The Honolulu City Council is considering increasing the general shoreline setback distance for structures and development from 40 feet to between 60 and 130 feet, depending on the location and size of the property.

Shoreline setbacks dictate where structures and development can happen in proximity to the ocean shoreline. These setbacks are put in place to account for beach erosion and sea-level rise.

Currently, the shoreline setback is 40 feet for most properties unless it is subdivided, which would increase it to 60 feet.

Bill 41 would increase the base shoreline setback to 60 feet and establish a formula which takes into account the beach erosion at each specific property. So the new minimum shoreline setback would be calculated by taking the minimum 60 feet and adding 70 times the erosion rate at each property. However, that amount would not be more than 130 feet.

“That coastal erosion formula that we’re proposing is intended to push new houses as far mauka as possible to stay out of harm’s way and to protect our beaches,” said Katia Balassiano, the Department of Planning and Permitting Land Use Permits Division chief, at Thursday’s Council Zoning and Planning Committee meeting.

“If you have room, you should not be within that shoreline setback at all,” Balassiano said.

DPP chose to multiply the erosion rate by 70 because 70 years is the average life span of a home.

Balassiano added that Kauai and Maui counties both have had “science­-based” shoreline setbacks for several years.

“These are very important bills, a long time coming,” she said. “We’ve been watching houses slide onto the beach. We’ve been reading about the science associated with climate change in the newspaper almost daily.”

This shoreline setback formula would not apply to properties in the primary urban center which begins at Pearl Harbor and extends through Waialae Beach Park in Kahala. The shoreline setback in those areas would just increase from 40 feet to 60 feet.

“That’s our economic engine of the island. That’s where a lot of the shoreline has already been hardened,” Balassiano said. “That’s our downtown. That’s our harbor area … that’s where most of our development on Oahu occurs.”

However, Chip Fletcher, University of Hawaii director of the Climate Resilience Collaborative, wrote in his testimony on the measure that Diamond Head and Kahala should not be part of the primary urban center for the shoreline setback rules, and should instead have to comply with the erosion rate formula setback.

“Those areas have a similar development pattern to neighboring portions of East Honolulu and much of the rest of the island,” he wrote.

“Further, these narrow and low-lying beaches are also very susceptible to sea-level rise and coastal erosion, and have experienced strong historical erosion trends. Thus, the science shows that those sandy coastlines should be subject to the historical erosion rate-based setback and the improved safety buffer they provide.”

DPP said it would be open to that change.

There are exemptions in the measure for properties that are smaller than 1,500 square feet which would be allowed to keep the 40-foot setback.

“That means they can get a little closer because they don’t really have much area in which to build,” Balassiano said.

Limited repairs such as rebuilding a kitchen or bathroom also would be allowed on what are called nonconforming structures, which already have been exempted from the setback laws. However, any new development would be subjected to Bill 41, which would go into effect Jan. 1, 2024.

Another main objective of Bill 41 is to bring the city into compliance with a 2020 state law called Act 16, which increases the minimum shoreline setback to 40 feet. However, it also increased the threshold for “variances,” which are exceptions to the shoreline setback laws. In the past, variances were allowed for property owners who wanted to build sea walls to protect their homes, but were shown to be one of the most significant contributors to beach loss.

While no new sea walls are permitted, those that already have been permitted to exist will continue to be allowed. Homeowners also can continue to submit applications to DPP to make repairs to their existing sea walls as long as it does not increase in size.

Council member Esther Kia‘aina was concerned about how these changes would impact landowners who have been on the property for generations and would see a potential significant loss in the amount of usable land that they have. She thought there should be more conversations about whether the government has any obligation to help with relocating these families.

DPP hoped that the 2024 implementation date would give landowners enough time to understand the new rules and complete any projects they are currently working on. During that time, Balassiano said the department would be working on streamlining the permitting system and improving its permit application instructions.

She also highlighted another measure the Council is considering, Bill 10, that would create a transfer of development rights incentive to encourage people to move out of special management areas, which means areas near the ocean.

Bill 41 was passed out of the committee unanimously and will be heard before the full Council for second reading.