THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

1148

TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017

S.D. 2

STATE OF HAWAII

H.D. 2

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT.

 

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

 


     SECTION 1.  The purpose of this Act is to require the Hawaii community development authority to develop a transit-oriented development (TOD) zone improvement program to foster community development by strategically investing in public facilities.

     The legislature finds that the construction and installation of certain public facilities is necessary and desirable to facilitate the renewal and redevelopment of areas proximate to proposed fixed transit stations.  TOD is a powerful tool that can ultimately deliver a wide range of social, environmental, and economic benefits.  TOD promotes development patterns that support quality of life, preserve the natural environment, provide a range of housing choices for residents, and encourage walking, biking, and mass transit.

     The State plays an important role in overcoming barriers to TOD, including encouraging needed investments in regional public facilities such as roads, sewer, and storm water.  This Act is intended to move current TOD planning efforts forward into structures that benefit the community.

     SECTION 2.  Section 206E-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§206E-2  Definitions.  As used in this chapter, the following words and terms shall have the following meanings unless the context shall indicate another or different meaning or intent:

     (1)  "Authority" means the Hawaii community development authority established by section 206E-3.

     (2)  "County" means any county of the State.

     (3)  "Local governing body" means the county council.

     (4)  "Project" means a specific work or improvement, including real and personal properties, or any interest therein, acquired, owned, constructed, reconstructed, rehabilitated, or improved by the authority, including a residential project, a redevelopment project, or a commercial project, all as defined herein, or any combination thereof, which combination shall hereinafter be called and known as a "multipurpose project".

         (A)  "Residential project" means a project or that portion of a multipurpose project, including residential dwelling units, designed and intended for the purpose of providing housing and such facilities as may be incidental or appurtenant thereto;

         (B)  "Redevelopment project" means an undertaking for the acquisition, clearance, replanning, reconstruction, and rehabilitation or a combination of these and other methods, of an area for a residential project, for an incidental commercial project, and for other facilities incidental or appurtenant thereto, pursuant to and in accordance with this chapter.  The terms "acquisition, clearance, replanning, reconstruction, and rehabilitation" shall include renewal, redevelopment, conservation, restoration, or improvement, or any combination thereof;

         (C)  "Commercial project" means an undertaking involving commercial or light industrial development, which includes a mixed use development where commercial or light industrial facilities may be built into, adjacent to, under or above residential units.

     (5)  "Project cost" means the total of all costs incurred by the authority in carrying out all undertakings which it deems reasonable and necessary for the development of a project including but not limited to:  studies; surveys; plans; specifications; architectural, engineering, or any other development related services; acquisition of land and any improvement thereon; site preparation and development; construction; reconstruction; rehabilitation; the necessary expenses in administering the chapter; the cost of financing the project; and relocation costs.

     (6)  "Public agency" means any office, department, board, commission, bureau, division, public corporation agency, or instrumentality of the federal, state, or county government.

     (7)  "Public facilities" includes streets, utility and service corridors, and utility lines where applicable, sufficient to adequately service developable improvements in the district, sites for schools, parks, parking garage, sidewalks, pedestrian ways, and other community facilities.  "Public facilities" shall also include public highways, as defined by statute, storm drainage systems, water systems, street lighting systems, off-street parking facilities, and sanitary sewerage systems.

     (8)  "Qualified person" includes any individual, partnership, corporation or any public agency, possessing the competence, expertise, experience, and resources, including financial, personnel and tangible resources, required for the purposes of the project and such other qualifications as may be deemed desirable by the authority in administering the chapter.

     (9)  "Real property" means lands, structures, and interests in land, including lands under water and riparian rights, space rights, and air rights and any and all other things and rights usually included within the term.  Real property also means any and all interests in such property less than full title, such as easements, incorporeal hereditaments and every estate, interest, or right, legal or equitable, including terms for years and liens thereon by way of judgments, mortgages, or otherwise.

    (10)  "TOD" means transit-oriented development.

