The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the House Committee on Water & Land on Feb. 3, 2026.
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Feb. 3, 2026, 9 a.m.
Hawaii State Capitol
Conference Room 411 and Videoconference
To: House Committee on Water & Land
Rep. Mark Hashem, Chair
Rep. Dee Morikawa, Vice-Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
RE: TESTIMONY IN SUPPORT OF HB1710 — RELATING TO HISTORIC PRESERVATION
Aloha chair, vice chair and other members of the Committee,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii supports HB1710, which would require the State Historic Preservation Division to give its written concurrence or non-concurrance within 30 days for certain projects if it determines that no historical properties will be impacted, or within 90 days if it determines that historical properties could be affected and that taking mitigation steps would be necessary to protect them.
The bill would define the term “complete submittal” and further stipulate that if SHPD fails to make a determination within those timeframes, the project applicant “may assume the department’s concurrence for the proposed project.”
Requiring SHPD to review certain projects within a defined period of time would add certainty to the construction process for state infrastructure and much-needed housing projects.
This legislation is based on recommendations from the Simplifying Permitting for Enhanced Economic Development task force’s historic preservation permitted interaction group.
The group pointed out that Act 160 (2025) set up a framework with specific timelines and definitions that applied to the review of projects within county-designated transit-oriented development zones, and that this framework could be applied to all SHPD reviews.
The group also highlighted the confusion that exists in current SHPD processes:
According to The Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawai‘i, Hawaii’s housing regulations are the strictest in the country, and “approval delays” for housing developments are three times longer than the national average among communities surveyed.[2] Likewise, UHERO researchers estimated that regulations comprise 58% of the cost of new condominium construction.[3]
Historic preservation reviews certainly play a role in these delays and their associated costs. For example, SHPD noted in its report to the 2023 Legislature that its archaeology reviews were taking between six months and one year, on average.[4]
Additionally, a 2025 Grassroot white paper, “Preserving the past or preventing progress?”, analyzed SHPD data and found that more than 90% of the projects the agency reviewed from 2021 to 2024 were determined to have no impact on historic properties.
The average review time for projects issued determinations was 94 days during that time period. However, the division reviewed less than half of the applications it had received during that period.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Ted Kefalas
Director of Strategic Campaigns
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
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[1] “6E Historic Preservation Interaction Group Report,” Simplifying Permitting for Enhanced Economic Development (Speed) Task Force, December 2025, p. 15.
[2] Rachel Inafuku, Justin Tyndall and Carl Bonham, “Measuring the Burden of Housing Regulation in Hawaii,” The Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawai‘i, April 14, 2022, p. 6.
[3] Justin Tyndall and Emi Kim, “Why are Condominiums so Expensive in Hawai‘i?” The Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawai‘i, May 2024, p. 11.
[4] “Report to the Thirty-Second Legislature 2023 Regular Session on the State Historic Preservation Program For Fiscal Year 2021-2022,” Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, October 2022, p. 1.
