Bill Text: HI SB2969 | 2018 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Relating To Special Management Areas.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-03-23 - Passed Second Reading as amended in HD 1 and referred to the committee(s) on FIN with Representative(s) LoPresti voting aye with reservations; Representative(s) Matsumoto, Quinlan, Thielen, Tupola, Ward voting no (5) and Representative(s) C. Lee, Lowen, McDermott, Souki, Tokioka excused (5). [SB2969 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2018-SB2969-Amended.html

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THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2969
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018		S.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII		H.D. 1

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO SPECIAL MANAGEMENT AREAS.

 

 

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

 

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that the special management areas law was established as part of the Shoreline Protection Act under Act 176, Session Laws of Hawaii 1975.  The Act declared that it is state policy to preserve, protect, and where possible, restore the natural resources of the coastal zone of Hawaii.

     The legislature further finds that due to a general sea level rise, coastal erosion has created the need to ensure that developments proposed within special management areas are appropriately reviewed and approved by counties, including minor residential developments.  Special controls on development within areas along the shoreline are necessary in order to avoid permanent loss of valuable resources and to ensure sufficient access to public beaches, recreation areas, and natural reserves.

     The purpose of this Act is to better manage development within special management areas by:

     (1)  Excluding the reconstruction or alteration of certain existing single-family residences, and authorizing county planning authorities to further define new single-family residence construction; and

     (2)  Requiring the county authorities to consider sea level rise when reviewing and approving all developments.

     SECTION 2.  Section 205A-22, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended as follows:

     1.   By adding a new definition to be appropriately inserted and to read:

     ""Single-family residence" means a structure used for residential habitation, and not for short-term transient vacation rental usage."

     2.   By amending the definition of "development" to read:

     ""Development" means any of the uses, activities, or operations on land or in or under water within a special management area that are included below:

     (1)  Placement or erection of any solid material or any gaseous, liquid, solid, or thermal waste;

     (2)  Grading, removing, dredging, mining, or extraction of any materials;

     (3)  Change in the density or intensity of use of land, including but not limited to the division or subdivision of land;

     (4)  Change in the intensity of use of water, ecology related thereto, or of access thereto; and

     (5)  Construction, reconstruction, demolition, or alteration of the size of any structure.

     "Development" does not include the following:

     (1)  [Construction or reconstruction] Reconstruction or alteration of [a] an existing single-family residence that is less than [seven thousand five hundred square feet of floor area] the valuation threshold for a special management area minor permit when cumulatively combined with other reconstruction ten years trailing and is not part of a larger development; provided that for the purposes of this paragraph, the authority may define new single-family residence construction taking into account its size, location relative to the shoreline, or any related characteristics which may not cumulatively and negatively impact the shoreline area, yet provide for reasonable residential habitation;

     (2)  Repair or maintenance of roads and highways within existing rights-of-way;

     (3)  Routine maintenance dredging of existing streams, channels, and drainage ways;

     (4)  Repair and maintenance of underground utility lines, including but not limited to water, sewer, power, and telephone and minor appurtenant structures, such as pad mounted transformers and sewer pump stations;

     (5)  Zoning variances, except for height, density, parking, and shoreline setback;

     (6)  Repair, maintenance, or interior alterations to existing structures;

     (7)  Demolition or removal of structures, except those structures located on any historic site as designated in national or state registers;

     (8)  Use of any land for the purpose of cultivating, planting, growing, and harvesting plants, crops, trees, and other agricultural, horticultural, or forestry products or animal husbandry, or aquaculture or mariculture of plants or animals, or other agricultural purposes;

     (9)  Transfer of title to land;

    (10)  Creation or termination of easements, covenants, or other rights in structures or land;

    (11)  Final subdivision approval; provided that in counties that may automatically approve tentative subdivision applications as a ministerial act within a fixed time of the submission of a preliminary plat map, unless the director takes specific action, a special management area use permit if required, shall be processed concurrently with an application for tentative subdivision approval or after tentative subdivision approval and before final subdivision approval;

