THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	36
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

REQUESTING DEVELOPMENT OF A PLAN TO EXAMINE THE LONG-TERM USES OF THE HAWAII FILM STUDIO DIAMOND HEAD CAMPUS.

     WHEREAS, Hawaii's film industry was established in 1898 with the first moving images; and

     WHEREAS, the State established the Hawaii Film Studio in 1976 on former University of Hawaii land, initially in support of the original Hawaii Five-0 series, but moreover in an effort to provide greater incentive for film and television productions to film in Hawaii; and

     WHEREAS, in 1989 the 7.5-acre property was transferred by Executive Order from the University of Hawaii to the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism and the department's Hawaii Film Office began managing the facility; and

     WHEREAS, more than twenty major motion pictures and television productions have utilized the film studio including Hawaii Five-0, Magnum P.I., Mighty Joe Young, Final Fantasy, Blue Crush, Tears of the Sun, Hawaii, North Shore, LOST, Off The Map, and The River; and

     WHEREAS, there is a desire to expand the industry further, yet there is an acute lack of studio space statewide; and

     WHEREAS, since 1986 the Legislature has approved more than $17,000,000 to develop the Hawaii Film Studio campus that has resulted in a state-of-the-art soundstage, new production offices, and set construction facilities and other improvements; and

     WHEREAS, in order to protect the State's significant investment in the facility to date, the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism is seeking $3,450,000 in capital improvements for repairs, general maintenance, and basic improvements at the Hawaii Film Studio in the State's fiscal year 2013 supplemental budget; and

     WHEREAS, the existing Hawaii Film Studio campus is located adjacent to the Diamond Head state monument; adjacent to unique and sensitive residential communities of Kahala, Diamond Head, Kaimuki, and Kapahulu; and near Kapiolani Park; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2012, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, with the cooperation of the University of Hawaii, Kapiolani Community College, and the Hawaii Tourism Authority, is requested to develop a plan to examine the long-term uses of the Hawaii Film Studio Diamond Head campus, including:

     (1)  Transitioning the use of the facility to provide administrative support for the operations of Hawaii's film and digital media programs if increased production facility infrastructure is developed elsewhere on Oahu;

     (2)  Serving as a training and laboratory facility in conjunction with expanded film and digital media educational programs; or

     (3)  Continuing the current use as a film and television production facility; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the plan consider the impacts of continued production activity or proposed alternative uses on adjacent neighborhoods and solicited input from neighbors in such residential communities as Kahala, Diamond Head, Kaimuki, and Kapahulu, neighborhood boards, and Diamond Head State Monument administrators; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the plan examine the feasibility of expanding the Hawaii Film Studio Diamond Head campus to accommodate increased production activity, taking into consideration previous studies and reports that have identified such challenges as the limited production footprint of the studio's Diamond Head campus, as well as sensitivities of the surrounding community and Diamond Head State Monument; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism is requested to submit the plan to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2013; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor; Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; President of the University of Hawaii System; Chancellor of Kapiolani Community College; Executive Director of the Hawaii Tourism Authority, Waialae-Kahala Neighborhood Board No. 3, Kaimuki Neighborhood Board No. 4, Diamond Head/Kapahulu/St. Louis Heights Neighborhood Board No. 5, Administrator of the Diamond Head State Monument, and East Diamond Head Association.

Report Title: 

Hawaii Film Studio; Long-Term Use Plan