Legislation would redefine what’s a ‘historic’ building in Hawaiʻi

A bill that would change rules for assessing “historic” buildings in Hawaiʻi has crossed over from the Senate and is being considered by the state House of Representatives.

Senate Bill 15 Senate Draft 1 would amend the definition of “historic property” by requiring that a property meets the criteria for inclusion in the Hawai‘i Register of Historic Places or has important value to Native Hawaiians or other ethnic groups of the state due to associations with cultural practices once carried out, or still carried out, at the property or associations with traditional beliefs, events, or oral accounts that are important to history, traditional practices, and cultural identity.

Last week, the House Water & Land Committee, chaired by Mark Hashem and vice chaired by Rachele Lamosao, recommended approval of the bill. Voting in favor were Hashem and Lamosao and Reps. The committee recommended passage with “aye” votes from Reps. Hashem, Lamosao, Linda Ichiyama, Dee Morikawa and Garner Shimizu. Voting “aye, with reservations were Reps. Della Au Belatti, Mahina Poepoe, Kim Coco Iwamoto and Kanani Souza. Rep. Justin Woodson was absent and excused. No committee members dissented.

The bill also has been referred to the House Judiciary & Hawaiian Affairs Committee, chaired by David Tarnas and vice chaired by Poepoe. That committee has not yet set a public hearing for the bill.

In written public testimony on the bill, state Department of Land and Natural Resources Chair Dawn Chang supported the measure. Chang’s department includes the State Historic Preservation Division, often referred to by its acronym “SHPD.”

The chronically short-staffed agency enforces legal requirements pertaining to potential effects on historic properties, and it has been criticized for adding years to agency approval processes.

The state’s definition of a “historic property” subjects SHPD review to any building, structure, object, district, area or site which is 50 years or older, regardless of historical significance. That definition means any building constructed before 1975 is considered “historic.” Most construction in Hawai‘i happened in the 1960s and early ’70s after statehood in 1959.

Now, SHPD typically reviews between 2,400 and 2,700 permits a year, and inadequate staffing and funding lead to delayed reviews and bottlenecks in the permit approval process.

“The current definition of ‘historic property’ is overly broad and does not take into consideration if a historic or cultural resource maintains sufficient integrity and significance to be identified as an ‘historic property,’ ” Chang said. “This bill will make a critical change to the definition of ‘historic property’ that allows a resource to be evaluated on its integrity and significance, rather than just its age. Additionally, the definition change will be similar to the definition of ‘historic property’ under federal regulations. This will allow historic preservation reviews that require compliance with both federal and state historic preservation policies to be completed in a more streamlined manner that is easier to understand and complied with.”

Ted Kefalas, director of Strategic Campaigns for the Grassroot Institute of Hawaiʻi, said that while SHPD’s average project review times are not readily available, the agency has noted in its report to the Legislature in 2023, that archaeology reviews were taking between six months and a year, on average.

Kefalas suggested that lawmakers consider changing language in the bill from “or” to “and,” which would require a property — to be considered “historic” — to be both at least 50 years old and have cultural importance.

The Grassroot Institute’s proposed definition would read: “Any building, structure, object, district, area, or site, including heiau and underwater site, which (1) Is over 50 years old; (2) meets the criteria for being entered into the Hawai‘i 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, Kefalas said.

Historic Hawai‘i Foundation agreed the current definition of what’s “historic” is unnecessarily broad, although simple to understand and evaluate because it relies on a single piece of data: age of construction.

“Within the discipline and practice of historic preservation, there are two additional criteria used to screen properties: historic significance and integrity,” the foundation said. “The criteria for being entered into the State of Hawai‘i Register of Historic Places address these additional aspects and are appropriate to add to the state’s definition of ‘historic property.’ “

The foundation supported changing current law to include the requirement that properties meet the criteria for being entered into the state register of historic places. But it also raised concern that some cultural sites or features may have been significantly altered over time, thus affecting their historic integrity.

“When making determinations regarding specific properties, preservation professionals with appropriate education and experience will need to apply the criteria for evaluating historic significance and integrity,” the foundation said. “Professional judgment is needed to understand and apply the criteria to different property types, including buildings, structures, objects, sites and districts, including those properties to which Native Hawaiians and other ethnic and cultural groups of the state attach religious and cultural significance.”

The foundation said that, by adding this “additional layer of knowledge, skill and experience to the act of determining whether or not a property is ‘historic,’ and not merely relying on age of construction, it will be more difficult for property owners, developers, permitting and planning agencies and the general public to know if a property will be subject to the State Historic Preservation Division’s requirement to identify, evaluate and resolve potential effects that may be caused by a proposed project.”

“We caution about unintended consequences that could be caused by a seemingly straightforward change,” the foundation said.

It recommended that the bill be amended to require the department to promulgate administrative rules before the effective date of the legislation to address the issue of who will make determinations, based on established criteria and standards, subject to qualified personnel concurrence.

A Dec. 16 report to state legislators from the Hawaiʻi Housing Finance and Development Corp. identified historic preservation reviews as being among the systemic barriers in Hawaiʻi that choke housing production and lie at the root of the state’s housing shortage and residents’ high cost of living.