Market upheaval
prompts review of
farm land policy

Lawmakers will see if new
standards or criteria are needed

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By Pat Omandam
pomandam@starbulletin.com

With the demise of Hawaii's sugar and pineapple industries over the past two decades, state legislators want to know what's being done with all that agricultural land.

Lawmakers will review land use policies and practices over the next few weeks to see if they've done enough to protect agriculture land as required in the state Constitution.

"Clearly, there's a lot more land that is now available, so we need to establish standards and criteria and that's part of it," said Ezra Kanoho (D, Lihue), chairman of the state House Water and Land Use Committee.

"Before, we just arbitrarily come up with something we think might fit the bill," Kanoho said.

The state Land Use Commission, various state departments, landowners and developers, conservationists and the public will testify at joint House committee briefings held today, Sept. 6 and Sept. 12 at the state Capitol.

Among the answers sought, legislators want to know if there's enough land statewide set aside for agriculture, if a specific number of acres should be allotted, what new standards are needed and what changes should be made to improve the land use system.

The Constitution requires the Legislature protect agricultural lands, promote diversified agriculture and ensure there are suitable lands available for it. Such land cannot be reclassified or rezoned by government, it says.

House Agriculture Chairman Felipe "Jun" Abinsay (D, Kalihi) said that because of the tremendous changes in agriculture, the legislature needs to know whether actions taken over the past two decades, including reclassifying and rezoning lands, were justified.

From those briefings, legislation will be crafted next year that will spell out exactly what is needed to fulfill those constitutional requirements, lawmakers said.

All the hearings start at 9 a.m. in state Capitol Room 329.