HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES 706 Draft 01 2024-2026A RESOLUTION STRONGLY URGING THE GOVERNOR AND THE MAYOR TO PRIORITIZE AND FUND PROACTIVE VEGETATION MANAGEMENT TO MITIGATE POTENTIAL DESTRUCTION CAUSED BY NATURAL DISASTERS.
WHEREAS, unmanaged vegetation can threaten roadways, utility infrastructure, homes, drainage systems, emergency access routes, and other public and private property, with invasive albizia
presenting a particularly significant hazard because of its rapid growth, brittle branches, and susceptibility to failure during high winds and heavy rainfall; and
WHEREAS, in August 2014, Tropical Storm Iselle demonstrated the consequences of unmanaged albizia throughout Puna, where fallen trees blocked roads, damaged electrical infrastructure,
isolated communities, and complicated emergency response and recovery; and
WHEREAS, following Iselle, Hawaiʻi Electric Light Company, State of Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation, County of Hawaiʻi Department of Public Works, Big Island Invasive Species Committee,
and other partners formed the Albizia Project Committee and drafted the 2015 Albizia Emergency Tree Mitigation and Management Plan to identify priority transportation and utility corridors
and strategies for proactive mitigation; and
WHEREAS, subsequent coordinated vegetation management projects were deployed to reduce hazards, including the 2016-2017 treatment of more than ten thousand albizia trees along priority
transportation corridors and the Black Sands and Keauʻohana Forest demonstrations, which showed the benefits of coordinated action among government agencies, utilities, community organizations,
and residents; and
WHEREAS, representatives of Hawaiʻi Electric, the County of Hawaiʻi, State of Hawaiʻi, Big Island Invasive Species Committee, and other stakeholders revisited the mitigation plan in
2023, again recognizing the need for continued vegetation management and funding; and
WHEREAS, in August 2026, Hurricane Lala caused major damage across Hawaiʻi Island, again demonstrating the vulnerability of roadways, utilities, emergency access, and communities to
fallen trees and unmanaged vegetation and the need to invest in preventative action; and
WHEREAS, the Hawaiʻi County Code 1983 (2016 Edition, as amended) currently provides a process for addressing unsafe flora and uncultivated undergrowth on private property,
but recent disasters warrant evaluation of whether these provisions provide an effective and timely means of addressing significant vegetation hazards; and
WHEREAS, vacant and absentee-owned properties present additional challenges, while some resident property owners may lack the financial resources to undertake costly mitigation work;
and
WHEREAS, as the State and County develop upcoming legislative and budget priorities, there is an opportunity to shift vegetation management from episodic disaster response toward sustained
hazard mitigation and maintenance; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAI‘I that this body strongly urges the Governor and the Mayor to prioritize sufficient and recurring funding for proactive vegetation
management as an investment in public safety, infrastructure protection, emergency preparedness, and disaster resilience.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that this body requests the Mayor, in collaboration with State, utility, and community partners, to develop and transmit to the Council, within one hundred eighty
days of adoption of this resolution, a County-wide vegetation management action plan which, at a minimum, must include and identify:
1. Priority County roadways, properties, emergency access routes, and critical infrastructure;
2. Estimated mitigation and ongoing maintenance needs;
3. Opportunities for interagency coordination and funding;
4. Strategies for addressing hazardous vegetation on private property;
5. Options for assisting residents who lack the financial means to undertake necessary mitigation; and
6. Recommendations to existing ordinances and enforcement procedures that address hazardous vegetation on private, vacant, and absentee-owned property.
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED that the County Clerk shall transmit a copy of this resolution to the Honorable Joshua B. Green, Governor of the State of Hawaiʻi; the Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi,
President of the Hawaiʻi State Senate; the Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura, Speaker of the Hawaiʻi State House of Representatives; members of the Hawai‘i State Legislature; Edwin H. Sniffen,
Director of the State of Hawaiʻi, Department of Transportation; Ryan Kanakaʻole, Chairperson of the State Board of Land and Natural Resources; the Honorable C. Kimo Alameda, Mayor of
the County of Hawaiʻi; William V. Brilhante, Managing Director; Wesley R. Segawa, Director of Public Works; Darryl Oliveira, Acting Civil Defense Administrator; members of the Community
Development Plan Action Committees; Shelee
Kimura, President of Hawaiian Electric Company; and Franny Kinslow Brewer, Program Manager of the Big Island Invasive Species Committee.
Dated at _____________, Hawai‘i, this ______ day of ___________________, 20___.
INTRODUCED BY:
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ASHLEY KIERKIEWICZ
Council Member
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HOLEKA GORO INABA, Ed.D.
Council Member