STAND. COM. REP. NO. 475
Honolulu, Hawaii
RE: S.B. No. 1170
S.D. 1
Honorable Ronald D. Kouchi
President of the Senate
Thirty-Third State Legislature
Regular Session of 2025
State of Hawaii
Sir:
Your Committees on Housing and Water and Land, to which was referred S.B. No. 1170 entitled:
"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO THE EXPEDITIOUS REDEVELOPMENT AND DEVELOPMENT OF AFFORDABLE RENTAL HOUSING,"
beg leave to report as follows:
The purpose and intent of this measure is to exempt certain affordable rental housing projects in the County of Maui from the requirements of Chapter 205A, Hawaii Revised Statutes.
Your Committees received testimony in support of this measure from the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation, Hawaii Public Housing Authority, Lāhainā Strong, Hale Mahaolu, KCOM Corp., Pacific Commercial Realty Corp., EAH Housing, Maui Chamber of Commerce, and one individual.
Your Committees received comments on this measure from the Department of the Attorney General.
Your Committees find that the urgent revitalization of Maui County is necessary following the devastating August 2023 wildfires. Granting discretion to issue certain permits, which can usually take over a year to process, will help address the chronic housing shortage and alleviate the strain on renters.
Noting the Constitutional concerns
raised in testimony, your Committees have amended this measure by:
(1) Deleting language that would have identified specific affordable housing project developments in Maui County;
(2) Specifying
that the Director of Planning of each county may issue a special management
area use permit for housing that has been substantially destroyed as a result
of a disaster declared by the Governor or a Mayor as a state of emergency or
local state of emergency under Chapter 127A, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to
develop mixed-use permanent affordable multi-family rental housing on state
lands and lands related to the recovery of a disaster;
(3) Inserting language requiring administrative review of compliance with the
National Register or Hawaii Register;
(4) Retaining land entitlements, exemptions, and
waivers for certain lands specified in Maui County Ordinance No. 2120
(1992); and
(5) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments
for the purposes of clarity and consistency.
As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Housing and Water and Land that are attached to this report, your Committees are in accord with the intent and purpose of S.B. No. 1170, as amended herein, and recommend that it pass Second Reading in the form attached hereto as S.B. No. 1170, S.D. 1, and be referred to your Committee on Judiciary.
Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Housing and Water and Land,
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________________________________ LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair |
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________________________________ STANLEY CHANG, Chair |