PD Background and Recommendation Amendments to Planning Commission Rule 8 and 9

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Reasons for the amendments: The State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD) requires that all document review related to the HRS, 6E-42 (Historic Preservation Review)review process be done by the Planning Department submitting applications and studies to SHPD through their HICRIS (Hawai`i Cultural Resource Information System) permitting system, rather than an applicant or landowner submitting the information directly to SHPD. The Department has been implementing this change in practice for several years, but this section of Commission Rule 9 has not been amended to reflect SHPD's current review process. Furthermore, this amendment will still require Applicants to include any information on any known historic, archaeological, and cultural resources that may exist on the subject property with their application. Attached is a copy of the proposed amendments to Planning Commission Rule No. 8 and 9 that contains revisions that will bring these rules in line with the recent amendments to the State's Coastal Zone Management laws, upon which the County's SMA laws are based. In summary, one of the main changes made by Act 16, includes requiring a minimum shoreline setback of forty (40) feet instead of twenty (20), adding sea level rise to the definition of coastal hazards, adding a definition of beach to enhance beach protection, restricting construction of shoreline hardening structures at sites with beaches, requiring a shoreline setback variance to rebuild or replace legally built structures in the shoreline area, and including the construction of a single-family residence on a shoreline parcel as "development". These amendments are intended to promote shifting new development away from exposure to coastal hazards and shoreline erosion. PLANNING DIRECTOR RECOMMENDATION The Planning Director recommends that the Windward and Leeward Planning Commissions, meeting jointly, adopt the proposed amendments to Commission Rule 8 and 9. Please note that the proposed rule changes are considered a housekeeping measure to align the Planning Commission Rules of Practice and Procedure with current State law related to the special management area and shoreline setbacks. The Leeward and Windward Planning Commissions, meeting jointly, may adopt the proposed amendments as recommended, adopt the -15-