APPOINTMENTS, BILLS AND NOTABLE RESOLUTIONS ADOPTED AT THE HONOLULU CITY COUNCIL’S FULL COUNCIL MEETING ON DECEMBER 6, 2023
Bills
Bill 56 (2023), CD1, FD1 – This bill will allow the City to enter into a formal agreement with the State’s Hawai‘i Green Infrastructure Authority to establish a commercial PACE financing program within the City. The program would allow commercial property owners, including condominium associations, to access longer-term financing options for property improvements meeting certain criteria.
STATEMENTS:
“I am encouraged by the passage of this measure. I believe that the Commercial Property Assessed Clean Energy Financing Program (C-PACE) could be an extremely valuable tool for many property owners throughout the City. The ability to finance property improvements over a longer period of time will allow more of our small businesses to invest in energy improvements to help reduce costs over time and enable condominium owners to install critical fire sprinkler infrastructure to address health and safety issues in our older buildings. We have to find a way to make these improvements pencil out for our residents, and I believe this is one way we might do that.” - Council Chair Tommy Waters, and Co-Introducer
“C-PACE is a financing program that will allow property owners to apply for long-term loans that spread costs out over time at more favorable rates, making it easier for property owners and small businesses to upgrade their infrastructure. The program will make things like installing solar or converting to septic more affordable and accessible for our community.” - Councilmember Matt Weyer, Co-Introducer and Housing Sustainability and Health Committee Chair
Bill 45 (2023), CD2, FD1 – This measure, as adopted, updates the requirements of the City Administration’s annual vacancy report to the Honolulu City Council. The measure also makes conforming amendments to the roles and responsibilities of the Director of Human Resources regarding the preparation of the report.
STATEMENTS:
“We have a kuleana to be responsible stewards of the City’s limited resources. We worked closely with the Administration as the measure has evolved, and it is our intention to give the City’s Department of Human Resources the necessary tools to help collect, compile, and analyze critical data around vacancies. We believe this data will benefit both the Administration and the City Council. Empowering and entrusting the Human Resources Director to better understand the City’s complete list of vacant positions, with a particular focus on any obsolete vacant positions, will aid the Council in making informed policy decisions that help to support the efficiency of department operations, and allow our employees to deliver services more effectively to all of our residents.” - Council Chair Tommy Waters, and Introducer
“There are very few things more important - right now - than filling our City vacancies. How are we supposed to reduce crime if we don’t have enough police officers? How are we supposed to reduce permitting delays if we don’t have enough City planners? We took action. And while it’s not the end-all, be-all solution, it’s a step in the right direction. I’m looking forward to watching our workforce improve year after year.” - Councilmember Tyler Dos Santos-Tam, and Executive Matters and Legal Affairs Committee Chair
Bill 50 (2023), CD2 – This measure amends the City's Land Use Ordinance to add the Hālawa (Aloha Stadium) rail station area to the Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Special District. This rail station area was designated by the Hālawa Area TOD Plan, and the bill also adds new TOD Special District regulations based on specific recommendations in the Hālawa Area TOD Plan. The TOD Special District already includes two Waipahu rail station areas designated by the Waipahu Neighborhood TOD Plan, and three ‘Aiea-Pearl City rail station areas designated by the ‘Aiea-Pearl City Neighborhood TOD Plan.
Bill 51 (2023), CD2 – This measure rezones land in the Hālawa (Aloha Stadium) rail station area, from primarily single-use zoning districts to mixed-use zoning districts, to be consistent with the vision for the area described in the Hālawa Area Transit-Oriented Development (TOD) Plan, and to set the stage for a robust and vibrant neighborhood. The bill also releases certain prior unilateral agreement conditions imposed in connection with past rezoning of the zone change area that are no longer needed.
Resolutions
Reso 23-281, CD1 – Authorizes exemptions from certain City application fees, infrastructure or public works fees and charges, and development standards for the Waipahu Street Affordable Rental Housing project. Proposed by Michaels Development, the project is within the Waipahu Neighborhood Transit-Oriented Development Plan area, and involves a 15-story tower (12-story residential tower above a three-story parking podium) with 195 affordable rental dwelling units, one manager’s unit, and other amenities and improvements. The project's affordable units will be rented to households earning between 30 percent and 80 percent of the area median income for Honolulu, and will remain affordable for a minimum period of 65 years.
STATEMENTS:
“It is of the utmost importance to us at the Honolulu City Council to ensure that our community can afford to stay on Oʻahu, and in Hawai‘i. Addressing our housing crisis remains a top priority for our Council, and projects like the Waipahu Street Affordable Rental Housing Project offer an opportunity for responsible, rapid development of affordable housing that deserves our full support.” - Councilmember Matt Weyer, and Housing Sustainability and Health Committee Chair
“Affordable housing is top of mind these days. As policymakers, it is imperative to support responsible developers like Michaels in ensuring the creation of affordable housing projects that seamlessly integrate into our communities. The Waipahu project is a perfect example of meeting our community's needs, and I am supportive of the Council's endorsement of delivering additional affordable units for the Waipahu community.” - Councilmember Augie Tulba
Reso 23-249, CD1 – Urges the City’s Department of Transportation Services to take immediate steps to improve pedestrian access between the Hālawa Skyline station and the Hālawa station park-and-ride parking lot.
STATEMENT:
“Pedestrian safety and ease of access are critical components to the success of our City’s new rail system so I introduced this resolution after experiencing first-hand, difficulty accessing the Hālawa Skyline Station from the associated park-and-ride lot. Now that Skyline is operational, we will need to pay close attention to ensure that it serves the community’s needs as intended—increasing connectivity to transit. This includes making important necessary improvements to correct issues as they arise. We at the City Council encourage our community to take advantage of rail as Honolulu’s newest mode of public transportation, so it is the City’s responsibility to make Skyline a convenient, accessible, and safe experience for all riders.” - Councilmember Radiant Cordero, Honolulu City Council
Reso 23-271 – Urges the Hawai‘i State Legislature to enact legislation eliminating the requirement for the City to conduct an engineering study for reductions of maximum speed limits on City streets.
STATEMENT:
“Traffic and pedestrian safety remains one of the most important concerns in our communities, with near-miss and fatal incidents rising year-over-year on Oʻahu. We urge our colleagues at the State Legislature to remove the unnecessary and burdensome requirement for engineering studies to reduce the speed limit in residential neighborhoods, which has been shown to reduce accidents, providing additional protections for our keiki, kupuna, and ʻohana. We must do everything we can to provide city transportation officials with as many tools as possible to address traffic and pedestrian safety.” - Council Vice Chair Esther Kia‘āina, and Introducer
Reso 23-237, CD1 – Authorizes the Department of Emergency Management and its designees to use overt video monitoring at various locations in the City to achieve the legitimate law enforcement objective and legitimate public purpose of ensuring the safety of marathon participants and attendees, and the general public, and the security of event expo venues in preparation for, during, and after the 2023 Honolulu Marathon.
Appointments
Reso 23-150, CD1 - Appointment of Lisa Martin to the Honolulu Liquor Commission
Reso 23-297, CD1 - Appointment of Elmer Ka‘ai, Jr. to the Honolulu Salary Commission
Reso 23-278 - Appointment of Wintehn Park as Director of the Office of Council Services
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