Bill Text: HI HCR25 | 2017 | Regular Session | Amended
Bill Title: Strongly Urging The Hawaii Community Development Authority To Keep, In Perpetuity, The Ehime Maru Memorial At Its Present Location At Kakaako Waterfront Park And Requesting The Hawaii Community Development Authority Not To Permit Any Alcohol-dispensing Venue To Be Located On The Mound On Which The Ehime Maru Memorial Is Located.
Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 9-0)
Status: (Passed) 2017-04-21 - Resolution adopted in final form. [HCR25 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2017-HCR25-Amended.html
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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.C.R. NO. |
25 |
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TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017 |
H.D. 1 |
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STATE OF HAWAII |
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HOUSE CONCURRENT
RESOLUTION
STRONGLY URGING THE HAWAII COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY TO KEEP, IN PERPETUITY, THE EHIME MARU MEMORIAL AT ITS PRESENT LOCATION AT KAKAAKO WATERFRONT PARK AND REQUESTING THE HAWAII COMMUNITY DEVELOPMENT AUTHORITY NOT TO PERMIT ANY ALCOHOL-DISPENSING VENUE TO BE LOCATED ON THE MOUND ON WHICH THE EHIME MARU MEMORIAL IS LOCATED.
WHEREAS, the Ehime Maru Memorial at Kakaako Waterfront Park is a landmark of historical and cultural significance; and
WHEREAS, the memorial is a reminder of the tragedy that occurred on February 9, 2001, when the United States Navy submarine U.S.S. Greeneville was demonstrating an emergency surfacing maneuver for civilian guests and collided with the Ehime Maru, a Japanese fishing boat carrying students and teachers, causing the boat to sink to the ocean floor in waters off Oahu; and
WHEREAS, nine Japanese nationals -- four students and two teachers from Uwajima Fisheries High School and three crewmembers -- needlessly lost their lives; and
WHEREAS, the people of Japan suffered great anguish knowing that the senseless deaths of innocent persons could have been avoided had proper submarine protocols been followed, and many Hawaii residents were deeply affected based on cultural ties to Japan; and
WHEREAS, in the years since the tragedy, the two countries have worked to improve understanding, foster goodwill, and take steps necessary to avoid a similar tragedy in the future; and
WHEREAS, the people of Ehime Prefecture and the State of Hawaii, who share a sister state relationship, regard the Ehime Maru Memorial as a solemn remembrance of the victims and a source of comfort for the victims' families, especially since it overlooks the location where the Ehime Maru sank; and
WHEREAS, the Final Environmental Impact Statement for the Hawaii Community Development Authority's Parks Master Plan proposes that improvements be made to Kakaako Waterfront Park over a twenty-year period; and
WHEREAS, concerns have been raised in the community that the memorial could one day be relocated in light of rising real estate values spurred by luxury development in the Kakaako area; and
WHEREAS, although the Ehime Maru Memorial sits atop a man-made grassed mound that is labeled in the master plan as "unmovable", the memorial itself is not labelled and it is not sufficiently clear that the memorial's location is permanent; and
WHEREAS, any relocation of the Ehime Maru Memorial would be an affront to the nine individuals who died, their families, and the people of Japan and Hawaii; and
WHEREAS, the Hawaii Community Development Authority's master plan for the Kakaako Waterfront Park indicates that whenever a function is held at the amphitheater, a beer-garden venue is planned to be located on the same mound on which the Ehime Maru Memorial is located; now, therefore,
BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-ninth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2017, the Senate concurring, that the Hawaii Community Development Authority is strongly urged to keep, in perpetuity, the Ehime Maru Memorial at its present location at Kakaako Waterfront Park; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Executive Director of the Hawaii Community Development Authority is requested to provide written assurance to the Legislature that the memorial will not be moved from its present location as part of the Authority's Parks Master Plan and will be kept in perpetuity at its present location; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that due to the sanctity of the mound on which the Ehime Maru Memorial is located, the Hawaii Community Development Authority is requested not to permit any alcohol-dispensing venue to be located on the mound on which the Ehime Maru Memorial is located; and
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Governor of the State of Hawaii, the Commander of the United States Pacific Command, the United States Ambassador to Japan, the Prime Minister of Japan, the Governor of Ehime Prefecture, the Mayor of Uwajima City, the Principal of Uwajima Fisheries High School, the President of the Japan-America Society of Hawaii, and the President of the Ehime Maru Memorial Association.
Ehime Maru Memorial; Permanent Location
