OFFICE OF THE MAYOR

CITY AND COUNTY OF HONOLULU

530 SOUTH KING STREET, ROOM 300 • HONOLULU, HAWAII 96813
PHONE: (808) 768-4141 • FAX: (808) 768-4242 • INTERNET: www.honolulu.gov

KIRK CALDWELL ROY K. AMEMIYA, JR.

MAYOR MANAGING DIRECTOR

GEORGETTE T. DEEMER
DEPUTY MANAGING DIRECTOR

May 1, 2019

The Honorable Ann H. Kobayashi

Interim Chair and Presiding Officer
and Members
Honolulu City Council
530 South King Street, Room 202
Honolulu, Hawaii 96813

Dear Interim Chair Kobayashi and Councilmembers:

SUBJECT: Bill 79 (2018), CD2, FD1 – Relating to Detached Dwellings

I am returning to you Bill 79 (2018), CD1, FD1 – Relating to Detached Dwellings

(“Bill 79”) approved, but have several concerns that were expressed by the Department
of Planning and Permitting (“DPP”) and will be asking DPP to submit proposed
legislation to address these issues.

We truly support and understand the intent of the bill which is to manage the size
of dwellings. However, we fear the Bill is overly complicated and will not have the
intended effect of preventing the development of very large detached dwellings.
Rather, it will have widespread impacts on ordinary homeowners, particularly with
smaller zoning lots, who want to do simple projects like adding a bathroom or paving a
patio. We believe permitting time will increase because plan checkers will have
numerous additional elements to review, like the number of showers and the paved
area of walking paths. Additionally, several new nonconformities will be created,
including dwellings that exceed a floor area ratio of 0.7, and dwellings with too many
bathrooms, wet bars or laundry areas. The proposal does not provide standards to
deal with the new nonconformities.

Additionally, the Bill regulates the number of bathrooms and wet bars allowed
per zoning lot, not per dwelling unit. This is problematic because up to eight dwelling
units can be constructed on a single zoning lot through a building permit, but on a
10,000-square-foot lot, only nine full bathrooms and one half bathroom are permitted
under this Bill. Those ten bathrooms will have to be divvied up among the dwellings.
Also, the wet bar limit will have adverse impacts on dwelling units used as care homes
where multiple sinks are often installed to aid the care recipients.
The Honorable Ann H. Kobayashi
Interim Chair and Presiding Officer
and Members
May 1, 2019
Page 2

We understand the intent of limiting the amount of impervious surface area to 75

percent of a zoning lot. However, this is problematic as building permits are not
required to pave or add concrete to a lot. During building permit processing for new
homes and additions to homes, this requirement will slow down permitting as applicants
and plan checkers will have to verify that all impervious surfaces are calculated.
Additionally, the legislation does not provide adequate guidance to deal with
nonconformities.

Finally, the owner-occupancy requirement for each dwelling unit on a lot with a
floor area ratio that exceeds 0.6 works against the City’s goal of providing a robust and
varied long-term rental market. In the long run this regulation will be exceedingly
difficult to enforce because while the Bill requires evidence of a real property tax home
exemption for the property, the DPP does not track who occupies a dwelling unit as
long as the occupants meet the definition of a “family” in the Land Use Ordinance.

We understand that the intent of regulating common elements of a dwelling unit

is to prevent illegal occupancy by numerous unrelated individuals, and the illegal
conversion of a single- or two-family dwelling into a multi-family dwelling unit. However,
we continue to stress that increased enforcement measures proposed under bills, such
as [Bill 85 (2018), CD1, Relating to Vacation Rentals] and [Bill 91 (2018), Relating to
County Inspections) would aid the Department’s inspectors in citing such illegal
activities.

Therefore, I am approving Bill 79 (2018), CD1, FD1, but encourage your

favorable consideration of forthcoming proposed legislation to address these concerns.

Sincerely,

Kirk Caldwell
Mayor