Just eight months ago, the City Council unanimously passed a comprehensive bill aimed at stemming the count of monster houses — jumbo-sized detached dwelling — cropping up in Oahu’s older single-family home neighborhoods. But it’s clear that more legislation is needed to address this problem.
Under the new law, homes cannot have a floor area ratio that swallows up more than 70% of a lot. Among the other provisions: restrictions on the number of bathrooms, laundry rooms and wetbars.
Ordinance 19-3 (formerly Bill 79) is intended to toughen up city codes that have failed to prevent construction of monstrosities — in extreme cases, homes with upwards of 15 bedrooms — that overburden street parking and infrastructure and are often used as illegal rentals and vacation homes.
However, any ordinance is only as good as ability to enforce it.
And an audit released last month rated the ability of the city’s Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP) as subpar due to lax and inconsistent handling of permits and inspections tied to construction of oversized dwellings. As it should, the Council is now weighing a set of measures focused on tougher enforcement.
>> Bill 65 would force DPP to revoke a building permit if work does not start within 180 days, or is halted for at least 120 days. Revocation would also kick in if work is not completed within a stipulated time. Such action is needed to correct too-lenient practices in which flexibility in deadlines — per DPP discretion — has resulted in cases of construction sites left in limbo and the application process pushed far past intended limits.
>> Bill 67 would prohibit DPP from reducing fines for permit violations. DPP has defended a policy of accepting often significantly lower fines, arguing that compliance — not punishment — is the agency’s goal. Here, again, leniency, or enforcement avoidance, has prodded wrong-headed DPP decision-making.
While efforts should be made to correct honest mistakes, willful disregard for rules should not tolerated — and certainly should not be rewarded with after-the-fact permits and fines that are negotiated down to wrist slaps or waived.
>> Bill 66 would require DPP to keep on file sworn affidavits showing that layout and use of a structure are consistent with the description in the permit application and will not be altered.
Along those lines, Gov. David Ige this year signed a new law that makes it a misdemeanor to lie to government investigators or inspectors during building inspections. At city and state levels, this enforcement tool can be useful against an effort to hide intended use of structures.
Also before the City Council is a proposed question for the 2020 Oahu general election ballot asking voters whether DPP should be split into two agencies: one handling permitting regulations, and the other long-term land-use planning.
Resolution 19-325 is an opportunity for thoughtful debate about whether DPP’s is overburdened, as it’s also tasked with enforcing the city’s recently launched crackdown on illegal vacation rentals.
However, the addition of an agency will raise valid questions about more bureaucratic bloat, and alone is not a problem-solver. Not when, among other internal snags, DPP is hobbled by aging database software that has siloed data, making it difficult to both track some information and see the full reach of monster-house proliferation.
The city should fast-track installing an upgraded internal management software that effectively serves the agency, and is reasonably accessible to the public.
Enacting tougher laws to crack down on monsters is worthwhile, but the city must also follow through with vigilance in flagging suspected scofflaws and firm enforcement practices.
