Report Title:

Open Lands; Task Force

RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, Hawaii's changing agricultural and open land use patterns and the State's evolving economy require a reassessment of land use policies, particularly with regards to the rural and agricultural districts; and

WHEREAS, as a result of these changes, agricultural lands are often handled as a holding zone for future urban land use, not as an important land resource in which diversified agriculture plays an important economic role; and

WHEREAS, Article XI, section 3, of the Hawaii State Constitution which states:

is not effective in mitigating market forces driving the conversion of the State's prime agricultural lands to other uses; and

WHEREAS, the proximity and lower cost of agricultural or open lands near urban centers contribute to the encroachment of urban-like development and the extension of costly infrastructure and services into rural and agricultural communities; and

WHEREAS, a reevaluation of the Hawaii State Constitution is necessary in order to preserve productive agricultural lands, and open lands while responding to the realities of growth in an improving economic climate; and

WHEREAS, there is a need to maintain rural areas that support agriculture, protect open space, accommodate rural, nonfarm uses, and avoid further costly extensions of urban infrastructure and services, by amending the Hawaii State Constitution to include protection of "open lands"; and

WHEREAS, conservation districts afford protection to open space areas, and constitutionally mandated protection is essential for such areas; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-First Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2001, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Office of Planning, Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, is requested to convene a task force to serve for a period of one year to assess the amendment of Article XI, section 3, of the Hawaii State Constitution by including protection for "open lands", which will improve and promote Hawaii's economic future and enable the conservation of agricultural and open lands as an economic, physical, and sociocultural resource for present and future generations of residents and visitors; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that as an alternative to amending Article XI, section 3, of the Hawaii State Constitution, the task force consider drafting an appropriate section for protecting "open lands" to be inserted as an amendment to the Hawaii State Constitution; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall include:

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force shall submit a report of findings and recommendations, including recommended legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2002; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that a certified copy of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to each of the above-mentioned members of the task force.