The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the Senate Committee on Judiciary on Feb. 26, 2025.
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Feb. 26, 2025, 9:40 a.m.
Hawaii State Capitol
Conference Room 016 and Videoconference
To: Senate Committee on Judiciary
Sen. Karl Rhoads, Chair
Sen. Mike Gabbard, Vice Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
RE: SB15 — RELATING TO HISTORIC PRESERVATION
Aloha Chair Rhoads, Vice-Chair Gabbard and other members of the Committee,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii offers comments on — and an amendment to — SB15, which would redefine historic property.
Currently, “historic property” is defined as “any building, structure, object, district, area, or site, including heiau and underwater site, which is over fifty years old.”
SB15 would change the definition to read: “any building, structure, object, district, area, or site, including heiau and underwater site, which (1) Is over fifty years old; (2) Meets the criteria for being entered into the Hawaii register of historic places; or (3) Has important value to Native Hawaiians or other ethnic groups of the State due to: (A) Associations with cultural practices once carried out, or still carried out, at the property; or (B) Associations with traditional beliefs, events, or oral accounts that are important to history, traditional practices, and cultural identity.”
Grassroot appreciates the intent of this measure because historic preservation review of projects often takes months, and the State Historic Preservation Division faces a large and growing number of projects that will need its review.
On Oahu alone, there are 135,553 parcels improved with a single living unit, including single condominium units, in residential zones. Of these, 80,870 — almost 60% — were built in 1975 or before. Just 55,074 — about 41% — were built in 1976 or after.[1]
And the number of parcels that could be subject to SHPD review will only increase as Hawaii’s housing stock ages. In 2026, the 1,585 dwellings built in 1976 will become candidates for SHPD review any time their owners file for permits to conduct work on them.
A recent Grassroot white paper, “Preserving the past or preventing progress?” analyzed SHPD data and found that more than 90% of the projects the agency reviewed from 2021 to 2024 had no impact on historic properties.
The average review time for projects issued determinations has been 94 days. However, the SHPD reviewed less than half of the applications it has received during this period.
However, Grassroot has concerns that the new definition proposed by SB15 would further complicate these reviews. It keeps the current 50-year standard while adding a new, subjective standard relating to the property’s cultural importance.
If this measure is to advance, we suggest changing the “or” to an “and.” The new definition would thus require a property to be both 50 years old and have cultural importance.
Thus, the definition would read: “any building, structure, object, district, area, or site, including heiau and underwater site, which (1) Is over fifty years old; (2) Meets the criteria for being entered into the Hawaii register of historic places; or and (3) Has important value to Native Hawaiians or other ethnic groups of the State due to: (A) Associations with cultural practices once carried out, or still carried out, at the property; or (B) Associations with traditional beliefs, events, or oral accounts that are important to history, traditional practices, and cultural identity.”
This definition change could streamline the review process while maintaining protections for unique cultural buildings and sites.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Ted Kefalas
Director of Strategic Campaigns
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
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[1] Hawaii Information Service database, accessed Jan. 30, 2024. Figures exceed 100% because some parcels with a single living unit have multiple buildings with multiple construction dates, resulting in double counting. A subscription is needed to access the data.
