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Hawaii In 1961 Hawaii enacted and implemented the nation's first statewide planning system, commonly known as the state Land Use Law.(1) Hawaii again led the nation in 1978 when state legislators adopted a state plan as law. The State Land Use Commission remains actively engaged in managing land use under the four state land use districts — Urban, Rural, Agricultural, and Conservation. However, the Hawaii State Plan and its elaborate implementation structure have fallen into disuse. An all-encompassing goal document, the state plan is given lip service but has little practical effect. Although the Land Use Law has worked well to contain urban development and preserve lands in the Conservation district, there is concern about the spread of large-lot subdivisions in the Agricultural district and the lack of well-defined strategies for conserving important agricultural lands and scenic open space. Pressure to develop Agricultural district lands is rising because of extensive tourism development and the burgeoning market for vacation residences; the near-total loss of plantation agriculture; and the break-up of large family land trusts. An underlying part of agricultural and rural district discussions are fundamental concerns and issues involving whether the state or counties should control these areas. Last year in his state of the state address, Gov. Ben Cayetano called for a long-range analysis of the state's natural carrying capacity in order to create a strategic plan to address future growth.(2) However, when legislators approved a bill, S.B. 1473, providing for a special smart growth advisor to be appointed by the governor, the measure was vetoed. "This bill is unnecessary because existing laws already allow the Office of Planning to develop growth objectives and strategies, and advise the governor and legislature on planning matters," Gov. Cayetano stated in a press release last June explaining he vetoed the bill. "Furthermore, there is no need to statutorily establish a temporary advisory council with no appropriation of funds to operate." Several other legislative initiatives were introduced in 2001 but not seriously considered. One of these proposals would establish an Open Lands Task Force to evaluate the feasibility of implementing open lands protection under the state constitution.(3) Other proposals sought to establish a statewide greenways strategy, including creation of a steering committee to direct the strategy(4) and declare a temporary, four-year moratorium on reclassifying lands currently categorized as agricultural, conservation or rural.(5) The state's Land Use Law has changed little from its original form, although a 1978 amendment to the Hawaii State Constitution mandated the legislature to define and map "important agricultural lands." The legislature has sponsored development of a Land Evaluation and Site Assessment system, but has yet to act on the mandate. Nor has the legislature approved other reform proposals, chief among them:
At the outset of 2002, policymakers' attention is occupied by a struggling economy, failing statewide school system, state budget problems, native Hawaiian issues, conflicts over water resources, and highway traffic problems on the four major islands. As to the Land Use Law, there is little consensus over its problems and, for the time being, nothing to galvanize a constituency to advocate reforms. With 2002 a gubernatorial election year in Hawaii, serious attempts to amend the Land Use Law are not likely before 2003.
1. Codified as Chapter 205, Hawaii Revised Statutes. 2. Wells, Barbara. "Governors' Smart Growth Initiatives." Northeast-Midwest Institute, July 2001, p.7. See: http://www.sprawlwatch.org/frames.html. 3. S.C.R.86 SD1, Sen. Chun, 2001. 5. H.B. 1455, Rep. Case, 2001.
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