Rarely has there been a single city agency with as much of the administration’s agenda riding on it than the Department of Planning and Permitting. And that makes the resignation of its director a particular burden now weighing on Mayor Rick Blangiardi — and on the public.
A regulatory quagmire has plagued DPP for years, slowing the issuance of permits and stalling the full range of projects, from single-family homes to full-scale developments. Fixing this was a key part of the platform forming the basis of Blangiardi’s campaign in 2020.
On Tuesday, DPP Director Dean Uchida — along with Danette Maruyama, chief innovation strategist — resigned, citing differences with the mayor as their reason.
These are key positions that leave a void right at the intersection of multiple challenges, all of which underscore the call for Blangiardi to outline his plan for seeing that the bureaucratic bottlenecks get cleared. If there were divergent directions for the agency to follow toward its goal, the public needs to know what Blangiardi’s approach might be.
To review, here’s part of the DPP job list for Uchida’s successor, whose selection should be given top priority:
>> The department is rewriting the city’s land use ordinances, including amendments to regulations covering agricultural land, wind farms, housing and short-term rentals. It’s a mammoth task that already has required extensions of the Honolulu City Council’s timetable.
The most recent hearing was Wednesday, drawing substantial testimony on a full range of complex impacts from the revisions. Someone needs to take the helm to drive this process.
>> Implementation of Oahu’s new short-term rentals regulation specifically will require additional staff and careful oversight. This launch, set for Oct. 23, also could deteriorate quickly without competent management.
>> Enforcement of rules governing “monster homes” — those controversial oversized residential structures that strain capacity of city streets, sewers and water utilities — is a persistent issue that falls within the DPP bailiwick.
The Council is taking up a measure to harden the penalties for these violations. The city does need the backbone to enforce really stringent consequences, up to and including orders to demolish illegal structures. Without proper leadership, it is hard to see that happening.
>> Not unlike other government agencies across the state, DPP has struggled with a computer system incapable of meeting current permitting needs. That is a principal component in the impenetrable backlog of applications that frustrate many project developers, including those who want to accelerate Oahu’s adoption of rooftop solar energy generation.
>> The department also has expressed resolve to excise its culture of corruption, which springs in part from its moribund business processes. This led last year to federal charges being filed against five current and former DPP employees who accepted bribes.
There is nothing as potent as frustration over a bureaucratic barricade to provide the conditions for corruption. If applicants see bribes as the cost of doing business with the city, they will be tempted to try that route. In the wake of the March 2021 indictments, DPP explored ways of righting the ship, including hiring an investigator to identify lapses in procedures. That mission has yielded little fruit, and now it, too, has been left to the side.
Oahu businesses — and the public that depends on them to deliver homes and other projects they want — are waiting for some word on how this morass can be overhauled at last. It’s for Mayor Blangiardi, who has long experience at the microphone, to step up and say what he plans to do. Now would be good.
