Tentative approval of a preliminary subdivision map

(a) Within forty-five days after submission of the preliminary plat, the director shall review the plan and may give tentative approval of the preliminary plat as submitted or as modified or may disapprove the preliminary plat, stating the reasons for disapproval in writing or shall defer action pending further review. Approval of the preliminary plat shall indicate the director’s directive to prepare detailed drawings on the plat submitted, provided there is no substantial change in the plan of subdivision as shown on the preliminary plat and there is full compliance with all requirements of this chapter. The action of the director with reference to any attached documents describing any conditions shall be noted on two copies of the preliminary plat. One copy shall be returned to the subdivider and the other retained by the director. At such time the director shall stamp the above two preliminary plats: “Subdivider authorized to prepare detailed drawings on plat as submitted including corrections noted.” “Recordation with the Bureau of Conveyances, State of Hawai‘i, not authorized until approved for record at a later date.” (b) If no action (approval, disapproval, modification, or deferral) is taken by the director within forty-five days after submission of the preliminary plat, or such longer period as may have been agreed upon in writing, the preliminary plat shall be deemed approved. The approval shall be on condition that the subdivider construct roads to the standards required by this chapter, a water system to the standards of the department of water supply, drainage meeting with the approval of the department of public works under section 23-92, that sewage disposal shall conform with section 23-85, if applicable, and the requirements of the department of health, and that the lot sizes and dimensions must be adjusted to conform to the zoning code on the final plat. The subdivider shall comply with the provisions of this chapter in order to receive final subdivision approval. (c) The director shall disapprove a preliminary plat or a subdivision map where the subdivider has failed to comply with the provisions of chapter 25, zoning code. (d) The subdivider shall complete all requirements specified as conditions for approval of the preliminary plat (tentative approval) within three years of said approval. An extension of not more than two years may be granted by the director upon timely written request of the subdivider. At the end of said three year period or its approved extension, unless all said conditions are completed, the approval of the SUBDIVISIONS § 23-62 preliminary plat shall expire and shall be of no further force or effect, or shall be subject to the technical review of the applicable agencies for compliance with current Code and rule requirements. This subsection shall be applied to all subdivision applications which have received tentative subdivision approval and which have not completed subdivision improvements, provided the three year period, and extension, if applicable, shall be taken from December 4, 1992 and not from the date of preliminary plat (tentative) approval. (e) The director’s deferral of a subdivision for further review under subsection (a) constitutes an acceptance of the contents of the preliminary plat as submitted, and the director’s issuance of tentative and final subdivision approval is valid despite the failure of the preliminary plat to include all of the information specified in sections 23-63 to 23-66, provided that there has been actual compliance with the substantive requirements of this chapter and chapter 25, zoning code. The director may require the subdivider to submit supplementary information prior to tentative or final approval and may condition tentative or final approval on the submission of such information and on the performance of conditions attached to the tentative approval. Division 2. Contents of Preliminary Plat.