State Land Use District Boundary Amendment
The Special Use Permit process includes the following steps:
Introduction to District Boundary Amendments
All land across the State of Hawaiʻi is placed within four Land Use Districts: urban, rural, agricultural, and conservation (although currently there is no land designated rural on Oʻahu). A State Land Use District Boundary Amendment (or DBA) is required to change this designation. Changes that involve more than 15 acres, lands in the conservation district, or Important Agricultural Lands are processed by the State Land Use Commission. All other applications on Oʻahu are processed by the DPP in accordance with these instructions.
Active DBA applications under review by the DPP are shown on our Public Input page, and those before the State Land Use Commission are on the Land Use Commission website under Pending Dockets. Inactive applications reviewed by the DPP may be found on our Archived Projects page.
How do I apply for a District Boundary Amendment (15 acres or less)?
1. Pre-Application
HNL Build
Login to our newly launched HNL Build portal to begin a DBA application. A tutorial for how to create a login and navigate the HNL Build portal can be found here.
Much of the application process on the HNL Build portal will be self explanatory. This page is here to provide an overview of both the process and what the DPP expects to see in the Application Report.
Pre-Application Consultation
- During the pre-consultation phase in HNL Build, meet with the DPP staff to discuss the application and processing requirements. Email or call our Community Planning Branch using the contact info on our Organizational Chart. In the HNL Build portal, under New Planning Application, there is a Begin DPP Planning Consultation Application. A pre-consultation meeting number will be generated that you will use in the HNL Build portal.
- To inform the community of the project, you are encouraged to present to the neighborhood board of the district in which the project is located.
Other Requirements
If the project includes any actions listed in Hawaii Revised Statutes Section 343-5(opens in a new tab), compliance with the State’s environmental review process is required. To complete the process:
- The determining agency must declare the action exempt from the requirement to prepare an environmental assessment (EA) or environmental impact statement (EIS) (agencies maintain lists of actions that are commonly exempt);
- An environmental assessment and finding of no significant impact must be published in the Environmental Notice of the Environmental Review Program, Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, State of Hawai’i (if significant environmental impacts are not anticipated); or
- An environmental impact statement must be accepted by the appropriate government agency and published in the Environmental Notice (if significant environmental impacts are anticipated).
2. Apply
All DPP applications have moved to the HNL Build portal. A digital copy of the Application Report must be accessible and compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA). For more information on making your application accessible, refer to this PDF accessibility overview(opens in a new tab).
Consultation Information
On the HNL Build portal, select New Planning Application. Follow the instructions provided on the HNL Build Portal. Required information includes:
- Application Information. Prior to clicking on Apply for a State Land Use District Boundary Amendment, you are required to meet with the DPP. Click Begin DPP Planning Consultation Application.
- Project Information. Select Create a New Project, if new, and provide a project name. Select if the project is public or private. If this is an existing project, continue under that tab.
- Location. Enter in the Tax Map Key (TMK) for the project site and addresses.
- Scope. Enter the Application Type (in this case select State Land Use District Boundary Amendment). Enter in size of the boundary amendment in acres. Size may differ from the overall size of the TMK. Also provide a brief description of the proposal.
- Contact. You can try to search for contact using the text box. You may need to click Create New Contact or Create New Business at the bottom of the window. Your login account may differ from contact information for a project. Multiple contacts can be associated with an application.
- Recorded Fee Owner is the person or corporate entity that owns the land in fee simple. Written authorization of all fee simple owners is required, including acknowledgement that the owners and their successors will be bound by the conditions if the DBA is approved.
- Applicant is the person or corporate entity proposing the action. It may be the Recorded Fee Owner, a lessee, or an owner under contract.
- Authorized Agent/Contact Person is the person who is processing the application. This is the person the Department will contact for additional information. It may be the same person as the Recorded Fee Owner, the Applicant, developer, project architect, or contractor.
- Terms and Conditions. Read and accept.
- Submissions. A Site Plan and Application Report are required for all submittals. A description of what is required in the Application Report can be found in #4, below.
- Success. Record the generated reference number for your record to continue with the application. Click Finish.
- The DPP will be notified of the Consultation Application. You can contact FKraintz@honolulu.gov to schedule a meeting and continue the consultation process.
