AGRICULTURAL LANDS

     Section 3.  The State shall conserve and protect agricultural lands, promote diversified agriculture, increase agricultural self-sufficiency and assure the availability of agriculturally suitable lands.  The legislature shall provide standards and criteria to accomplish the foregoing.

     Lands identified by the State as important agricultural lands needed to fulfill the purposes above shall not be reclassified by the State or rezoned by its political subdivisions without meeting the standards and criteria established by the legislature and approved by a two-thirds vote of the body responsible for the reclassification or rezoning action. [Add Const Con 1978 and election Nov 7, 1978]

Law Journals and Reviews

  Maha`ulepu v. Land Use Commission:  A Symbol of Change; Hawaii's Land Use Law Allows Golf Course Development on Prime Agricultural Land by Special Use Permit.  13 UH L. Rev. 205.

  Is Agricultural Land in Hawai`i "Ripe" for a Takings Analysis?  24 UH L. Rev. 121.

  "Urban Type Residential Communities in the Guise of Agricultural Subdivisions:"  Addressing an Impermissible Use of Hawai`i's Agricultural District.  25 UH L. Rev. 199.

  Avoiding the Next Hokuli`a:  The Debate over Hawai`i's Agricultural Subdivisions.  27 UH L. Rev. 441.

  Crying Over Spilt Milk:  Recognizing Hawaii's Unique State Characteristics in the Context of the Dormant Commerce Clause.  32 UH L. Rev. 513 (2010).

Case Notes

  Unconstitutional if applied to deny importation of out-of-state goods for no reason other than goods traveled in interstate commerce.  590 F. Supp. 778.

  This section requires legislative action to become operative; the nature of the required legislative action, at the least, is the adoption of standards and criteria; because this section is not "complete in itself", it requires implementing legislation.  102 H. 465, 78 P.3d 1.

  Until standards and criteria for the preservation of agricultural lands are adopted by the legislature, this section is legally inoperative; thus, developer's lands could be rezoned without a two-thirds majority vote of the city council; trial court correctly ruled that passage of council rezoning bill by simple majority did not violate this section.  102 H. 465, 78 P.3d 1.

  This section does not require land use commission to stay land reclassification proceedings pending completion of the county important agricultural lands designation process, as this section is not self-executing and its plain language expresses no intent to require commission to stay reclassification proceedings pending formal identification of important agricultural lands.  136 H. 505, 364 P.3d 213 (2015).