    (12)  Subdivision of land into lots greater than twenty acres in size;

    (13)  Subdivision of a parcel of land into four or fewer parcels when no associated construction activities are proposed; provided that any land that is so subdivided shall not thereafter qualify for this exception with respect to any subsequent subdivision of any of the resulting parcels;

    (14)  Installation of underground utility lines and appurtenant aboveground fixtures less than four feet in height along existing corridors;

    (15)  Structural and nonstructural improvements to existing single-family residences, where otherwise permissible;

    (16)  Nonstructural improvements to existing commercial structures; and

    (17)  Construction, installation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of emergency management warning or signal devices and sirens;

provided that whenever the authority finds that any excluded use, activity, or operation may have a cumulative impact, or a significant environmental or ecological effect on a special management area, that use, activity, or operation shall be defined as "development" for the purpose of this part."

     SECTION 3.  Section 205A-26, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§205A-26  Special management area guidelines.  In implementing this part, the authority shall adopt the following guidelines for the review of developments proposed in the special management area:

     (1)  All development in the special management area shall be subject to reasonable terms and conditions set by the authority in order to ensure:

          (A)  Adequate access, by dedication or other means, to publicly owned or used beaches, recreation areas, and natural reserves is provided to the extent consistent with sound conservation principles;

          (B)  Adequate and properly located public recreation areas and wildlife preserves are reserved;

          (C)  Provisions are made for solid and liquid waste treatment, disposition, and management [which] that will minimize adverse effects upon special management area resources; and

          (D)  Alterations to existing land forms and vegetation, except crops, and construction of structures shall cause minimum adverse effect to water resources and scenic and recreational amenities and minimum danger of floods, wind damage, storm surge, landslides, erosion, siltation, or failure in the event of earthquake[.];

     (2)  No development shall be approved unless the authority has first found:

          (A)  That the development will not have any substantial adverse environmental or ecological effect, except as such adverse effect is minimized to the extent practicable and clearly outweighed by public health, safety, or compelling public interests.  Such adverse effects shall include[,] but not be limited to[,] the potential cumulative impact of individual developments, each one of which taken in itself might not have a substantial adverse effect, and the elimination of planning options;

          (B)  That the development is consistent with the objectives, policies, and special management area guidelines of this chapter and any guidelines enacted by the legislature; [and]

          (C)  That the development is consistent with the county general plan and zoning.  Such a finding of consistency does not preclude concurrent processing where a general plan or zoning amendment may also be required[.];

          (D)  That the applicant has considered the risk of sea level rise on the area of the development; and

          (E)  That the effect of sea level rise on the development during its normal useful life will be minimal; and

     (3)  The authority shall seek to minimize, where reasonable:

          (A)  Dredging, filling or otherwise altering any bay, estuary, salt marsh, river mouth, slough or lagoon;

          (B)  Any development [which] that would reduce the size of any beach or other area usable for public recreation;

          (C)  Any development [which] that would reduce or impose restrictions upon public access to tidal and submerged lands, beaches, portions of rivers and streams within the special management areas and the mean high tide line where there is no beach;

          (D)  Any development [which] that would substantially interfere with or detract from the line of sight toward the sea from the state highway nearest the coast; and

          (E)  Any development [which] that would adversely affect water quality, existing areas of open water free of visible structures, existing and potential fisheries and fishing grounds, wildlife habitats, or potential or existing agricultural uses of land."

     SECTION 4.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2100; provided that section 2 shall take effect on January 1, 2020.

 

Report Title:

Special Management Areas; Development; Single-family Residences; Sea Level Rise; Authorities

 

Description:

Excludes the reconstruction or alteration of certain existing single-family residences from the definition of "development" for purposes of the special management areas law.  Authorizes county planning authorities to further define new single-family residence construction  Requires the county authorities to consider sea level rise when reviewing and approving all developments.  (SB2969 HD1)

 

 

 

The summary description of legislation appearing on this page is for informational purposes only and is not legislation or evidence of legislative intent.