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Committee advances bill setting 90-day historic-review clock for state affordable housing projects
Summary
The House Committee considered House Bill 1008, HD2, which would require the State Historic Preservation Division to issue determinations about state affordable housing projects within 90 days and create tiered review pathways based on historic sensitivity. The measure was supported by HHFDC and SHPD and moved forward by the committee.
Members of the House Committee on Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs advanced a bill Tuesday that would set a 90-day deadline for historic-preservation review of state affordable housing projects and create an expedited review path where surveys and monitoring appear unnecessary.
Supporters said the change would provide predictability for developers while preserving review where historic or cultural resources are likely to be affected. Dean Minakami of the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation told the committee the expedited pathway could reduce review time for projects unlikely to affect historic resources but acknowledged that reviews add time to permitting. Jessica Puff, administrator for the State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD), said the bill clarifies what happens after SHPD hands down a determination: if 90 days elapse without a final determination, a project proponent could move forward rather than face uncertainty.
Puff described the bill's tiered approach. Low-sensitivity areas could proceed without an archaeological inventory survey; moderately sensitive areas might require monitoring rather than a full inventory; high-sensitivity areas would require an inventory before permitting completes. She said existing mitigation and consultation processes — including mitigation planning and verification report review — would remain part of SHPD’s work, and consultation could continue beyond the 90-day determination letter.
Committee members asked how the bill intersects with the Kapa‘akai analysis used to assess cultural and archaeological likelihoods; Puff said Kapa‘akai is a separate early assessment that SHPD can use to inform likelihood findings. Written support from the Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism and letters from the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Hawaii Realtors and the Maui Chamber of Commerce were noted.
The committee voted to move HB1008, HD2 forward as recommended by the chair.
