Bill Text: HI HB2570 | 2018 | Regular Session | Amended

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Bill Title: Relating To Road Repair And Maintenance In Housing Subdivisions.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 4-0)

Status: (Engrossed - Dead) 2018-03-16 - The committee on TRE deferred the measure. [HB2570 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2018-HB2570-Amended.html

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HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	2570
TWENTY-NINTH LEGISLATURE, 2018		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO ROAD REPAIR AND MAINTENANCE IN HOUSING SUBDIVISIONS.

 

 

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

 

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that some housing subdivisions in the State have been approved without a requirement that the lot owners fund the repair and maintenance of the private roads and other infrastructure within the subdivision.  Unlike condominium property regimes, many housing subdivisions are not subject to a statutory framework or an oversight agency to oversee the creation, monitoring, training, and auditing of the various volunteer associations responsible for the subdivision infrastructure.  Accordingly, the judicial system has created a patchwork system through judgments in various lawsuits that does not provide adequate oversight.

     The legislature further finds that in the case of Paradise Hui Hanalike v. Hawaiian Paradise Park Corp., 66 Haw. 362, 662 P.2d 211 (1983), the Hawaii supreme court found that there exists a legal duty for property owners whose property abuts subdivision roads to contribute to the necessary maintenance of those subdivision roads.  More recently, in Kaanapali Hillside Homeowners' Ass'n v. Doran, 112 Hawai‘i 356, 145 P.3d 899 (App. 2006), property owners questioned an association's authority to collect an assessment because that authority was not recorded against the property owners' lot. 

     Currently, there is no oversight agency for some associations whose assessment collections are more than $1,000,000 per year.  The inability to collect contributions from lot owners of some subdivisions with no court-approved corporation, association, or entity has caused substandard and deeply rutted roads that delay emergency vehicles responding to emergency situations.  For example, there was an allegation regarding the Dana Ireland murder case in Hawaii county that the delayed response by an ambulance was a major factor in Ireland's death.  Further, there have been numerous instances in which structures were destroyed but could have been saved had a fire truck been able to arrive in time.

     The legislature further finds that because the counties approve housing subdivisions and collect real property taxes from the owners in those subdivisions, it is appropriate that counties oversee the maintenance and repair of roads in housing subdivisions.

     The purpose of this Act is to address the problem of substandard roads in housing subdivisions in counties with a population of more than one hundred eighty thousand but less than two hundred fifty thousand.

     SECTION 2.  (a)  There is established a three-year subdivision road maintenance pilot project to address the problem of substandard roads in housing subdivisions that are not part of a planned community.  The pilot project shall apply only to counties with a population of more than one-hundred eighty thousand but less than two-hundred fifty thousand.  The pilot project shall be developed and implemented by the department of transportation. 

     (b)  For the purposes of the pilot project:

     "Department" means the department of transportation.

     "Housing subdivision" or "subdivision" means land that has been divided into two or more lots for the construction of housing under the applicable county code, including the designation of easements for the purpose of sale, lease, rental, or transfer of title, and is not a planned community.

     "Maintenance" shall include the costs of management, maintenance, and repair of roads and infrastructure, insurance costs and fees for the management and collection of assessments.

     (c)  The pilot project shall:

     (1)  Require the department, in conjunction with the county, to identify roads within housing subdivisions that are in such disrepair that emergency vehicles traversing the roads would experience unreasonable delay;

     (2)  Require the county to assess and collect fees from lot owners in a housing subdivision to pay for the maintenance and improvement of the roads; and

     (3)  Require the county to expend the funds collected to maintain and improve the subdivision roads.

     (d)  The department shall establish rules pursuant to chapter 91 to carry out the purposes of the pilot project. 

     (e)  The department may adopt interim rules to carry out the purposes of the pilot project without regard to chapter 91; provided that:

     (1)  The department shall hold at least one public hearing prior to the adoption of interim rules;

     (2)  The interim rules shall comply with all applicable federal, state, and county laws; and

     (3)  The interim rules shall be effective for no more than one year after their adoption or until rules are established pursuant to subsection (d), whichever occurs sooner.

     (f)  The department shall submit a report on the results of the pilot project, including any proposed legislation, to the legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the 2019, 2020, and 2021 regular session.  The report shall detail:

     (1)  Efforts undertaken by the department and the county to identify the roads in need of maintenance and improvement;

     (2)  Locations of the roads in need of maintenance and improvement;

     (3)  Efforts undertaken by the county to collect assessments and expend funds for the maintenance and improvement of the roads;

     (4)  Amount of assessments collected and expended each fiscal year;

     (5)  Identification of the roads selected for maintenance and improvement; and

     (6) Cost and timeline to complete the needed road maintenance and improvement.

     SECTION 3.  There is appropriated out of the general revenues of the State of Hawaii the sum of $        or so much as may be necessary for fiscal year 2018-2019 for the department of transportation to carry out the purposes of the pilot project.

     The sum appropriated shall be expended by the department of transportation for the purposes of this Act.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on January 1, 2050; provided that Section 3 shall take effect on July 1, 2018.

 

Report Title:

Housing Subdivisions; Road Repair and Maintenance; Assessments; County Duties

 

Description:

Establishes a three-year pilot project to require the Department of Transportation, in conjunction with the counties having a population more than one-hundred eighty thousand but less than two hundred fifty thousand, to identify housing subdivision roads needing repair.  Requires the county to collect fees from lot owners and expend the collected funds for road maintenance and repair.  (HB2570 HD1)

 

 

 

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