Process and history
The Hawaii State Legislature via Act 245 authorized the Board of Education to approve School Impact Districts, in which impact fees may be collected. These districts must be areas of high growth that will require new schools, or the expansion of existing schools, to accommodate the increase in new families and school enrollments. Commercial projects, industrial projects, senior housing projects, replacement homes or projects to enlarge existing homes are exempt. Since the enactment of the law, the Board has approved four School Impact Districts:
- Kalihi-Ala Moana
- Leeward Oahu
- West Maui
- Central Maui
Fees collected from this program are kept in an account maintained by the Office of Facilities and Operations (OFO). A quarterly report of those fees is attached (Related Downloads, right).
Also included in this report are Fair Share contributions by developers. The history of private donations for public school facilities in Hawaii goes back to the 1831 donation of land by the Kingdom of Hawaii to the Department’s oldest school: Lahainaluna High School. School land and buildings were often provided by agricultural plantations for their worker communities. After Statehood, when developers sought to get urban classifications from the state and county governments, the land-approving agencies imposed school fair-share conditions. Developers were required to meet with the Department and agree to provide land and/or funding to offset the student enrollment impacts of their residential development.
HRS 302A-1601
established the Impact Fee system to replace Fair Share in 2007 with a
statutorily defined system of compensation and expenditure.
Anyone with questions about this process is encouraged to contact the Facilities Development Branch of OFO:
808-784-5080, or email
Cori.China@k12.hi.us.
School Impact Districts
KALIHI-ALA MOANA (OAHU)
Beginning Oct. 1, 2018, homebuilders and residential developers in the urban corridor from Kalihi to Ala Moana will be subject to a school impact fee when applying for building permits for new residential construction.
Approved last summer by the Hawaii State Board of Education, the Kalihi-to-Ala Moana School Impact Fee District is defined as those areas served by the following elementary schools: Fern, Kalihi Kai, Kalihi Waena, Linapuni and Puuhale in the Farrington Complex; and Kaahumanu, Kaiulani, Kauluwela, Likelike and Royal in the McKinley Complex.
In coordination with the City and County of Honolulu, building permit applicants will be notified by letter to submit payment to the Hawaii State Department of Education (HIDOE) prior to issuance of a building permit. The fee amount is $3,864 per unit. For more information,
click here. Key forms:
LEEWARD OAHU
Beginning Sept. 1, 2013, home builders and residential developers in the areas of Aiea, Pearl City, Waipahu, Ewa and Kapolei will be assessed a School Impact Fee when applying for a building permit for any new residential construction. Applicants will be directed to submit payment to the Department prior to issuance of a building permit.
Fee amounts are set at $4,334 per unit for multi-family units and $5,504 for single family units. Developers for residential projects of 50 units or more will be required to meet with the Department to determine if fees will take the form of a land contribution for future school sites, cash, or a combination of both. Developers must meet with the Department before projects are subdivided or receive change in zoning approval. Key forms:
CENTRAL MAUI (Wailuku, Kahului, Kihei)
Key forms:
WEST MAUI (Lahaina, Kaanapali, Kapalua)
Key forms:
