning Kakaako
 
14 will place the decision making for proposed projects back where
 
15 it belongs, namely, at the county level, and additionally will
 
16 allow for greater public input into projects affecting that area,
 
17 give the private sector increased opportunities to initiate
 
18 planning and development, and help to restart Hawaii's dormant
 
19 economy.
 
20      SECTION 2.  Chapter 206E, part II, Hawaii Revised Statutes,
 
21 consisting of sections 206E-31 to 206E-33, is repealed.
 
22      SECTION 3.  Section 226-104, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
23 amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
 

 
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 1      "(b)  Priority guidelines for regional growth distribution
 
 2 and land resource utilization: 
 
 3      (1)  Encourage urban growth primarily to existing urban
 
 4           areas where adequate public facilities are already
 
 5           available or can be provided with reasonable public
 
 6           expenditures, and away from areas where other important
 
 7           benefits are present, such as protection of important
 
 8           agricultural land or preservation of lifestyles.
 
 9      (2)  Make available marginal or nonessential agricultural
 
10           lands for appropriate urban uses while maintaining
 
11           agricultural lands of importance in the agricultural
 
12           district.
 
13      (3)  Restrict development when drafting of water would
 
14           result in exceeding the sustainable yield or in
 
15           significantly diminishing the recharge capacity of any
 
16           groundwater area.
 
17      (4)  Encourage restriction of new urban development in areas
 
18           where water is insufficient from any source for both
 
19           agricultural and domestic use.
 
20      (5)  In order to preserve green belts, give priority to
 
21           state capital-improvement funds which encourage
 
22           location of urban development within existing urban
 
23           areas except where compelling public interest dictates
 

 
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 1           development of a noncontiguous new urban core.
 
 2      (6)  Seek participation from the private sector for the cost
 
 3           of building infrastructure and utilities, and
 
 4           maintaining open spaces.
 
 5      (7)  Pursue rehabilitation of appropriate urban areas.
 
 6      (8)  Support the [redevelopment] city and county of
 
 7           Honolulu's development of Kakaako into a viable
 
 8           residential, industrial, and commercial community.
 
 9      (9)  Direct future urban development away from critical
 
10           environmental areas or impose mitigating measures so
 
11           that negative impacts on the environment would be
 
12           minimized.
 
13     (10)  Identify critical environmental areas in Hawaii to
 
14           include but not be limited to the following: watershed
 
15           and recharge areas; wildlife habitats (on land and in
 
16           the ocean); areas with endangered species of plants and
 
17           wildlife; natural streams and water bodies; scenic and
 
18           recreational shoreline resources; open space and
 
19           natural areas; historic and cultural sites; areas
 
20           particularly sensitive to reduction in water and air
 
21           quality; and scenic resources.
 
22     (11)  Identify all areas where priority should be given to
 
23           preserving rural character and lifestyle.
 

 
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 1     (12)  Utilize Hawaii's limited land resources wisely,
 
 2           providing adequate land to accommodate projected
 
 3           population and economic growth needs while ensuring the
 
 4           protection of the environment and the availability of
 
 5           the shoreline, conservation lands, and other limited
 
 6           resources for future generations.
 
 7     (13)  Protect and enhance Hawaii's shoreline, open spaces,
 
 8           and scenic resources."
 
 9      SECTION 4.  All rights, powers, functions, and duties of the
 
10 Hawaii community development authority with respect to the
 
11 Kakaako community development district are transferred to the
 
12 department of planning and permitting of the city and county of
 
13 Honolulu.
 
14      All officers and employees whose functions are transferred
 
15 by this Act shall be transferred with their functions and shall
 
16 continue to perform their regular duties upon their transfer,
 
17 subject to the state personnel laws and this Act.
 
18      No officer or employee of the State having tenure shall
 
19 suffer any loss of salary, seniority, prior service credit,
 
20 vacation, sick leave, or other employee benefit or privilege as a
 
21 consequence of this Act, and such officer or employee may be
 
22 transferred or appointed to a civil service position without the
 
23 necessity of examination; provided that the officer or employee
 

 
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 1 possesses the minimum qualifications for the position to which
 
 2 transferred or appointed; and provided that subsequent changes in
 
 3 status may be made pursuant to applicable civil service and
 
 4 compensation laws.
 
 5      Any incumbent officer or employee of the State who does not
 
 6 have tenure and who may be transferred or appointed to a civil
 
 7 service position as a consequence of this Act, shall be granted
 
 8 regular civil service status without loss of seniority, prior
 
 9 service credit, vacation, sick leave, or other employee benefits,
 
10 and without the necessity of examination; provided they possess
 
11 the minimum qualifications for the class to which their positions
 
12 are assigned.  The pay rate of non-tenured employees affected by
 
13 this Act shall be determined in the same manner as the pay rate
 
14 of other civil service employees in comparable positions with the
 
15 same length of service.  Any officer or employee converted by
 
16 this Act shall have performed work satisfactorily in the position
 
17 for a period of not less than six months prior to the effective
 
18 date of this Act.
 
19      In the event that an office or position held by an officer
 
20 or employee having tenure is abolished, the officer or employee
 
21 shall not thereby be separated from public employment, but shall
 
22 remain in the employment of the State with the same pay and
 
23 classification and shall be transferred to some other office or
 

 
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 1 position for which the officer or employee is eligible under the
 
 2 personnel laws of the State as determined by the head of the
 
 3 department or the governor.
 
 4      SECTION 5.  All appropriations, records, equipment,
 
 5 machines, files, supplies, contracts, books, papers, documents,
 
 6 maps, and other personal property heretofore made, used,
 
 7 acquired, or held by the Hawaii community development authority
 
 8 relating to the functions transferred to the department of
 
 9 planning and permitting of the city and county of Honolulu shall
 
10 be transferred with the functions to which they relate.
 
11      SECTION 6.  All deeds, leases, contracts, loans, agreements,
 
12 permits, or other documents executed or entered into by or on
 
13 behalf of the Hawaii community development authority with respect
 
14 to the Kakaako community development district are transferred and
 
15 made applicable to the city and county of Honolulu through its
 
16 department of planning and permitting.  Upon the effective date
 
17 of this Act, every reference to the Hawaii community development
 
18 authority therein shall be construed as a reference to the city
 
19 and county of Honolulu or the department of planning and
 
20 permitting, as appropriate.
 
21      SECTION 7.  It is the intent of this Act not to jeopardize
 
22 the receipt of any federal aid nor to impair the obligation of
 
23 the State or any agency thereof to the holders of any bond issued
 

 
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 1 by the State or by any such agency, and to the extent, and only
 
 2 to the extent, necessary to effectuate this intent, the governor
 
 3 may modify the strict provisions of this Act, but shall promptly
 
 4 report any such modification with reasons therefor to the
 
 5 legislature at its next session thereafter for review by the
 
 6 legislature.
 
 7      SECTION 8.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed.
 
 8 New statutory material is underscored.
 
 9      SECTION 9.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
10 
 
11                              INTRODUCED BY:______________________