    (11)  "TOD zone" means the parcels of land within a one-half mile radius around a proposed or existing fixed transit station as determined by the authority, taking into account proximity, walkability, adopted county plans, and other relevant factors; provided that TOD zones shall not be established in lands administered by the Hawaii public housing authority, lands administered by the stadium authority, or any community development districts established under section 206E-5."

     SECTION 3.  Section 206E-3, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

     "(b)  The authority shall consist of the director of finance or the director's designee; the director of transportation or the director's designee; a cultural specialist; an at-large member; an at-large member nominated by the senate president; an at-large member nominated by the speaker of the house; three representatives of the Heeia community development district, comprising two residents of that district or the Koolaupoko district, which consists of sections 1 through 9 of zone 4 of the first tax map key division, and one owner of a small business or one officer or director of a nonprofit organization in the Heeia community development district or Koolaupoko district, nominated by the county council of the county in which the Heeia community development district is located; three representatives of the Kalaeloa community development district, comprising two residents of the Ewa zone (zone 9, sections 1 through 2) or the Waianae zone (zone 8, sections 1 through 9) of the first tax map key division, and one owner of a small business or one officer or director of a nonprofit organization in the Ewa or Waianae zone, nominated by the county council of the county in which the Kalaeloa community development district is located; three representatives of the Kakaako community development district, comprising two residents of the district and one owner of a small business or one officer or director of a nonprofit organization in the district, nominated by the county council of the county in which the Kakaako community development district is located; the director of planning and permitting of each county in which a community development district is located or the director's designee, who shall serve in an ex officio, nonvoting capacity; and the chairperson of the Hawaiian homes commission or the chairperson's designee, who shall serve in an ex officio, nonvoting capacity.

     All members except the director of finance, director of transportation, county directors of planning and permitting, and chairperson of the Hawaiian homes commission or their designees shall be appointed by the governor pursuant to section 26-34.  The two at-large members nominated by the senate president and speaker of the house and the nine representatives of the respective community development districts shall each be appointed by the governor from a list of three nominees submitted for each position by the nominating authority specified in this subsection.

     The authority shall be organized and shall exercise jurisdiction as follows:

     (1)  For matters affecting the Heeia community development district, the following members shall be considered in determining quorum and majority and shall be eligible to vote:

         (A)  The director of finance or the director's designee;

         (B)  The director of transportation or the director's designee;

         (C)  The cultural specialist;

         (D)  The three at-large members; and

         (E)  The three representatives of the Heeia community development district;

          provided that the director of planning and permitting of the relevant county or the director's designee shall participate in these matters as an ex officio, nonvoting member and shall not be considered in determining quorum and majority;

     (2)  For matters affecting the Kalaeloa community development district, the following members shall be considered in determining quorum and majority and shall be eligible to vote:

         (A)  The director of finance or the director's designee;

         (B)  The director of transportation or the director's designee;

         (C)  The cultural specialist;

         (D)  The three at-large members; and

         (E)  The three representatives of the Kalaeloa community development district;

          provided that the director of planning and permitting of the relevant county and the chairperson of the Hawaiian homes commission, or their respective designees, shall participate in these matters as ex officio, nonvoting members and shall not be considered in determining quorum and majority;

     (3)  For matters affecting the Kakaako community development district, the following members shall be considered in determining quorum and majority and shall be eligible to vote:

         (A)  The director of finance or the director's designee;

         (B)  The director of transportation or the director's designee;

         (C)  The cultural specialist;

         (D)  The three at-large members; and

         (E)  The three representatives of the Kakaako community development district;

          provided that the director of planning and permitting of the relevant county or the director's designee shall participate in these matters as an ex officio, nonvoting member and shall not be considered in determining quorum and majority.

