HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

1321

TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2017

 

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.  The legislature finds that Act 187, Session Laws of Hawaii 1961, which established the State's land use law, was enacted because it was perceived at the time that a lack of adequate controls permitted many of Hawaii's limited and valuable lands to be used for the short-term gain of a few, resulting in a long-term loss to the growth and potential of Hawaii's economy.  The law was enacted "to preserve, protect and encourage the development of the lands in the State for those uses to which they are best suited for the public welfare . . . ."

     The legislature further finds that since 1961, amendments made to Hawaii's land use law have created confusion.  There are conflicts between sections in the law, the respective jurisdictions of the counties and State are unclear, and disputes persist over permissible use in districts because of the use of special permits.  One major problem is caused by a provision in section 205-2(d), Hawaii Revised Statutes that states: "Agricultural districts include areas that are not used for, or that are not suited to, agricultural and ancillary activities by reason of topography, soils, and other related characteristics."  Another problem was created by giving the counties boundary amendment jurisdiction for parcels under fifteen acres, which resulted in some developers parceling projects into segments smaller than fifteen acres.

     The legislature further finds that over the years, the legislature has established commissions and task forces to review Hawaii's land use law or provisions such as the mandates of article XI of the state constitution for the conservation, control, and development of resources.  The land evaluation and site assessment commission was established to make recommendations relating to the mandate of article XI, section 3, of the state constitution to provide the standards and criteria to "conserve and protect agricultural lands, promote diversified agriculture, increase agricultural self-sufficiency and assure the availability of agriculturally suitable lands."

     The land evaluation and site assessment commission noted, at the time:

The Land Use Commission (LUC) . . . includes about 2.0 million acres of land in the Agricultural District.  The "ALISH" study listed about 1.0 million acres in its agricultural "lands of importance" inventory.  The University of Hawaii Land Study Bureau's productivity categories "A" through "E" included approximately 1.5 million acres of agricultural land, as of 1968, excluding forest and forest reserve, game management, recreation, national park, military, undeveloped subdivision, pali, and barren land.

     The land evaluation and site assessment commission also reported that:

[I]t is important to correlate the acreage of agriculturally suited lands to that required to meet the projected agricultural production goals for the future. . . [A] sufficient amount of the most productive and best suited agricultural lands in the State would be classified as "important agricultural lands" and . . . receive the attention mandated by the State Constitution.

     In 2006, in response to Act 205, Session Laws of Hawaii 2005, an advisory group was convened to develop policy and recommend boundary amendments to expand and enhance the use of rural districts.  As a result, the office of planning, in cooperation with the county planning directors and the land use commission, conducted statewide workshops to identify public values and vision for rural communities.  A variety of views were presented on rural areas, including: preserving or restoring local character; preserving ecosystems, green spaces, and natural open space; maintaining natural landscapes and vistas; preserving rural lifestyle and maintaining peace and quiet; making possible low cost development alternative; and increasing the land available for small farms.

     The advisory group's recommendations included the following statements, among others:

     (1)  The minimum lot size for the rural district should not be specified in state law;

     (2)  The state law should specify:

         (A)  The basic policies governing land use in the rural district; and

         (B)  That the county ordinances governing rural land patters, permitted uses, and character shall be consistent with those policies;

     (3)  The State should adopt governing and guiding principles for the planning and management of land in the rural district by the counties and by state agencies;

     (4)  That the decision to change the classification of existing rural villages, currently classified as urban, from an urban district to a rural district shall be a county decision, and that once a county adopts policies and ordinances governing the rural district, which are in accordance with their general plans, the county may apply to the land use commission to reclassify regional areas from urban to rural using a quasi-legislative process; and

     (5)  The counties should be authorized to manage land use in the rural district with the same degree of discretion as they currently have in managing land use in the urban district.

     The purpose of this Act is to establish a land use review project similar to the project undertaken in 1970 by the judicial council of Hawaii to recodify Hawaii's penal laws.

     SECTION 2.  (a)  There is established a land use revision advisory committee that shall:

     (1)  Review the evolution of the land use law since its enactment and the reasons for the various amendments to the law;

     (2)  Review conflicts that have arisen because of ambiguities in the law and the judicial remedies that have been rendered; and

     (3)  Revisit the recommendations of the various commissions, task forces, and working groups that were created to investigate different components of the land use law, such as the land evaluation and site assessment commission and the rural working group.

     (b)  The membership of the advisory committee shall consist of:

     (1)  The director of the legislative reference bureau or the director's designee, to serve as chair of the advisory committee;

     (2)  Two members with experience in land use law; provided that the president of the senate shall appoint one member and the speaker of the house of representatives small appoint the other member;

     (3)  The executive officer of the land use commission;

     (4)  The director of the office of planning; and

     (5)  The directors of planning of the counties of Hawaii, Maui, and Kauai, respectively, and the director of planning and permitting of the city and county of Honolulu.

     (c)  The members of the advisory committee shall receive no compensation for their service on the committee; provided that state and county employees serving on the committee in their official capacities shall continue to receive compensation as employees.  Members shall be reimbursed for reasonable expenses incurred, including travel expenses, related to their service on the committee.

     (d)  The advisory committee may establish ad hoc working groups of persons with special expertise in land use, conservation, development, planning, and agriculture to address specific issues relating to the land use law.

     (e)  The advisory committee shall submit an interim report to the legislature not later than twenty days before the convening of the regular session of 2018, and a final report of findings and recommendations, including a proposed draft of land use legislation, not later than twenty days before the convening of the regular session of 2019.

     SECTION 3.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $         or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2017-2018 and the same sum or so much thereof as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018-2019 for the purposes of this Act.

     The sums appropriated shall be expended by the legislative reference bureau for the purposes of this Act.

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

 

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

 

 


 


 

Report Title:

Land Use Revision Advisory Committee

 

Description:

Establishes an advisory committee to review state land use law.  Requires the committee to submit reports to the legislature.  Appropriates funds.

 

 

 

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