Bill Text: HI HB2632 | 2018 | Regular Session | Introduced
Bill Title: Relating To Housing On Agricultural Land.
Spectrum: Bipartisan Bill
Status: (Introduced - Dead) 2018-02-16 - Report adopted. referred to the committee(s) on FIN as amended in HD 2 with Representative(s) Thielen voting aye with reservations; none voting no (0) and Representative(s) DeCoite, Ing, Nakamura, Onishi, Woodson excused (5). [HB2632 Detail]
Download: Hawaii-2018-HB2632-Introduced.html
|
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES |
H.B. NO. |
2632 |
|
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018 |
|
|
|
STATE OF HAWAII |
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
|
||
|
|
||
A BILL FOR AN ACT
relating to HOUSING ON AGRICULTURAL LAND.
BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:
SECTION 1. The legislature finds that the lack of housing on agricultural lands has created hardships for many low-income farmworkers and farm employers. Unable to find housing, agricultural workers may pay higher rents, commute longer distances, and have less opportunity to accumulate assets. Without the ability to provide housing, many employers find it difficult to recruit and retain a viable workforce, causing many small and family-owned farms financial distress.
The purpose of this Act is to allow
agricultural land owners to develop on-farm and
near-farm housing serving the needs of both farmworkers and agricultural
employers. The development of secure,
safe, efficient, and affordable housing will help support Hawaii's valuable
agricultural industry. Further,
farmworker housing can be one method to help achieve Hawaii's affordable
housing goals by fostering an adequate and diverse supply.
SECTION 2. Section 205-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:
"(d) Agricultural districts shall include:
(1) Activities
or uses as characterized by the cultivation of crops, crops for bioenergy,
orchards, forage, and forestry;
(2) Farming
activities or uses related to animal husbandry and game and fish propagation;
(3) Aquaculture,
which means the production of aquatic plant and animal life within ponds and
other bodies of water;
(4) Wind
generated energy production for public, private, and commercial use;
(5) Biofuel
production, as described in section 205‑4.5(a)(16), for public, private,
and commercial use;
(6) Solar energy facilities; provided that:
(A) This paragraph shall apply only to land with soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class B, C, D, or E; and
(B) Solar energy facilities placed within land with soil classified as overall productivity rating class B or C shall not occupy more than ten per cent of the acreage of the parcel, or twenty acres of land, whichever is lesser, unless a special use permit is granted pursuant to section 205-6;
(7) Bona fide agricultural services and uses that
support the agricultural activities of the fee or leasehold owner of the
property and accessory to any of the above activities, regardless of whether
conducted on the same premises as the agricultural activities to which they are
accessory, including farm dwellings [as defined in section 205-4.5(a)(4),]
and employee housing[,] as provided in section 205-4.5(a)(4),
farm buildings, mills, storage facilities, processing facilities, photovoltaic,
biogas, and other small-scale renewable energy systems producing energy solely
for use in the agricultural activities of the fee or leasehold owner of the
property, agricultural-energy facilities as defined in section 205-4.5(a)(17), hydroelectric
facilities in accordance with section 205-4.5(a)(23), vehicle and equipment
storage areas, and plantation community subdivisions as defined in section 205‑4.5(a)(12);
(8) Wind
machines and wind farms;
(9) Small-scale
meteorological, air quality, noise, and other scientific and environmental data
collection and monitoring facilities occupying less than one-half acre of land;
provided that these facilities shall not be used as or equipped for use as
living quarters or dwellings;
(10) Agricultural
parks;
(11) Agricultural
tourism conducted on a working farm, or a farming operation as defined in
section 165-2, for the enjoyment, education, or involvement of visitors;
provided that the agricultural tourism activity is accessory and secondary to the
principal agricultural use and does not interfere with surrounding farm
operations; and provided further that this paragraph shall apply only to a
county that has adopted ordinances regulating agricultural tourism under
section 205-5;
(12) Agricultural tourism activities, including overnight accommodations of twenty-one days or less, for any one stay within a county; provided that this paragraph shall apply only to a county that includes at least three islands and has adopted ordinances regulating agricultural tourism activities pursuant to section 205-5; provided further that the agricultural tourism activities coexist with a bona fide agricultural activity. For the purposes of this paragraph, "bona fide agricultural activity" means a farming operation as defined in section 165-2;
(13) Open area recreational facilities;
(14) Geothermal resources exploration and geothermal resources development, as defined under section 182-1; and
(15) Agricultural-based commercial operations,
including:
(A) A roadside stand that is not an enclosed structure, owned and operated by a producer for the display and sale of agricultural products grown in Hawaii and value-added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii;
(B) Retail activities in an enclosed structure owned and operated by a producer for the display and sale of agricultural products grown in Hawaii, value-added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii, logo items related to the producer's agricultural operations, and other food items; and
(C) A retail food establishment owned and operated by a producer and permitted under title 11, chapter 12 of the rules of the department of health that prepares and serves food at retail using products grown in Hawaii and value-added products that were produced using agricultural products grown in Hawaii.
