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Honorable K. Angel Pilago, Chair and Members of the Committee on Planning COMMITTEE ON PLANNING Page 2 May 14, 2007 council. Thus, even if the planning director thinks that the RS-10 zoning was a bad idea, the planning director still has to process and eventually approve the subdivision if it conforms to all other legal criteria. Thus, the subdivision stage, under current law, is not a point at which the basic use of the property is reconsidered. The issues that are dealt with at subdivision, under the current code, are: (I) roads, (2) drainage, (3) water supply, (4) conformance with conditions of zoning, and (5) conformance with requirements of other laws, such as preservation of historic sites (H.R.S. Chap. 6E, especially 6E-42), and the SMA law. There are standards in the Subdivision Code and Department of Public Works and Department of Water Supply publications for roads, drainage, and water. If the subdivider complies with all of these requirements, and follows all other laws, the planning director must approve the subdivision. The current code does contain some points where the planning director has discretionary powers over subdivisions. H.C.C. sec. 23-26 provides that "Outstanding natural or cultural features such as scenic spots, water courses, fine groves of trees, heiaus, historic sites and structures shall be preserved as provided by the director." (Although an earlier sentence in this section refers to subdivisions of two hundred lots or more, we have taken the position that this sentence applies to subdivisions generally.) This section does not, however, authorize the planning director to ignore the basic zoning of the property. As for historic sites, although the State Historic Preservation Division has the authority to recommend that sites be preserved, they cannot mandate preservation, so it is up to the county planning director to include preservation as a condition of subdivision approval. The subdivision process is also a point at which the conditions of the zoning ordinance which applies to the property should be checked to see if these have been fulfilled, such as affordable housing. If time conditions on the zoning have expired, the subdivision should not proceed until the owner has successfully obtained a time extension, from the council if necessary. A number of other laws come into play with subdivisions. For example, H.C.C. Chap. 34, requiring public access in subdivisions, is enforced at this stage. Until recently there was no good way for the general public to be informed about a subdivision. Bi11246, enacted in 2006, required a bi-monthly newspaper publication of new subdivision applications received, and subdivisions also must now post a sign.