§261-16  Licensing of airports.  (a) 
Site approvals.  Except as provided in subsection (d) of this section, the
department of transportation may provide for the approval of airport sites and
the issuance of certificates of the approvals.  No charge shall be made for any
approval.  Upon the promulgation of a rule or regulation providing for such
approvals, any person desiring or planning to construct or establish an airport
may, before the acquisition of the site or before the construction or
establishment of the proposed airport, make application to the department for
approval of the site.  The department shall with reasonable dispatch issue a
certificate granting approval of a site if it is satisfied (1) that the site is
adequate for the proposed airport; (2) that the proposed airport, if
constructed or established, will conform to minimum standards of safety; and
(3) that safe air traffic patterns can be worked out for the proposed airport
and for all existing airports and approved airport sites in its vicinity.  An
approval of a site may be granted subject to any reasonable conditions which
the department may deem necessary to effectuate the purposes of this section,
and shall remain in effect, unless sooner revoked by the department, until a
license for an airport located on the approved site has been issued pursuant to
subsection (b) of this section.  The department may, after notice and
opportunity for hearing to a holder of a certificate of approval, revoke the
approval when it shall reasonably determine (1) that there has been an
abandonment of the site as an airport site, or (2) that there has been a
failure within the time prescribed, or if no time was prescribed, within a
reasonable time, to develop the site as an airport or to comply with the conditions
of the approval, or (3) that because of change of physical or legal conditions
or circumstances the site is no longer usable for the aeronautical purposes for
which the approval was granted.



(b)  Licenses.  Except as provided in
subsection (d), the department may provide for the licensing of airports and
the annual renewal of such licenses.  It may charge license fees not exceeding
$100 for each original license, and not exceeding $10 for each renewal
thereof.  Upon the promulgation of a rule or regulation providing for the
licensing, the department shall with reasonable dispatch, upon receipt of an
application for an original license and the payment of the duly required fee
therefor, issue an appropriate license if it is satisfied that the airport conforms
to minimum standards of safety and that safe air traffic patterns can be worked
out for the airport and for all existing airports and approved airport sites in
its vicinity.  All licenses shall be renewable annually upon payment of the
fees prescribed.  Licenses and renewals thereof may be issued subject to any
reasonable conditions that the department may deem necessary to effectuate the
purposes of this section.  The department may, after notice and opportunity for
hearing to the licensee, revoke any license or renewal thereof, or refuse to
issue a renewal, when it shall reasonably determine (1) that there has been an
abandonment of the airport as such, or (2) that there has been a failure to
comply with the conditions of the license or renewal thereof, or (3) that
because of change of physical or legal conditions or circumstances, the airport
has become either unsafe or unusable for the aeronautical purposes for which
the license or renewal was issued.  It shall be unlawful for any person to
operate an airport without an appropriate license for such, as may be duly
required by rule or regulation issued pursuant to this subsection.



(c)  Public hearings.  In connection with the
grant of approval of a proposed airport site or the issuance of an airport
license under subsections (a) and (b) of this section, the department may, on
its own motion or upon the request of an affected or interested person, hold a
hearing open to the public, and shall hold a hearing when and as required by
section 261-13.



(d)  Exemptions.  The requirements of this
section as to site approvals and licenses shall not apply to airports owned or
operated by the United States.  The department may, from time to time, to the
extent necessary, exempt any other class of airports, pursuant to a reasonable
classification or grouping, from any rule or regulation promulgated under this
section or from any requirement of such a rule or regulation, if it finds that
the application of the rule, regulation, or requirement would be an undue burden
on such class and is not required in the interest of public safety. [L 1947, c
32, pt of §1; RL 1955, §15-22; am L Sp 1959 2d, c 1, §26; HRS §261-16]



 



Case Notes



 



  Cited:  47 H. 495, 497, 393 P.2d 87.