New Planning Application
On the HNL Build portal, select New Planning Application. Follow the instructions provided on the HNL Build Portal. Required information includes:
- Application Information. Enter the planning consultation reference number generated previously in the consultation process. The process must be completed by the DPP for the application to proceed.
- Follow the remaining steps in HNL Build. Many are information prompts are similar to the consultation phase, detailed above.
3. Payment
Follow the steps in HNL Build to submit a check, money order, or enter credit card information. Checks and money orders should made out to the City & County of Honolulu for the application fee of $700 + $300 per acre of the project site, or major fraction thereof (0.5 acre or greater), up to a maximum of $15,000 (this fee is non-refundable once the application has been accepted for processing). There is no fee for public agencies.
4. Application Report
Proposal
Completely and accurately describe the amendment request, the basis for the request, the proposed use of the property (e.g. master plan), the development timetable, and the approximate cost.
Project Information
- Petition Area (if the use only involves a portion of a parcel, a metes and bounds description is required)
- Soil Classification
- Land Capability classification – The Soil Conservation Service of the US Department of Agriculture Web Soil Survey identifies site soils and descriptions.
- Agricultural Lands of Importance to the State of Hawaii (ALISH) classification.
- Land Study Bureau classification – features an agricultural productivity rating system.
- Topography
- Historical Use and Permitting History of the Petition Area
- Surrounding Uses
- Infrastructure
- Wastewater (consult with the DPP Wastewater Branch about connecting to the municipal sewer system, or the State Department of Health about individual wastewater systems)
- Water (consult with the Board of Water Supply)
- Drainage and Flood Zones
- Streets and transportation (consult with the Department of Transportation Services and the DPP Traffic Review Branch for City streets, and the State Department of Transportation for State highways)
- Photos of existing structures and uses, including setbacks, parking, and access, as well as uses on adjoining properties (all photos should be labeled and keyed to a general site map)
- Environmental Review compliance
- Other Permits and Approvals Required (including zone changes)
- Project layout
Evaluation
Provide a written statement demonstrating compliance with the following guidelines (the decision making criteria found in the Rules of the Planning Commission, Section 2-86 and in Section 23-1.6 of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu [ROH]):
- Contribution to the general welfare and prosperity of the people of Oʻahu;
- Whether or not a public issue, need, or problem presently exists to serve as a basis for the proposed amendment;
- Consistency with The Hawaiʻi State Plan (HRS Chapter 226), the Oʻahu General Plan, and the applicable Development Plan or Sustainable Communities Plan; and
- Suitability of the subject property for the need or problem being addressed.
5. DPP Review
When the DPP first receives an application, it will review for completeness with the aforementioned information. If the application is deemed incomplete, the applicant will be notified, and the process will be paused. When the DPP accepts the application, a notice for fees to be paid will be generated. Upon receipt of the fee, the DPP will provide notice of acceptance for processing.
- The DPP will notify the applicant whether the application is complete and compliant with the Americans with Disabilities Act (ADA).
- The DPP will then post the project on our Public Input page and request comments from government agencies and the community. The public is encouraged to provide comment at this time so that the DPP can weigh their input during its recommendations.
- The Director of the DPP must submit a report and recommendation to the Planning Commission within 120 days of accepting the application as complete.
6. Planning Commission
- The Planning Commission must hold a public hearing on the application within 30 days of receiving the DPP Director’s report and recommendation. A public hearing notice will be posted at least ten (10) calendar days prior to any regular or special meeting of the Planning Commission in a newspaper of general circulation.
- Both the Applicant and the DPP will present the proposal and findings.
- The public will have an opportunity to review findings and provide testimony.
- The Planning Commission must submit a report and recommendation through the mayor to the Honolulu City Council within 60 days of the close of the public hearing.
7. City Council
- Following the receipt of the report and recommendation from the Planning Commission and the DPP Director’s report and recommendation, the City Council begins consideration of the SLUDBA.
- The Honolulu City Council must deny or approve the application through the passing of a bill by two-thirds vote in accordance with Section 23-1.6 of the ROH. Bills can be tracked on the City Council’s Records Collection website.