Hawaii-2024-HB669-Introduced

SECTION 1. Section 201H-12, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) The corporation may develop public land in an agricultural district subject to the prior approval of the land use commission, when developing lands greater than [~~fifteen~~] fifty acres in size, and public land in a conservation district subject to the prior approval of the board of land and natural resources. The corporation shall not develop state monuments, historical sites, or parks. When the corporation proposes to develop public land, it shall file with the department of land and natural resources a petition setting forth the purpose for the development. The petition shall be conclusive proof that the intended use is a public use superior to that which the land has been appropriated."

SECTION 2. Section 205-3.1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsections (a) through (c) to read as follows:

"(a) District boundary amendments involving lands in the conservation district, land areas greater than [~~fifteen~~] fifty acres, or lands delineated as important agricultural lands shall be processed by the land use commission pursuant to section 205‑4.

(b) Any department or agency of the State, and 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 appropriate county land use decision-making authority of the county in which the land is situated for a change in the boundary of a district involving lands less than [~~fifteen~~] fifty acres presently in the rural and urban districts and lands less than [~~fifteen~~] fifty acres in the agricultural district that are not designated as important agricultural lands.

(c) District boundary amendments involving land areas of [~~fifteen~~] fifty acres or less, except as provided in subsection (b), shall be determined by the appropriate county land use decision-making authority for the district and shall not require consideration by the land use commission pursuant to section 205-4; provided that such boundary amendments and approved uses are consistent with this chapter. The appropriate county land use decision-making authority may consolidate proceedings to amend state land use district boundaries pursuant to this subsection, with county proceedings to amend the general plan, development plan, zoning of the affected land, or such other proceedings. Appropriate ordinances and rules to allow consolidation of such proceedings may be developed by the county land use decision-making authority."

SECTION 3. Section 205-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending its title and subsection (a) to read as follows:

"§205-4 Amendments to district boundaries involving land areas greater than [~~fifteen~~] fifty acres. (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, lands designated or sought to be designated as important agricultural lands, and lands greater than [~~fifteen~~] fifty acres in the agricultural, rural, and urban districts, except as provided in section 201H-38. The land use commission shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 to implement section 201H-38."

SECTION 4. Section 205-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§205-6 Special permit. (a) Subject to this section, the county planning commission may permit certain unusual and reasonable uses within agricultural and rural districts other than those for which the district is classified. Any person who desires to use the person's land within an agricultural or rural district other than for an agricultural or rural use, as the case may be, may petition the planning commission of the county within which the person's land is located for permission to use the person's land in the manner desired. Each county may establish the appropriate fee for processing the special permit petition. Copies of the special permit petition shall be forwarded to the land use commission, the office of planning and sustainable development, and the department of agriculture for their review and comment.

(b) The planning commission, upon consultation with the central coordinating agency, except in counties where the planning commission is advisory only in which case the central coordinating agency, shall establish by rule or regulation, the time within which the hearing and action on petition for special permit shall occur. The county planning commission shall notify the land use commission and such persons and agencies that may have an interest in the subject matter of the time and place of the hearing.

(c) The county planning commission may, under such protective restrictions as may be deemed necessary, permit the desired use, but only when the use would promote the effectiveness and objectives of this chapter; provided that a use proposed for designated important agricultural lands shall not conflict with any part of this chapter. A decision in favor of the applicant shall require a majority vote of the total membership of the county planning commission.

(d) Special permits for land the area of which is greater than [~~fifteen~~] fifty acres or for lands designated as important agricultural lands shall be subject to approval by the land use commission. The land use commission may impose additional restrictions as may be necessary or appropriate in granting the approval, including the adherence to representations made by the applicant.

(e) A copy of the decision, together with the complete record of the proceeding before the county planning commission on all special permit requests involving a land area greater than [~~fifteen~~] fifty acres or for lands designated as important agricultural lands, shall be transmitted to the land use commission within sixty days after the decision is rendered.

Within forty-five days after receipt of the complete record from the county planning commission, the land use commission shall act to approve, approve with modification, or deny the petition. A denial either by the county planning commission or by the land use commission, or a modification by the land use commission, as the case may be, of the desired use shall be appealable to the circuit court of the circuit in which the land is situated and shall be made pursuant to the Hawaii rules of civil procedure.

(f) Special permits for housing that include workforce or affordable housing units with a minimum twenty-five per cent of market units on land the area of which is greater than fifty acres or for lands designated as important agricultural lands shall be subject only to additional restrictions or disapproval of the petition by the land use commission. The land use commission may impose additional restrictions as may be necessary or appropriate, including the adherence to representations made by the applicant.

Land use commission procedures for imposing additional restrictions or disapproving the county planning commission's approval of special permits shall run concurrently with the county planning commission's action, which shall begin on receipt of notice of action from the county planning commission. The land use commission's decision shall be completed within forty-five days of the county planning commission's decision.

[~~(f)~~] (g) Land uses substantially involving or supporting educational ecotourism, related to the preservation of native Hawaiian endangered, threatened, proposed, and candidate species, that are allowed in an approved habitat conservation plan under section 195D-21 or safe harbor agreement under section 195D-22, which are not identified as permissible uses within the agricultural district under sections 205-2 and 205‑4.5, may be permitted in the agricultural district by special permit under this section, on lands with soils classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class C, D, E, or U."

SECTION 5. Section 225M-2, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (d) to read as follows:

"(d) The office of planning and sustainable development and the land use commission shall establish procedures and safeguards to avoid actual or perceived conflicts of interest that may otherwise arise as a result of any proceedings before the land use commission to which the office of planning and sustainable development is a party, including but not limited to petitions for amendments to district boundaries involving land areas greater than [~~fifteen~~] fifty acres pursuant to section 205-4, and contested case proceedings pursuant to section 205‑19. These procedures and safeguards shall include a reporting structure for the land use commission and its executive director and employees that is separate from the reporting structure for the land use division of the office."

SECTION 6. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 7. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	669
THIRTY-SECOND LEGISLATURE, 2023
STATE OF HAWAII