HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2084

THIRTY-FIRST LEGISLATURE, 2022

H.D. 3

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO IMPORTANT AGRICULTURAL LANDS.

 

 

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

 


     SECTION 1.  In 2008, the legislature passed a package of incentives for lands designated as important agricultural lands pursuant to article XI, section 3, of the Hawaii State Constitution.  Enacted as Act 233, Session Laws of Hawaii 2008, the incentives were intended to promote agricultural viability, sustained growth of the agricultural industry, and the long-term use and protection of lands designated as important agricultural lands.

     Act 233, Session Laws of Hawaii 2008, included a provision for landowners to develop, construct, and maintain farm dwellings and employee housing for farmers, employees, and their immediate family members on lands designated as important agricultural lands; provided that the occupants of these dwellings are actively engaged in farming.  Although intended as an incentive for the designation and agricultural use of important agricultural lands, it is unclear whether this provision, codified as section 205-45.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, imposes more restrictive standards for farm dwellings and employee housing on important agricultural lands than the existing standards for farm dwellings and employee housing on lands in the agricultural land use district in chapter 205, Hawaii Revised Statutes.

     The lack of affordable housing for farmers and farm labor is an impediment to increasing food and non-food agricultural production in Hawaii.  The legislature finds that there is still a need for a means to develop housing for farmers and farm employees on lands designated as important agricultural lands that reduces the cost and time required to supply such housing and ensures that the housing is used in conjunction with and located on an active farm and occupied by bona fide farmers and farm employees.  This Act is intended to ensure reduced infrastructure requirements for important agricultural lands pursuant to section 205-51, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to facilitate the provision of certain farmer and farm employee housing to meet agricultural industry needs.

     The purpose of this Act is to facilitate development of housing for farmers and farm employees who actively and currently farm on important agricultural lands by:

     (1)  Allowing landowners and lessees of important agricultural lands to apply to a county to develop, construct, and maintain farm cluster housing on the lands for rent to farmers and farm employees who actively and currently farm on the land, with an exemption for certain counties;

     (2)  Including farm cluster housing under a county priority permit processing procedure for facilities on lands designated as important agricultural lands; and

     (3)  Repealing a restriction on farm dwellings on important agricultural lands that is stricter than what is allowed within agricultural districts.

     SECTION 2.  Chapter 205, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to part III to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§205-     Important agricultural lands incentive; farm cluster housing.  (a)  Notwithstanding section 205-51(b) and any other law to the contrary, a landowner or lessee of agricultural lands that are designated as important agricultural lands may apply to a county to develop, construct, and maintain farm cluster housing on the lands for rent to farmers and farm employees who actively and currently farm on important agricultural lands and their immediate family members.

     (b)  Each county shall enact an ordinance to allow farm cluster housing on important agricultural lands.  The ordinance shall:

     (1)  Allow farm cluster housing that conforms with the conditions in subsection (c);

     (2)  Exempt farm cluster housing on important agricultural lands from land subdivision and other county subdivision ordinances;

     (3)  Establish priority review and processing for farm cluster housing;

     (4)  Provide for more units per lot than are allowed by right by the underlying county zoning; and

     (5)  Require submittal to the county of an agricultural plan or agricultural business plan that supports the plan for the farm cluster housing and provides evidence of a real property tax agricultural dedication granted by the county;

provided that at least one public hearing on the proposed ordinance shall be held before its adoption; provided further that the ordinance shall require the agricultural plan or agricultural business plan and verification of the real property tax agricultural dedication to first be reviewed and commented upon by the appropriate county agency and may require the agricultural plan or agricultural business plan and verification of the real property tax agricultural dedication to be submitted to the department of agriculture for review and comment before county action on the application.

     (c)  Farm cluster housing shall be subject to the following conditions:

     (1)  Farm cluster housing shall be allowed only on lots of record that are greater than or equal to ten acres;

     (2)  The primary occupant of each farm cluster housing unit shall be a farmer or farm employee who actively and currently farms the important agricultural lands upon which the farm cluster housing unit is situated;

     (3)  The total land area upon which farm cluster housing and all appurtenances are situated shall occupy a contiguous block or area that is no more than five per cent of the lot of record or ten acres, whichever is less;

     (4)  Each farm cluster housing unit shall not exceed eight hundred square feet of total floor area;

     (5)  Farm cluster housing units shall meet building code requirements and infrastructure requirements and standards reduced to the minimum requirements necessary to ensure safe and healthful occupancy;

     (6)  Short-term vacation rental use of farm cluster housing units shall be prohibited;

     (7)  The landowner or master lessee shall be responsible for ensuring compliance with the restriction of occupancy of the farm cluster housing units to farmers or farm employees who are actively and currently farming the land and their immediate family members, and the restriction on use of farm cluster housing units shall be clearly stated in the rental documents; and

     (8)  If a farm cluster housing unit is vacated as a result of the cessation of any agricultural operations on the land, the landowner or master lessee may rent the farm cluster housing unit under the same restrictions under this section to farmers or farm employees who are actively and currently farming other agricultural lands.

