HB 1181: RELATING TO COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT.

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

     SECTION 1.  Section 205A-22, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the definition of "development" to read as follows:

     ""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 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 i`a, traditional Hawaiian fishponds; and

          (W)  Reconstruction of any lawfully constructed structure that was damaged or destroyed in a disaster proclaimed by the governor or a mayor to constitute a state of emergency or local state of emergency under section 127A-14; provided that the structure is not situated on a shoreline parcel or a parcel that is impacted by waves, storm surges, high tide, or shoreline erosion and the reconstructed structure is similar to its original footprint or the overall dimensions that were existing or permitted and in compliance with the requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program;

          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 2.  This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

     SECTION 3.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 3000.

Report Title:

Coastal Zone Management; Development; Definition

Description:

Excludes from the definition of "development" used for purposes of coastal zone management the reconstruction of certain structures that were damaged or destroyed in a disaster proclaimed to be a state of emergency or local state of emergency, under certain conditions.  Effective 7/1/3000.  (HD1)

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

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT.

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

     SECTION 1.  Section 205A-22, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending the definition of "development" to read as follows:

     ""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 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 i`a, traditional Hawaiian fishponds; and

          (W)  Reconstruction of any lawfully constructed structure that is not situated on a shoreline parcel or a parcel that is impacted by waves, storm surges, high tide, or shoreline erosion, substantively similar to its original footprint or overall dimensions that were damaged or destroyed in a disaster proclaimed by the governor or a mayor to constitute a state of emergency or local state of emergency under section 127A-14; provided that the disaster is not related to tsunami, wave, storm surge, high tide, flooding, erosion, sea level rise, or subsidence;

          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 2.  This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

     SECTION 3.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2025.

Report Title:

Coastal Zone Management; Development; Definition

Description:

Narrows the scope of the definition of the term "development" in coastal zone management law by excluding reconstruction of certain lawfully constructed structures impacted by certain events.

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

STAND. COM. REP. NO.  353

Honolulu, Hawaii

                , 2025

RE:   H.B. No. 1181

      H.D. 1

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2025

State of Hawaii

Madame:

     Your Committee on Water & Land, to which was referred H.B. No. 1181 entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO COASTAL ZONE MANAGEMENT,"

begs leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to exclude the reconstruction of certain lawfully constructed structures that were damaged by certain types of disasters from the definition of "development" for coastal zone management purposes.

     Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of the Mayor of the County of Maui; one member of the Maui County Council; Maui Chamber of Commerce; Lahaina Brewery, dba Koholā Brewery; Chamber of Commerce Hawaii; Grassroot Institute of Hawaii; and numerous individuals.  Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development.

     Your Committee finds that reconstruction after a disaster requires the rebuilding of all aspects of a community, from small residential homes to larger commercial buildings.  Your Committee further finds that most non-shoreline projects trigger a Special Management Area Major permit, a time-consuming process that can delay construction efforts.  Your Committee believes that expediting the reconstruction of structures in the aftermath of a disaster, as proposed by this measure, will enable impacted communities to recover without unnecessary delays. 

     Your Committee has amended this measure by:

     (1)  Replacing the types of reconstruction excluded from the definition of "development" with reconstruction of any lawfully constructed structure that was damaged or destroyed in a disaster proclaimed to be a state of emergency or local state of emergency; provided that the structure is not situated on a shoreline parcel or a parcel that is impacted by waves, storm surges, high tide, or shoreline erosion and the reconstructed structure is similar to its original footprint or the overall dimensions that were existing or permitted and is in compliance with the requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program; and

     (2)  Changing the effective date to July 1, 3000, to encourage further discussion.

     As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water & Land that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1181, as amended herein, and recommends that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1181, H.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water & Land,