ORD 2020-060 2018-2020 - Laserfiche WebLink

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;♦ZYOF!!,W•' COUNTY OF HAWAII \--:-_-'#,--7T- STATE OF HAWAII •' 16'6;',10 BILL NO. 178 ORDINANCE NO. 20 60 AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 19, ARTICLE 8, SECTION 19-59, OF THE HAWAII COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO NATIVE FOREST DEDICATIONS. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII: SECTION 1. Purpose. The purpose of this ordinance is to create three native forest categories: native forests, functional forests, and successional forests. This ordinance will also establish a dedication process for forest preservation and forest restoration. SECTION 2. Chapter 19, article 8, section 19-59, of the Hawai`i County Code 1983 (2016 Edition, as amended) is amended to read as follows: "Section 19-59. Native forest dedications. (a) Native forest categories. [(-a)] (1) "Native forests" means lands which have sixty percent or greater native species forest cover. [(1)](A)Native species are defined as those species that are either endemic or indigenous to the Hawaiian islands. [Indigenous] Native species in this context shall mean plants that became established or evolved in the Hawaiian islands without the aid of human beings. [(2)](B)The forest cover requirement may be met by native species in either the tree layer or the understory layer, or a combination of the two; provided a minimum twenty-five percent of the forest cover shall contain tree cover. (2) "Functional forests" means lands which have sixty percent or greater native species forest cover combined with non-native/non-invasive species forest cover. (A) Non-native/non-invasive species are defined as those species that are not native to the Hawaiian islands, having arrived with human help, which do not invade or overtake native species habitat and have a Hawai`i-Pacific Weed Risk Assessment score of six or less, with seven or more being a designation of high risk. Exceptions to the score must be justified in the forest management plan or forest restoration plan. (B) The forest cover requirement may be met by native species and non-native/non- invasive species in either the tree layer or the understory layer, or a combination of the two; provided a minimum twenty-five percent of the forest cover shall contain tree cover and a minimum of half of the forest cover shall contain native species.