Section 13-197-13 - Parties(a) The following persons or agencies shall be admitted as a party: (1) The nominator shall be a party;(2) The owner shall be a party in cases involving chapter 13-198; provided, however, that when the owner is an agency, it shall not have standing to petition for a contested case hearing for publicly-owned property;(3) All persons who have some property interest in the land, who lawfully reside on the land, who are adjacent property owners, or who otherwise can demonstrate that they will be so directly and immediately affected by the proposed change that their interest in the proceeding is clearly distinguishable from that of the general public shall be admitted as parties upon timely application; and(4) Other persons or agencies who can show a substantial interest in the matter may apply to be a party. The review board may approve the application only if the applicant's participation will substantially assist the review board in its decision making.(b) The review board may deny any application to be a party when it appears that: (1) The position of the applicant requesting participation is substantially the same as the position of a party already admitted to the proceedings; and(2) The admission of additional parties will not add substantially new information or the addition will render the proceedings inefficient and unmanageable.(c) All persons with similar interests seeking to be admitted as parties shall be considered at the same time so far as possible.(d) Where a contested case hearing has been scheduled, any other interested person who qualifies to be a party under subsection (a) may apply to participate, in accordance with this subchapter, by filing a written application with the review board not later than ten days before the scheduled contested case hearing or at an earlier date as established by the review board. Except for good cause shown, late filings shall not be permitted.(e) The application to become a party shall contain the following:(1) The nature of the applicant's statutory or other right;(2) The tax map key number of the applicant's property as well as the petitioner's or nominator's property. The nature and extent of the interest in applicant's property;(3) The effect of any decision in the proceeding on applicant's interest; and(4) The difference in the effect of the proposed action on the applicant's interest and the effects of the proposed action on the general public.(f) If relevant, the applicant shall also address: (1) Other means available whereby applicant's interest may be protected;(2) The extent the applicant's interest may be represented by existing parties;(3) The extent the applicant's interest in the proceedings differs from that of the other parties;(4) The extent the applicant's participation can assist in the development of a complete record;(5) The extend the applicant's participation will broaden the issue or delay the proceeding;(6) How the applicant's intervention would serve the public interest; and(7) Any other information the review board may add or delete.(g) If any party opposes another person's application to be a party, the party may file objections for the record no later than ten days prior to the hearing.(h) All applications to be a party shall be acted upon as soon as practicable and shall be decided not later than the commencement of the contested case hearing.(i) A person whose petition to be admitted as a party has been denied may appeal that denial to the circuit court pursuant to section 91-14, Hawaii Revised Statutes.[Eff and comp 3/9/89] (Auth: HRS §§ 91-2, 6E-5.5) (Imp: HRS §§ 91-9, 91-9.5)