Hawaii legislators are considering a bill, H.B. 1582, that would speed up the process of getting new building projects approved.

The measure would require the State Historic Preservation Division to review and comment on proposed projects within 45 days or the applications will be automatically approved.  

The proposal would also allow counties to contract with engineers and architects to review project applications.

The House Committee on Water and Land and the Committee on Oceans and Marine Resources are planning to meet on Wednesday morning to vote on the bill. 

The Chamber of Commerce of Hawaii, the Building Industry Association of Hawaii and the Pacific Resource Partnership advocated in favor of the measure, arguing that bureaucratic red tape drives up the cost of building projects in Hawaii and ultimately the cost of homes. 

The Dept. of Land and Natural Resources, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, Historic Hawaii Foundation, and the Sierra Club of Hawaii opposed the bill. 

“Using a tool of automatic approval is just a bad public policy,” said Robert Harris, director of the Sierra Club, during a hearing on the bill last Friday.

During that meeting, Water and Land Committee Chairwoman Cindy Evans seemed disinclined to approve of the language fast-tracking development applications, but said that she would consider advancing the idea of third-party reviews. 

Decision-making is scheduled for 10am on Wednesday in Room 325. If the bill passes, it will go next to the House panels in charge of consumer protection and finance. 

Click here to see the status of the bill.

The remnants of a protest at an ancient Hawaiian burial site on Kauai. (Courtesy of randystoreyphotography via Flickr)

— Anita Hofschneider