THE SENATE

S.R. NO.

19

TWENTY-SEVENTH LEGISLATURE, 2014

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

SENATE RESOLUTION

 

 

Urging the state to revise all development and capital improvement projects of urban sprawl development on state-owned land within a half-mile radius of each planned rail station.

 

 


     WHEREAS, state and county land use practices should be changed to plan for proper population growth and to avoid a decrease in new housing supply and an increase in housing prices; 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, 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, changes are necessary to provide opportunities to preserve or increase the number of affordable housing facilities within transit-oriented development zones and improve facilities for the care of children and the elderly; and

 

     WHEREAS, existing land use practices increase urban sprawl and have discouraged economic activity; and

 

     WHEREAS, 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; and

 

     WHEREAS, to prevent urban sprawl from destroying state agricultural lands, a viable option would be to focus growth along the transit corridors through the county development or sustainable communities plans for Ewa, Central Oahu, and the Primary Urban Center; and

 

     WHEREAS, this body finds that successful planning for growth requires reducing sprawl and creating urban developments in existing and new communities that offer a high quality of life for a broad range of household types; and

 

     WHEREAS, well-designed and well-integrated higher-density development can significantly reduce dependency on cars and decrease traffic congestion and vehicle emissions, while offering even greater benefits when job locations and commercial activity locations are incorporated with the housing; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-seventh Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2014, that the State is urged to revise all development and capital improvement projects of urban sprawl development on state-owned land within a half-mile radius of each planned rail station; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor and City and County of Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

Urban Sprawl Development; Capital Improvement Projects; Rail Station