§246-12  Dedicated lands.  (a)  Aspecial land reserve is established to enable the owner of any parcel of landwithin an agricultural district, a rural district, a conservation district, oran urban district to dedicate his land for a specific ranching or otheragricultural use and to have his land assessed at its value in such useprovided that if the land is located within an urban district, (1) a lessee ofthe land with a term of ten or more years remaining from the date of thepetition shall also be deemed an owner of the land within these provisos; (2)the land dedicated must be used for the cultivation of crops such as sugarcane, pineapple, truck crops, orchard crops, ornamental crops, or the like; (3)the land dedicated must have been substantially and continuously used for thecultivation of crops such as sugar cane, pineapple, truck crops, orchard crops,ornamental crops, or the like for the five-year period immediately precedingthe dedication request; provided further that land situated within anagricultural district may be dedicated for a period of twenty years and shallbe taxed at fifty per cent of its assessed value in such use.

(b)  If any owner desires to use his land for aspecific ranching or other agricultural use and to have his land taxed at itsassessed value in this use or fifty per cent of its assessed value as the casemay be, he shall so petition the director of taxation and declare in hispetition that his land can best be used for the purpose for which he requestspermission to dedicate his land and that if his petition is approved he willuse his land for this purpose.

Upon receipt of any such petition, the directorshall request the department of agriculture to make a finding of fact as towhether the land in the petitioned area is reasonably well suited for theintended use.  The finding of the department of agriculture shall include andbe based upon the productivity ratings of the land in those uses for which itis best suited, a study of the ownership, size of operating unit, and presentuse of surrounding similar lands and other criteria as may be appropriate.

The director shall also request the director ofbusiness, economic development, and tourism to make a finding of fact as towhether the intended use is in conflict with the over-all development plan ofthe State.

If both findings are favorable to the owner,the director shall approve the petition and declare that the owner's land isdedicated land; provided that for lands in urban districts, the director shallmake further findings respecting the economic feasibility of the intended useof the land.  If all three findings are favorable, the director shall approvethe petition and declare the land to be dedicated.  A change in the dedicateduse may be made by petition as provided in this subsection.

(c)  The approval by the director of thepetition to dedicate shall constitute a forfeiture on the part of the owner ofany right to change the use of the owner's land to a use other than agriculturefor a minimum period of ten years or twenty years as the case may be,automatically renewable indefinitely, subject to cancellation as follows:

(1)  In the case of a ten-year dedication, the owner,after the ninth year and years thereafter, may give notice of cancellation byfiling with the director, a written notice of cancellation, on or beforeApril 9, to be effective as of January 1 of the following year;

(2)  In the case of a twenty-year dedication, theowner, during the nineteenth year and years thereafter, may give notice ofcancellation as provided by this subsection;

(3)  In the case of a change in major land useclassification not as a result of a petition by any property owner or lesseesuch that the owner's land is placed within an urban district, the dedicationmay be canceled within sixty days of the change by the owner.

Upon any conveyance or any change in ownershipduring the period of dedication, the land shall continue to be subject to theterms and conditions of the dedication unless a release has been issued by thedirector.

(d)  Failure of the owner to observe therestrictions on the use of his land shall cancel the dedication and special taxassessment privilege retroactive to the date of the dedication, but in anyevent, shall not exceed the term of the original dedication, and alldifferences in the amount of taxes that were paid and those that would havebeen due from assessment in the higher use shall be payable with a ten per centa year penalty from the respective dates that these payments would have beendue.  The additional taxes and penalties, due and owing as a result of a breachof the dedication, shall be a paramount lien upon the property pursuant tosection 246-55.  Failure to observe the restrictions on the use means failurefor a period of twelve consecutive months to use the land in that mannerrequested in the petition or the overt act of changing the use for any periodprovided that a change in land use classification upon petition by the owner ofsuch dedicated lands shall not be deemed to constitute an overt act of changingthe use of the land.  Any other provisions to the contrary notwithstanding,when a portion of the dedicated land is subsequently applied to a use otherthan the use set forth in the original petition, only such portion as iswithdrawn from the dedicated use and applied to a use other than ranching orother agricultural use shall be taxed as provided by this subsection.

(e)  The director shall prescribe the form ofthe petition.  The petition shall be filed with the director of taxation bySeptember 1 of any calendar year and shall be approved or disapproved byDecember 15.  If approved, the assessment based upon the use requested inthe dedication shall be effective on January 1, next.

(f)  The owner may appeal any disapprovedpetition as in the case of an appeal from an assessment.

(g)  The term "owner" as used in thissection includes lessees of real property whose lease term extends at least tenyears from the date of the petition in the case of a ten-year dedication orlessees of real property whose lease term extends at least twenty years fromthe date of the petition in the case of a twenty-year dedication.

(h)  A special land reserve is established toenable the owner of any parcel of land within an urban district to dedicate hisland for a specific livestock use such as feed lots, calf- raising and likeoperations in dairy, beef, swine, poultry and aquaculture, but excludinggrazing or pasturing, and to have his land assessed at its value in such use;provided that (1) a lessee of the land with a term of ten or more yearsremaining from the date of the petition shall also be deemed an owner of theland within these provisos; (2) the land dedicated must be used for livestockuses such as feed lots, calf-raising, and like operations in dairy, beef,swine, poultry and aquaculture but excluding grazing or pasturing; (3) the landdedicated must have been substantially and continuously used in the livestockuses enumerated in (2) hereinabove; (4) and such livestock use must becompatible with the surrounding uses. [L 1961, c 187, §3; am L 1963, c 2, §2and c 205, §3; am L 1965, c 277, §§1, 2; Supp, §128-9.2; am L 1967, c 269, §1;HRS §246-12; am L 1969, c 170, §5; am L 1973, c 175, §§1, 3; am L 1975, c 157,§5; am L 1977, c 111, §2; am L 1986, c 339, §20; am L 1987, c 336, §7; am L1990, c 293, §8]

 

Revision Note

 

  Subsection"(h)" designation added by revisor.

 

Case Notes

 

  No home exemption forland dedicated to agriculture.  This section held to provide for forfeiture ofright to change use for certain number of years.  56 H. 492, 542 P.2d 361.