STAND. COM. REP. NO. 898

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.C.R. No. 42

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committee on Economic Development and Technology, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 42 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING CONGRESS TO DESIGNATE THE AREA IN HONOLULU BETWEEN KALIHI AND PUNAHOU STREETS, AND THE PALI LOOKOUT AND THE PACIFIC OCEAN AS A NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to urge the United States Congress to designate the ahupuaa area in Honolulu that is located between Kalihi Street and Punahou Street, and the Pali Lookout and the Pacific Ocean as a National Heritage Area.

     Testimony in support of this measure was submitted by the Hawaii State Foundation on Culture and the Arts, University of Hawaii at Manoa, Historic Hawaii Foundation, Downtown Neighborhood Board No. 13, Hawaii Capital Cultural Coalition, Hard Rock Cafe, Belt Collins Hawaii Ltd., and one individual.  Written testimony presented to the Committee may be reviewed on the Legislature's website.

     Your Committee finds that the designated area in this measure presents a magnificent concentration of natural, cultural, historic, and scenic resources that should be preserved and recognized as a National Heritage Area.  According to the National Park Service of the United States Department of the Interior, the location identified in this measure is an area "designated by the United States Congress where natural, cultural, historic and recreational resources combine to form a cohesive, nationally-distinctive landscape arising from patterns of human activity shaped by geography."  This area also tells important stories about the people who occupied this area.

     Designating the area as a National Heritage Area allows for use of federal funds to maintain, preserve, and protect its physical character and cultural legacy.  The designation of a National Heritage Area provides businesses, government, residents, and non-profit organizations the opportunity to collaborate their efforts to promote conservation, community revitalization, and economic development projects.  National Heritage Areas also offer an innovative means by which citizens, in partnership with local, state and federal government agencies, and non-profit and private sector interests, can shape the long-term future of their communities.  National Heritage Areas work across cultural boundaries by identifying important cultural landscapes that are linked thematically, historically, or geographically.

     Your Committee acknowledges with appreciation the pivotal work undertaken by the Honolulu Capital Cultural Coalition and its supporters to bring this project to the point of seeking National Heritage Area designation.  Your Committee recognizes that state policymakers must also play a role in helping to develop additional resources for this National Heritage Area through alternatives, such as state and county tax incentives for cultural districts, the establishment of heritage funds, making available revolving loan funds to promote small business development within the National Heritage Area, using bond financing, and public or private development agreements.  As the State of Hawaii embarks on achieving its fiftieth anniversary of statehood, it is especially appropriate to pursue this visionary initiative to maintain, preserve, and protect the first nominee in Hawaii for National Heritage Area designation.

     Finally, your Committee notes that this initiative provides an opportunity to showcase the breadth and diversity of Hawaii's multicultural heritage and help strengthen the role of the Bishop Museum in protecting Hawaii's unique cultural and historical assets.  The Bishop Museum anchors the Kapalama end of the area identified in this measure, and it is your Committee's hope that the Bishop Museum will be a strong leader in identifying additional cultural landscapes with thematic, historical, and geographical linkages.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Economic Development and Technology that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 42 and recommends its adoption.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Economic Development and Technology,

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CAROL FUKUNAGA, Chair