STAND. COM. REP. NO. 153

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2005

RE: H.B. No. 1368

 

 

 

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. 1368 entitled:

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

beg leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this bill is to establish a process to better define the rural district. This bill establishes a process to:

(1) Develop recommendations at the county level for more effective state and county rural land use policies and development standards;

(2) Map lands recommended for reclassification to the rural districts; and

(3) Begin a one-time, set of proceedings for the proposed district boundary amendments.

The Land Use Commission, Department of Agriculture, and Land Use Research Foundation testified in support of the bill. The Department of Land and Natural Resources and Department of Business, Economic Development, and Tourism testified in support of the bill's intent. The Department of Planning and Permitting for the City and County of Honolulu, Office of Hawaiian Affairs,

Native Hawaiian Legal Corporation, Protect Keopuka Ohana, and several individuals testified in opposition to the bill. The Office of Information Practices, Sierra Club, KAHEA: The Hawaiian-Environmental Alliance, and Hawaii's Thousand Friends provided comments on the bill.

Your Committees find that this bill establishes a process to create a viable state land use rural district, as well as initiates and funds a boundary review program that enables broader use of the rural district for agricultural and non-agricultural purposes.

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. 1368 and recommend that it pass Second Reading 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