House bill advances to speed up historic preservation reviews of development projects
By a 5-2 vote, the House Committee on Housing passed a bill Friday aimed at removing lengthy historic property reviews from delaying housing developments.
House Bill 738 would set a 90-day time limit for an agency to concur or not with project effect determinations. It provides that projects with written concurrence are exempt from further review unless there’s a significant change to the project or additional historic properties, aviation artifacts or burial sites within the project area. The measure would also authorize lead agencies, including county governments, to make determinations on the potential effects of a project.
The bill would create a process for expediting the review of residential transit-oriented development on certain parcels within county-designated transit oriented development zones that have a low risk of affecting historically significant resources.
The measure appears aimed at removing one of the “systemic barriers” identified in a report by the Hawaiʻi Housing Finance and Development Corp. The report said such barriers in Hawaiʻi constrain housing production and lie at the root of the state’s housing shortage and residents’ high cost of living.
The report specifically cited lengthy reviews by the state Department of Land and Natural Resources’ State Historic Preservation Division (often known by the acronym SHPD) enforces legal requirements pertaining to potential effects on historic properties. The division has been chronically understaffed, which at least two vacancies, including an archaeologist on Maui. And the SHPD review process can add years to a project’s approval process.
The report noted that the state’s definition of a “historic property” subjects SHPD review to any building, structure, object, district, area or site which is 50 years or older, regardless of historical significance. Most construction in Hawaiʻi occurred in the mid-60s, after statehood in 1959. SHPD typically reviews between 2,400 and 2,700 permits a year, the report says.
In written public testimony, Board of Land and Natural Resources Chairwoman Dawn Chang said DLNR recognizes the need to streamline the historic preservation review process, and her testimony included suggestions to make the bill more effective.
Chang noted that the bill would allow projects that are large in scale or geographic area and require that they be completed in stages to allow department review in phases.
Dean Minakami, executive director of the Hawaiʻi Housing Finance and Development Corp., supported the bill, saying it helps with “efforts to streamline what has historically been a bottleneck in the development process and has slowed affordable housing projects, including those using the provisions of Chapter 201H, Hawaii Revised Statutes, to expedite development.”
“Expediting the review process for residential projects that have a low risk of affecting historically significant resources would help more affordable housing units be produced in a timely manner,” he said.
Committee members voting in favor of the bill included Chair Luke Evslin of Kaua’i and Vice Chair Tyson Miyake of Wailuku. Also voting “aye” were Oʻahu Reps. Tina Nakada Grandinetti, Darius Kila and Trish La Chica. Voting “no” were Oʻahu Reps. Christopher Muraoka and Elijah Pierick. West Maui Rep. Elle Cochran and Windward Oahu Rep. Lisa Kitagawa were excused.
The committee meeting can be viewed on YouTube here.