RELATING TO AGRICULTURAL LANDS.

SB443

THE SENATE

S.B. NO.

443

THIRTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2025

STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

relating
to agricultural Lands
.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

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SECTION
1.
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Section 205-4.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is
amended by amending subsection (a) to read as follows:

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"(a)
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Within the agricultural district
, all lands
with soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as
overall (master) productivity rating class A or B and for solar energy
facilities, class B or C, shall be restricted to the following permitted uses:

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(1)
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Cultivation
of crops, including crops for bioenergy, flowers, vegetables, foliage, fruits,
forage, and timber;

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(2)
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Game
and fish propagation;

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(3)
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Raising
of livestock, including poultry, bees, fish, or other animal or aquatic life
that are propagated for economic or personal use;

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(4)
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Farm
dwellings, employee housing, farm buildings, or activities or uses related to
farming and animal husbandry.
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For the
purposes of this paragraph, "farm dwelling" means a single-family
dwelling located on and accessory to a farm, including clusters of single‑family
farm dwellings permitted within agricultural parks developed by the State, or
where agricultural activity pro
vides
income to the family occupying the dwelling;

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(5)
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Public
institutions and buildings that are necessary for agricultural practices;

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(6)
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Public
and private open area types of recreational uses, including day camps, picnic
grounds, parks, and riding stables, but not including dragstrips, airports,
drive-in theaters, golf courses, golf driving ranges, country clubs, and
overnight camps; provided that overnight camps in operation before January 1,
1961, may be approved by special permit;

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(7)
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Public,
private, and quasi-public utility lines and r
oadways, transformer stations, communications equipment buildings, solid
waste transfer stations, major water storage tanks, and appurtenant small
buildings such as booster pumping stations, but not including offices or yards
for equipment, material, vehicle storage, repair or maintenance, treatment
plants, corporation yards, or other similar structures;

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(8)
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Retention,
restoration, rehabilitation, or improvement of buildings or sites of historic
or scenic interest;

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(9)
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Agricultural-based
commercial operations as described in section 205-2(d)(15);

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(10)
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Buildings
and uses, including mills, s
torage,
and processing facilities, maintenance facilities,
photovoltaic,
biogas, and other small-scale renewable energy
systems producing energy solely for use in the agricultural activities
of the fee or leasehold owner of the property, and vehicle and equipment
storage areas that are normally considered directly accessory to the
above-mentioned uses and are permitted under section 205-2(d);

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(11)
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Agricultural parks;

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(12)
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Plantation
community subdivisions, which as used in this chapter means an established
subdivision or cluster of employee housing, community buildings, and
agricultural support buildings on land currently or formerly owned, leased, or
operated by a sugar or pineapple plantation; provided that the existing
structures may be used or rehabilitated for use, and new employee housing and
agricultural support buildings may be allowed on land within the subdivision as
follows:

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(A)
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The
employee housing is occupied by employees or former employees of the plantation
who have a property interest in the land;

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(B)
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The
employee housing units not owned by their occupants shall be rented or leased
at affordable rates for agricultural workers; or

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(C)
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The
agricultural support buildings shall be rented or leased to agricultural
business operators or agricultural support services;

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(13)
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Agricultural
tourism conducted on a working farm, or a
farming

operation as defined in section 165-2, for the enjoyment, education, or
involvement of visitors; provided that the agricultural tourism activity is
accessory and secondary to the principal agricultural use and does not
interfere with surrounding farm operations; provided further that this
paragraph shall apply only to a county that has adopted ordinances regulating
agricultural tourism under section 205-5;

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(14)
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Agricultural tourism activities, including
overnight accommodations
of twenty-one days or less, for any one stay
within a county; provided that
this paragraph shall apply only to a
county that includes at least three islands and has adopted ordinances
regulating agricultural tourism activities pursuant to section 205-5;
provided further that the agricultural tourism activities coexist with a bona
fide agricultural activity.
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For the
purposes of this paragraph, "bona fide agricultural activity" means a
farming operation as defined in section 165-2;

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(15)
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Wind
energy facilities, including the appurtenances associated with the production
and transmission of wind generated energy; provided that the wind energy
facilities and appurtenances are compatible with agriculture uses and cause
minimal adverse impact on agricultural land;

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(16)
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Biofuel processing facilities, including the
appurtenances associated with the production and refining of biofuels that is
normally considered directly accessory and secondary to the growing of the
energy feedstock; provided that b
iofuel processing facilities and
appurtenances do not adversely impact agricultural land and other agricultural
uses in the vicinity.

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For
the purposes of this paragraph:

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"Appurtenances"
means operational infrastructure of the appropriate type and scale for economic
commercial storage and distribution, and other similar handling of feedstock,
fuels, and other products of biofuel processing facilities.

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"Biofuel
processing facility" means a facility that produces liquid or gaseous
fuels from organic sources such as biomass crops, agricultural residues, and
oil crops, including palm, canola, soybean, and waste cooking oils; grease;
food wastes; and animal residues and wastes that can be used to generate
energy;

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(17)
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Agricultural-energy
facilities, including appurtenances necessary for an agricultural-energy
enterprise; provided that the primary activity of the agricultural-energy
enterprise is agricultural activity.
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To
be considered the primary activity of an agricultural-energy enterprise, the
total acreage devoted to agricultural activity shall be no less than ninety per
cent of the total acreage of the agricultural-energy enterprise.
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The agricultural‑energy facility shall
be limited to lands owned, leased, licensed, or operated by the entity
conducting the agricultural activity.

