FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE                           December 1, 2006

Release No. M-127-06          

MAYOR SIGNS TWO BILLS INTO LAW;

VETOES TRANSIT-ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT BILL

            Mayor Mufi Hannemann has signed two bills into law and vetoed a third. The City Council has been notified of these actions.

            The mayor signed:

·       Bill 67, CD 1, relating to the rental of surfboard lockers on Kuhio Beach. This bill allows the Department of Enterprise Services to adopt rules and regulations concerning the rental, management, maintenance and safety of the lockers. It takes effect immediately.

·       Bill 68, relating to prostitution. The bill amends the existing law on prostitution-free zones by expanding the boundaries of the Downtown zone to include Chinatown. It takes effect immediately.

            The mayor vetoed Bill 82, relating to requirements for transit stations. The bill requires that a transit-oriented development ordinance be enacted to regulate development around each station before the station is placed on the City’s public infrastructure map and before any budgeting of construction funds.

            “The bill is premature because the City Council has yet to make a final decision on a transit mode – rail – and a route,” said Hannemann. “Selection of the mode and route must come first and should be the Council’s utmost priority, as I have stated repeatedly from the outset.”

            Hannemann noted that the Council Transportation and Planning Committee “agreed to delete TOD language that sought to require enactment of a TOD ordinance before a locally preferred alternative could be selected.

            “While I understand the Council’s concern about the need for TOD legislation, you have my pledge that with the timely selection of mode, presumably rail and route, my administration is committed to developing TOD legislation that will embrace the objectives outlined in Bill 82 and doing so on a timely basis,” Hannemann stated in his veto message. “However, linking this to a PIM designation is not acceptable. As you know, TOD legislation must involve the engagement of the community, landowners, and developers, as well as coordination between government agencies. This will require a commitment of time, effort and resources well beyond our means. Councilmembers, members of my administration, and business and labor leaders who accompanied us on a series of excursions to Vancouver, Portland, Denver, San Diego, and San Francisco repeatedly witnessed the validity of these points.

            “I have been very encouraged by the steps the Council is taking to move expeditiously to endorse the recommendation in the Alternatives Analysis that a fixed guideway shall be selected as the best approach to alleviate our future traffic congestion, as reflected in Bill 79, CD1. This is indeed heartening, and I look forward to working with you as you select the locally preferred alternative.”

            The City Council is scheduled to hear testimony and take the second of three required votes on Bill 79, CD1 on Thursday, December, 7, at 10 a.m.

            “This is the vehicle for the Council to make a timely decision on rail and route by year’s end, and we invite everyone who wants a solution to Oahu’s growing traffic problem to study the issue and speak up now,” said Hannemann. 

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Contact:

            Bill Brennan, 527-6928

            Mark Matsunaga, 527-5767