Bill Text: HI HB1008 | 2010 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Land Use; Agricultural Land; Subdivision

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2009-05-11 - Carried over to 2010 Regular Session. [HB1008 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2010-HB1008-Amended.html

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STAND. COM. REP. NO.  686

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2009

 

RE:   H.B. No. 1008

      H.D. 1

 

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Fifth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2009

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committees on Water, Land, & Ocean Resources and Agriculture, to which was referred H.B. No. 1008 entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO LAND USE,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose of this bill is to protect and promote Hawaii's prime agricultural lands by imposing conditions on the approval for petitions for subdivisions of and building permits to construct farm dwellings on agricultural land.

 

     The Office of Planning, Department of Agriculture, Kona County Farm Bureau, and Hawaii Farm Bureau Federation testified in support of this bill.  The Sierra Club-Hawaii Chapter supported this measure with amendments.  The Department of Planning and Permitting of the City and County of Honolulu, the Kau Farm Bureau, Hawaii's Thousand Friends, and the Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii opposed this bill.  The Hawaii Agriculture Research Center provided comments.

 

     Your Committees recognize that the counties are considering zoning measures to discourage the development of "gentlemen estates" in agricultural areas, including imposing limitations on the size of dwellings, and establishing a minimum lag time between lot creation and the issuance of a building permit.  However, your Committees find that this bill should also be advanced as one more method to prevent gentlemen estates. 

 

     Your Committees also find that the requirements in this bill may create confusion as to the treatment of uses that may be non-conforming uses under the provisions of this bill. 

 

     Accordingly, your Committees have amended this bill by clarifying that uses and activities that were lawful as of the effective date of this Act shall be grandfathered and treated as legal nonconforming uses.  Technical, nonsubstantive amendments were also made for clarity and style.

 

     Your Committees note that a concern was raised that for some slow-growing crops, the requirement to establish evidence of "agribusiness activity" to obtain a building permit may create an inconvenience for the operator to commute to and from agricultural operations located at a distance from the operator's current residence.  Legitimate farm operators may be prevented from obtaining a building permit because the nature of the crop may prevent the operator from realizing sales immediately.  Your Committees find that this is an understandable concern.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Water, Land, & Ocean Resources and Agriculture that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1008, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1008, H.D. 1, and be placed on the calendar for Third Reading.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Water, Land, & Ocean Resources and Agriculture,

 

 

____________________________ CLIFT TSUJI, Chair		____________________________ KEN ITO, Chair