HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

COMMITTEE ON FINANCE
Rep. Marcus R. Oshiro, Chair
Rep. Marilyn B. Lee, Vice Chair

HEARING on HB 2807
DATE: FRIDAY, February 22, 2008
TIME: 1:00 P.M.
PLACE: Conference Room 308

I oppose the concept behind HB 2807 and urge you to HOLD this bill.

The concept of packaging a designation of important agricultural lands (80%) with a reclassification of other lands (20%) of the same landowner to urban or rural district is a distorted way to promote either rationale land use planning or protection of agriculture. While the packaging is supposed to be consistent with land use plans, there is a basic flaw in presuming that affordable housing belongs on land currently classified for the Ag District. This notion completely ignores the fact that the State Office of Pllanning recently found that there are tens of thousands of acres of lands already classified Urban that are available for housing development.

http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/site1/docs/getstatus2.asp?billno=HB2807
Generated on 2/22/2008 12:33:40 PM
Measure Title:
RELATING TO LAND USE.
Report Title:
Land Use; Rural or Urban Districts; Important Agricultural Lands
Description:
Provides two incentives to landowners who designate their land as important agricultural lands by allowing a landowner: (1) who has designated important agricultural lands to satisfy state- or county-imposed affordable housing assessments in the rural district; (2) to submit a petition for a declaratory order from the land use commission to combine the designation of important agricultural lands with the reclassification of agricultural land to the rural or urban district. (HB2807 HD1)
Package:
None
Companion:
Introducer(s):
TSUJI, BROWER, HERKES, KARAMATSU, MIZUNO, SONSON, TAKAI, YAMASHITA, Awana, Chong, Har, Nakasone
Current Referral:
WLH/AGR, FIN