Appropriates funds out of the Hawaii community development revolving fund to reimburse Alexander and Baldwin Properties, Incorporated, for reasonable costs incurred up to September 14, 2005, in developing its proposal for the Kakaako makai development project.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the Hawaii community development authority was established in 1976 to address, among other things, the need for suitable affordable housing and sufficient commercial and industrial facilities for rent.

The legislature also finds that the recent actions of the Hawaii community development authority regarding the development of land situated in the Kakaako area of the island of Oahu and makai of Ala Moana boulevard raises fundamental public policy questions regarding not only whether public lands should be sold for residential uses, but also whether the authority's decision-making processes adequately accommodate the needs of the general public.

In September 2005, the Hawaii community development authority, the state agency responsible for governing growth in Kakaako, selected Alexander and Baldwin Properties, Incorporated, as the master planner for a prime sixty-two acre tract of waterfront land makai of Ala Moana boulevard only a week after it amended its administrative rules to allow mixed-use development for the area. The authority's administrative rules previously called for commercial development only. While most of Kakaako's waterfront has been reserved for parks and the maritime industry, the Hawaii community development authority approved a redevelopment plan that included residential housing within the Kewalo basin as well as a broad range of commercial uses such as restaurants, markets, and research facilities. Although the legislature supports the development of housing for the current and future residents of the State, the residential unit costs proposed in the Kakaako makai development plans were far from being considered affordable for most citizens.

In addition to the residential variance, under the new administrative rules, commercial construction could reach up to sixty-five feet in height, since the authority also elected to increase the Kakaako waterfront's commercial zone height limit along the ewa edge of the Kewalo basin.

The legislature further finds that many citizens are concerned over the perceived insensitivity to the needs of the general public exhibited by the authority in its decision-making processes. The timeframe in which the authority's administrative rules were amended and the developer for the Kakaako property was selected provided the general public with very little time to digest the ramifications of the newly amended rules and their impact on the surrounding area. Consequently, many citizens feel as though the project was "fast-tracked" to avoid additional public opposition.

The legislature believes that the actions of the Hawaii community development authority regarding the Kakaako area warrant review by the legislature and that, at the same time, the developer selected by the authority should not suffer economic harm for acting in good faith when competing for the right to develop the Kakaako lands.

The purpose of this Act is to appropriate funds out of the Hawaii community development revolving fund to reimburse Alexander and Baldwin Properties, Incorporated, for reasonable costs incurred up to September 14, 2005, in developing its proposal for the Kakaako makai development project.

SECTION 2. There is appropriated out of the Hawaii community development revolving fund established pursuant to section 206E-16, Hawaii Revised Statutes, the sum of $ , or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2006-2007, for the purpose of reimbursing the winning developer of the Kakaako makai development project for reasonable costs incurred up to September 14, 2005.

SECTION 3. The sum appropriated shall be expended by the Hawaii community development authority for the purposes of this Act.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2006.