REPORT TITLE:
Land Use; Urbanization


DESCRIPTION:
Imposes a 4-year moratorium on the reclassification of
agricultural, conservation, and rural lands to a designation
other than agricultural, conservation, or rural.

 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
 
                                                        2844
HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES                H.B. NO.           
TWENTIETH LEGISLATURE, 2000                                
STATE OF HAWAII                                            
                                                             
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                   A  BILL  FOR  AN  ACT

RELATING TO LAND USE.



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

 1      SECTION 1.  The purpose of this Act is to:  (1) discourage
 
 2 any further noncontiguous urban development (i.e., urban sprawl);
 
 3 (2) encourage reinvestment in and the revitalization of existing
 
 4 urban lands; (3) protect existing agricultural, conservation, and
 
 5 rural lands; and (4) provide government and private entities and
 
 6 citizens time to systematically reexamine our overall land use
 
 7 policies and plans and to reestablish overall statewide land use
 
 8 priorities, by temporarily halting the urbanization of all
 
 9 agricultural, conservation, and rural lands.
 
10      Consequently, this Act temporarily prohibits the land use
 
11 commission and the county land use decision-making authorities
 
12 from accepting or approving petitions to reclassify lands
 
13 presently classified as agricultural, conservation, or rural
 
14 where the change would result in a designation other than
 
15 agricultural, conservation, or rural.
 
16      SECTION 2.  Section 205-3.1, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
17 amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:
 
18      "(b)  Any department or agency of the State, and department
 
19 or agency of the county in which the land is situated, or any
 

 
Page 2                                                     2844
                                     H.B. NO.           
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 person with a property interest in the land sought to be
 
 2 reclassified may petition the appropriate county land use
 
 3 decision-making authority of the county in which the land is
 
 4 situated for a change in the boundary of a district involving
 
 5 lands less than fifteen acres presently in the agricultural,
 
 6 rural, and urban districts.
 
 7      After June 30, 2000, the county land use decision-making
 
 8 authority shall not accept or approve petitions to reclassify
 
 9 lands presently classified as agricultural, conservation, or
 
10 rural, where the change would result in a designation other than
 
11 agricultural, conservation, or rural; provided that this
 
12 moratorium on the urbanization of agricultural, conservation, and
 
13 rural lands shall be repealed on June 30, 2004."
 
14      SECTION 3.  Section 205-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
 
15 amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:
 
16      "(a)  Any department or agency of the State, any department
 
17 or agency of the county in which the land is situated, or any
 
18 person with a property interest in the land sought to be
 
19 reclassified, may petition the land use commission for a change
 
20 in the boundary of a district.
 
21      After June 30, 2000, the land use commission shall not
 
22 accept or approve petitions to reclassify lands presently
 
23 classified as agricultural, conservation, or rural, where the
 

 
Page 3                                                     2844
                                     H.B. NO.           
                                                        
                                                        

 
 1 change would result in a designation other than agricultural,
 
 2 conservation, or rural; provided that this moratorium on the
 
 3 urbanization of agricultural, conservation, or rural lands shall
 
 4 be repealed on June 30, 2004.
 
 5      This section applies to all petitions for changes in
 
 6 district boundaries of lands within conservation districts and
 
 7 all petitions for changes in district boundaries involving lands
 
 8 greater than fifteen acres in the agricultural, rural, and urban
 
 9 districts, except as provided in section 201G-118.  The land use
 
10 commission shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 to implement
 
11 section 201G-118."
 
12      SECTION 4.  New statutory material is underscored.
 
13      SECTION 5.  This Act shall take effect upon its approval.
 
14 
 
15                           INTRODUCED BY:  _______________________