HomeMy WebLinkAboutBIL 140 Draft 01 2006-2008 COUNTY OF HAWAII STATE OF HAWAII
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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:
(1) Transferred to a child of the owner of the pronerty: or
(2) Transferred to a person who was a co-tenant in the nropertv immediately
prior to the subdivision and who had acquired the co-tenancv interest by
devise or intestate succession from an ancestor in common with the other
co-tenants; and
A transferee shall be elieible for only one such exclusion in that nerson's
lifetime."
SECTION 3. Material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken. New material is
underscored. In printing this ordinance, the brackets, bracketed material, and underscoring need
not be included.
SECTION 4. Severability. If any provision of this ordinance or the application thereof to
any person or circumstance, is held invalid, such invalidity does not affect other provisions or
applications of the ordinance which can be given effect without the invalid provision or
application, and to this end, the provisions of this ordinance aze declazed to be severable.
SECTION 5. This ordinance shall take effect upon its approval.
INTRODUCED BY: ,
COUNCIL MBER, COUNTY OF HAWAII
Hawaii
Date of Introduction:
Date of 1st Reading:
Date of 2nd Reading:
Effective Date:
R~eF~RNC~: Comm. 572