Senate committee advances bill narrowing state�historic-property definition

The Senate Committee on Water and Land voted to pass SB 15 on Feb. 5, a bill that narrows the statutory definition of "historic property" to those eligible for the Hawaii Register of Historic Places or that have documented importance to Native Hawaiians or other ethnic groups due to associations with cultural practices, beliefs or events.

State Historic Preservation Division Administrator Jessica Puff told the committee she supports the measure and explained how the bill would change review thresholds. "The current definition of historic property is anything that's 50 years old or older," Puff said. "In this instance, the county can make the determination on whether it's just old or if it actually meets the determination of historic property being that it's eligible for inclusion in the state register." Puff said the bill would, in her view, "tighten[] the definition of historic property, which would limit ... what permits come to SHPD for review."

The measure drew comment from Evan Oye on behalf of NIA Hawaii, which said it appreciated the bill's intent but raised concerns that the revised definition could add a layer of review or cause delays for permitting because applicants might seek determinations about eligibility before submitting full permit materials. Oye said an existing backlog at the department is already holding up permits statewide.

Committee members questioned agency staff about workload and implementation. Puff told senators that the change would likely reduce the number of projects required to come to the state for review because age alone would no longer trigger review; a property would also need to meet significance criteria for inclusion in the state register. She added that certified local governments can take on more determinations and that SHPD has increased staffing recently to support that process.

Chair Inouye recommended passage of SB 15 "as is," and the committee adopted the recommendation. The roll call as read in the committee record shows five members present and voting in favor.

Why it matters: The change alters which projects must be submitted to state review, shifting some determinations to counties and aiming to reduce state review of structures that are merely old but not historically significant.