Bill Text: HI HR80 | 2020 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Requesting The City And County Of Honolulu To Work With The Honolulu Authority For Rapid Transportation To Move The Honolulu Rail Transit Project Inland Due To Sea Level Rise.

Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill

Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2020-03-11 - Referred to TRN/EEP, FIN, referral sheet 40 [HR80 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2020-HR80-Introduced.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	80
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2020
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

requesting the city and county of honolulu to work with the honolulu authority for rapid TRANSPORTATION to move the honolulu rail transit PROJECT inland due to sea level rise.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, a study by the Hawaii Climate Change Mitigation and Adaptation Commission found that the State will begin experiencing significant flooding due to climate change as early as 2030; and

 

     WHEREAS, this flooding is projected to damage infrastructure, harm businesses, and render uninhabitable certain areas of the State; and

 

     WHEREAS, in response to these findings, the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu issued a formal directive in July 2018, requiring each city department and agency to consider climate change mitigation and adaptation as pressing and urgent matters, including protection and preparation of the city's infrastructure, assets, and citizens for any physical and economic impacts of climate change; and

 

     WHEREAS, the last section of the Honolulu rail transit project extends from Middle Street to Ala Moana Center, which is an area of Oahu that is most threatened by sea level rise; and

 

     WHEREAS, in 2030, shortly after the Honolulu rail transit project's anticipated completion date, flooding from Kalihi Street is projected to impact the Middle Street Transit Center; and

 

     WHEREAS, by 2050, more than one foot of sea level rise is projected to begin inundating areas around the planned Kapalama and Kakaako Honolulu rail transit stations; and

 

     WHEREAS, by 2100, sea level rise is anticipated to cause flooding of the entire urban rail route; and

     WHEREAS, with threats of flooding in mind, the Honolulu rail transit project was designed as an elevated system with concrete pillars and raised platforms; and

 

     WHEREAS, paradoxically, the City and County of Honolulu is relying on transit-oriented development to generate additional property tax revenues to fund the maintenance and operations costs of the Honolulu rail transit system, as well as to help alleviate Oahu's affordable housing crisis; and

 

     WHEREAS, the City and County of Honolulu's plan encourages massive development in areas threatened by repeated and devastating flooding as early as thirty years from the present; and

 

WHEREAS, moving the Honolulu rail transit project inland will save rail and its accompanying development from sea level rise, encourage transit-oriented development for everyday families rather than just those who can afford luxury condominiums in Kakaako, avoid costly mitigating factors, and allow time to reevaluate an expansion of the Honolulu rail transit project to the University of Hawaii at Manoa; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2020, that the City and County of Honolulu is requested to work with the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation to move the Honolulu rail transit project inland due to sea level rise; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Governor; Director of Transportation; Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism; Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu; Chairperson of the Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation

Board of Directors; and Chief Executive Officer of Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Moving Honolulu Rail Transit Project Inland Due to Sea Level Rise