RESOLUTION

WHEREAS, the Aiea Bay State Recreation Area, often referred to as the Rainbow Bay Park, encompasses six acres of land on the eastern shore of Pearl Harbor and provides an excellent view of Pearl Harbor and the Arizona Memorial; and

WHEREAS, Rainbow Bay Park has been a long-planned public park in which it has taken approximately thirty years to coordinate the site's improved landscaping, picnic tables, restrooms, paved access roadway, and parking lot; and

WHEREAS, Rainbow Bay Park's future plans include a pavilion area and additional structures to create more shade; and

WHEREAS, the Aiea-Pearl City Livable Communities Plan is part of a national Livable Communities Initiative program funded by the Federal Transit Administration to assist communities in developing a comprehensive, integrated transportation plan coordinated with logical patterns of land use; and

WHEREAS, the Aiea-Pearl City Livable Communities Plan is intended to improve traffic-congested roadways, provide a more pedestrian-friendly environment, and revitalize the livability and character of the neighborhoods; and

WHEREAS, the Aiea-Pearl City Livable Communities Plan's proposed improvements would serve to revitalize and enhance the socio-economic vitality of the community; and

WHEREAS, community vision groups were established to encourage planning of new regional projects to improve neighborhoods; and

WHEREAS, the Aiea-Pearl City Community Vision Group's project evolved into a plan for the Pearl Harbor Historic Trail to develop an eighteen mile long rail-trail system to link communities and regional attractions; and

WHEREAS, plans for the Pearl Harbor Historic Trail include a network of safe bicycle and pedestrian paths, natural and historic preservation projects, recreational resources, a means of opening shoreline access, and an opportunity for economic revitalization; and

WHEREAS, parts of the Pearl Harbor Historic Trail already exist; and

WHEREAS, convening a task force to coordinate the efforts and plans for the Rainbow Bay Park, Aiea-Pearl City Livable Communities Plan, and Pearl Harbor Historic Trail would ensure the proper implementation of all proposed recommendations and maximize public resources and federal funding; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2005, the House of Representatives concurring, that the City and County of Honolulu is urged to convene a task force to implement the recommendations for the Rainbow Bay Park, Aiea-Pearl City Livable Communities Plan, and Pearl Harbor Historic Trail in a cohesive, coordinated, and area-wide fashion that leverages public resources and maximizes federal funding; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City and County of Honolulu is urged to request the participation of key stakeholders in the task force, including Representative Neil Abercrombie, relevant state and federal agencies, affected neighborhood boards, the Aiea Community Association, the Arizona Memorial, U.S.S. Bowfin, and Pearl Harbor Visitors Association; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to submit its report to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2006; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Representative of Hawaii's First Congressional District, the Mayor and Chairperson of the Council of the City and County of Honolulu, the President of the Aiea Community Association, and the President of the Arizona Memorial, U.S.S. Bowfin, Pearl Harbor Visitors Association, and the Executive Secretary of the Neighborhood Commission of the City and County of Honolulu, who in turn is requested to transmit copies to each of the Neighborhood Boards in the City and County of Honolulu.

Report Title:

Aiea and Pearl City Task Force