Bill 56 Moves Forward At Honolulu City Council
Bill 56 aims to reduce the Department of Planning and Permitting’s (DPP) permit backlog and it’s now moving ahead with unanimous support at the Honolulu City Council’s Zoning Committee meeting on March 1.
Honolulu City Councilmember Andria Tupola introduced Bill 56 as part of a legislation package to streamline DPP. This particular measure targets permit requirements tied to obsolete valuations in order to account for inflation.
“Seventy-five percent of permits stuck in the backlog are residential permits. We need to do all we can to help local residents be able to do basic home repairs while preserving the health and safety of the permitting process,” said Tupola.
Kanekawaiola Lindsey of the Building Industry Association of Hawaii said: “Bill 56 will help alleviate long permit processing times by reducing the number of projects that must go through the City & County of Honolulu’s Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP). Furthermore, it will allow minor modifications to existing permitted projects without triggering a requirement for another permit.”
During the Mar. 1 meeting, there were a few more changes to the measure and DPP is willing to incorporate the changes. The next hearing for Bill 56 will be on March 15 at the Honolulu City Council.
