Title 12, Conservation And Resources

§171-3 Department of land and natural resources. (a) The department of land and natural resources shall be headed by an executive board to be known as the board of land and natural resources. The department shall manage, administer, and exercise control over public lands, the wat…

§171-30 Acquisition of real property; general. (a) Except as provided in section 26-19(f), the board shall have the exclusive responsibility, except as provided herein, of acquiring, including by way of dedications: The board shall upon the request of and with the funds from the …

§171-31 Depository for documents; filing, record. The department of land and natural resources is designated as a depository for purpose of recordation with the registrar of conveyances, all documents pertaining to real property or any interest therein conveyed to the Territory o…

§171-31.5 Disposition of abandoned or seized property. (a) The department may sell, donate, or otherwise dispose of property abandoned or seized on land owned by the State upon compliance with the requirements of this section. (b) The department shall send notice by certified mai…

[§171-31.6] Criminal penalties. (a) Any person found guilty of a violation of this chapter or any rules adopted thereunder shall be guilty of a petty misdemeanor and shall be punished as follows: (b) Any criminal action against a person for any violation under this section shall …

PART II. DISPOSITIONS, GENERALLY A. Policy and Planning §171-32 Policy. Unless otherwise specifically authorized in this chapter or by subsequent legislative acts, all dispositions shall be by lease only, disposed of by public auction in accordance with the procedure set forth in…

§171-33 Planning; generally. Prior to any notice of intended disposition, the board of land and natural resources shall:

§171-34 Planning; intensive agricultural and pasture uses. In addition to the requirements set forth in section 171-33, if the intended disposition is for intensive agricultural or pasture uses, the board of land and natural resources shall:

B. Leases or Sales §171-35 Lease provisions; generally. Every lease issued by the board of land and natural resources shall contain:

§171-36 Lease restrictions; generally. (a) Except as otherwise provided, the following restrictions shall apply to all leases: (b) The board, from time to time, upon the issuance or during the term of any intensive agricultural, aquaculture, commercial, mariculture, special lives…

[§171-36.1] Reservation of rights to prehistoric and historic remains on leased public lands. The board of land and natural resources shall, in leases of public lands retain the rights to all prehistoric and historic remains found on such lands. [L 1969, c 216, §7]

§171-36.2 Public lands for historic preservation and restoration. (a) Any law to the contrary notwithstanding, the board may lease public lands in the State for use in historic preservation and restoration projects: (b) The department shall adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91 to d…

[§171-36.5] Commercial, industrial, resort, mixed-use, or government leases; extension of term. (a) Notwithstanding section 171-36, for leases that have not been assigned or transferred within ten years prior to receipt of an application for a lease extension submitted pursuant t…

[§171-36.7] Inspection of demised premises. (a) The department may conduct inspections of all public land subject to a lease or license under this chapter only. The inspection is to ensure that: (b) Inspection of structures or buildings pursuant to this section may be conducted b…

§171-37 Lease restrictions; intensive agricultural and pasture uses. In addition to the restrictions provided in section 171-36, the following restrictions shall apply to all leases for intensive agricultural and pasture uses: "Tree-crop", as used in this section, shall be exclus…

§171-37.5 Withdrawal or taking of leased land; fair compensation. (a) Upon a withdrawal or taking of leased land pursuant to section 171-37(3) that causes any portion of the land to become unusable for the specific use or uses for which it was leased, the lease rent shall be redu…

§171-38 Condemnation of leases. The lease shall provide that whenever a portion of the public land under lease is condemned for public purposes by the State, or any county or city and county, or any other governmental agency or subdivision, the rental shall be reduced in proporti…

§171-39 Leases; forfeiture. Upon the violation of any condition or term of any lease to be observed or performed by the lessee or tenant, the board of land and natural resources shall, after the notice of default as provided in section 171-20, and subject to the rights of each ho…

§171-4 Board of land and natural resources; terms and qualifications of members of the board; organization; expenses. (a) The board of land and natural resources shall be composed of seven members, one from each land district and three at large, to be nominated and, by and with t…

[§171-4.5] Aha moku advisory committee; established. (a) There is established the aha moku advisory committee to be placed within the department of land and natural resources for administrative purposes. The committee may advise the chairperson of the board of land and natural re…

§171-40 Expired leases; holdover. Upon expiration of the lease term, if the leased land is not otherwise disposed of, the board of land and natural resources may allow the lessee to continue to hold the land for a period not exceeding one year upon such rent, terms, and condition…

§171-41 Commercial, industrial, and other business uses. (a) Leases for commercial, industrial, and other business uses shall be made only pursuant to a development plan which provides for careful placement of complementary enterprises consistent with county zoning requirements; …

§171-41.5 Amendment of commercial, hotel, or industrial lease. (a) The board of land and natural resources, after notification and public hearing as provided in subsection (b), may amend the height, density, and other building restrictions or requirements and the specific use or …

