City Land Use Related Ordinances Passed as of September 11, 2007

Not including rezoning ordinances.

Ordinance No. 07-001 (Jan. 6, 2007), Approving a Fixed Guideway System as the Locally Preferred Alternative, Which Will Allow the City Administration to Move Forward on the Locally Preferred Alternative. The preferred alternative runs from Kapolei Parkway and Kalaeloa Boulevard to UH Manoa. The route is divided in to five sections: (1) Saratoga Ave/North-South Rd and Kamokila Blvd to Farrington Hwy; (2) Farrington Hwy/Kamehameha Hwy; (3) Salt Lake Blvd and Aolele St; (4) Dillingham Blvd; and (5) Nimitz Hwy/Halekauwila St/Kapiolani Blvd to UH Manoa. The city administration is directed to prepare the environmental impact statement, plans, and a preliminary engineering report. A ninety-day notice will be given before the first public notice soliciting proposals or inviting bids for work on the system.

Ordinance No. 07-004 (March 9, 2007), Amending Certain Provisions of the ROH Relating to Dedication of Lands for Agricultural Use. Amends the property tax code to allow portions of agricultural land to be classified as “vacant agricultural”, which is assessed for real property tax at 50 percent of the land’s fair market value. The Ordinance also provides that a “residential homesite area” is excluded from the portion of a property dedicated for agricultural use. Under the amendments to the property tax code, large agricultural lot owners may petition the City for a combination of “vacant agricultural”, “agricultural”, and “residential homesite area” uses for one parcel of land. Thus the landowner pays property taxes that more accurately reflect the various uses of a large property.

Ordinance No. 07-7 (April 26, 2007), Establishing a Real Property Tax Exemption for Kuleana Land, provides (i) that Kuleana land zoned as residential or agricultural, and (2) that is owned by a lineal descendant of the person receiving the original title, will pay the minimum real property tax. Kuleana lands were granted to land tenants by laws enacted by the Kingdom of Hawaii in 1850 and revised in 1851.

Ordinance No. 07-8 (April 26, 2007), To Amend Chapter 21, ROH 1990, as Amended (the Land Use Ordinance), Relating to the Hawaii Capital Special District, amends the capital special district to include pedestrian malls and require certain landscaping.

Ordinance No. 07-10 (May 17, 2007), removes the classifications “improved residential,” “unimproved residential,” and “apartment” from property tax valuation, and combines those classifications under “residential” for tax assessment purposes. The Ordinance gives tax relief to certain timeshare condominiums by amending its classification from “apartment” to “residential.”

Ordinance No. 07-014 (May 17, 2007), Vacation Cabins, changes conditional use permit requirement for vacation cabins from minor to major.

Ordinance No. 07-015 (May 17, 2007), Indoor Amusement and Recreation Facilities, changes the permit requirement from permitted use with conditions to the more rigorous conditional use permit major.