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As used in this paragraph:

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"Agricultural activity"
means any activity described in paragraphs (1) to (3) of this subsection.

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"Agricultural-energy
enterprise" means an enterprise that integrally incorporates an
agricultural activity with an agricultural-energy facility.

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"Agricultural-energy
facility" means a facility that generates, stores, or distributes
renewable energy as defined in section 269-91 or renewable fuel including
electrical or thermal energy or liquid or gaseous fuels from products of
agricultural activities from agricultural lands located in the State.

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"Appurtenances" means
operational infrastructure of the appropriate type and scale for the economic
commercial generation, storage, distribution, and other similar handling of
energy, including equipment, feedstock, fuels, and other products of
agricultural‑energy facilities;

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(18)
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Construction and operation of wireless
communication antennas, including small wireless facilities; provided that, for
the purposes of this paragraph, "wireless communication antenna"
means communications equipment that is either freestanding or placed upon or
attached to an already existing structure and that transmits and receives
electromagnetic radio signals used in the provision of all types of wireless
communications services;
provided further that "small wireless
facilities" shall have the same meaning as in section 206N-2;
provided further that nothing in this paragraph
shall be construed to permit the construction of any new structure that is not
deemed a permitted use under this subsection
;

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(19)
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Agricultural education programs conducted on a
farming operation as defined in section 165-2, for the education and
participation of the general public; provided that the agricultural education
programs are accessory and secondary to the principal agricultural use of the
parcels or lots on which the agricultural education programs are to occur and
do not interfere with surrounding farm operations.
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For the purposes of this paragraph,
"agricultural education programs" means activities or events designed
to promote knowledge and understanding of agricultural activities and practices
conducted on a farming operation as defined in section 165-2;

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(20)
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S
olar energy facilities that do not
occupy more than ten per cent of the acreage of the parcel, or twenty acres of
land, whichever is lesser or for which a special use permit is granted pursuant
to section 205‑6;
provided that this use shall not be
permitted on
lands with soil classified by the land study bureau's
detailed land classification as overall (master) productivity rating class A;

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(21)
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Solar energy facilities on lands with
soil classified by the land study bureau's detailed land classification as
overall (master) productivity rating B or C for which a special use permit is
granted pursuant to section 205-6; provided that:

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����
(A)
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The
board certifies that the lands are also used for a farming operation, as
defined under section 165-2;

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[
(A)
]
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(B)
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The area occupied
by the solar energy facilities is also made available for compatible
agricultural activities at a lease rate that is at least fifty per cent below
the fair market rent for comparable properties;

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[
(B)
]
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(C)
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Proof of financial security to
decommission the facility is provided to the satisfaction of the appropriate
county planning commission before the date of commencement of commercial
generation; and

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[
(C)
]
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(D)
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Solar energy facilities shall be
decommissioned at the owner's expense according to the following requirements:

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(i)
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Removal of all equipment related to the
solar energy facility within twelve months of the conclusion of operation or
useful life; and

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(ii)
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Restoration of the disturbed earth to
substantially the same physical condition as existed before the development of
the solar energy facility.

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For
the purposes of this paragraph, "agricultural activities" means the
activities described in paragraphs (1) to (3);

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(22)
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Geothermal resources exploration and
geothermal resources development, as defined under section 182-1;

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(23)
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Hydroelectric facilities, including the
appurtenances associated with the production and transmission of hydroelectric
energy, subject to section 205-2; provided that the hydroelectric facilities
and their appurtenances:

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(A)
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Shall consist of a small hydropower
facility as defined by the United States Department of Energy, including:

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(i)
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Impoundment facilities using a dam to
store water in a reservoir;

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(ii)
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A diversion or run-of-river facility
that channels a portion of a river through a canal or channel; and

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(iii)
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Pumped storage facilities that store
energy by pumping water uphill to a reservoir at higher elevation from a
reservoir at a lower elevation to be released to turn a turbine to generate
electricity;

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(B)
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Comply with the state water code,
chapter 174C;

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(C)
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Shall, if over five hundred kilowatts
in hydroelectric generating capacity, have the approval of the commission on
water resource management, including a new instream flow standard established
for any new hydroelectric facility; and

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(D)
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Do not impact or impede the use of
agricultural land or the availability of surface or ground water for all uses
on all parcels that are served by the ground water sources or streams for which
hydroelectric facilities are considered; or

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(24)
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Notwithstanding any other law to the
contrary, composting and co-composting operations; provided that operations
that process their own green waste and do not require permits from the
department of health shall use the finished composting product only on the
operation's own premises to minimize the potential spread of invasive species."

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SECTION 2.
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This Act does not affect rights and duties that matured, penalties that
were incurred, and proceedings that were begun before its effective date.

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SECTION 3.
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Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.
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New statutory material is underscored.

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SECTION 4.
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This Act shall take effect upon its approval.

INTRODUCED
BY:

_____________________________

Report Title:

BLNR;
Solar; Agricultural Lands

Description:

Requires
that lands within the agricultural district that have solar energy facilities must
also obtain certification from the Board of Land and Natural Resources that the
lands are also used for a farming operation.

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