The owner of an agricultural-based commercial operation shall certify, upon request of an officer or agent charged with enforcement of this chapter under section 205-12, that the agricultural products displayed or sold by the operation meet the requirements of this paragraph.
Agricultural districts shall not include golf courses and golf driving ranges, except as provided in section 205-4.5(d). 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."
SECTION 3. Section 205-4.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
"(a) Within the agricultural district, all lands with soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A or B and for solar energy facilities, class B or C, shall be restricted to the following permitted uses:
(1) Cultivation of crops, including crops for bioenergy, flowers,
vegetables, foliage, fruits, forage, and timber;
(2) Game and fish propagation;
(3) Raising of livestock, including poultry, bees, fish, or other
animal or aquatic life that are propagated for economic or personal use;
(4) Farm dwellings, employee housing, farm buildings, or activities or
uses related to farming and animal husbandry[.]; provided that:
(A) The farm dwellings and employee housing units shall be used exclusively by farmers and their immediate family members who actively and currently farm on agricultural land upon which the dwelling is situated; provided further that the immediate family members of the farmer may reside in separate dwelling units situated on the same designated land;
(B) Employee housing units shall be used exclusively by employees and their immediate family members who actively and currently work on agricultural land upon which the housing unit is situated; provided further that the immediate family members of the employee shall not reside in separate housing units and shall reside with the employee;
(C) 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 agricultural land area controlled by the farmer or the employee's
employer or fifty acres, whichever is less;
(D) No farm dwelling or employee housing unit shall exceed one dwelling per five acres of lot area. The owner or lessee of the lot shall meet two of the following three criteria:
(i) Provide
proof of at least $35,000 of gross sales of agricultural product(s) per year,
for the preceding two consecutive years, for each farm labor dwelling on the
lot, as shown by State general excise tax forms and federal form 1040 Schedule
F filings;
(ii) Provide certification by the department of water supply that
agricultural water rates are being paid if the subject lot is served by the county
water system; or
(iii) Provide a five year farm plan that demonstrates the feasibility of commercial agricultural production, after which the $35,000 of gross sales of agricultural product(s) per year requirement must be met;
(E) The farm dwellings and employee housing
units shall meet all applicable building code requirements;
(F) Notwithstanding section 205-4.5(a)(12), the
landowner shall not plan or develop a residential subdivision on the
agricultural land;
(G) 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
(H) The plans for farm dwellings and employee
housing units shall be supported by agricultural plans that are approved by the
department of agriculture.
