Latest news with #DepartmentofPlanningandPermitting
Yahoo
3 days ago
- General
- Yahoo
Kaimuki residents are calling for ‘monster home' to be torn down
HONOLULU (KHON2) — Kaimuki residents have had it with a monster home at 3615 Sierra Dr. 'It's really just a disguised apartment house with inadequate parking so as a nearby resident I think it really should just be torn down,' one Kaimuki resident said. How can Honolulu get rid of monster homes? 'Clearly from the get go, you could tell it was in violation,' another Kaimuki resident named Kaira said. 'Can it get torn down?' The Department of Planning and Permitting revoked the building permit for 3615 Sierra Dr. three years ago after discrepancies were found with what was being built and the floor plans submitted to DPP, which shut down construction. Then in 2024, an appeal to the building board was also denied. According to DPP, the property owner has since filed building permit applications to comply with the ordinance, which DPP said are under review. No word on how long that will take. 'The owner must pay a triple fee penalty for the permit, and possibly remove any portions of the work that do not comply with the monster homes ordinance,' DPP said. 'They have also suffered losses to time and money spent on the original permit, and the non-use of the current, incomplete structure.'DPP also said it has been cracking down on monster homes thanks to new laws and measures. Since 2022, DPP stated it has revoked 17 building permits. City Council Chair Tommy Waters is also pushing Bill 33, which would make it easier for DPP to enforce the laws and hold violators responsible. Meanwhile, residents are still left living next to this half-constructed monstrosity. They said it's a magnet for illegal activity and an eyesore. 'I don't think you can let these houses just sit there derelict indefinitely,' Kaimuki resident Elaine Evans said. 'Unfortunately this monster home is very visible, that's the problem,' a resident named Daniel added. 'And I got to say it's just ugly.' Check out more news from around Hawaii Honolulu City Council will be discussing Bill 33 at its meeting on May 29. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
14-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
Sidewalk encroachments could cost you
HONOLULU (KHON2) — Sidewalks with gravel, trees, large boulders or even concrete are a common sight in residential areas. According to the Department of Planning and Permitting, the space between the property line and road is called the unimproved sidewalk area and the property owner is responsible for it even though they don't own it. Judge denies bail for doctor accused of trying to kill wife It's a lesson one Hawaii Kai homeowner is learning after getting a notice of violation in the mail on April 30 for unauthorized gravel in the planter strip. The homeowner asked not to be identified. 'We've been here like over 30 years and then nothing ever happened. Nothing has never been mentioned, but suddenly we got that letter so it kind of freaked out,' the homeowner said. 'If it's gravel, what's wrong with this gravel?' According to DPP, four other homes on that street also received said gravel is generally not permitted because it can create a hazard or interfere with storm water drainage. However, the property owner may apply for a surface encroachment authorization request to get an exemption. Without an authorization, the gravel has to be removed. The standard ground cover is lawn grass. Just about everything else is considered a surface encroachment including: Rocks and boulders Fruit trees Paving and concrete for parking Thorny plants like cactus or bougainvillea Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news DPP said they don't go looking for these things, they are 'complaint driven.' And it doesn't matter how long ago the changes were made. Without an authorization, they are in violation. Real estate broker Kasandra Shriver said that's often where the confusion lies. 'So it's just really about making sure that you know where your property lines are, and you appreciate that while you're responsible for certain areas, it doesn't mean that it belongs to you,' Shriver said. 'You can't do anything there.' Missing dog reunited with owner on her birthday Homeowners are given 20 to 60 days to return it to its original state according to the Hawaii Revised Statutes. The law also specifies that if homeowners do not return the area to its original state within the allotted timeframe, the city will do fix it themselves and send the homeowner the bill for the service. Shriver said the best thing to do is contact the city if you ever get a notice. 'I imagine if you need a little extra time, that they would be willing to grant you that extra time,' she explained. 'I think it's the folks that don't respond that stick their heels in and say it's been this way. So I'm going to leave it this way. That will have the most issues.' An application for an authorization costs $200 and can be done online. Click here for more information. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Associated Press
13-05-2025
- Business
- Associated Press
Honolulu Can Fine Airbnb, Vrbo for Illegal Vacation Rentals. It Never Has
Faced with thousands of illegal short-term rentals that drew complaints from neighbors and limited housing options for residents, the Honolulu City Council decided in 2019 to target not only the operators of those rentals, but the websites that brought them customers. Under the city's law, Airbnb and other short-term rental platforms, as well as operators of rental units, are required to register with the city. Booking platforms must tell the city which properties have been rented, allowing the city to check if those units are legal. Companies can be fined up to $10,000 a day, per unit, if they receive a fee to book an unregistered short-term rental. But in the four and a half years since the law took effect, Honolulu's Department of Planning and Permitting has never cited Airbnb, Vrbo or any other rental platform for doing business with illegal rentals, city officials told Civil Beat. Meanwhile, the number of illegal rentals dwarfs legal ones. Inside Airbnb, an organization that works to combat the negative effects of short-term rentals, says the site has about 7,900 listings on Oʻahu. The city says there are just 2,100 legal short-term rentals here. Dawn Takeuchi Apuna, director of Honolulu's Department of Planning and Permitting, said the city focuses on people operating illegal rentals, not the websites that handle bookings. 'The operator that's posting really is the problem,' she said. The city's own data shows how fruitless that approach has been. Between 2022 and mid-April, the city issued about 2,200 notices of violation to owners or operators. As of January, it had collected just 2% of the almost $90 million in fines it levied. Council member Tyler Dos Santos-Tam said he wants the city to crack down on illegal rentals. 