STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1430

 

Honolulu, Hawaii

                   

 

RE:     H.B. No. 1403

        H.D. 2

        S.D. 1

 

 

 

Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi

President of the Senate

Thirtieth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2019

State of Hawaii

 

Sir:

 

     Your Committees on Housing and Agriculture and Environment, to which was referred H.B. No. 1403, H.D. 2, entitled:

 

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HOUSING,"

 

beg leave to report as follows:

 

     The purpose and intent of this measure is to:

 

     (1)  Require the automatic approval of a permit application submitted for a housing development project that uses monies from the rental housing revolving fund if a county does not issue a decision within sixty days; and

 

     (2)  Exempt projects that are automatically approved from environmental assessment and impact statement requirements.

 

     Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Catholic Charities Hawaii, Hawaii Kai Homeless Task Force, Faith Action for Community Equity, Building Industry Association of Hawaii, Faith Action, and Chamber of Commerce Hawaii.  Your Committees received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Office of Environmental Quality Control, City and County of Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting, and three individuals.  Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation and State Environmental Council.

 

     Your Committees find that there is an insufficient amount of affordable housing available in the State, leading to a number of residents leaving Hawaii in search of more affordable living situations.  Your Committees further find that one of the largest obstacles to the development of affordable housing is the permitting delays for developers to begin their affordable housing projects.  Streamlining the development of affordable housing by instituting an automatic approval under certain circumstances will expedite the construction and development of affordable housing for residents of the State.

 

     Your Committees note the concerns of the Office of Environmental Quality Control regarding the need for a balance between encouraging the development of affordable housing and maintaining the environmental quality of the State and the uncertainty about what actions would fall under state law or rules adopted by the Department of Health, as required under this measure.

 

     Accordingly, your Committees have amended this measure by:

 

     (1)  Clarifying that certain housing project applications shall be approved or disapproved within sixty days of filing a building permit application, rather than within sixty days of submitting a completed application;

 

     (2)  Deleting language that would have exempted certain housing projects from the environmental assessment and impact statement requirements;

 

     (3)  Deleting language that would have repealed the statutory exemption of certain housing projects from the environmental impact statement requirements upon the adoption of Department of Health administrative rules regarding exemptions from the environmental assessment and impact statement requirements; and

 

     (4)  Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity and consistency.

 

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Housing and Agriculture and Environment that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1403, H.D. 2, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1403, H.D. 2, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Ways and Means.

 

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Housing and Agriculture and Environment,

 

________________________________

MIKE GABBARD, Chair

 

________________________________

STANLEY CHANG, Chair