STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1169-22

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2022

RE: S.B. No. 2766

S.D. 1

Honorable Scott K. Saiki

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-First State Legislature

Regular Session of 2022

State of Hawaii

Sir:

Your Committee on Water & Land, to which was referred S.B. No. 2766, S.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO LAND USE,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to require the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development to perform a study to assess the rural district framework within the land use law and make recommendations for revisions to rural district policies and permissible uses within the rural district, including a legal analysis of regulatory issues and safeguards that must be addressed to facilitate the reclassification of lands from the agricultural district to the rural district.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Department of Agriculture, Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, Hawai‘i Farm Bureau, and two individuals. Your Committee received testimony in opposition to this measure from the Land Use Commission and one individual. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Department of Budget and Finance.

Your Committee finds that the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development completed a state land use review of districts report pursuant to section 205-18, Hawaii Revised Statutes, in January 2022, which found that the potential for preserving much of Hawaii's open space, rural communities, and working lands may be realized by redefining the policy framework for the rural district and facilitating the reclassification of lands from the agricultural to the rural district to accommodate lower-density rural settlement patterns and subsistence farming lifestyles. This measure would facilitate greater use of the rural district, distinguish rural communities and subsistence farms from working or commercial agricultural lands, and allow better protection of productive agricultural lands.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Water & Land that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 2766, S.D. 1, and recommends that it pass Second Reading and be referred to your Committee on Finance.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Water & Land,

____________________________

DAVID A. TARNAS, Chair