"Farm dwelling",
as used in this paragraph, means a single-family dwelling located on and used
in connection with a farm, including clusters of single-family farm dwellings
permitted within agricultural parks developed by the State, or where
agricultural activity provides
income to the family occupying the dwelling;
(5) Public institutions and buildings that are necessary for
agricultural practices;
(6) Public and private open area types of recreational uses, including
day camps, picnic grounds, parks, and riding stables, but not including
dragstrips, airports, drive-in theaters, golf courses, golf driving ranges,
country clubs, and overnight camps;
(7) Public, private, and quasi-public utility lines and roadways, transformer stations, communications
equipment buildings, solid waste transfer stations, major water storage tanks,
and appurtenant small buildings such as booster pumping stations, but not
including offices or yards for equipment, material, vehicle storage, repair or
maintenance, treatment plants, corporation yards, or other similar structures;
(8) Retention, restoration, rehabilitation, or improvement of buildings
or sites of historic or scenic interest;
(9) Agricultural-based commercial operations as described in section
205-2(d)(15);
(10) Buildings and uses, including mills, storage, and processing facilities, maintenance
facilities, photovoltaic,
biogas, and other small-scale renewable energy systems producing energy solely for use in the agricultural activities
of the fee or leasehold owner of the property, and vehicle and equipment
storage areas that are normally considered directly accessory to the
above-mentioned uses and are permitted under section 205-2(d);
(11) Agricultural parks;
(12) Plantation community subdivisions, which as used in this chapter
means an established subdivision or cluster of employee housing, community
buildings, and agricultural support buildings on land currently or formerly
owned, leased, or operated by a sugar or pineapple plantation; provided that
the existing structures may be used or rehabilitated for use, and new employee
housing and agricultural support buildings may be allowed on land within the
subdivision as follows:
(A) The employee housing is occupied by employees
or former employees of the plantation who have a property interest in the land;
(B) The employee housing units not owned by their
occupants shall be rented or leased at affordable rates for agricultural
workers; or
(C) The agricultural support buildings shall be
rented or leased to agricultural business operators or agricultural support
services;
(13) Agricultural tourism conducted on a working farm, or a farming operation as defined in section 165-2, for the enjoyment, education, or involvement of visitors; provided that the agricultural tourism activity is accessory and secondary to the principal agricultural use and does not interfere with surrounding farm operations; and provided further that this paragraph shall apply only to a county that has adopted ordinances regulating agricultural tourism under section 205-5;
(14) Agricultural
tourism activities, including overnight accommodations of twenty-one
days or less, for any one stay within a county; provided that this paragraph shall apply only to a
county that includes at least three islands and has adopted ordinances
regulating agricultural tourism activities pursuant to section 205-5; provided
further that the agricultural tourism activities coexist with a bona fide
agricultural activity. For the purposes
of this paragraph, "bona fide agricultural activity" means a farming
operation as defined in section 165-2;
(15) Wind
energy facilities, including the appurtenances associated with the production
and transmission of wind generated energy; provided that the wind energy
facilities and appurtenances are compatible with agriculture uses and cause
minimal adverse impact on agricultural land;
(16) Biofuel processing facilities, including the appurtenances associated with the production and refining of biofuels that is normally considered directly accessory and secondary to the growing of the energy feedstock; provided that biofuel processing facilities and appurtenances do not adversely impact agricultural land and other agricultural uses in the vicinity.
For the purposes of this paragraph:
"Appurtenances" means operational infrastructure of the appropriate type and scale for economic commercial storage and distribution, and other similar handling of feedstock, fuels, and other products of biofuel processing facilities.
"Biofuel processing
facility" means a facility that produces liquid or gaseous fuels from
organic sources such as biomass crops, agricultural residues, and oil crops,
including palm, canola, soybean, and waste cooking oils; grease; food wastes;
and animal residues and wastes that can be used to generate energy;
(17) Agricultural-energy facilities, including appurtenances necessary
for an agricultural-energy enterprise; provided that the primary activity of
the agricultural-energy enterprise is agricultural activity. To be considered the primary activity of an
agricultural-energy enterprise, the total acreage devoted to agricultural
activity shall be not less than ninety per cent of the total acreage of the
agricultural-energy enterprise. The
agricultural-energy facility shall be limited to lands owned, leased, licensed,
or operated by the entity conducting the agricultural activity.
As used in this
paragraph:
"Agricultural
activity" means any activity described in paragraphs (1) to (3) of this
subsection.
"Agricultural-energy
enterprise" means an enterprise that integrally incorporates an
agricultural activity with an agricultural-energy facility.
