Master Plan of the City of Hilo - Laserfiche WebLink

Home

THE PLANNED O By JOSEPH F. KUNESH, Directors KARL A. SINCLAIR, Direct07•e Senate Joint Resolution No. 12, introduced in the Legislatures on March 16, 1939, along with other special planning problemsd for reasons of expediency, was legis- lated as an item of Act 244, the biennial, Territorial Ap- propriation Act. Its salient provisions recognizing an acute situation, follow in order to record and define ac- curately the purpose and scope of this report and plan: SENATE JOINT RESOLUTION NO. 12 . PROVIDING FOR THE PREPARA'T'ION AND SUB- MISSION TO THE LEGISLATURE OF A MASTER PLAN FOR THE DEVELOPMENT OF THE CITY OF. HILO, COUNTY OF HAWAII WHEREAS, it is planned to relocate the . library for the City of Hilo as well as other public buildings from time to time; and . WHEREAS, there is no comprehensive plan for. the development of the civic center of Hilo nor for the orderly growth of the city as a whole, now, therefore BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE TERRITORY OF HAWAII: Section 1. That the sum of six thousand dollars ($6,000)4 is hereby appropriated out of. the general revenues of the Territory for the purpose.. of prepar- ing a plan, in conjunction with the board of super visors of the County of Hawaii, of the City of Hilo, with particular reference to the location for Terri- torial buildings and civic center. Such a plan to be submitted to the next legislature for its considera- tion and approval. Thus originated the first legislative provisions for a City Master Plan in the Territory outside of th City and County of Honolulu and the previous inad :quate legislation for the City of Hilo. The proPlem, while essentially an `esthetic one, is so closely related with considerations of the utilitarian aspects as to provide a model example in the field of planning. Although city planning, as determined by enabling acts, is or- dinarily a realm of the local unit of government, the present case has been relegated to a Territorial Board due to the fact that difficulties were encountered in the relationships , between the planning and legislative bodies of the government of the City of Hilo. It is to be noted, however, that the Master Plan is entirely a flexible instrument, and, in this case, is only advisory to the Legislature and suggestive to the County Board of Supervisors of such elements as may be deemed essential. and. necessary to their final precise Official Map, without the set -up of any legislative power within the authority of the planning body. ESTHETIC ASPECTS. —This Board has been extreme- ly fortunate, in the preparation of this Plan to coordi- nate and correlate the various factors involved in esthet- ic treatment, in the availability and kind cooperation of Mr. Merel Sager, bark Planner, National Park Service, working with us on the Park, Parkway and Recreational -Area Survey provided by National Law No. 770% and taken advantage` of'. by practically all of the States, including Hawaii. Mr. Sager's interest in the beautification of the City of Hilo dates back over a period of a decade and his conceptions and conclu- sions are based largely on his fitting of the various components of park planning . into a Hawaiian pattern. His analysis and suggestions, with significant photo- graphs, accompany this..report as a. separate. section. UTILITARIAN ASPECTS. — Utilitarian aspects, as in the case of our PIans for Hanapepe and Kapaa, include ° TD January. 24, 1fJ41. ° From January 35, 1941. By Senator James Kealoha. a Rapaa Master Plan, and Park, Parkway and Recreational -Area Study. ° Changed, and included in General Appropriation Bill, to :$3,000. the physical, the social and the economic in planning. In the previous section of this report are described the existing conditions including resources and pro- vided facilities in their various categories as estab- lished in our First Progress Report.' DESIGN. — Typical sections of streets, both business and residential (with comparative costs) are presented in an accompanying figure. HILO MASTER PLAN. —Of initial significance in the consideration of a Master Plan for the City of Hilo is the size of the City for which to plan: in other words, because of. its comparative isolation, the question of population trend is. most important, and studies were made; based: on a City within the sensible limits of from 30,000 to 100,000 population, dependent on the social and economic factors :which will control Hilo's large- area capacity. Because of the confining configuration, the planning. of Hilo. according to use districts becomes very important; as in the case of the City of Honolulu, since once industrial or commercial districts have been zoned for a given area, it becomes increasingly diffi- cult to expand these .limits. without resorting to unde- sirable "spot zoning" and. destroying the original rela- tiveness: of areas one to the other: . The studies made embrace the physical require- ments of the. area. within' and contiguous to the present City of Hilo witha view: of determining the pattern and lay -out of streets; parks; etc.; so that future ex- pansion could take .. place without the necessity of hap- hazard improvisations : for commercial and industrial areas within residential districts at a later date. The various studies. were.. for cities of 100,000, 50,000, 40,000 and 30,000 population, the four plans following approxi- mately. the "coordinate," "Y," "composite" and "mixed" patterns, respectively, to fit in each case the esthetic treatment providing for the civic center and park, parkway and recreational -areas within the City. After considerable deliberation with the Planning Collaborating Committee, a future city of 40,000 popu- lation was visualized and the corresponding "compos -. ite" pattern- was applied to the area required for this population. Significant observations in this study in- elude the fact that essentially Hilo is in composition a twa "ribbon',' community, following two axes: North and South, from Kilauea to Honokaa; and, East and West. along. Hilo Bay and along Wailuku Stream, with the intersection' in the vicinity of the present Civic Center,. and industrial and commercial area within the southern acute .angle of that intersection. The signifi- cance., of the crescent in the City's esthetic treatment is easily. apparent to even a novice in city planning, since it may be either obliterated by improper use or it may be exposed to full view and enjoyment of its inhabitants in its many districts. The Master Plan Map accompanying this report in- dicates an integration of the various ideas into one simplified whole of a future city of approximately. twice Hilo's present size. Provision for harbor facili-� ties are unpredictable and therefore are not included; in. detail in. this treatment. Significant is the assign ment. of areas to their several uses (industrial ,. busi- ness; residential and open areas, roads, civic center; parks, playgrounds and water areas). In connection with the plans for Hilo's Civic Center, it is essential that the policy and general design for this area be determined without further delay. .;..The decision as to its proper location is not difficult since the existing park square . (Kalakaua Park),. bounded by Waianuenue, Keawe, Kalakaua and Kinoole Streets, provides an ideal, logical and very necessary nucleus for the Civic Center. The new federal Building which faces upon .this...... public square was wisely placed, and it is to be hoped that other civic buildings as they materialize in the C Sop Table of Contents, First Progress Report, February 1939