STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1644
Honolulu, Hawaii
, 2005
RE: S.C.R. No. 51
S.D. 1
Honorable Robert Bunda
President of the Senate
Twenty-Third State Legislature
Regular Session of 2005
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 51 entitled:
"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION REQUESTING A REVIEW AND ANALYSIS OF THE ISSUES SURROUNDING THE SHORELINE CERTIFICATION PROCESS FOR THE PURPOSE OF ESTABLISHING SHORELINE SETBACKS,"
begs leave to report as follows:
The purpose of this measure is to review and analyze the issues surrounding the shoreline certification process for establishing shoreline setbacks.
The Department of Accounting and General Services (DAGS), the Department of Land and Natural Resources (DLNR), and the Office of Hawaiian Affairs submitted testimony in support of this measure.
The State and the counties have established a shoreline setback system to ensure that construction of buildings near the shoreline do not adversely affect beach processes and public access along the shoreline. Two major components of the system include determining the location of the shoreline by the shoreline certification process and then regulating the established setback requirements from the certification shoreline.
The DLNR, together with DAGS through its Land Survey Division, is responsible for determining the location of the shoreline, while the counties are responsible for regulating uses within the shoreline setback areas. Recently, the DLNR amended its shoreline certification rules; however, the amendments did not address some of the more complicated issues involving the certification process. Thus, this measure requests the DLNR to conduct a review of the issues surrounding the shoreline certification process for the purpose of shoreline certification setbacks.
Specifically, this measure requests:
(1) A working group to be convened to review the current laws and administrative rules and the issues regarding implementing the laws and rules;
(2) The working group to make recommendations to address the problems and issues; and
(3) The DLNR to submit a report to the Legislature no later than twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2006.
Your Committee noted that in 2003, the Marine and Coastal Zone Advocacy Council (MACZAC) convened a Shoreline Working Group. The working group made a series of recommendations, which included:
(1) Using the highest waves of the year to determine the location of the shoreline;
(2) Not using planted or altered vegetation to determine the location of the shoreline; and
(3) Improving public notification requirements.
Your Committee believes that the efforts of the MACZAC working group are important. The working group convening pursuant to this measure should not duplicate the results of MACZAC's working group; rather, this measure's working group should build upon the MACZAC's 1993 recommendations.
Your Committee has amended this measure by:
(1) Adding information regarding the 1993 MACZAC working group's recommendations;
(2) Including a representative from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and MACZAC and environmental and cultural organizations to participate in the working group; and
(3) Providing that certified copies of this measure will be transmitted to the Administrator of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs and MACZAC.
As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture that is attached to this report, your Committee concurs with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 51, as amended herein, and recommends its adoption in the form attached hereto as S.C.R. No. 51, S.D. 1.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water, Land, and Agriculture,
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____________________________ RUSSELL S. KOKUBUN, Chair |
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