Shown verbatim: the complete text as captured from the official page posted by the Hawaii State Legislature, fetched 2026-08-29. Where this bill amends existing law, language marked for deletion in the official page appears here in brackets. This is the second conference draft. The official bill page.
THE SENATE S.B. NO. 2401 THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2026 S.D. 1 STATE OF HAWAII H.D. 2 C.D. 2 A BILL FOR AN ACT RELATING TO REGIONAL SHORELINE MITIGATION DISTRICTS. BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII: SECTION 1. The legislature finds that Hawaii's beaches and shorelines are some of the State's most critical public assets. Public beaches often define their surrounding communities and are invaluable assets at the center of Hawaii's economy and way of life for local residents. However, accelerating shoreline erosion, wave impacts, and coastal hazards are threatening public beaches, shoreline properties, and infrastructure across the State. Given these impacts, effective shoreline planning for the short- and long-term will require collaboration among communities and regional shoreline property owners and interagency coordination. The legislature further finds that the office of planning and sustainable development serves a statewide planning and coordination role and is well-positioned to facilitate interagency coordination and regional shoreline planning efforts. The legislature also finds that a statewide framework is needed to support the development and adoption of short- and long-term shoreline management plans and the use of collective financing mechanisms for regional shoreline management property acquisition and projects. Adaptation pathways planning to address sea level rise and preserve the State's beaches provides a mechanism to propose both short- and long-term solutions, including beach management and erosion mitigation; retreat from the coastline; and time for planning and implementation of these solutions. The purpose of this Act is to establish a shoreline adaptation pathways planning framework under chapter 225M, Hawaii Revised Statutes, by creating regional shoreline mitigation districts in which communities can work together to develop shoreline adaptation pathways plans. SECTION 2. Chapter 225M, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended by adding a new section to be appropriately designated and to read as follows: "§225M- Shoreline adaptation pathways planning. (a) The office shall serve in a planning and coordination role to develop shoreline adaptation pathways plans for designated regional shoreline mitigation districts. The office shall: (1) Identify potential regional shoreline mitigation districts on a regional scale, including but not limited to ahupuaa, coastal processes, and documented and predicted erosion rates, and functionally connected sediment cells or littoral subcells; (2) Assist state and county permitting and regulatory agencies by facilitating engagement and participation by community stakeholders; shoreline property owners; state, county, and federal agencies; and others as may be appropriate in the planning process; and (3) Provide technical assistance and planning guidance in the preparation of shoreline adaptation pathways plans specific to each designated regional shoreline mitigation district. (b) The designation of a regional shoreline mitigation district shall be for planning purposes only and shall not constitute approval of any specific shoreline adaptation pathway or project. (c) When designating a regional shoreline mitigation district and developing a shoreline adaptation pathways plan, the office shall engage and work collaboratively with: (1) The department of land and natural resources; (2) The applicable county planning department; (3) Affected shoreline property owners within the regional shoreline mitigation district; and (4) Local businesses, community organizations, groups and individuals in the surrounding community. (d) Each shoreline adaptation pathways plan shall include the elements and criteria required under this part, including but not limited to: (1) An assessment of the public trust resources that are at risk within the regional shoreline mitigation district, and their value to the surrounding and broader community and economy; (2) An assessment of shoreline structures that are at risk within the regional shoreline mitigation district, and their value to the shoreline property owners; (3) An analysis of potential shoreline adaptation pathways appropriate to the regional shoreline mitigation district; (4) An analysis of the social, cultural, environmental, and economic impacts for shoreline adaptation pathways plans; (5) The identification of any federal authorizations, permits, or approvals required to implement the shoreline adaptation pathways plan, including consultation with the United States Army Corps of Engineers, if appropriate; (6) Identification and coordination among the State, counties, and affected shoreline property owners to address ownership, maintenance, and other jurisdictional issues necessary to implement shoreline adaptation pathways within the regional shoreline mitigation district; and (7) Viable financing tools for shoreline adaptation pathways plans, including: (A) Private financing; (B) Special assessment districts; (C) Community facilities districts; (D) Tax increment financing; (E) Issuance of bonds; and (F) Any other available financing tool. (e) Any shoreline adaptation pathways plan shall prioritize the preservation of the public trust resources at risk within the regional shoreline mitigation district, including public beaches and dunes; shall protect and maintain lateral public beach access along the shoreline; and may include the protection of shoreline properties. (f) Any shoreline adaptation pathways plan shall engage in community-engaged planning to determine the appropriate shoreline adaptation pathway when considering the impacts to public trust resources; impacts to private property; the social, cultural, environmental, and economic impacts of each potential shoreline adaptation pathway considered; and a comparison of potential alternative options. (g) Upon