Bill Repealed that Delayed Building Permits for Hawaii Real Estate

Governor Signs Bill to Repeal Law Requiring Archival-Quality Photos for Buildings over 50 Years Old

Governor Linda Lingle today signed a bill to repeal a nine-month-old law that placed a financial burden on building owners and created significant delays in obtaining building permits.

HB520 HD1 SD1 repeals Act 228, passed by the Legislature last year, which required building and home owners to submit, at their expense, archival-quality, black-and-white print photos of all buildings and homes 50 years or older to the State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD) before the structure could be altered or demolished.

Under Act 228, county permitting agencies were prohibited from issuing permits for demolition, construction or other alteration of such structures until after the building or homeowner provided the black-and-white photos to SHPD, which then determined if the structure could be modified or demolished.

The new law becomes Act 4 of the 2009 Legislative Session and takes effect immediately.