Special Management Area (SMA) & shoreline setbacks on Oʻahu

What is the SMA?

Under ROH Chapter 25, the Special Management Area is the land extending mauka (inland) from the certified shoreline. Its mauka boundary is drawn on maps established by the City Council under HRS §205A-23. All development in the SMA is reviewed under Chapter 25 (ROH §25-2.3).

Minor vs. Major SMA permits

• Minor SMA Permit (granted by the DPP director): valuation or fair market value not over $500,000, and no significant adverse environmental or ecological effect, counting cumulative impacts.
• Major SMA Permit (SMA Use Permit, approved by City Council resolution): valuation over $500,000, or possible significant adverse effects.
• Proposals the director finds are not "development" under Chapter 25 are exempt.

Non-shoreline lots — $750,000: State Act 125 (2025), signed May 29, 2025, raised the SMA Minor valuation limit to $750,000 for certain projects. The $500,000 limit still applies to developments on a shoreline parcel or a parcel affected by waves, storm surge, high tide, or shoreline erosion. DPP explained this in its Sept. 2025 testimony on Bill 56 (2025), and its SMA Minor page applies $500,000 to shoreline lots and $750,000 to non-shoreline lots. ROH Ch. 25 (current text, last amended by Ord. 23-4) still says $500,000 because it hasn't been updated for Act 125. The 2025 HRS §205A-22 compilation (Justia) also shows $500,000 in its definitions and doesn't yet list the 2025 amendment.

DPP says SMA Minor valuations have to be prepared and signed by an impartial third-party licensed contractor or professional estimator.

The shoreline and the setback area

DPP defines the shoreline as the upper reach of the waves at high tide during the season with the highest wash of waves, usually shown by the edge of vegetation. The shoreline setback area is the land between the shoreline and the shoreline setback line.

Setback distances (ROH §26-1.4, since July 1, 2024)

• Before July 1, 2024: 40 feet mauka of the certified shoreline.
• Primary Urban Center Development Plan area: 60 feet.
• Lots with coastal erosion outside the Primary Urban Center: 60 ft + 70 × annual erosion rate, up to 130 ft.
• Lots with no historical erosion data, with accretion, or with an erosion rate of zero: 60 feet.

If the setback leaves a lot with less than 1,500 sq ft of buildable area, the line may be adjusted to allow 1,500 sq ft, subject to conditions and the director's confirmation. It can never be less than 40 ft from the certified shoreline.

DPP says a certified shoreline survey isn't required if the proposed development is mauka of a waiver line 15 ft inland of the setback line. In that case a surveyor, architect, engineer, or similar professional has to establish the shoreline on the drawings.

Permits in the setback area

DPP lists a Minor Shoreline Structure Permit for minor structures and a Shoreline Setback Variance for other development in the setback area.