Bill Text: HI SCR108 | 2019 | Regular Session | Introduced

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

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Bill Title: Expressing Support For A Motor Vehicle Racetrack Or Race Way Park On Oahu And Requesting The Department Of Public Safety, Department Of Business, Economic Development, And Tourism, And The City And County Of Honolulu To Facilitate And Approve Its Development.

Spectrum: Strong Partisan Bill (Democrat 16-1)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2019-04-15 - Report adopted. referred to the committee(s) on JUD as amended in HD 1 with Representative(s) Perruso voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) Eli, Gates, Holt, Nakamura excused (4). [SCR108 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2019-SCR108-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	108
THIRTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2019
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

EXPRESSING SUPPORT FOR A MOTOR VEHICLE RACETRACK OR RACE WAY PARK ON OAHU AND REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF PUBLIC SAFETY, DEPARTMENT OF BUSINESS, ECONOMIC DEVELOPMENT, AND TOURISM, aND THE CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU TO FACILITATE AND APPROVE ITS DEVELOPMENT AT THE CITY PARK PROPERTY IDENTIFIED IN COUNCIL RESOLUTION 18-265.

 

 

 

     WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that auto racing has a rich history in the State, with drag racing on the island of Oahu dating back to the early 1950's; and

 

     WHEREAS, Hawaii Raceway Park provided motor sports enthusiasts a legal venue to race from 1962 until its closure in 2006; and

 

     WHEREAS, in the past thirty years, the State and City and County of Honolulu, through the use of state and county CIP funds, have subsidized and supported the development of recreational facilities such as multi-purpose gymnasiums, arena venues, skateboard parks, swimming pools, a commercial driver's license training area, soccer fields, basketball courts, shooting ranges, archery ranges, baseball fields, football fields, a football stadium, tennis courts, dog parks, volleyball courts, beach volleyball courts, botanical gardens, and golf driving ranges and courses; and

 

     WHEREAS, for the past forty years, county parks programs from the County of Hawaii, County of Maui, and County of Kauai have provided the public state and county supported raceway park facilities at closed air field land granted by the military to the respective county parks departments for public recreational use by motorsports fans as raceway parks; and

 

     WHEREAS, through the use of such granted lands, the public has at least one raceway park or racetrack to provide drivers a legal and controlled alternative to racing on public streets and highways; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Honolulu City Council unanimously approved resolution 18-73, which finds the need for an Oahu raceway park or racetrack is urgent, longstanding, and a matter of public safety, and directs the City Administration to take certain actions to facilitate development of a racetrack or raceway park on Oahu, including but not limited to by determining whether there are city-owned properties that may be a suitable site; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Legislature finds that two hundred twenty acres of closed military air field land in Kalaeloa is available for use as a raceway park or race track; and

 

     WHEREAS, this land was granted to the City and County of Honolulu through Council Resolution 98-258 and the City and County submitted an application for federal surplus property for public park or recreation purposes to the National Park Service for this land on June 1, 1999; and

 

     WHEREAS, the application to the National Park Service acknowledged that car racing is an acknowledged recreational activity and the abandoned military infrastructure at Kalaeloa is appropriate for car racing; and

 

     WHEREAS, on May 31, 2011, the Department of Parks and Recreation for the City and County of Honolulu acknowledged that it is not economically feasible to repurpose the Kalaeloa land for a conventional ball and field or court sports training facility as proposed in the June 1, 1999 application and deleted it as a proposed use; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Council of the City and County of Honolulu adopted Council Resolution 18-265 to urge the City Administration to expedite the transfer of deed for the Kalaeloa lands to the City for use in perpetuity as a public park or recreational area; and

 

     WHEREAS, no alternative site for a racetrack or raceway park has been identified on Oahu since the closure of Hawaii Raceway Park in 2006; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Thirtieth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2019, the House of Representatives concurring, that the Legislature urges the Parks and Recreation Department of the City and County of Honolulu to enter into a public-private partnership with a credible, well-vetted, non-profit organization in good business standing, with a verifiable history of positive community benefit and service to develop a proposal for the design, financing, construction, and operation of a racetrack facility on the two hundred twenty acres of closed military air field land in Kalaeloa; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Department of Public Safety and Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism are requested to facilitate and approve the development of a motor vehicle racetrack or raceway park on the Kalaeloa lands on the island of Oahu; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Director of Public Safety, the Director of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism, and the Mayor, Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Council of the City and County of Honolulu.

 

 

 

	OFFERED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title: 

Motor vehicles; Racetrack; Oahu