Prevents private or public restrictions that are not for protecting environmental and cultural resources from being placed on agricultural lands. (SD1)

A BILL FOR AN ACT

SECTION 1. Section 205-4.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (b) to read as follows:

"(b) Uses not expressly permitted in subsection (a) shall be prohibited, except the uses permitted as provided in sections 205-6 and 205-8, and construction of single-family dwellings on lots existing before June 4, 1976. Any other law to the contrary notwithstanding, no subdivision of land within the agricultural district with soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A or B shall be approved by a county unless the said A and B lands within the subdivision shall be made subject to the restriction on uses as prescribed in this section and to the condition that the uses shall be primarily in pursuit of an agricultural activity.

Agricultural uses shall not be restricted by any servitude, including but not limited to covenants, easements, or equitable and reciprocal negative servitudes placed on any lands classified as agricultural by existing law. Any such private restriction limiting or prohibiting agricultural uses shall be voided, except for public or private restrictions taken to protect environmental or cultural resources.

Any deed, lease, agreement of sale, mortgage, or other instrument of conveyance covering any land within the agricultural subdivision shall expressly contain the restriction on uses and the condition as prescribed in this section which restriction and condition shall be encumbrances running with the land until such time that the land is reclassified to a land use district other than agricultural district.

If the foregoing requirement of encumbrances running with the land jeopardizes the owner or lessee from obtaining mortgage financing from any of the mortgage lending agencies set forth hereinbelow, and said requirement is the sole reason for failure to obtain mortgage financing, then such requirement of encumbrances shall, insofar as such mortgage financing is so jeopardized, be conditionally waived by the appropriate county enforcement officer; provided that such conditional waiver shall thereafter become effective only in the event that the property is subjected to foreclosure proceedings by the mortgage lender.

The mortgage lending agencies mentioned hereinabove are the Federal Housing Administration, Federal National Mortgage Association, Veterans Administration, Small Business Administration, United States Department of Agriculture, Federal Land Bank of Berkeley, Federal Intermediate Credit Bank of Berkeley, Berkeley Bank for Cooperatives, and any other federal, state, or private mortgage lending agency qualified to do business in Hawaii, and their respective successors and assigns."

SECTION 2. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 3. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.