STAND. COM. REP. NO. 373

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: H.B. No. 109

H.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Calvin K.Y. Say

Speaker, House of Representatives

Twenty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2005

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committees on Water, Land, & Ocean Resources and Agriculture, to which was referred H.B. No. 109 entitled:

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

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to establish a presumption that a dwelling in an agricultural district is not a permissible farm dwelling if certain nonagricultural features in a subdivision or development are determined to be present.

The Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Sierra Club, Hawaii Chapter, Life of the Land, Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, Hawaii's Thousand Friends, and a concerned individual testified in support of this bill. The Department of Land and Natural Resources, Department of Agriculture, Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, Hawaii Association of Realtors, and Land Use Research Foundation of Hawaii opposed this bill. The Land Use Commission provided comments on the bill.

Your Committees find that this bill will protect Hawaii's farmers and the land they farm from increased land speculation and development of fake farms or gentlemen's estates, which are often done for the purposes of gaining unfair tax relief. This bill will ensure lands zoned for agriculture will be appropriately used for farming purposes.

Your Committees have amended this bill by:

(1) Specifying prohibited activities and uses in the land use agricultural district including golf courses, covenants restricting otherwise permitted agricultural uses, hotels, and homes that are not compatible or accessory to agricultural activities;

(2) Restricting land in agricultural district to only uses compatible with statutorily permitted activities in the district and repealing the county's authority to further define accessory agricultural uses and services;

(3) Grandfathering lawful land uses and buildings as of the effective date of this Act; and

(4) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for clarity, consistency, and style.

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. 109, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 109, H.D. 1, and be referred to the Committee on Economic Development & Business Concerns.

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

 

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FELIPE P. ABINSAY, JR., Chair

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EZRA R. KANOHO, Chair