Lawmakers are advancing a bill to amend the permitting process for certain coastal residences despite pushback from some conservation groups and community members.
A Special Management Agency minor permit is required for developments within the shoreline setback area that are valued at $500,000 or less.
House Bill 732 would increase that cut-off to $750,000 for single-family homes no larger than 3,500 square feet, which the supporters say would streamline the permitting process and account for inflation. It was last increased from $125,000 in 2011.
The state Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, the City and County of Honolulu, and Maui County support the measure.
But Earthjustice and others are wary of loosening the permitting requirements.
"There's nothing minor about authorizing development and rebuilds along our coastlines," said Earthjustice attorney Elena Bryant while testifying in opposition to the measure before the Senate Water and Land Committee in March.
"We should be carefully and rigorously analyzing any proposed development within our shoreline areas to ensure that permitted activity does not result in the permanent loss of valuable shoreline resources or adversely affect public access. That's what our SMA permitting program was intended to do."
County agencies are required by law to determine that a proposed development has no adverse environmental impacts before granting an SMA minor permit. But some raised concerns that developers were circumventing the process altogether.
"We face many challenges with the SMA and the way it’s evaluated right now," said Racquel Achiu, a member of Oʻahu’s North Shore Neighborhood Board who testified on the measure as an individual.
"Developers, whether they are local and/or out-of-state, are absolutely evading the purpose and protections that the SMA process provides," she said.
The measure passed out of its final committee on Thursday and will be heading to the Senate floor for a full vote.
