S.B. 2353 Summary

• Amends Hawaii's coastal zone management law to require new developments to include adequate mitigation measures and resilient design to reduce risks from coastal hazards, including projected sea level rise impacts.

• Prohibits development in areas that will be significantly affected by sea level rise over a fifty-year period from the date of subdivision.

• Establishes a transition to long-term annual shoreline erosion-based setbacks by January 1, 2019, requiring setback lines of at least 60 feet from the shoreline for counties where erosion rate data is available.

• Expands the definition of coastal hazards to explicitly include hurricanes, wind, and projected sea level rise in addition to existing hazards like tsunami, flooding, and erosion.

• Adds new variance conditions for shoreline setback exceptions to minimize adverse environmental and ecological impacts to coastal ecosystems and marine resources.