STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2810
Honolulu, Hawaii
S.D. 2
President of the Senate
Twenty-Seventh State Legislature
State of Hawaii
Madam:
Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2698, S.D. 1, entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE HAWAII COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose and intent of this measure is to ensure that the Hawaii Community Development Authority follows the intent of chapter 206E, Hawaii Revised Statutes.
More specifically, this measure:
(1) Ensures that adopted plans and rules are followed, particularly in regard to density, height, infrastructure, and low- and moderate-income housing, by statutorily establishing height and density limits in statute;
(2) Requires that any amendment made by the Hawaii Community Development Authority to the Kakaako Community Development District Mauka and Makai Area Plans be subject to the approval of the Legislature by adoption of a concurrent resolution;
(3) Provides for adequate community engagement in the Hawaii Community Development Authority's planning and decision-making on development projects; and
(4) Establishes a process for contesting the Hawaii Community Development Authority's decisions.
Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from fifteen individuals. Written comments in opposition were received from the City and County of Honolulu Department of Environmental Services and Alexander & Baldwin, Inc. The Hawaii Community Development Authority and The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii submitted written comments on the measure.
Your Committee finds that the Hawaii Community Development Authority was established in 1976 as a public entity to determine community development programs to facilitate urban redevelopment and renewal in underutilized areas of the State. Among the major objectives of the Hawaii Community Development Authority is the development of mixed-use, mixed-income communities and the creation of housing for low- and moderate-income residents. To ensure that comprehensive and coordinated development plans were executed with and for the community, the Authority was explicitly required to engage with affected communities in community development plans and projects.
Your Committee also finds that, in the thirty-seven years since its creation, the Hawaii Community Development Authority has not met the standards for creating a mixed-use, mixed-income community. Further, with regard to development in Kakaako, the Hawaii Community Development Authority has not followed the plan adopted by the community and has, instead, liberally interpreted the requirements and amended the plan and rules without accountability or transparency, to the detriment of the community. Your Committee believes that this measure is necessary to ensure that the Hawaii Community Development Authority operates in a transparent manner.
Your Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Clarifying that the Hawaii Community Development Authority shall work with landowners and residents of the community in which a project is to be located to ensure adherence to community development rules established pursuant to section 206E-7, Hawaii Revised Statutes;
(2) Correcting language to reflect the current text of the Hawaii Revised Statutes; and
(3) Making technical nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of consistency, clarity, and style.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Ways and Means that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2698, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2698, S.D. 2.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,
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DAVID Y. IGE, Chair |
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