Aloha and good morning, everyone.

It is Thursday, July sixteenth, twenty twenty-six, and the time is nine oh four AM.

Will the committee on zoning and planning meeting please come to order.

I would like to welcome the following committee members.

Committee Vice Chair Waters, Councilmember Cordero, and Councilmember Okimoto.

Councilmember Topola is excused from today's meeting.

Although remote verbal testimony is being permitted, this is a regular in-person meeting and not a remote meeting by interactive conference technology under HRS section 92-3.

Therefore, the meeting will continue, notwithstanding loss of audiovisual communication with remote testifiers or loss of the public broadcast of the meeting.

Persons who did not register will be given an opportunity to offer testimony after the registered testifiers.

For verbal testimonies, offer it in Olala Hawaii.

Additional time as may be necessary will be allowed for the testifier to provide an English translation of their testimony.

Written testimonies, including the testifier's address, email address, and phone number, will be available to the public as described in the posted agenda.

As a courtesy, please turn off or silence all cell phones for the duration of this meeting.

Thank you.

Moving to agenda item number one for extension of time only.

Members, the first item on our agenda is to prove an extension of time only for Bill 43 2026.

Verbal testimony will be limited to comments on the extension of time only, and we will not be discussing the substantive provisions of the bill at today's meeting.

Bill 43 2026, this bill rezones 1.431 acres of land located on 69-099 Wayalua Beach Road in Pa'ala Paalaa, Kai Wayalua identified as tax map key 66018-024 from the country district to the R5 residential district.

I will be recommending a 120-day extension of the deadline for council action on this bill to give the committee more time to consider the measure.

Members, for your information, the written request for 100-day, 20-day extension of time is available online as miscellaneous communication 299 2026.

I also wanted to acknowledge the presence of Councilmembers Wire as well as Dos Santos TAM.

Before I call up the administration, I would like to take public testimony.

Proceeding first with in-person testimony in the council chamber.

Clerks, do you have any in-person testifiers for this item?

Chair, there are none.

Is there anyone standing by remotely?

Chair there are none.

Chair.

Before we uh go any further, can I just wish you a happy birthday?

Your beautiful liaison just hope we have a wonderful day today.

Awesome.

Thank you.

Let's see.

So no in-person or remote testifiers.

Uh for the administration, we have the Department of Planning and Permitting.

Good morning, Chair Kia Aina, Vice Chair Waters, and happy birthday to you.

Um, the department is in support of the 120-day experience.

Can you identify yourself?

Oh, apologies, Dina Wong, um, chief planner for DPP's planning division.

Thank you.

Members, any questions for uh department?

If not, I'm gonna move forward with my recommendation.

Uh, the chair notes that the time needed to consider Bill 43 2026 may exceed the current deadline for council action.

The chair therefore recommends that the bill be granted a 120-day extension of time, pursuant to a request from the applicant's agent and miscellaneous communication 299 2026.

Any discussion, any objections or reservations, hearing none so ordered.

Moving to agenda item number two for action.

Resolution 26-159.

This resolution urges the state board of land and natural resources to direct the Department of Land and Natural Resources Division of Aquatic Resources to adopt rules prohibiting the harvest of aquatic life from State of Hawaii Marine waters for commercial aquarium purposes.

In 2017, the Hawaii Supreme Court determined that permits for commercial aquarium fishing using fine meshed nets are invalid until the state completes an environmental review under HRS Chapter 343.

The Department of Land and Natural Resources subsequently discontinued renewing or issuing new aquarium fishing permits pending environmental review.

In 2018, the Board of Land and Natural Resources concluded that an environmental impact statement is required to evaluate impacts of the issuance of commercial aquarium permits.

In 2021, the Board of Land and Natural Resources accepted an environmental impact statement for West Hawaii commercial aquarium fishing permits, and the Department of Land and Natural Resources is proposing new administrative rules to resume per issuing permits in West Hawaii.

While a previous environmental impact statement for Oahu was rejected as insufficient, the environmental impact statement process for Oahu commercial aquarium fishing permits is restarting.

In April 2026, the Hawaii First Circuit Environmental Court ruled that the Board of Land and Natural Resources has the legal authority to prohibit commercial aquarium collection statewide by administrative rule.

Resolution 26-159, which we are hearing today, urges the board to direct the Department of Land and Natural Resources to do this.

Hawaii's public trust doctrine, which is found in the state constitution, establishes the state's responsibility to safeguard all public natural resources.

It is therefore the state's responsibility to manage Hawaii's reef ecosystems for the benefit of future generations rather than for private profit.

Healthy and thriving coral reefs are of the utmost importance as they support food security, Native Hawaiian cultural practices, biodiversity, shoreline protection, and Hawaii's tourism economy.

Before I call up the administration, I would like to take public testimony.

Proceeding first with in-person testimony in the council chamber.