Leasehold reform
debated
Mayoral candidates Duke Bainum and Mufi Hannemann differed yesterday on whether the city's mandatory leasehold conversion ordinance should be repealed.
In a debate before members of the Honolulu Board of Realtors, Bainum said he opposes efforts to repeal the law.
"I support condo leasehold reform because I believe in the right of people to own their own homes," he said.
Hannemann said that if he becomes mayor, he would sign a bill to repeal the law. But he said he would not make the repeal of the law a priority.
"I was always for having property owners exercise their right to sell their land when they wanted to and at what price," Hannemann said.
Councilman Mike Gabbard introduced a bill to repeal the city's condominium leasehold conversion law earlier this month. The bill has been referred to the Executive Matters Committee but has not had a public hearing.
According to a report by the Leasehold Conversion Task Group convened by the City Council last year, 17,723 leasehold condominium units have been converted to fee-simple since the law took effect in 1991. There are 23,193 leasehold condo units still on Oahu. But task force member George Hao said only 1,172 are eligible for conversion.
On other issues, Bainum and Hannemann shared similar positions.
Both support building a light-rail system to ease traffic on Oahu. They both said something needs to be done to speed up building permit approvals.
Bainum said he believes a rate increase might be necessary to pay for badly needed repairs to the city's sewer system. Hannemann said he would consider a rate increase as a last resort.
Hannemann said he favors restoring just the arch of the Waikiki Natatorium War Memorial. Bainum said it looks like full restoration, which would include the saltwater pool, is not possible.
