STAND. COM. REP. NO. 578-26

Honolulu, Hawaii

, 2026

RE: H.B. No. 1710

H.D. 2

Honorable Nadine K. Nakamura

Speaker, House of Representatives

Thirty-Third State Legislature

Regular Session of 2026

State of Hawaii

Madame:

Your Committee on Housing, to which was referred H.B. No. 1710, H.D. 1, entitled:

"A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO HISTORIC PRESERVATION,"

begs leave to report as follows:

The purpose of this measure is to authorize the State Historic Preservation Division to conduct phased reviews for certain private property projects and to amend the process and deadlines by which the Division must issue written concurrence or non‑concurrence on project effect determinations.

Your Committee received testimony in support of this measure from the Office of the Governor Recovery and Resiliency; Department of Land and Natural Resources; Office of Planning and Sustainable Development; one member of the Kauaʻi County Council; Department of Planning and Permitting of the City and County of Honolulu; Hawaiʻi Association of REALTORS; NAIOP Hawaii; ABC Stores; Laborers & Employers Cooperation and Education Trust; General Contractors Association of Hawaii; Housing Hawaiʻi's Future; AARP Hawaii; The Avalon Group; Grassroot Institute of Hawaii; Hawaii Government Employees Association, AFSCME Local 152, AFL-CIO; Stanford Carr Development, LLC; gerdel.studio LLC; and seven individuals. Your Committee received comments on this measure from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs.

Your Committee finds that lengthy and inconsistent historic preservation reviews, often worsened by incomplete submittals and unpredictable processing timelines, contribute to significant delays in housing production and infrastructure planning across the State. Your Committee further finds that while there is strong interest in modernizing the historic preservation review framework, concerns have also been raised about the risk of inadvertent disturbance to iwi kupuna and other historic resources if reviews are not conducted with clear standards, full information, and adequate safeguards. Your Committee believes that establishing defined timelines, ensuring complete submittals, and allowing phased review in appropriate circumstances will create a more predictable and transparent process that supports timely development, while also maintaining necessary protections for historic and cultural resources.

Your Committee has amended this measure by:

(1) Clarifying that for privately owned historic property, if after the applicable timeframe the Department of Land and Natural Resources fails to provide written concurrence or non-concurrence, the property owner may assume the Department's concurrence and move to the next step in the compliance process;

(2) Specifying that the Department of Land and Natural Resources has ninety calendar days, or thirty calendar days if no historic properties are adversely affected by the proposed project, to provide written concurrence or non-concurrence; and

(3) Making technical, nonsubstantive amendments for the purposes of clarity, consistency, and style.

As affirmed by the record of votes of the members of your Committee on Housing that is attached to this report, your Committee is in accord with the intent and purpose of H.B. No. 1710, H.D. 1, as amended herein, and recommends that it be referred to your Committee on Finance in the form attached hereto as H.B. No. 1710, H.D. 2.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committee on Housing,

____________________________

LUKE A. EVSLIN, Chair