Bill Text: HI SR102 | 2012 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Land Use Task Force; Urban Sprawl

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2012-03-30 - (S) Report adopted, as amended (SD 1) and referred to WAM. [SR102 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2012-SR102-Amended.html

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THE SENATE	S.R. NO.	102
TWENTY-SIXTH LEGISLATURE, 2012		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII		Proposed

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE OFFICE OF PLANNING TO CONVENE A TASK FORCE TO REVIEW ALL STATE AND COUNTY LAND USE PRACTICES AND DEVELOP RECOMMENDATIONS TO REDUCE URBAN SPRAWL AND PROPERLY DEVELOP URBAN AREAS.

 

 

     WHEREAS, in the last twenty years the State has developed nearly 3,300 acres of prime farmland, increasing the price of remaining land and creating financial hardships for farmers; and

 

     WHEREAS, article XI, section 3, of the Hawaii State Constitution requires the State to conserve and protect agricultural lands and increase self-sufficiency and directs the Legislature to provide standards and criteria to meet these requirements; and

 

     WHEREAS, there is widespread support for the idea that the State should become less reliant on cars and more reliant on locally grown food and energy; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii residents have voted to build a mass transit system to take cars off the road and focus growth around transit centers; and

 

     WHEREAS, on the island of Oahu, up to 4,000 new households are created each year which requires the building of 100,000 new homes over the next twenty-five years; and

 

     WHEREAS, to prevent urban sprawl from destroying our agricultural lands, a viable option would be to focus growth along the transit corridors; and

 

     WHEREAS, changes in state and county land use practices need to be implemented to plan for the proper population growth; otherwise, new housing supply will decrease and island-wide prices will increase; and

 

     WHEREAS, it costs approximately $300,000 to subsidize one affordable rental unit, which, multiplied  by the state shortage of 10,000 units, requires $3,000,000,000 of taxpayer subsidy and provides no solution to the affordable housing shortage or expansion of urban sprawl; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Office of Planning gathers, analyzes, and provides information to the Governor to assist in the overall analysis and formulation of state policies and strategies to address current or emerging issues; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Office of Planning engages in land use planning by representing the State before the Land Use Commission, assisting state agencies on land use district boundary amendments, and reviewing the classification and districting of all state lands; and

 

     WHEREAS, all existing land use practices, including statutes, ordinances, permitting, development application processes, and environmental infrastructure, need to be reviewed to effectively provide the necessary information and recommendations required to plan for the reduction of urban sprawl and proper development and redevelopment to accommodate population growth; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-sixth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2012, that the Office of Planning is requested to convene a task force to review all state and county land use practices and develop recommendations to reduce urban sprawl and properly develop urban areas; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force include the following members:

 

     (1)  The Director of the Office of Planning;

 

     (2)  The Chairperson of the Land Use Commission;

 

     (3)  The Director or Deputy Director of each of the county planning agencies; and

 

     (4)  A representative or representatives of any other interested stakeholders or entities, including but not limited to developers, architects, and contractors, to be selected by the Governor; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to submit a report of the findings and recommendations, including any proposed legislation, to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2013; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that members of the task force not receive compensation for their service but be reimbursed for necessary expenses, including travel expenses, incurred in the performance of their duties; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor, Chairperson of the Land Use Commission, and the Directors of each of the county planning agencies.

Report Title: 

Land Use Task Force; Urban Sprawl