STAND. COM. REP. NO. 228

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                   

 

RE:     S.B. No. 1142

        S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committee on Water and Land, to which was referred S.B. No. 1142 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT MAKING AN APPROPRIATION TO THE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES,"

 

begs leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to provide funds for the demolition and removal of structures at Uncle Billy's in Hilo, Hawaii.

 

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Land and Natural Resources, Office of the Mayor of the County of Hawaii, and one individual.

 

     Your Committee finds that Uncle Billy's operated as a 145‑room hotel on Banyan Drive in Hilo, Hawaii, beginning in the 1960s and abruptly closed in June of 2017 after county inspectors advised that the building must be vacated due to safety concerns.  The hotel closed, and the site is planned for redevelopment as a new hotel.  The derelict structures present a public health and safety issue, are a blight on Banyan Drive, and must be removed before any improvements can be made to the land.  Therefore, your Committee supports funding the removal of these structures.

 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by inserting an effective date of July 1, 2050, to encourage further discussion.

 

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water and Land that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1142, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1142, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water and Land,

 

 

 

________________________________

KAIALI'I KAHELE, Chair