HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

49

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2003

  

STATE OF HAWAII

  
   

HOUSE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION

 

Establishing a temporary smart growth advisory council within the department of business, economic development, and tourism to address the impact of new housing developments.

 

 

WHEREAS, one of government's biggest challenges is to balance competing interests with respect to land use; and

WHEREAS, state governments across the nation are using "smart growth" strategies to preserve productive farmlands, open space, and important natural areas, and yield better solutions for roadways and housing; and

WHEREAS, failure to adequately account for the impact of new housing developments may have long term adverse effects on the surrounding communities; and

WHEREAS, one example of this is the development of new housing projects close to educational facilities that are already filled to capacity, resulting in an influx of new students that strain the limited resources of these overcrowded schools; and

WHEREAS, proactive strategies and solutions are needed to address these types of problems and help communities plan for and adjust to new housing projects and other infrastructure developments; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2003, the Senate concurring, that a temporary Smart Growth Advisory Council (Council) shall be established within the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism (DBEDT) for administrative purposes, and shall address the impact of housing development by:

(1) Focusing on strategies and solutions to ensure that housing development takes place in areas with adequate infrastructure, and at a rate consistent with the expansion of important infrastructure, and not in areas lacking adequate infrastructure;

(2) Developing ways to control the pace of housing development where educational facilities are already filled to capacity;

(3) Considering incentives and disincentives for housing development in specific areas;

(4) Determining the kind of research and analysis needed to project needs for certain types of infrastructure in a community to ensure that the development of new infrastructure takes place at a rate consistent with the projected population of the community; and

(5) Recommending legislation to address the impact of housing development on educational facilities;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council shall be composed of thirteen members appointed by the Governor as follows:

(1) Four members shall be appointed from a list of nominees submitted by the Speaker of the House of Representatives;

(2) Four members shall be appointed from a list of nominees submitted by the President of the Senate;

(3) At least one representative from of each of the islands of Kauai, Lanai, Hawaii, Maui, Molokai, and Oahu shall be included; and

(4) Each member appointed shall have experience with or concerns about county government, landownership, business and development, farming, the environment, the community, or Hawaiian issues;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that:

(1) The Governor shall appoint the chair of the Council;

(2) Members of the Council shall serve without compensation, but shall be reimbursed for expenses necessary for the performance of their duties; and

(3) The Council shall seek and use any available funding sources;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council shall submit to the Legislature the following reports regarding proposed legislation to address the impact of new housing developments:

(1) A preliminary status report due thirty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2004; and

(2) A final report due thirty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2005;

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Council shall be dissolved upon adjournment sine die of the Regular Session of 2005; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Speaker of the House of Representatives, President of the Senate, and the Director of DBEDT.

 
 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

Temporary smart growth advisory council.