BIL 140 Draft 01 2006-2008 - Laserfiche WebLink

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COUNTY OF HAWAII STATE OF HAWAII ••••K~O~~M•+' BILL NO. too ORDINANCE NO. AN ORDINANCE AMENDING CHAPTER 11, ARTICLE 1 OF THE HAWAII COUNTY CODE 1983 (2005 EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING. BE IT ORDAINED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF HAWAII: SECTION 1. Purpose and findings. The purpose of this bill is to provide that transfers of property to family members, for non-commercial purposes, should not be included in calculating whether a subdivision triggers an affordable housing requirement. Under chapter 11 of the Hawaii County Code, a subdivision of five or more lots may trigger an affordable housing requirement. During Council deliberations of a previous amendment to chapter 11, concern was expressed that if the owner of the parcel subdivides it in order to transfer individual lots to their children, and there are five or more lots, that could trigger an affordable housing requirement that would require one or more lots to be sold outside the family. Secondarily, members of an extended family that had inherited property together and wanted to subdivide that property to convey individual ownership of lots to their family members may be subject to affordable housing requirements. The council finds that the non-commercial, family-relationship aspect of such transfers differentiates them from the typical subdivision for commercial real estate purposes. This bill provides that a subdivider may apply to the housing agency to have lots that are transferred to family members excluded from the number of lots that could count toward the triggering of an affordable housing requirement. To prevent this provision from becoming a loophole where individuals engaging in real estate transactions avoid affordable housing requirements by transferring lots to related individuals, the bill provides that a transfer to an individual can be excluded from the affordable housing requirement only once in that individual's lifetime. SECTION 2. Section 11-4, Hawaii County Code 1983 (2005 Edition, as amended), is amended by adding a new subsection (f) to read as follows: "(fI A subdivider may apply to the housine a¢encv to have lots excluded from the number counted toward the affordable housing requirement under subsection (b) The housine agency shall exclude such lots from the number counted toward the affordable housine, requirement if it finds that the subdivision is primarily for the puroose of transferring ownership interests to family members without consideration other than repayment of the expenses of the subdivision and the lot in question upon final subdivision approval, is: