Bill Text: HI SB1296 | 2025 | Regular Session | Introduced

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Bill Title: Relating To Disaster Recovery.

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 2-0)

Status: (Introduced) 2025-02-03 - The committee(s) on WTL recommend(s) that the measure be PASSED, WITH AMENDMENTS. The votes in WTL were as follows: 5 Aye(s): Senator(s) Inouye, Elefante, Chang, McKelvey, DeCorte; Aye(s) with reservations: none ; 0 No(es): none; and 0 Excused: none. [SB1296 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2025-SB1296-Introduced.html

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THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	1296
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

relating to disaster recovery.

 

 

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

 

     SECTION 1.  The legislature finds that special controls on developments within an area along the shoreline are necessary to avoid permanent losses of valuable resources and the foreclosure of management options, and to ensure that adequate access, by dedication or other means, to public owned or used beaches, recreation areas, and natural reserves is provided.  The legislature further finds that it is state policy to preserve, protect, and where possible, to restore the natural resources of the coastal zones of the State.  The legislature further finds that the 2023 Maui wildfires devastated Lahaina's heritage, economy, and sense of place, and has deeply affected housing, businesses, jobs, and treasured resources.  If the area is not rebuilt in a deliberate, coordinated, and expeditious manner, the area may languish in the long term, further affecting the well-being of the land, the people, and the economy.  However, there is an opportunity to rebuild Lahaina and the other parts of Maui that the wildfires destroyed as recognized in the Presidential Disaster Declaration:  by preserving and reintroducing its valued resources in a manner that reflects the values and priorities of its residents and businesses, and addresses future challenges, including climate change and affordable housing.

     The legislature further finds that the devastation caused by the 2023 Maui wildfires has created an urgent need for reconstruction efforts.  However, these efforts face significant challenges due to the skyrocketing costs of construction, which have reached nearly $1,000 per square foot within these disaster areas.

     The legislature also finds that the valuation thresholds for special management area permits, established in 2014, served the State well at the time; however, the significant increase in construction costs has led to a disproportionate number of permits being triggered based solely on valuation, creating undue burdens on both property owners and permitting authorities.  Without an adjustment, the process risks overwhelming permitting authorities and delaying the critical rebuilding of communities.  The legislature also acknowledges that the compounding challenges posed by other major disasters, including the 2024 Los Angeles fires, have further strained construction resources and regulatory capacities across the region.

     Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to facilitate recovery efforts on Maui by:

     (1)  Exempting certain reconstructions of all or a portion of a structure in the Lahaina National Historic Landmark District that was destroyed by wildfire on August 8, 2023, from the requirement of a special management area minor permit or a special management area use permit; and

     (2)  Increasing the valuation threshold for a special management area minor permit and a special management area use permit from $500,000 to $750,000.

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

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

     ""Development":

     (1)  Means any of the uses, activities, or operations on land or in or under water within a special management area that are included below:

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

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

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

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

          (E)  Construction, reconstruction, or alteration of the size of any structure; and

     (2)  Does not include the following:

          (A)  Construction or reconstruction of a single-family residence that is less than seven thousand five hundred square feet of floor area; is not situated on a shoreline parcel or a parcel that is impacted by waves, storm surges, high tide, or shoreline erosion; and is not part of a larger development;

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

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

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

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

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

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

          (H)  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, including all traditional fishpond and traditional agricultural practices;

          (I)  Transfer of title to land;

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

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

          (L)  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;

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

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

          (O)  Nonstructural improvements to existing commercial or noncommercial structures;

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

          (Q)  Installation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of public pedestrian and bicycle facilities, including sidewalks, paths, bikeways, crosswalks, stairs, ramps, traffic control barriers, signs, signals, and associated improvements;

          (R)  Trash removal or invasive vegetation removal or control, including incidental ground disturbance, excluding the use of herbicides;

          (S)  Installation of fencing, including associated improvements and incidental structures, for invasive species control or preservation of native habitats on conservation land;

          (T)  Installation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of lighting, fixtures, and equipment to establish compliance with current standards at existing public facilities;

          (U)  Installation, maintenance, repair, and replacement of security measures, including fencing, to existing public facilities; [and]

          (V)  Hawaiian traditional and customary practices, including work conducted by traditional means near, in, or related to loko iʻa, traditional Hawaiian fishponds; and

          (W)  Reconstruction of all or a portion of a structure in the Lahaina National Historic Landmark District that was destroyed by wildfire on August 8, 2023, that is not situated on a shoreline parcel and commences on or before August 8, 2028; provided that the reconstructed structure is not greater in size than what was existing or permitted, in the case of partial construction, immediately before August 8, 2023;

          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."

     2.  By amending the definitions of "special management area minor permit" and "special management area use permit" to read:

     ""Special management area minor permit" means an action by the authority authorizing development the valuation of which is not in excess of:

     (1)  $500,000; or

     (2)  $750,000; provided that the development is located within an area subject to a federal disaster proclamation as of August 8, 2023,

and which has no substantial adverse environmental or ecological effect, taking into account potential cumulative effects.

     "Special management area use permit" means an action by the authority authorizing development the valuation of which exceeds:

     (1)  $500,000; or

     (2)  750,000; provided that the development is located in an area subject to a federal disaster proclamation as of August 8, 2023,

or which may have a substantial adverse environmental or ecological effect, taking into account potential cumulative effects."

     SECTION 3.  If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the Act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are severable.

     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, 2025.

 

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

 

 

 

Report Title:

Maui County; Lahaina National Historic Landmark District; Reconstruction; Special Management Areas; Disaster Recovery; Wildfire Recovery

 

Description:

Exempts certain reconstructions of all or a portion of a structure in the Lahaina National Historic Landmark District that was destroyed by wildfire on 8/8/2023, from the requirements of a special management area minor permit or a special management area use permit.  Increases the valuation threshold of development subject to a special management area minor permit or a special management area use permit from $500,000 to $750,000 when it is located within an area subject to a federal disaster proclamation as of 8/8/2023.

 

 

 

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