HCR160 HD1

WHEREAS, special improvement districts, also known as business improvement districts, are economic development organizations that bring public services to certain neighborhoods to provide governmental public services; and

WHEREAS, business improvement districts are approved by state legislation and funded by assessment fees paid by merchants and property owners within the district; and

WHEREAS, business improvement districts are managed by public or nonprofit boards, predominantly with local business representation, but also commonly include representation from area residents and local governments; and

WHEREAS, business improvement districts create collective economic benefits for their members that cannot be achieved on an individual basis, including providing sanitation, enhanced security, capital improvements, neighborhood promotions, and business attractions, such as leading marketing campaigns to attract commercial tenants, customers, tourists, and investors; and

WHEREAS, business improvement districts achieve success when services match the needs of the people in those districts, which can only be used to fund local improvements that provide benefits within the designated district; and

WHEREAS, Act 107, Session Laws of Hawaii 1999, codified as section 46-80.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, authorizes the counties to create special improvement districts for the purposes of providing, financing, and coordinating federal, state, and county efforts to engage in:

(1) Supplemental maintenance and security services;

(2) Environmental research, restoration, and maintenance;

(3) Natural resource management;

(4) Natural hazard mitigation;

(5) Climate change and sea level rise adaptation; and

(6) Other improvements, services, and facilities within the special improvement districts that will improve environmental conditions, provide community benefits, and restore or promote business activity in the special improvement districts and the making and financing of improvements within those districts; and

WHEREAS, the State has business improvement districts in Chinatown, Fort Street Mall, and Waikiki on Oahu; Hilo, Hawaii; and Kailua-Kona, Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, the Chinatown Improvement District has been operating since 2010 and works to improve conditions in the greater Chinatown area and encourage and promote the preservation and enhancement of the ethnic, cultural, and historical character and significance of Chinatown; and

WHEREAS, the Waikiki Business Improvement District was authorized and established in 2000 and is managed by the Waikiki Business Improvement District Association, which works in partnership with business and government to develop and implement programs that will strengthen the physical and economic vitality of Waikiki and help maintain its position as a world class resort designation; and

WHEREAS, the Fort Street Mall Business Improvement District was signed into law in 2002 and was patterned after the Waikiki Business Improvement District; and

WHEREAS, the Hilo Downtown Improvement Association was founded more than forty years ago to revitalize and reestablish historic downtown Hilo as the social, cultural, and commercial center of East Hawaii and works with its founding partners and the County of Hawaii to protect, preserve, and create a vibrant downtown Hilo enjoyable for all; and

WHEREAS, the Kailua Village Business Improvement District was established in 2007 with a mission to make Historic Kailua Village a sustainable model for a community that is a better place to invest, work, live, and play; and

WHEREAS, business improvement districts help improve services that are provided by the municipality and increase the quality and efficiency of outcomes usually required of businesses, and can have a significant positive impact on commercial property values; and

WHEREAS, establishing more business improvement districts throughout Hawaii can increase the vitality and attractiveness of communities in the State; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Thirty-second Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2023, the Senate concurring, that the Mayors and Councils of the City and County of Honolulu, County of Maui, County of Hawaii, and County of Kauai are urged to establish business improvement districts as special improvement districts within their respective counties; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu, Mayor of the County of Maui, Mayor of the County of Hawaii, Mayor of the County of Kauai, Chairperson of the Honolulu City Council, Chairperson of the Maui County Council, Chairperson of the Hawaii County Council, and Chairperson of the Kauai County Council.

Report Title:

Business Improvement Districts; Special Improvement Districts; Counties; Establishment

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.C.R. NO.	160
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII