The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the House Committee on Housing on March 12, 2025.
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March 12, 2025, 9 a.m.
Hawaii State Capitol
Conference Room 430 and Videoconference
To: House Committee on Housing
Rep. Luke A. Evslin, Chair
Rep. Tyson K. Miyake, Vice Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
RE: SB1263 SD2 — RELATING TO HISTORIC PRESERVATION
Aloha Chair Evslin, Vice-Chair Miyake and other members of the Committee,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii supports SB1263 SD2, which would expedite historic preservation reviews for residential and certain mixed-use 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 a 90-day time frame — or a 30-day time frame if the project is likely to affect no historic properties — SHPD would be assumed to agree with the lead agency’s determination and the project could proceed to the next phase of review or work.
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 have estimated that regulations comprise 58% of the cost of new condominium construction.[2]
Clearly, 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. For example, SHPD noted in its report to the 2023 Legislature that its archaeology reviews were taking between six months and one year, on average.[4]
Grassroot’s recent 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.
Imposing stricter timelines for these reviews could help reduce wait times.
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.