finalization of a shoreline adaptation pathways plan, the office may transmit the shoreline adaptation pathways plan, together with any comments and recommendations, to the board of land and natural resources for consideration; provided that the plan: (1) Satisfies the requirements of this section; (2) Is consistent with applicable state and county land use policies; and (3) Provides coordinated, regionally appropriate shoreline adaptation pathways to best preserve public trust resources, public beaches, public access, and that may secondarily also reduce the risk of loss of structures along shoreline properties. (h) For the purposes of this section: "Functionally connected sediment cell or littoral subcell" means a shoreline reach in which sediment transport processes operate as a unified system such that erosion or shoreline modification within one portion measurably influences conditions elsewhere within the reach. "Office" means the office of planning and sustainable development. "Regional shoreline mitigation district" means a designated coastal area comprising one or more functionally connected sediment cells or littoral subcells and adjacent shoreline and nearby properties, established for purposes of coordinated shoreline protection and adaptation planning and implementation. "Shoreline adaptation pathway" means a structural, non‑structural, nature-based, hybrid, temporary, or permanent measure, including beach and dune restoration, armoring, elevating and floodproofing infrastructure, property acquisition, relocation, or retreat, needed to preserve public beaches, lower the risk of flooding and loss due to shoreline erosion, coastal flooding or shoreline hazard conditions over time. "Shoreline adaptation pathways plan" means a coordinated regional shoreline management plan outlining the shoreline adaptation pathways appropriate for a specific regional shoreline mitigation district." SECTION 3. Section 183C-6, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows: "§183C-6 Permits and site plan approvals. (a) The department shall regulate land use in the conservation district by the issuance of permits. (b) The department shall render a decision on a completed application for a permit within one hundred eighty days of its acceptance by the department. If within one hundred eighty days after acceptance of a completed application for a permit, the department [shall fail] fails to give notice, hold a hearing, and render a decision, the owner may automatically put the owner's land to the use or uses requested in the owner's application. When an environmental impact statement is required pursuant to chapter 343, or when a contested case hearing is requested pursuant to chapter 91, the one hundred eighty days shall be extended an additional ninety days beyond the time necessary to complete the requirements of chapter 343 or chapter 91. Any request for additional extensions by the applicant shall be subject to the approval of the board. (c) The department shall hold a public hearing in every case involving the proposed use of land for commercial purposes, at which hearing interested persons shall be afforded a reasonable opportunity to be heard. Public notice of the time and place of the hearing shall be given at least once statewide and in the county in which the property is located. The notice shall be given [not less] no later than twenty days [prior to] before the date set for the hearing. The hearing shall be held in the county in which the land is located and may be delegated to an agent or representative of the board as may otherwise be provided by law and in accordance with rules adopted by the board. For the purposes of its public hearing or hearings, the department shall have the power to summon witnesses, administer oaths, and require the giving of testimony. [As used in] For the purposes of this subsection, the term "commercial purposes" shall not include the use of land for utility purposes. (d) The department shall regulate the construction, reconstruction, demolition, or alteration of any structure, building, or facility by the issuance of site plan approvals. (e) Any permit for the reconstruction, restoration, repair, or use of any Hawaiian fishpond exempted from the requirements of chapter 343 under section 183B-2 shall provide for compliance with the conditions of section 183B-2. (f) An applicant may submit to the board a shoreline adaptation pathways plan that meets the requirements of 225M- . The board, upon approval of the plan, may approve an application for a conservation district use permit for a shoreline adaptation pathway that is consistent with the shoreline adaptation pathways plan and prioritizes the preservation of public trust resources. Nothing in this section shall limit the authority or discretion of the board to impose conditions on or deny the application. (g) The board may authorize a permit for temporary erosion control measures where an immediately dangerous shoreline condition affecting a structure has extended beyond the period authorized under an emergency permit. The applicant shall demonstrate a concerted effort to develop and implement a long-term shoreline adaptation pathways plan that prioritizes the preservation of public trust resources and that will allow the temporary erosion control measures to be removed. The applicant shall demonstrate the capacity to provide for the removal of the temporary erosion control measures. For the purposes of this subsection, "concerted effort" means a bona fide effort to develop and implement a shoreline adaption pathways plan within a regional shoreline mitigation district pursuant to section 225M- ." SECTION 4. If any provision of this Act, or the application thereof to any person or circumstance, is held invalid, the invalidity does not affect other provisions or applications of the Act that can be given effect without the invalid provision or application, and to this end the provisions of this Act are severable. SECTION 5. Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New statutory material is underscored. SECTION 6. This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2026.
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