The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the Honolulu Charter Commission on Feb. 23, 2026.
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Feb. 23, 2026, 2:30 p.m.
Honolulu Hale
To: Honolulu Charter Commission
Dawn Szewczyk, Chair
Sommerset Yamamoto, Vice Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
RE: P064 — RELATING TO VARIANCES
Aloha Chair Szewczyk, Vice Chair Yamamoto and other members of the Commission,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii supports proposed Charter amendment P064, which would reform the city’s procedures for processing and approving variance requests.
This proposal could help facilitate the construction of additional housing. At the very least, it would give property owners whose projects do not meet the exact letter of the zoning code an avenue to obtain relief from the code’s unintended consequences.
Right now, someone can obtain a variance after a public vote by the Zoning Board of Appeals if three conditions are met: they would be deprived of reasonable use of their land without one, the request is due to unique circumstances and not the general conditions in the neighborhood and the variance would not alter the neighborhood character or be contrary to the purpose of the zoning code.
Specifically, P064 would remove language relating to neighborhood character and allow the director of the Department of Planning and Permitting to approve a variance for a nonresidential project without a public hearing from the ZBA.
There are good reasons for both of these changes.
First, subjective descriptors such as “neighborhood character” can be used to justify denial of many types of projects that nearby residents do not like. The vagueness associated with this term creates a grey area for both applicants and the members of the ZBA, who might be swayed by public opinion instead of the facts of the variance request.
Second, the ZBA is woefully behind on hearing and determining variance requests and appeals. Reporting from Honolulu Civil Beat found that the ZBA has a backlog of 270 cases, all but 11 of which relate to short-term rentals.[1]
Allowing some variance requests to be processed by the director of Planning and Permitting would dramatically reduce the wait times for those applicants.
The potential delays associated with both “neighborhood character” arguments and the ZBA’s backlog contribute to Hawaii’s housing woes.
The Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawai‘i has found that Hawaii’s housing regulations are the strictest in the country, and “approval delays” for housing developments are three times longer than the national average among communities surveyed.[2]
Putting this amendment on the ballot would help fix a broken system.
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Ted Kefalas
Director of Strategic Campaigns
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
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[1] Matthew Leonard, “Windward Oʻahu Senior Housing Stalls Amid Zoning Appeals Backlog,” Honolulu Civil Beat, Oct. 14, 2025.
[2] Rachel Inafuku, Justin Tyndall and Carl Bonham, “Measuring the Burden of Housing Regulation in Hawaii,” The Economic Research Organization at the University of Hawai‘i, April 14, 2022, p. 6.
