HomeMy WebLinkAboutRES 706 Draft 01 2024-2026 JMSY:.........z,
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COUNTY OF HAWAI`I :-.�` - '1:. STATE OF HAWAI`I
RESOLUTION NO. 706 26
A 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, Hawai`i Electric Light Company, State of Hawaii
Department of Transportation, County of Hawaii 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 Keau`ohana Forest demonstrations,
which showed the benefits of coordinated action among government agencies,utilities,
community organizations, and residents; and
WHEREAS,representatives of Hawai`i Electric,the County of Hawaii, State of
Hawai`i,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 Hawai`i
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 Hawai`i County Code 1983 (2016 Edition, as amended)currently
provides a process for addressing unsafe flora and uncultivated undergrowth on private property,
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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 HAWAII 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 Hawaii;the Honorable
Ronald D.Kouchi, President of the Hawaii State Senate; the Honorable Nadine K.Nakamura,
Speaker of the Hawai`i State House of Representatives; members of the Hawai`i State
Legislature;Edwin H. Sniffen,Director of the State of Hawai`i,Department of Transportation;
Ryan Kanaka`ole, Chairperson of the State Board of Land and Natural Resources; the Honorable
C.Kimo Alameda, Mayor of the County of Hawaii; 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
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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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AS E IERKIEWCICZ
Council Member
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HOLEKA GORO INABA, Ed.D.
Council Member
COUNTY COUNCIL ROLL CALL VOTE
County of Hawai`i AYES NOES ABS EX
Hilo,Hawaii GALIMBA
HUSTACE
I hereby certify that the foregoing RESOLUTION was by INABA
the vote indicated to the right hereof adopted by the COUNCIL of the KAGIWADA
County of Hawaii on
KANEALI`I-KLEINFELDER
KIERKIEWICZ
A FIEST: KIMBALL
ONISHI
VILLEGAS
• Reference: C-1111/GOEAC
COUNTY CLERK CHAIRPERSON&PRESIDING OFFICER RESOLUTION NO. 706 26
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