Hawaii lawmakers work to weed out ‘gentlemen’s farms’

A state effort to stop residential use of agricultural land with little or no farming has gained strong momentum in the Legislature this year.

Yet two bills aimed at plugging a longstanding loophole in Hawaii land-use law inviting such abuse have also recently received a wave of critical testimony from opponents who claim the bill would harm very small farmers.

The bills would require that homes permitted on ag land, which by law must be related to a farm, be allowed only if the related farm generates at least $10,000 annually.

Violators of the proposed amendment would face fines enforced by counties.

Use of farmland for residential use with little to no farming — sometimes referred to as gentlemen’s farms — has been an issue in recent decades after the almost complete disappearance of sugar cane and pineapple plantations statewide.

The state Office of Planning said in a December report to the Legislature that development of housing on farmland, which is far less costly than urban land zoned for residential use, is well-­established and can be expected to keep growing.

“Higher value residential housing on ag land that are not tied to farming have proliferated especially on the neighbor islands, mainly due to the lack of a clear definition of what constitutes a bona fide ‘farm’ or ‘farm dwelling’ in the state land use law,” the report said.

The bills have strong backing from the Office of Planning, the Hawaii Department of Agriculture, the state Real Estate Commission, the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting, the Maui County Council chair and organizations supporting agriculture such as the Hawaii Farm Bureau, Ulupono Initiative and the Hawaii Cattlemen’s Council.

The Farm Bureau, which represents 1,800 members, said in written testimony: “Lands capable of supporting viable agricultural activities should be protected and kept in agriculture for agricultural production.”

Louisa Wooton of Kauai Kunana Dairy said in written testimony that her family has two ag parcels that include homes, and she encouraged lawmakers to elevate the farm income requirement and county enforcement power.

Karen Winslow, who lives in an agricultural area being encroached upon by housing, said such land on Maui needs protection from development.

“This is changing the whole nature of the area and the land use,” she said in written testimony.

The state Department of Taxation suggested that lawmakers craft a more specific way to verify income because general excise tax forms have only a broad category for income from agricultural activities.

The two bills — House Bill 247 and Senate Bill 340 — sailed through five committee hearings with no written testimony opposing the measures and no amendments, followed by unanimous floor votes from lawmakers in both the House and Senate for their respective bills.

However, after the bills crossed legislative chambers for consideration, an outpouring of opposition has materialized.

About 25 pieces of written testimony opposing HB 247 were submitted for a Wednesday hearing by a joint Senate committee.

One opponent, Maui real estate attorney Jakob Wormser, submitted a petition with roughly 900 names opposing the bill.

Wormser suggested the issue the bills aim to address applies to Oahu and not Maui. He also said the income requirement would harm farmers who raise food for themselves.

“You must kill this bill,” he told committee members.

Other opponents raised more issues with the income requirement, and questioned how it would apply to crops that can take years to produce income, bad production years and landowners who rent their property to tenant farmers.

“What if someone retires?” Ali Linder asked in written testimony. “Do they lose their home?”

Paul Areus said in written testimony that he owns 2 acres of ag land and farms half of it but doesn’t earn close to $10,000 a year.

“I am not aware of any type of crop that you could grow on 2 acres of land and earn that type of income,” he said.

Jason Stone said in written testimony that homes on ag land help provide affordable rental housing in Maui’s high-priced housing market.

Hawaii island Sen. Lorraine Inouye, chairwoman of the Senate Water and Land Committee, said her son and daughter have a 7-acre farm mostly full of fruit trees and don’t make $10,000 a year.

“That’s a dispute that I’d like to add,” she said. “We just don’t make that kind of money.”

Inouye’s committee in connection with the Senate Committee on Agriculture and Environment is scheduled to vote on the bill Monday.