SB755

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	755
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating to special management areas.

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

SECTION 1. 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;

(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;

(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 iʻa, traditional Hawaiian fishponds;

provided that whenever the [~~authority~~] county 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 definition of "special management area emergency permit" to read:

""Special management area emergency permit" means an action by the [~~authority~~] county authorizing development in cases of emergency requiring immediate action to prevent substantial physical harm to persons or property or to allow the reconstruction of structures damaged by natural hazards to their original form; provided that those structures were previously found to be in compliance with requirements of the National Flood Insurance Program."

3. By amending the definition of "special management area minor permit" to read:

""Special management area minor permit" means an action by the [~~authority~~] county authorizing development the valuation of which is not in excess of $500,000 and which has no substantial adverse environmental or ecological effect, taking into account potential cumulative effects."

4. By amending the definition of "special management area use permit" to read:

""Special management area use permit" means an action by the [~~authority~~] county authorizing development the valuation of which exceeds $500,000 or which may have a substantial adverse environmental or ecological effect, taking into account potential cumulative effects."

5. By amending the definition of "valuation" to read:

""Valuation" shall be determined by the [~~authority~~] county and means the estimated cost to replace the structure in kind based on current replacement costs, or in the cases of other development as defined above, the fair market value of the development."

SECTION 2. Section 205A-23, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:

"(c) Nothing in this chapter shall preclude the [~~authority~~] county from amending its special management area boundary at any point in time; provided that the procedures and requirements outlined in subsection (b) shall be complied with; [~~and~~] provided further that any future special management area boundary adjustments shall be restricted to the coastal zone management area."

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~~] each county 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~~] county 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 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, beaches, coastal dunes, and scenic and recreational amenities and minimize impacts from floods, wind damage, storm surge, landslides, erosion, sea level rise, siltation, or failure in the event of earthquake.

(2) No development shall be approved unless the [~~authority~~] county has first found:

(A) That the development will not have any significant adverse environmental or ecological effect, except as any adverse effect is minimized to the extent practicable and clearly outweighed by public health, safety, or compelling public interests. Those adverse effects shall include but not be limited to the potential cumulative impact of individual developments, each of which taken by itself might not have a significant 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, community plan, and zoning; provided that a finding of consistency shall not preclude concurrent processing where a general plan, community plan, or zoning amendment may also be required.

(3) The [~~authority~~] county 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 that would reduce the size of any beach or other area usable for public recreation;

(C) Any development 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 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 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. Section 205A-27, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§205A-27 Designation of special management area authority. [~~The authority~~] Each county is designated the special management area authority within the county's respective jurisdiction and is authorized to carry out the objectives, policies and procedures of this part."

SECTION 5. Section 205A-29, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§205A-29 Special management area use permit procedure. (a) [~~The authority in each county,~~] Each county, upon consultation with the county's central coordinating agency, shall adopt rules under chapter 91 setting the special management area use permit application procedures, conditions under which hearings must be held, and the time periods within which the hearing and action for special management area use permits shall occur. The [~~authority~~] county shall provide [~~for~~] adequate notice to individuals whose property rights may be adversely affected and to persons who have requested in writing to be notified of special management area use permit hearings or applications. The [~~authority~~] county shall also provide public notice that is, at a minimum, circulated throughout the county at least twenty days in advance of the hearing. The [~~authority~~] county may require a reasonable filing fee which shall be used for the purposes set forth herein.

Any rule adopted by the [~~authority~~] county shall be consistent with the objectives, policies, and special management area guidelines provided in this chapter. Action on the special management permit shall be final unless otherwise mandated by court order.

(b) No agency authorized to issue permits pertaining to any development within the special management area shall authorize any development unless approval is first received in accordance with the procedures adopted pursuant to this part. For the purposes of this subsection, the county general plan, state land use district boundary amendments, and zoning changes are not permits."

SECTION 6. Section 205A-30, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§205A-30 Emergency and minor permits. Each county [~~authority~~] shall provide specific procedures consistent with this part for the issuance of special management area emergency permits or special management area minor permits, pursuant to the procedural requirements within this part, and judicial review from the grant and denial thereof. The lead agency shall file notice of special management area minor permits in the next available issue of the periodic bulletin of the office of planning and sustainable development."

SECTION 7. Section 205A-30.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (c) to read as follows:

"(c) The [~~authority~~] county shall adopt rules under chapter 91 setting forth procedures for implementing this section."

SECTION 8. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 9. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED BY:	_____________________________

Report Title:

Special Management Areas; Counties; Jurisdiction

Description:

Designates each county as the special management area authority within the county's respective jurisdiction. Makes conforming amendments.

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

SB 755: RELATING TO SPECIAL MANAGEMENT AREAS.

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