HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

140

TWENTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2004

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

REQUESTING A TASK FORCE BE ORGANIZED TO ADDRESS THE HAZARDS OF ROCK AND LAND SLIDES ON OUR URBAN POPULATIONS.

 

 

WHEREAS, our island State is made up of volcanic mountains rising from the ocean floor and, since its birth, has been subjected to the natural forces of weather and erosion; and

WHEREAS, we are reminded of these powerful natural forces by the tragic incidents in our state parks and urban residential areas where lives have been lost due to rock and land slides; and

WHEREAS, not only are lives lost, but substantial property damage is suffered by our residents due to rock and land slides; and

WHEREAS, in several recent instances, rock slides have also closed major highways, requiring substantial remedial work to be done to protect against repeat slides and potential tragic losses; and

WHEREAS, while we may not be able to change or control the forces of nature, certain precautions can and must be undertaken to protect our people from these tragic incidents; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2004, that the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources is requested to establish a task force made up of representatives from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, the Department of Transportation, the Office of Planning, the University of Hawaii College of Engineering, the University of Hawaii Institute of Geophysics, and the respective county Planning Departments, along with practicing and consulting geologists, licensed soils and structural engineers, and other interested persons; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the task force is requested to consider, among others, the following issues:

(1) Determining the most comprehensive and expeditious manner of identifying lands that are hazardous to human activities and occupation due to the potential for land and rock slides;

(2) Establishing criteria for identifying or predicting other hazardous areas of potential land or rock slides;

(3) Determining the effectiveness of buffer zones and the utilization of barriers, screening, and other measures to protect against and prevent future injury or damage from land and rock slides;

(4) Proposing amendments to county zoning laws establishing buffer zones near identified hazardous lands and regulating the uses and activities allowed near or within hazardous lands; and

(5) Proposing new building and construction standards for improvements and structures to be built in or near hazardous lands; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources is requested to report the findings and recommendations of the task force, including proposed legislation, to the Legislature twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2005; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, the Director of Transportation, the Director of the Office of Planning, the Dean of the University of Hawaii College of Engineering, the Director of the University of Hawaii Institute of Geophysics, and the Director of Planning for each county.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Establishing a Task Force to Address Hazardous Lands