SB2401 HD2

SECTION 1. The legislature finds that Hawaii's beaches and shorelines are some of the State's most critical public assets. Public beaches often define their surrounding communities and are invaluable assets at the center of Hawaii's economy and way of life for local residents. However, accelerating shoreline erosion, wave impacts, and coastal hazards are threatening public beaches, shoreline properties, and infrastructure across the State. Given these impacts, effective shoreline planning for the short- and long-term will require collaboration among communities and regional shoreline property owners and interagency coordination.

The legislature further finds that the office of planning and sustainable development serves a statewide planning and coordination role and is well-positioned to facilitate interagency coordination and regional shoreline planning efforts.

The legislature also finds that a statewide framework is needed to support the development and adoption of short- and long-term shoreline management plans and the use of collective financing mechanisms for regional shoreline management property acquisition and projects. Adaptation pathways planning to address sea level rise and preserve the State's beaches provides a mechanism to propose both short- and long-term solutions, including beach management and erosion mitigation; retreat from the coastline; and time for planning and implementation of these solutions.

The purpose of this Act is to establish a statewide shoreline adaptation pathways planning framework under chapter 225M, Hawaii Revised Statutes, by creating regional shoreline mitigation districts that can work together to develop adaptation pathways plans.

SECTION 2. Chapter 225M, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows:

"§225M- Shoreline adaptation pathways planning. (a) The office shall serve in a planning and coordination role to develop shoreline adaptation pathways plans for designated regional shoreline mitigation districts. The office shall:

(1) Identify and designate regional shoreline mitigation districts comprised primarily of contiguous shoreline and shoreline-adjacent properties based on criteria that include but are not limited to traditional ahupuaa designation, interrelated coastal processes; documented and predicted erosion rates, and functional connection of sediment cells or littoral subcells, for the purposes of implementing coordinated shoreline protection and adaptation planning;

(2) Assist state and county permitting and regulatory agencies by facilitating participation by community stakeholders; shoreline property owners; state, county, and federal agencies; and others as may be appropriate in the planning process; and

(3) Provide technical assistance and planning guidance in the preparation of shoreline adaptation pathways plans specific to each designated regional shoreline mitigation district, which may include structural or non-structural, nature-based, hybrid, temporary, or permanent measures including beach and dune restoration, armoring, elevating and floodproofing infrastructure, relocation, or retreat, to prioritize the preservation of public beaches.

(b) Any shoreline adaptation pathway identified or proposed in the shoreline adaptation pathways plan shall prioritize the preservation of public beaches and dunes and shall provide, protect, and maintain lateral public beach access along the shoreline."

SECTION 3. Section 183C-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

"§183C-6 Permits and site plan approvals. (a) The department shall regulate land use in the conservation district by the issuance of permits.

(b) The department shall render a decision on a completed application for a permit within one hundred eighty days of its acceptance by the department. If within one hundred eighty days after acceptance of a completed application for a permit, the department [~~shall fail~~] fails to give notice, hold a hearing, and render a decision, the owner may automatically put the owner's land to the use or uses requested in the owner's application. When an environmental impact statement is required pursuant to chapter 343, or when a contested case hearing is requested pursuant to chapter 91, the one hundred eighty days shall be extended an additional ninety days beyond the time necessary to complete the requirements of chapter 343 or chapter 91. Any request for additional extensions by the applicant shall be subject to the approval of the board.

(c) The department shall hold a public hearing in every case involving the proposed use of land for commercial purposes, at which hearing interested persons shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to be heard. Public notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be given at least once statewide and in the county in which the property is located. The notice shall be given [~~not less~~] no later than twenty days [~~prior to~~] before the date set for the hearing. The hearing shall be held in the county in which the land is located and may be delegated to an agent or representative of the board as may otherwise be provided by law and in accordance with rules adopted by the board. For the purposes of its public hearing or hearings, the department shall have the power to summon witnesses, administer oaths, and require the giving of testimony. As used in this subsection, the term "commercial purposes" shall not include the use of land for utility purposes.

(d) The department shall regulate the construction, reconstruction, demolition, or alteration of any structure, building, or facility by the issuance of site plan approvals.

(e) Any permit for the reconstruction, restoration, repair, or use of any Hawaiian fishpond exempted from the requirements of chapter 343 under section 183B-2 shall provide for compliance with the conditions of section 183B-2.

(f) Where a conservation district use permit application involves shoreline adaptation pathways within a designated regional shoreline mitigation district pursuant to section 225M- , the applicant shall submit a shoreline adaptation pathways plan to the board as part of the application. The board may approve shoreline adaptation pathways consistent with the shoreline adaptation pathways plan. Nothing in this subsection shall limit the board's authority or discretion to approve, impose conditions on, or deny the application.

(g) The board may authorize a permit for temporary shoreline hardening structures where an imminently dangerous shoreline condition affecting a structure has extended beyond the period authorized under an emergency permit. The applicant shall demonstrate a concerted effort to develop or implement a long-term shoreline adaptation solution that will allow the temporary erosion control measures to be removed.

As used in this subsection, "concerted effort" means a bona fide planning effort to develop and implement a shoreline adaptation pathways plan using shoreline adaptation pathways within a regional shoreline mitigation district pursuant to section 225M- ."

SECTION 4. If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the Act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are severable.

SECTION 5. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 3000.

THE SENATE	S.B. NO.	2401
THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII		H.D. 2