     (4)  For matters affecting TOD zones, including the creation of TOD zones, the following members shall be considered in determining quorum and majority and shall be eligible to vote:

         (A)  The director of finance or the director's designee;

         (B)  The director of transportation or the director's designee;

         (C)  The director of the office of planning or the director's designee;

         (D)  The cultural specialist; and

         (E)  The three at-large members;

          provided that the director of planning and permitting of the relevant county or the director's designee shall participate in these matters as an ex officio, nonvoting member and shall not be considered in determining quorum and majority.

     In the event of a vacancy, a member shall be appointed to fill the vacancy in the same manner as the original appointment within thirty days of the vacancy or within ten days of the senate's rejection of a previous appointment, as applicable.

     The terms of the director of finance, director of transportation, county directors of planning and permitting, and chairperson of the Hawaiian homes commission or their respective designees shall run concurrently with each official's term of office.  The terms of the appointed voting members shall be for four years, commencing on July 1 and expiring on June 30; provided that the initial terms of all voting members initially appointed pursuant to Act 61, Session Laws of Hawaii 2014, shall commence on March 1, 2015.  The governor shall provide for staggered terms of the initially appointed voting members so that the initial terms of four members selected by lot shall be for two years, the initial terms of four members selected by lot shall be for three years, and the initial terms of the remaining five members shall be for four years.

     The governor may remove or suspend for cause any member after due notice and public hearing.

     Notwithstanding section 92-15, a majority of all eligible voting members as specified in this subsection shall constitute a quorum to do business, and the concurrence of a majority of all eligible voting members as specified in this subsection shall be necessary to make any action of the authority valid.  All members shall continue in office until their respective successors have been appointed and qualified.  Except as herein provided, no member appointed under this subsection shall be an officer or employee of the State or its political subdivisions.

     For purposes of this section, "small business" means a business which is independently owned and which is not dominant in its field of operation."

     SECTION 4.  Section 206E-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

     1.   By amending the title and subsections (a) and (b) to read:

     "§206E-6  District-wide and TOD zone improvement [program.] programs.  (a)  The authority shall develop a district-wide improvement program and a TOD zone improvement program to identify necessary district-wide and TOD zone public facilities within a community development district[.] or TOD zone.

     (b)  Whenever the authority shall determine to undertake, or cause to be undertaken, any public facility as part of the district-wide or TOD zone improvement program, the cost of providing the public facilities shall be assessed against the real property in the community development district specially benefiting from such public facilities.  The authority shall determine the areas of the community development district or TOD zone which will benefit from the public facilities to be undertaken and, if less than the entire community development district or TOD zone benefits, the authority may establish assessment areas within the community development district[.] or TOD zone.  The authority may issue and sell bonds in such amounts as may be authorized by the legislature to provide funds to finance such public facilities.  The authority shall fix the assessments against real property specially benefited.  All assessments made pursuant to this section shall be a statutory lien against each lot or parcel of land assessed from the date of the notice declaring the assessment until paid and such lien shall have priority over all other liens except the lien of property taxes.  As between liens of assessments, the earlier lien shall be superior to the later lien."

     2.   By amending subsection (i) to read:

     "(i)  Notwithstanding any law to the contrary, whenever as part of a district-wide or TOD zone improvement program it becomes necessary to remove, relocate, replace, or reconstruct public utility facilities, the authority shall establish by rule the allocation of cost between the authority, the affected public utilities, and properties that may specially benefit from such improvement, if any.  In determining the allocation of cost, the authority shall consider the cost allocation policies for improvement districts established by the county in which the removal, relocation, replacement, or reconstruction is to take place."

     SECTION 5.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $         or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018-2019 for the hiring of one full-time equivalent (1.00 FTE) permanent position in the Hawaii community development authority to maintain the staff necessary to develop and manage the TOD zone improvement program.

     The sums appropriated shall be expended by the Hawaii community development authority for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 6.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 7.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050.



 

Report Title:

Transit-Oriented Development; Hawaii Community Development Authority; Appropriation

 

Description:

Requires the Hawaii Community Development Authority to develop a transit-oriented development zone improvement program to foster community development by strategically investing in public facilities.  Appropriates funds.  (SB1148 HD2)

 

 

 

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