The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the House Committee on Housing on Jan. 31, 2025.
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Jan. 31, 2025, 9:15 a.m.
Hawaii State Capitol
Conference Room 430 and Videoconference
To: House Committee on Housing
Rep. Luke Evslin, Chair
Rep. Tyson Miyake, Vice-Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
RE: HB738 — RELATING TO HISTORIC PRESERVATION
Aloha Chair Evslin, Vice-Chair Miyake and other members of the Committee,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii supports HB738, which would expedite historic preservation reviews for residential projects in county-designated transit-oriented development zones.
The bill would provide that if the State Historic Preservation Division fails to give written concurrence or non-concurrence on a project within the existing 90-day time frame, the project can proceed to the next phase of review.
It would also provide that if SHPD has concurred with a project’s scope, the project will be exempt from further historic review unless it experiences a major change in scope or historic properties or artifacts are discovered in the project area.
Taken together, these changes could help resolve significant delays in the approval process for new housing while still maintaining protections for historic properties and artifacts.
According to the Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawai‘i, Hawaii’s housing regulations are the strictest in the country, and “approval delays” for housing developments are three times longer than the national average among communities surveyed.[1] Likewise, UHERO researchers estimated that regulations comprise 58% of the cost of new condominium construction.[2]
The state’s land-use rules are a key driver of Hawaii’s housing crisis. As measured by the state’s Honolulu Construction Cost Index, the cost for building single-family homes in 2024 was 2.6 times higher than the cost in 2020. For highrises, the cost was 2.5 times higher.[3]
Historic preservation reviews certainly play a role in these delays and their associated costs. While SHPD’s average review times for projects are not readily available, the agency noted in its report to the 2023 Legislature that its archaeology reviews were taking between six months and one year, on average.[4]
Imposing stricter timelines for SHPD reviews could help reduce these wait times.
One note relating to the expedited reviews for transit-oriented development projects: The bill specifies that only residential projects would be eligible for this process. However, because of state and county efforts to encourage mixed-use developments in TOD zones, the Committee should include mixed-use residential and commercial developments in this new process.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Ted Kefalas
Director of Strategic Campaigns
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
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[1] Rachel Inafuku, Justin Tyndall and Carl Bonham, “Measuring the Burden of Housing Regulation in Hawaii,” Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawai‘i, April 14, 2022, p. 6.
[2] Justin Tyndall and Emi Kim, “Why are Condominiums so Expensive in Hawai‘i?” Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawai‘i, May 2024, p. 11.
[3] “Quarterly Statistical and Economic Report, 4th Quarter 2024,” Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development & Tourism, pp. 107-108.
[4] “Report to the Thirty-Second Legislature 2023 Regular Session on the State Historic Preservation Program For Fiscal Year 2021-2022,” Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, October 2022, p. 1.
