STAND. COM. REP. NO.  1113-12

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2012

RE:   S.B. No. 2927

      S.D. 2

      H.D. 1

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Sixth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2012

State of Hawaii

Sir:

     Your Committees on Water, Land, & Ocean Resources and Housing, to which was referred S.B. No. 2927, S.D. 2, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO COMMUNITY PLANNING,"

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to facilitate commercial and residential development of an exceptional level of quality on land adjacent to public transportation stations and centers by creating a process and reduced up-front costs that will encourage projects for neighborhood reinvestment.

The County of Kauai Planning Department; the Pacific Resource Partnership; the General Contractors Association of Hawaii; Hawaii Building and Construction Trades Council, AFL-CIO; the Hawaii Carpenters Union; Hawaii Laborers-Employers Cooperation and Education Trust; and the Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii supported this measure.  The Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation of the Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; the Department of Transportation; the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation; the Building Industry Association of Hawaii; and the Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii supported the intent of this measure.  The Sierra Club Hawaii Chapter, Hawaii's Thousand Friends, the Outdoor Circle, and several individuals opposed this measure.  The Department of the Attorney General and an individual commented on the measure.

     Your Committees have amended this measure by:

     (1)  Deleting the reference to a "fast track" process;

     (2)  Defining "transit-oriented development" and "transit-oriented redevelopment";

     (3)  Clarifying that the transit-oriented or main-street redevelopment program shall include minimum mixed use design and site plan guidelines rather than minimum urban design and site guidelines;

     (4)  Adding a requirement that any county or county agency participating in the transit-oriented or main-street redevelopment program shall consult with the Department of Transportation to address any potential impacts on airport and harbor facilities; and

     (5)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Water, Land, & Ocean Resources and Housing that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2927, S.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2927, S.D. 2, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Water, Land, & Ocean Resources and Housing,

____________________________ RIDA T.R. CABANILLA, Chair

____________________________ JERRY L. CHANG, Chair