HI SR97

Urges all four Hawaii counties to adopt local zoning ordinances requiring owners of agricultural-zoned lands to execute and record declarations acknowledging state and county agricultural land use regulations, requirements, and penalties for noncompliance.

Notes that nearly half of Hawaii's 4.1 million acres are designated for agricultural use, but only approximately 8 percent are actively growing crops and 18.5 percent are used for grazing, with statewide totals of 120,632 crop acres and 765,579 grazing acres out of nearly 2 million designated agricultural acres.

Documents a 21 percent decrease in planted crop acreage between 2015 and 2020 (31,207 acres lost), though diversified agriculture increased by 22 percent, adding 3,695 acres.

Encourages counties to promote active agricultural use by making information available to landowners about farm apprenticeship and mentoring programs to help them put their lands into production.

Cites Maui County's existing requirement for declarations of compliance when obtaining building permits as a model for other counties to adopt.