Section 12-229-16.1 - Variances(a) In cases of practical difficulties, undue hardships, or new developments, an owner may apply for a variance from any elevator safety standard. The application must be in writing, clearly stating the standard from which a variance is sought, the conditions, means, practices, methods, operations, or processes proposed to be used, together with drawings, specifications, and other supporting data. The director may issue an order for a variance if what is proposed will provide a substantially equivalent level of safety to that provided by the standard.(b) All variances granted pursuant to this chapter shall have only a future effect. The director may decline to entertain an application for variance on a subject or issue for which a discrepancy letter or citation has been issued to the owner or contractor involved and the discrepancy or violation has not yet been satisfactorily corrected or resolved.(c) Before granting the variance, the director shall publish a notice in a paper of general circulation or post notice on the department's website notifying all potentially affected parties of the director's intent to grant the variance. The notice shall provide a period of thirty calendar days to object to the granting of the variance, after which time the variance shall become final if no objections are filed or a hearing is requested. The cost of the publication shall be borne by the petitioning party. Every notice shall specify the alternative to the safety standard being considered.
(d) Any party objecting to the granting of the variance must notify the director in writing within the thirty-day period, stating the reasons why the variance should not be granted and the resultant specific impact on public safety. The objecting party's reasons for objection may also be based on grounds other than impact on public safety such as feasibility of compliance or lack of undue hardship to the petitioner. The objecting party may also elect to provide the reasons for the objection at a hearing.(e) The hearing requested by the objecting party shall be held no later than forty-five days after the thirty-day period stated in the public notice as follows: (1) The objecting party or parties and the variance applicant shall be provided notice of the date, time, and place of the hearing at least fourteen calendar days before the scheduled hearing;(2) Each party shall be prepared to provide evidence supporting the party's case, including a brief oral statement summarizing such evidence;(3) The director shall provide a written determination to all parties;(4) If the director determines that the evidence does not support denial of the variance request, no further notice is required; and(5) If the director determines that the evidence supports a denial of the variance request, a notice shall be published in a newspaper of general circulation stating the reasons why the variance is not granted.(f) If the variance application does not include all relevant information as indicated in subsection (a), the director may deny the application. The denial shall be submitted in writing to the applicant within thirty calendar days. A notice of denial shall include a brief statement of the grounds for the denial. A denial of an application shall be without prejudice to the filing of another application.(g) Requests for reconsideration on denied variance requests. The variance applicant whose variance request was denied may file a petition for reconsideration of the denial with the director. The petition must be filed in writing within twenty calendar days of the denial notice and should include all pertinent facts regarding why the variance should be granted. (1) The director may review the record on the case along with any additional information provided by the applicant or conduct further inquiries on the matter; and Any party objecting to the director's decision shall use the review and appeal process as provided for in section 12-229-13.1. Haw. Code R. § 12-229-16.1
[Eff and comp 6/30/14; am and comp 11/10/16; am and comp 2/15/19; comp 1/31/21] (Auth: HRS § 397-4) (Imp: HRS § 397-4)