HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

161

THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019

H.D. 1

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING THE HAWAII COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY TO STUDY PROPERTIES IN OR AROUND KAKAAKO TO RECOMMEND APPROPRIATE SITES FOR A NEW FIRE STATION OR, ALTERNATIVELY, TO IDENTIFY EXISTING FIRE STATIONS THAT MAY BE RELOCATED OR EXPANDED TO MORE EFFECTIVELY SERVE THE KAKAAKO COMMUNITY.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, in 1976, the Legislature recognized the lack of timely revitalization of underutilized urban communities in the State, and determined that a new concept of urban planning and redevelopment was needed to supplement traditional methods of community redevelopment; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Legislature created the Hawaii Community Development Authority codified as chapter 206E, Hawaii Revised Statutes, an agency which would "join the strengths of private enterprise, public development and regulation into a new form capable of long-range planning and implementation of improved community development"; and

 

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Community Development Authority designated the Kakaako area as the first community development district; and

 

     WHEREAS, as a result of subsequent Hawaii Community Development Authority actions, the community of Kakaako has undergone major revitalization efforts that have transformed the area into a dense, urban community with dozens of high-rises and millions of square feet of new commercial space; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Hawaii Community Development Authority estimates that planned Kakaako developments will increase the residential population by twenty thousand to over forty thousand individuals by 2030; and

     WHEREAS, Honolulu Fire Station 9 - Kakaako is primarily responsible for providing emergency response to Kakaako; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Fire Station 9, built in 1972, was not designed to accommodate the area's projected growth, and the site has no space for expansion to meet the challenges posed by the increased residential and transient populations, proposed residential structures, and commercial development in Kakaako; and

 

     WHEREAS, emergency response is time-sensitive, and providing emergency services to high-rise locations presents unique challenges, one of which is a longer response time due to the need for emergency responders to travel from street-level to the high-rise residence and back down; and

 

WHEREAS, to compensate for longer response times, the distance between locations in Kakaako and the nearest fire station must be reduced; and

 

     WHEREAS, the total number of responses to Kakaako from Fire Station 9 has increased by more than three hundred twenty-seven percent from 2001 to 2018; and

 

     WHEREAS, given the rapidly increasing residential and transient populations, numerous completed and planned residential high-rises, and expanding commercial development, in 2018, the Honolulu Fire Department recommended that a new fire station be built to provide additional first responder services to Kakaako; and

 

     WHEREAS, a fire station may house and support personnel and equipment for firefighting, emergency medical services, and police; and

 

     WHEREAS, the State, through the Hawaii Community Development Authority under chapter 206E, Hawaii Revised Statutes, has planning authority over Kakaako, superseding the planning authority of the City and County of Honolulu; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2019, the Senate concurring, that the Hawaii Community Development Authority is requested to study properties in and around the Kakaako community development district and recommend appropriate sites for a new fire station that meets specifications recommended by the Honolulu Fire Department; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii Community Development Authority is requested to recommend ways and means, if necessary, to construct a fire station upon the recommended sites, for use by the City and County of Honolulu; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii Community Development Authority is requested to examine the feasibility of relocating or expanding existing fire stations in or around Kakaako in lieu of, or in addition to, constructing a new fire station; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawaii Community Development Authority is requested to submit a report of its findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2020; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Executive Director of the Hawaii Community Development Authority and Chief of the Honolulu Fire Department.

Report Title: 

Hawaii Community Development Authority; Fire Station; Kakaako