Mayor Rick Blangiardi said DPP’s operations and policies need an overhaul. How will it be done?

Improving the building permit application process is the No. 1 priority of this administration with respect to DPP. We are working with one of our consultants on implementing new, out-of-the-box software to re-engineer our building-permit application process. Other cities and municipalities in the U.S. are using the various software modules now. We are assessing the types of quantifiable or measurable improvements they have experienced by using the new applications.

Once we identify the various software modules that address our needs, we will work with the DPP staff, from plan reviewers to inspectors, to make sure that the new modules fit our objectives from a compliance standpoint. If minor modifications to the modules or our process are required, they will be made at this time.

We are also researching the equipment upgrades that are required to allow for electronic processing of building permit applications and for conducting on-site field inspections.

Prior to the rollout of the new building permit application process, we will probably conduct workshops or training sessions with the architect and engineer community so they are aware of how the new system will work and what they will be required to do.

What’s the status of the “monster house” situation?

Prior to the monster house ordinances, a typical residential lot would allow a maximum building area of 50% of the zoned lot with a maximum height of 25-30 feet. For a typical 5,000-square-foot residential lot, the owner would be allowed 2,500 square feet on the first floor (50% of the lot) and a little less than 2,500 square feet on the second floor due to increased setbacks on the side and rear property boundaries. The result was a roughly 5,000-square-foot house on the residential lot.

Ordinance 19-3 set a maximum density of 0.7 floor area ratio (FAR). Under the new ordinance, the maximum size of a house on a 5,000-square-foot lot would be 3,500 square feet. This and other restrictions on setbacks and on-site parking seem to have curbed the proliferation of monster houses.

Given Hawaii’s high propensity for multigenerational housing, many local families have been forced to reduce the size of their planned expansion based on this new ordinance.

How are city rules shaping up to prevent illegal proliferation of short-term rentals?

The intent of Ordinance 19-18 was to balance the benefits of STRs (short-term rentals) for hosts and guests with the desire to keep residential neighborhoods from being overrun by STRs. A public hearing on the draft rules is set for April 6. More information is at honoluludpp.org. The ordinance provided the following:

>> Bed and breakfast homes (B&Bs): The homeowner or permanent resident is present during the guest stay. Up to two rooms may be rented, with a maximum of four guests. The law caps the number of B&Bs allowed in any given Development Plan area.

>> Transient vacation units (TVUs): Commonly known as whole-home or unhosted rentals. TVUs are allowed only in resort and certain apartment-zoned districts, unless it has a nonconforming use certificate.

>> Regulates hosting platforms, such as Expedia or Airbnb, requiring monthly reports to be filed with the DPP, which will share the information with the City Council.

>> Makes illegal any form of advertising STRs that are not in compliance with zoning regulations as provided in Ordinance 19-18.

How will your past experience with the development industry inform your decisions?

I truly believe my experience in both government and the private sector allows me to bring a different perspective to matters before the department. I have developed relationships over the years with government agencies, private for-profit and nonprofit developers and other organizations that allow me to seek advice from a variety of different viewpoints on any particular issue. Given that the focus of DPP is development within the urban land use district, my primary focus right now is to get the construction industry to build more permitted projects faster to increase construction-related jobs, and provide more opportunities for local families to take advantage of the historically low interest rates and be able to purchase a new home.

The impact that the pandemic has had on our economy has been devastating, shutting down roughly one-third of the state’s economy. Construction, which was deemed essential throughout the pandemic, is the one lever we can pull to get private capital into the economy. It will not replace what we have lost from impact to our visitor industry, but it provides us with a positive step forward.

What’s DPP’s role in helping against homelessness and developing more affordable housing?

DPP is working with the mayor’s director of housing, Anton Krucky, and the director of the Department of Land Management, Scott Hayashi, to see what we can do collectively to address the homelessness issue. Addressing homelessness requires more government involvement in both funding and outreach to provide shelter and the necessary counseling and/or social services to these individuals.

DPP is also looking at how to incentivize the development of more affordable housing. Limited infrastructure capacity in the urban core has prevented the development of more ADUs (accessory dwelling units). Similarly, redevelopment within the urban core will experience the same frustration.

The long-term solutions will be finding new ways to finance infrastructure capacity-building projects to allow for more density within the urban core. In the short term, we will focus on increasing the build-out of projects that have been permitted. If we are able to accelerate the build-out, more homes will be made available sooner.

THE BIO FILE

>> Current job: Director, city Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP)

>> Previous experience: Senior project manager, SSFM International, Inc.; vice president, D.R. Horton; executive director, Land Use Research Foundation; land division administrator, Department of Land and Natural Resources.

>> Education: Pearl City High School; University of Oregon, bachelor’s (geography); University of Hawaii, masters (geography); USC, masters (systems management).

>> Family: Wife Joy, daughter Elle, son Troy

>> Pastimes: Golf, traveling, cooking (smoking different foods)

>> One more thought: “My wife says I have a face for radio!”