THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	42
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

REQUESTING CONGRESS TO DESIGNATE THE AREA IN HONOLULU BETWEEN KALIHI AND PUNAHOU STREETS, AND THE PALI LOOKOUT AND THE PACIFIC OCEAN AS A NATIONAL HERITAGE AREA.

     WHEREAS, the Hawai'i Capital Cultural Coalition is a non-profit alliance of more than sixty arts and cultural organizations, businesses, public agencies, and community members; and

     WHEREAS, the mission of the Hawai'i Capital Cultural Coalition is to strengthen the rich cultural assets of central Honolulu, enhance the quality of life, and generate economic development; and

     WHEREAS, the Hawai'i Capital Cultural Coalition seeks to accomplish its mission by fostering connections that will nurture and promote arts and cultural institutions, preserve and educate the public about Hawai'i's heritage and historic treasures, enhance the visitor and resident experience of the area, and encourage appropriate cultural and heritage tourism; and

     WHEREAS, a National Heritage Area is a place designated by Congress where natural, cultural, historic, and scenic resources combine to form a cohesive, nationally-distinctive landscape arising from patterns of human activity shaped by geography; and

     WHEREAS, a National Heritage Area Suitability/Feasibility Study was conducted by the Hawai'i Capital Cultural Coalition in compliance with guidelines established by the United States Department of Interior National Park Service; and

     WHEREAS, the National Heritage Area Suitability/Feasibility Study demonstrated that the ahupua'a area in Honolulu between Kalihi and Punahou Streets, and the Pali Lookout and the Pacific Ocean meets the federal guidelines for National Heritage Areas; and

     WHEREAS, there is significant community support for such a designation; and

     WHEREAS, the proposed heritage area has a magnificent concentration of natural, cultural, historic, and scenic resources that together represent Hawai'i's unique and invaluable heritage that should be celebrated, preserved, enhanced, recognized, and interpreted; and

     WHEREAS, National Heritage Areas provide a vehicle for economic development, bring national recognition to an area's cultural importance, make available federal funding and assistance, and support locally-based collaborative initiatives to celebrate, preserve, enhance, recognize, and interpret the area's natural, cultural, historic, and scenic resources; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2009, the House of Representatives concurring, that the United States Congress is urged to designate the ahupua'a area in Honolulu between Kalihi and Punahou Streets, and the Pali Lookout and the Pacific Ocean as a National Heritage Area; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Hawai'i State Legislature supports the congressional designation by designating the ahupua'a area in Honolulu between Kalihi and Punahou Streets, and the Pali Lookout and the Pacific Ocean as the Hawai'i Capital Heritage Area; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the President of the United States Senate, the Speaker of the House of Representatives, and Hawaii's congressional delegation.

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title: 

National Heritage Area; Hawai'i Capital Heritage Area