Report Title:

Ag to Rural Land Use Authority

 

Description:

Allows the counties to decide on redesignating agricultural land of 75 acres or less to rural.

 

 

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

1279

TWENTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2001

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 


 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

RELATING TO LAND USE.

 

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

SECTION 1. Chapter 205, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§205- Reclassification of agricultural lands of seventy-five acres or less to rural; county jurisdiction. (a) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, any department or agency of the State, any department or agency of the county in which land is situated, or any person or persons having not less than one hundred per cent interest in a parcel of land of seventy-five acres or less sought to be reclassified from agricultural to rural, may petition the county planning commission in which the land is situated for a change of classification.

(b) Upon proper filing of a petition pursuant to subsection (a), the appropriate county planning commission, within not less than sixty and not more than one hundred eighty days, shall conduct a hearing on the appropriate county in accordance with sections 91-9, 91-10, 91-11, 91-12, and 91-13, as applicable.

(c) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, notice of the hearing together with a copy of the petition shall be served to all persons with a property interest in the land as recorded in the county's real property tax records. In addition, notice of the hearing shall be mailed to all persons who have made a timely written request for advance notice of reclassification proceedings, and notice shall be published at least once in a newspaper in the county in which the land sought to be reclassified is situated as well as once in a newspaper of general circulation in the State at least thirty days in advance of the hearing. The notice shall comply with section 91-9, shall indicate the time and place that maps showing the proposed reclassification may be inspected, and shall inform all interested persons of their rights under subsection (e).

(d) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, prior to the hearing of a petition, the county planning commission and its staff may view and inspect any land which is the subject of the petition.

(e) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, agencies and persons may intervene in the proceedings in accordance with this subsection.

The petitioner and the county planning department, in every case, shall appear as parties and make recommendations relative to the proposed boundary change. All departments and agencies of the State and of the county in which the land is situated shall be admitted as parties upon timely application for intervention. All persons who have a property interest in the land, who lawfully reside on the land, or who otherwise can demonstrate that they will be directly and immediately affected by the proposed reclassification such that their interest in the proceeding is clearly distinguishable from that of the general public, shall be admitted as parties upon timely application for intervention.

(f) All other persons may apply to the county planning commission for leave to intervene as parties. Leave to intervene shall be freely granted; provided that the county planning commission or its hearing officer, if one is appointed, may deny an application to intervene when in the county planning commission's or hearing officer's sound discretion it appears that:

(1) The position of the applicant for intervention concerning the proposed change is substantially the same as the position of a party already admitted to the proceeding; and

(2) The admission of additional parties will render the proceedings inefficient and unmanageable.

A person whose application to intervene is denied may appeal the denial to the circuit court pursuant to section 91-14;

(g) Each county planning commission shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 governing the intervention of agencies and persons under this subsection. The rules without limitation shall establish:

(1) The information to be set forth in any application for intervention;

(2) Time limits within which the applications shall be filed; and

(3) Reasonable filing fees to accompany the applications.

(h) Together with other witnesses that the county planning commission may desire to hear at the hearing, the commission shall allow a representative of a citizen or a community group to testify who indicates a desire to express the view of the citizen or community group concerning the proposed reclassification.

(i) Within a period of not more than three hundred sixty-five days after the proper filing of a petition, unless otherwise ordered by a court, or unless a time extension, which shall not exceed ninety days, is granted by a two-thirds vote of the members of the county planning commission, the commission, by filing findings of fact and conclusions of law, shall act to approve the petition, deny the petition, or to modify the petition. The commission may modify the petition by imposing conditions necessary to uphold the intent and spirit of this chapter or the policies and criteria established pursuant to section 205-17 or to assure substantial compliance with representations made by the petitioner in seeking a reclassification. The county planning commission may provide by condition that absent substantial commencement of use of the land in accordance with representations made by the petitioner, the county planning commission shall issue and serve upon the party bound by the condition an order to show cause why the property should not revert to its former agricultural land use classification or be changed to a more appropriate classification. These conditions, if any, shall run with the land and be recorded in the bureau of conveyances.

(j) No reclassification of land under this section shall be approved unless the county planning commission finds upon the clear preponderance of the evidence that the proposed reclassification is reasonable, not violative of section 205-2, and consistent with the policies and criteria established pursuant to sections 205-16 and 205-17.

(k) Parties to proceedings to reclassify land under this section may obtain judicial review thereof in the manner set forth in section 91-14; provided that the court may also reverse or modify a finding of a county planning commission if the finding appears to be contrary to the clear preponderance of the evidence.

(l) At the hearing, all parties may enter into appropriate stipulations as to findings of fact, conclusions of law, and conditions of reclassification. The county planning commission may, but shall not be required to approve, any stipulations based on the evidence adduced."

SECTION 2. Section 205-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

"(a) Any department or agency of the State, any department or agency of the county in which the land is situated, or any person with a property interest in the land sought to be reclassified, may petition the land use commission for a change in the boundary of a district. This section applies to all petitions for changes in district boundaries of lands within conservation districts and all petitions for changes in district boundaries involving lands greater than fifteen acres in the agricultural, rural, and urban districts, except as provided in [section] sections 201G-118[.] and 205- . The land use commission shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 to implement section 201E-210."

SECTION 3. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:

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