Repeals the permitted use in residential areas of drug rehabilitation homes. Clarifies that no zoning permit shall be issued for the operation of a drug rehabilitation home unless a public informational meeting is held in the affected community.

A BILL FOR AN ACT

SECTION 1. Section 46-15.39, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is repealed.

[[§46-15.39] Drug rehabilitation homes; permitted use in residential areas. (a) For purposes of section 46-4, a drug rehabilitation home shall be considered a residential use of property and shall be a permitted use in residentially designated zones including, but not limited to, zones for single-family dwellings. No conditional use, permit, variance, or special exception shall be required for a residence used as a drug rehabilitation home.

(b) No drug rehabilitation home under subsection (a) shall be permitted unless a public informational meeting is first held in the affected community by the department of health.

(c) For purposes of this section, "drug rehabilitation home" means any facility that accommodates no more than ten unrelated persons and is operated by a community-based nonprofit agency licensed by the department of health, whose purpose is to facilitate the development of residential supportive living homes for persons in recovery from substance abuse. Drug rehabilitation homes include "clean and sober homes" that provide a structured environment of clean and sober living conditions to sustain recovery and "transitional living homes" that provide a supervised structured environment of clean and sober living conditions to sustain recovery.]

SECTION 2. Section 46-4, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by amending subsection (e) to read as follows:

"(e) No permit shall be issued by a county agency for the operation of a halfway house or a drug rehabilitation home unless a public informational meeting is first held in the affected community. The State shall provide notification and access to relevant information, as required, under chapter 846E.

For the purposes of this subsection, "drug rehabilitation home" means any facility that accommodates no more than ten unrelated persons and is operated by a community-based nonprofit agency licensed by the department of health, whose purpose is to facilitate the development of residential supportive living homes for persons in recovery from substance abuse. A drug rehabilitation home includes "clean and sober homes" that provide a structured environment of clean and sober living conditions to sustain recovery and "transitional living homes" that provide a supervised structured environment of clean and sober living conditions to sustain recovery."

SECTION 3. The amendments in this Act shall not apply to any drug rehabilitation home in existence prior to the effective date of this Act.

SECTION 4. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 5. This Act shall take effect upon its approval.