HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.B. NO.

2526

TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

 

A BILL FOR AN ACT

 

 

RELATING TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

 

 

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

 


     SECTION 1.  In August 2007, Hawaii accepted an invitation by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to join the National Call to Action for Affordable Housing Through Regulatory Reform.  The Call to Action presented an opportunity for Hawaii to receive technical assistance from the federal government and collaborate with other states, counties, municipalities, and organizations to knock down the barriers imposed by governments in hopes of building more affordable housing.  Governor Lingle convened a statewide task force comprised of representatives from the counties, business, labor, developers, architects, nonprofit providers of services, the executive branch, and the legislature to carry out the mission of the Call to Action and recommend solutions to address barriers to affordable housing.  Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to implement the legislative recommendations of the task force.

     The State recognizes that the need for more affordable housing in Hawaii remains a significant problem affecting all segments of society.  Although there is a process in place that provides an opportunity for expedited state and county land use and zoning approvals for affordable housing projects, the ministerial permits that are issued subsequent to project approval may take a significant amount of time to issue.  This delay adds costs to the affordable housing project, ultimately affecting the buyer or renter, and lengthens the time it takes for the unit to be constructed and occupied.  Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to place standard timeframes on agency issuance of ministerial permits for approved affordable housing projects.

     SECTION 2.  Chapter 201H, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

     "§201H-    Ministerial permits; state and county review deadline.  (a)  State and county agencies shall issue any ministerial permits associated with any project approved pursuant to section 201H-38 or section 46-15.1 within forty-five days from the date of acceptance of the permit application; provided that the review procedure for ministerial permits performed by any state or county agency is limited to not more than two comprehensive reviews.

     (b)  For the purposes of this section, "ministerial permits" means any nondiscretionary permit for which the permit administrator needs to determine conformity with applicable ordinances before approving the project."

     SECTION 3.  New statutory material is underscored.

     SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2010.

 

INTRODUCED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

By Request


 


 

Report Title:

Affordable Housing; Forty-five-day review

 

Description:

Expedites the construction of affordable housing units by requiring ministerial permits associated with the project to be issued by the state or county within forty-five days of acceptance of the permit application for the project.

 

 

 

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