STAND. COM. REP. NO. 2797

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                  

 

RE:    S.B. No. 2525

       S.D. 2

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Twenty-Ninth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2018

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Ways and Means, to which was referred S.B. No. 2525, 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 address the development of Kakaako and east Kapolei.

 

     Specifically, this measure:

 

(1)  Establishes the East Kapolei Community Development District to guide the development of the east Kapolei area, including the area specified in the east Kapolei neighborhood transient-oriented development plan;

 

(2)  Repeals the Kakaako Community Development District;

 

(3)  Replaces the Kakaako Community Development District representatives on the Hawaii Community Development Authority with representatives from the East Kapolei Community Development District; and

 

(4)  Requires the Hawaii Community Development Authority to develop a transitional master plan for the dissolution of the Kakaako Community Development District.

 

     Your Committee received written comments in support of this measure from Hoomanapono Political Action Committee.

 

Your Committee received written comments in opposition to this measure from Hawaii's Thousand Friends and two individuals.

 

     The Hawaii Community Development Authority and the City and County of Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting submitted comments on this measure.

 

     Your Committee finds that after four decades, the general purpose and intent of the Kakaako Community Development District have been achieved.  Infrastructure upgrades and new zoning regulations in Kakaako have spurred billions of dollars in construction for residential, commercial, and public spaces.  Accordingly, it is now appropriate to return the planning, zoning, and development responsibilities for the Kakaako district to the City and County of Honolulu.

 

Your Committee further finds that the east Kapolei area currently shares many of the potentially developable aspects of 1970s Kakaako, along with a lack of coordination among the various developing entities.  Establishing an East Kapolei Community Development District will help to coordinate the development of east Kapolei to best serve community needs while maximizing the value provided by the district lands.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

 

(1)  Requiring that the Hawaii Community Development Authority establish a plan, by January 1, 2020, to return planning, zoning, and infrastructure development responsibilities of the Kakaako district to the City and County of Honolulu;

 

     (2)  Changing the effective date from "July 1, 2050," to "upon approval"; and

 

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

 

     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. 2525, S.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Third Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 2525, S.D. 2.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Ways and Means,

 

 

 

________________________________

DONOVAN M. DELA CRUZ, Chair