Relating To Agricultural Tourism.
SB1251 establishes statewide standards for agricultural tourism activities in Hawaii and amends several chapters of the Hawaii Revised Statutes to align land-use and zoning rules with that framework. The bill allows agricultural tourism on farming operations for visitor enjoyment, education, or participation, but requires those activities to remain accessory and secondary to the principal agricultural use, coexist with ongoing agricultural activity, and not interfere with surrounding farm operations. It also permits overnight accommodations of up to 21 days, with a county-wide annual cap for any individual visitor, and requires owners or lessees to register agricultural tourism activities with the county planning commission.
The measure is designed to replace the current patchwork of county-specific agricultural tourism rules with a more uniform statewide approach. It revises the agricultural district and permitted-use provisions in Chapter 205 to expressly include agricultural tourism activities, updates related definitions in the farming operation and farmers’ market statutes, and makes conforming cross-reference changes in the energy feedstock and land-use code provisions. The bill also states that agricultural tourism authorization ends automatically if the underlying agricultural activity ceases.
SB1251 would change state land-use law by creating a new statewide statutory section governing agricultural tourism and by revising agricultural district and permitted-use statutes to incorporate that use across counties that adopt agricultural tourism ordinances. It would require county planning commission registration, impose operational limits such as accessory-use status and revenue limits, and tie the legality of tourism activities to the continued existence of the farm or ranch operation. The bill also makes conforming amendments to definitions and cross-references in Chapters 141, 165, and 205, affecting county planning authorities, farm operators, and businesses offering farm stays, tours, retail sales, food service, and related visitor activities on agricultural land.
The bill text reflects a generally supportive posture toward agricultural diversification, rural economic development, and regenerative tourism. No committee transcripts or recorded votes were provided, so there is no documented floor or committee sentiment beyond the bill’s findings and purpose section, which strongly favor a uniform statewide framework to help farms and ranches generate supplemental revenue and reduce regulatory inconsistency. Overall, the measure appears pro-agriculture and pro-tourism, with an emphasis on standardization rather than expansion of nonagricultural development.
The main policy tension is between statewide uniformity and county control. The bill would limit the ability of individual counties to maintain distinct agricultural tourism permitting standards by setting statewide requirements for counties that regulate the activity, which could be viewed as reducing local discretion in zoning and permitting. Another likely point of contention is the scope of permissible tourism on farmland, including overnight accommodations, accessory retail and food uses, and the revenue cap tying tourism income to farm income. Supporters are likely to emphasize farm viability and consistency, while critics may focus on land-use impacts, enforcement, and whether tourism could gradually overshadow agricultural production.