§171-41.6 Lessees within the last ten years of their lease terms; requests for interest. [Repeal and reenactment on June 30, 2028. L 2018, c 149, §7.] (a) Notwithstanding any other provision of law to the contrary, and except as otherwise provided in section 171-36(b), (c), and (…

§171-42 Hotel and resort uses. Public land may be leased for hotel or resort development, if the department of business, economic development, and tourism finds that the land possesses the amenities for a successful hotel and resort development and that the advantages of its plac…

§171-43 Lease of campsites or sites for youth athletic and/or educational activities. The board of land and natural resources may directly lease without recourse to public auction to any eleemosynary or religious organization campsites or sites for youth athletic and/or education…

§171-43.1 Lease to eleemosynary organizations. The board may lease, at a nominal consideration, by direct negotiation and without recourse to public auction, public lands to an eleemosynary organization which has been certified to be tax exempt under sections 501(c)(1) or 501(c)(…

§171-44 Lease for recreation-residence use. (a) Notwithstanding any limitations to the contrary, the board of land and natural resources shall lease, by public lottery and without recourse to public auction, lands within a state park or forest reserve and other lands set aside un…

C. Residential Uses §171-45 Residence lots; sale or leases. The board may dispose of public land for personal residence purposes (1) by sale in fee simple or lease at public auction as provided in sections 171-14 and 171-16, or (2) by sale or lease of lots by drawing as provided …

§171-46 Residential sales or leases; planning. Prior to the disposition of public land for residential lots, whether by sale in fee simple or by lease, in addition to the requirements of section 171-33, the board of land and natural resources shall:

§171-47 Residence lots; improvement districts. Notwithstanding any provision of law to the contrary, the board of land and natural resources is authorized, in like manner and subject to the same conditions, including the imposition of liens and the payment of costs, as any subdiv…

§171-48 Residence lots, requirements. In the disposition of lots for residence purposes:

§171-49 Residence lots: unsold; forfeited; surrendered. Any lot not sold or leased at public auction or drawing, or sold or leased and forfeited, or surrendered after sale or lease with the consent of the board of land and natural resources, which consent is authorized, may, subj…

[§171-49.5] Resale, first offer to board; limitation on resale price. Any lot [sold] or leased for residential use pursuant to this part shall not be sold or transferred again by the purchaser, the purchaser's personal representative, or the purchaser's heirs for a period of ten …

[§171-49.7] Public lands suitable and available for residential development; inventory. The department of land and natural resources shall complete and maintain a current inventory of all public lands placed in the urban district by the land use commission under chapter 205 which…

§171-5 Meetings, regular, special; quorum. Regular meetings of the board of land and natural resources shall be held not less than once a month and the board shall provide in its rules and regulations the number and dates for the regular meetings. Special meetings may be called b…

D. Miscellaneous §171-50 Exchanges. (a) Purpose. No exchange of public land for private land shall be made except for public purposes, including but not limited to: Exchanges shall be effected without public auction. Public notice of any proposed exchange shall be given in accord…

[§171-50.1] Acquisition of lands for exchange under chapter 516. The board may acquire private lands by negotiated purchase to be exchanged to effect the conversion of leasehold lands to fee simple ownership under section 171-50.2. The legislature declares that such acquisition i…

§171-50.2 Exchanges for conversion of leasehold lands to fee simple ownership. The board may exchange public lands for private lands to be condemned or involuntarily sold pursuant to chapter 516. An exchange shall be requested by the executive director of the Hawaii housing finan…

§171-51 Quitclaim. The board of land and natural resources may, after giving public notice as required in section 171-16(d):

§171-52 Remnant. (a) Definition. The term "remnant" means a parcel of land economically or physically unsuitable or undesirable for development or utilization as a separate unit by reason of location, size, shape, or other characteristics. A remnant may be: (b) Disposition restri…

§171-53 Reclamation and disposition of submerged or reclaimed public land. (a) Any submerged public land or land beneath tidal waters shall not hereafter be reclaimed by private abutting owners, except as hereinafter provided. (b) As to presently reclaimed land, the board of land…

§171-54 Land license. The board of land and natural resources may issue land licenses affecting public lands for a period not exceeding twenty years. No land license shall be disposed of except at public auction as provided in this chapter; provided that the board may, after publ…

§171-55 Permits. (a) Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the board of land and natural resources may issue permits for the temporary occupancy of state lands or an interest therein on a month-to-month basis by direct negotiation without public auction, under conditions…

§171-55.5 Agricultural plots. The department of land and natural resources, in cooperation with the department of agriculture and biosecurity and the city and county of Honolulu, shall adopt rules in accordance with chapter 91 to allow for use of vacant public lands for farming o…

§171-56 Contract or license for concessions or concession space. The board of land and natural resources may, subject to chapter 102, dispose of concessions, as defined in chapter 102, and shall enter into contracts or issue licenses for such concessions; provided that the durati…