     (d)  The appropriate officer or agency charged with the administration of county zoning laws within each county shall be authorized to enforce the building and use restrictions in this section and impose penalties for violations of this section or the county permit.

     (e)  Farm dwellings and farm employee housing units on lands designated as important agricultural lands that are not processed as farm cluster housing pursuant to this section shall be subject to all applicable state laws, county ordinances, and rules.

     (f)  Any county that, as of the effective date of this Act, has a law in effect that authorizes the development, construction, and maintenance of farm cluster housing or similar housing and imposes less restrictive requirements than the requirements of this section on that housing shall be exempt from this section.

     (g)  As used in this section, "farm cluster housing" means a housing development that concentrates housing units and shared infrastructure in a compact area within the larger lot and minimizes the land area occupied by the housing development."

     SECTION 3.  Section 205-46.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending its title and subsection (a) to read as follows:

     "[[]§205-46.5[]]  Agricultural processing facilities; farm cluster housing; permits; priority.  (a)  Any agency subject to this chapter [or title 13] that issues permits shall establish and implement a procedure for the priority processing of permit applications and renewals, at no additional cost to the applicant, for [agricultural] the following:

     (1)  Agricultural processing facilities that process crops or livestock from an agribusiness; or

     (2)  Farm cluster housing developed pursuant to section 205-   ;

provided that the majority of the lands held, owned, or used by the agribusiness or farm cluster housing applicant shall be land designated as important agricultural lands pursuant to this part, excluding lands held, owned, or used by the agribusiness or applicant in a conservation district.

     Any priority permit processing procedure established pursuant to this section shall not provide or imply that any permit application filed under the priority processing procedure shall be automatically approved."

     SECTION 4.  Section 205-45.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is repealed.

     ["[§205-45.5]  Important agricultural land; farm dwellings and employee housing.  A landowner whose agricultural lands are designated as important agricultural lands may develop, construct, and maintain farm dwellings and employee housing for farmers, employees, and their immediate family members on these lands; provided that:

     (1)  The farm dwellings and employee housing units shall be used exclusively by farmers and their immediate family members who actively and currently farm on important agricultural land upon which the dwelling is situated; provided further that the immediate family members of a farmer may live in separate dwelling units situated on the same designated land;

     (2)  Employee housing units shall be used exclusively by employees and their immediate family members who actively and currently work on important agricultural land upon which the housing unit is situated; provided further that the immediate family members of the employee shall not live in separate housing units and shall live with the employee;

     (3)  The total land area upon which the farm dwellings and employee housing units and all appurtenances are situated shall not occupy more than five per cent of the total important agricultural land area controlled by the farmer or the employee's employer or fifty acres, whichever is less;

     (4)  The farm dwellings and employee housing units shall meet all applicable building code requirements;

     (5)  Notwithstanding section 205-4.5(a)(12), the landowner shall not plan or develop a residential subdivision on the important agricultural land;

     (6)  Consideration may be given to the cluster development of farm dwellings and employee housing units to maximize the land area available for agricultural production; and

     (7)  The plans for farm dwellings and employee housing units shall be supported by agricultural plans that are approved by the department of agriculture."]

     SECTION 5.  This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and permit proceedings that were begun before its effective date under the use and district standards for the state agricultural land use district and underlying county zoning.

     SECTION 6.  The revisor of statutes shall insert the effective date of this Act in the appropriate location in section 2 of this Act.

     SECTION 7.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 8.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2050.

 



 

Report Title:

Important Agricultural Lands; Farm Cluster Housing; County Approval

 

Description:

Allows landowners and lessees of important agricultural lands to apply to the counties to develop, construct, and maintain farm cluster housing on the lands for rent to farmers and farm employees who actively and currently farm on the land, subject to certain exemptions.  Removes restrictions on farm dwellings on important agricultural lands that are stricter than that for farm dwellings within agricultural districts.  Effective 7/1/2050.  (HD3)

 

 

 

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