Historic Hawaii Foundation requests your help by contacting members of the State House of Representatives to ask them to vote “no” on SB 1171.

Senate Bill 1171 seeks to take away the protections provided by current historic preservation laws in identifying and saving historic and cultural properties.  http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/measure_indiv.aspx?billtype=SB&billnumber=1171

SB 1171 would change statute governing review of historic preservation projects and would allow development to proceed prior to identifying locations of historic and cultural properties, including Native Hawaiian burials, as well as other historically significant properties.

Currently, State law (HRS 6E-8 and 6E-42) requires that prior to any project commencing, that the proposed project shall be referred to the State Historic Preservation Division (SHPD) for its review of the proposed project’s potential effect on historic properties, including buildings, heiau and archeological sites, aviation and underwater resources, and burial sites. The proposed project shall not commence until SHPD gives its written concurrence.

SHPD’s review of proposed projects is an important safeguard to ensure that historic properties are identified and appropriate treatment measures are in place during planning and design work, which also then limits surprises or delays during construction.

SB 1171 proposes to change this process by allowing SHPD to provide its review and concurrence in phases, which would then open the way for development to proceed before the full extent of cultural and historic resources are known, or how the project would affect them, or how they are to be treated. This approach would lead to uninformed decision-making and would allow major land use decisions to be made before information regarding historical sites is gathered. It undermines basic protections for the historic and cultural legacy of Hawaii.

Therefore, Historic Hawaii Foundation opposes SB 1171.

PLEASE CALL OR EMAIL YOUR REPRESENTATIVE and respectfully ask them to vote “no” on SB 1171.  You can find your representative and senator here:

  • http://www.capitol.hawaii.gov
    (type your address on the top right corner of the page),
  • or you can email all Representatives at reps@capitol.hawaii.gov

Thank you for taking a few minutes to voice your opposition and help protect Hawaii’s cultural resources.