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REPORT OF THE <br /> COMMITTEE ON PLANNING <br /> DATE: January 3, 2018 Re: Comm. No. 656/Bill No. 88 <br /> PLACE: Council Chambers <br /> Kailua-Kona, Hawai`i <br /> TIME: 9:09 a.m. <br /> Council Chair and Members <br /> Hawai`i County Council <br /> Hilo, Hawai`i 96720 <br /> Your Committee on Planning, to which was referred Bill No. 88, reports as follows: <br /> Bill No. 88, transmitted by Mayor Harry Kim, via Communication No. 656, dated December 12, <br /> 2017, amends Section 23-118 of the Hawai`i County Code 1983 (2016 edition, as amended), <br /> relating to Criteria to Determine a Pre-Existing Lot. <br /> Mayor Kim forwarded the Windward and Leeward Planning Commissions' favorable <br /> recommendation for this amendment to the Subdivision Code, which would add a criterion for <br /> determining a pre-existing lot. <br /> Planning Director Michael Yee and Deputy Planning Director Daryn Arai were present to <br /> answer questions. <br /> Director Yee stated that in 1999 the Planning Department took over the assignment of tax map <br /> key numbers from the State. He said it was a practice for people to present information to the <br /> Bureau of Conveyances and obtain tax map key numbers without going through a county <br /> subdivision process. This presented the problem of the Planning Department not having a record <br /> of the lot. So when asked to determine if there was a pre-existing lot, while the lot might be seen <br /> on a map, if it had not gone through a subdivision process, the Planning Department would not <br /> recognize it. Director Yee said that it was time to clarify by adding criteria to provide <br /> recognition of a pre-existing lot. <br /> Deputy Director Arai provided the historical background pertaining to the drafting of the bill. <br /> The first instance of subdivision of property on the island is on record to be 1944. However, <br /> prior to 1999, the management and planning of tax maps was handled on O`ahu through the tax <br /> mapping branch of the Department of Land and Natural Resources. The Planning Department <br /> took control of this function in 1999. To determine a pre-existing lot prior to 1999, the Code <br /> required proof demonstrated by a document recorded prior to 1944. The purpose of the bill is to <br /> provide a mechanism to determine a pre-existing lot on properties subdivided,in the period from <br /> 1944 to 1999. <br /> Currently, before platting a lot, the Planning Department verifies that the lot is supported by a <br /> subdivision action that was approved by the county and recorded, which reconciles the two <br /> instruments. <br /> PC Rept. No.: 43 <br />