The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the Honolulu City Council Committee on Zoning on March 6, 2025.
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March 6, 2025, 9 a.m.
Honolulu Hale
To: Honolulu City Council Committee on Zoning
Esther Kiaʻāina, Chair
Tyler Dos Santos-Tam, Vice Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
RE: Bill 19 (2025) — RELATING TO THE BUILDING CODE
Aloha Chair Kiaʻāina, Vice-Chair Dos Santos-Tam and other members of the Committee,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii supports Bill 19 (2025), which would specify the types of changes to construction plans that require the plans be resubmitted to the Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting.
Currently, the city code requires that “any changes” made to an approved plan must be resubmitted to the department for further review. Bill 19 (2025) would replace the word “any” with “substantial” and would specify that “substantial changes” are only edits that change the square footage of the project for the purpose of complying with zoning rules, the occupancy of a space that could affect fire prevention, the number of dwelling or sleeping units or the number of plumbing fixture units.
Creating this narrower standard of what needs review from the department would help streamline the permitting system for everyone. Builders would no longer have to resubmit plans for minor changes and city staff would be able to focus their efforts on cutting down the permitting backlog.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Ted Kefalas
Director of Strategic Campaigns
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
