The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the Honolulu City Council on Sept. 4, 2024.
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Sept. 4, 2024, 10 a.m.
Honolulu Hale
To: Honolulu City Council
Tommy Waters, Chair
Esther Kiaʻāina, Vice Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
RE: Bill 51 (2024) — RELATING TO ADAPTIVE REUSE
Aloha Chair Waters, Vice-Chair Kiaʻāina and other members of the Council,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii supports Bill 51 (2024), which would amend county ordinances to allow for the adaptive reuse of existing commercial businesses.
Converting non-residential structures to residential use is an innovative way to boost Hawaii’s housing stock and foster the creation of vibrant, walkable communities, as discussed in the Grassroot Institute’s policy report, “How to facilitate more homebuilding in Hawaii.”[1]
Unfortunately, many adaptive reuse projects are frustrated by regulations that make it difficult or prohibitively expensive to refit commercial buildings for residential use, such as window or ventilation requirements.
By carving out an alternate approach to current ordinances on light and ventilation for adaptive reuse projects, this bill would help facilitate adaptive reuse on Oahu.
It also would help meet the state’s Act 37 requirement that the counties adopt or amend existing ordinances to allow for adaptive reuse by the end of this year.
There are additional steps the Council could take to encourage the growth of affordable housing via adaptive reuse, but Bill 51 would represent an important step forward. We look forward to future conversation about this topic.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Ted Kefalas
Director of Strategic Campaigns
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
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[1] Jonathan Helton, “How to facilitate more homebuilding in Hawaii,” Grassroot Institute of Hawaii, December 2023.
