Council OKs
simpler
land-use rules

Mayor Harris' proposals
give property owners more
flexibility with their land

By Gordon Y.K. Pang
Star-Bulletin

The City Council has approved changes to the city Land Use Ordinance making it easier for developers and others to get permits.

The 500-page set of amendments was approved 8-1 yesterday despite objections from Councilman Steve Holmes and others that the bill makes it too easy for developers to gain land use permits.

The vote was a major victory for Mayor Jeremy Harris, who made streamlining land use policies and stripping government of bureaucratic red tape major campaign planks in 1996.

Michelle Matson, representing the League of Women Voters of Hawaii, said, "It favors developers desiring to get easier and quicker, fast-track zoning decisions at the expense of public participation, protecting the environment and stabilization of neighborhoods."

Among the biggest changes is the allowance of more types of land uses in more zones, particularly in industrial districts.

For instance, leaders of the Hawaii Island Twisters Gymnastics group testified in favor of the bill, stating that they have difficulty finding buildings with ceilings high enough to fit their needs outside industrial-zoned areas.

They will now be allowed to set up shop in an industrial zone.

The bill also changes some permitted uses from major to minor permits, which have fewer requirements and scrutiny.

A church needing a roof in the Waikiki Special District, as an example, will no longer need to hire professional planners and architects and go through a public hearing.

Holmes said the changes were detrimental.

Increasing the amount of uses in the different zones "can have significant impacts on neighbors and the community and now they are allowed without any public input and any chance for necessary mitigation," he said.

For instance, martial arts studios, billiard and pool halls, indoor archery and shooting ranges should not be allowed on preservation-zoned land, Holmes said.

A key component proposed by Planning Director Jan Sullivan was deleted.

Council Zoning Chairwoman Donna Mercado Kim took out a provision that would have given automatic approvals for some permits if the city had not acted on them within 45 or 90 days.