"Agricultural-energy
facility" means a facility that generates, stores, or distributes
renewable energy as defined in section 269-91 or renewable fuel including
electrical or thermal energy or liquid or gaseous fuels from products of
agricultural activities from agricultural lands located in the State.
"Appurtenances"
means operational infrastructure of the appropriate type and scale for the
economic commercial generation, storage, distribution, and other similar
handling of energy, including equipment, feedstock, fuels, and other products
of agricultural-energy facilities;
(18) Construction and operation of wireless communication antennas; provided
that, for the purposes of this paragraph, "wireless communication
antenna" means communications equipment that is either freestanding or
placed upon or attached to an already existing structure and that transmits and
receives electromagnetic radio signals used in the provision of all types of
wireless communications services; provided further that nothing in this
paragraph shall be construed to permit the construction of any new structure
that is not deemed a permitted use under this subsection;
(19) Agricultural
education programs conducted on a farming operation as defined in section
165-2, for the education and participation of the general public; provided that
the agricultural education programs are accessory and secondary to the
principal agricultural use of the parcels or lots on which the agricultural
education programs are to occur and do not interfere with surrounding farm
operations. For the purposes of this
section, "agricultural education programs" means activities or events
designed to promote knowledge and understanding of agricultural activities and
practices conducted on a farming operation as defined in section 165-2;
(20) Solar energy facilities that do not occupy more than ten per cent of the acreage of the parcel, or twenty acres of land, whichever is lesser or for which a special use permit is granted pursuant to section 205-6; provided that this use shall not be permitted on lands with soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A unless the solar energy facilities are:
(A) Located on a paved or unpaved road in existence as of December 31, 2013, and the parcel of land upon which the paved or unpaved road is located has a valid county agriculture tax dedication status or a valid agricultural conservation easement;
(B) Placed in a manner that still allows vehicular traffic to use the road; and
(C) Granted a special use permit by the commission pursuant to section 205-6;
(21) Solar energy facilities on lands with soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating B or C for which a special use permit is granted pursuant to section 205-6; provided that:
(A) The area occupied by the solar energy facilities is also made available for compatible agricultural activities at a lease rate that is at least fifty per cent below the fair market rent for comparable properties;
(B) Proof of financial security to decommission the facility is provided to the satisfaction of the appropriate county planning commission prior to date of commencement of commercial generation; and
(C) Solar energy facilities shall be decommissioned at the owner's expense according to the following requirements:
(i) Removal of all equipment related to the solar energy facility within twelve months of the conclusion of operation or useful life; and
(ii) Restoration of the disturbed earth to substantially the same physical condition as existed prior to the development of the solar energy facility.
For the purposes of this paragraph, "agricultural activities" means the activities described in paragraphs (1) to (3); or
(22) Geothermal resources exploration and geothermal resources development, as defined under section 182‑1; or
(23) Hydroelectric facilities, including the appurtenances associated with the
production and transmission of hydroelectric energy, subject to section 205-2;
provided that the hydroelectric facilities and their appurtenances:
(A) Have a hydroelectric generating capacity of not more than five hundred
kilowatts;
(B) Comply with the state water code, chapter 174C;
(C) Are accessory to agricultural activities on agricultural land for
agricultural use only; and
(D) Do not adversely impact or impede the use of agricultural land or the
availability of surface or ground water for all uses on all parcels that are
served by the ground water sources or streams for which hydroelectric
facilities are considered."
SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.
SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval; provided that the amendments made to section 205-4.5(a), Hawaii Revised Statutes, in section 3 of this Act shall not be repealed when section 205-4.5(a), Hawaii Revised Statutes, is repealed and reenacted on June 30, 2019 pursuant to Act 52, section 3, Session Laws of Hawaii 2014.
|
INTRODUCED BY: |
_____________________________ |
|
|
|
Report Title:
Agricultural Land; Dwellings; Employee Housing.
Description:
Establishes standards for dwellings and employee housing on agricultural land. Limits dwellings and employee housing on agricultural land to farmers and immediate family members.
The summary description
of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is
not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.