'Frankly, I think that a scenario where the platforms are on the hook would certainly lead to a lot more compliance,' he said. Holding Platforms Responsible For Illegal Rentals Airbnb, Vrbo and other platforms have opened up entire neighborhoods to travelers looking for more of a local feel, and more space, than they would typically get in a hotel. Though that's attractive to tourists and a boon for hosts, elected leaders in popular vacation destinations such as New Orleans, New York City and Honolulu have faced complaints about the collateral damage. 'Neighborhoods may be negatively impacted by the presence of short-term rentals, including escalating real property values, increased noise, illegal parking, and increased traffic,' Honolulu's short-term rental law says. 'There is a concern that homes are being purchased as income-producing investments' rather than homes. The council estimated that there were 8,000 to 10,000 short-term rentals on Oʻahu in 2019, 'far exceeding the number of permitted units.' Honolulu's law was meant as a compromise between short-term operators, some of whom say they need the extra income to make ends meet, and their critics. The law allows rentals of under 30 days in resort zones and some nearby areas as long as those properties are registered with the city as 'transient vacation units.' In addition, the city allows about 800 properties around the island that have operated as short-term rentals or owner-occupied bed and breakfasts since the late 1980s. The law requires companies such as Airbnb and Vrbo to provide the city with data on bookings. And every listing on those sites must include a tax map ID and a registration number. Other heavily touristed cities have taken a similar approach. In San Francisco, platforms that don't take 'reasonable care' to prevent illegal rentals from appearing on their sites can be fined up to $484 for an initial violation and up to $968 for each subsequent violation. In New York, platforms can be fined up to $1,500 for every transaction involving an illegal listing. Come June, platforms operating in New Orleans can be fined up to $1,000 per day for every short-term rental they facilitate. The Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law and Justice applauded Honolulu for holding rental companies accountable. 'Rather than stand watch outside a suspected illegal STR (short-term rental) and wait for a guest to walk through the front door, officials can simply scroll through online listings, identify unregistered units, and issue citations directly to the corporate entities promoting them,' Appleseed's spokesperson Will Caron wrote in a 2019 press release. But Appleseed's opinion has changed. Arjuna Heim, who became the organization's director of housing policy after the council passed the short-term rental law, said she doesn't think the city has the wherewithal to go after behemoths like Airbnb. 'It's hard for a small state like Hawaiʻi – let alone a single county – to fight a hosting platform that has really smart lawyers and is international,' she said. City Hasn't Followed Through On Law Takeuchi Apuna acknowledged that it's challenging to combat illegal vacation rentals. But she contended that the law holding platforms accountable wouldn't help much. To find illegal listings, the permitting department uses software to track registrations and scan booking websites. When it finds one, the department asks the operator to remove it. If that doesn't work, the department asks the booking platform to do so. Yet the city has asked companies such as Airbnb to remove listings only about a dozen times, starting last year. The removal requests include a listing at 2154 Auli'i Street that has racked up almost a million dollars in fines since 2021; the city is now on track to try to seize the property to collect those fines. Takeuchi Apuna said that with dozens of platforms available, including some catering to niche travelers, a scofflaw can simply list a rental somewhere else if a platform removes their listing. Despite having the power to penalize platforms, she said, 'We believe that we will be more effective if we partner with them rather than enforce against them.' Takeuchi Apuna said the city has been slow to crack down on short-term rentals because there are just two full-time short-term rental investigators and because the department has had to improve the software that matches rental listings and registered units. The department also had to rewrite its rules on short-term rentals after the City Council streamlined registration last year. But the 2019 law was written to make the department's job easier. It requires companies such as Airbnb to submit monthly reports listing all bookings. Those reports must include the name of the person responsible for each rental, the address, the transient accommodation tax identification number, and details for each stay, including how much guests paid. Those reports would enable city employees to see if the properties that had been booked are registered. But the rental platforms have never sent them. 'Working together, we haven't been requiring that they provide those reports,' Takeuchi Apuna said. A spokesperson for Airbnb did not answer a question about whether the company has provided reports, instead providing a statement from Airbnb Senior Policy Manager for Hawaiʻi Janel Cozzens that says the company works with the city and complies with all applicable local laws. Dos Santos-Tam said he asked the permitting department for the monthly reports last year and learned that it doesn't have them. He said he didn't pursue it at the time. 'But I would hope that we start asking the platforms for these reports,' he said. 'I think the data that it would contain would be really helpful for further enforcement.' It may be challenging for the city to get those reports. They're required for any booking platform that has registered with the city. No company has ever registered, Takeuchi Apuna said. A few Kailua residents who testified in support of a 2022 update to the city's short-term rental law were surprised to learn the permitting department isn't using all of the tools available to tamp down on illegal rentals. James Gebhard said the number of illegal short-term rentals in his neighborhood seems to have declined during the past 10 years, and the remaining ones aren't as raucous. Still, he said the city should go after booking platforms. 'I think they're overlooking their duties if they don't do that,' he said. Airbnb Fights Back In a Cornell Law Review article published in December, business law professors Keri K. White and Jennifer Cordon Thor wrote that there's evidence that short-term rentals contribute to rising housing costs. They argued that municipalities must get the platforms' help to keep illegal listings off their sites. Airbnb contests the idea that its listings contribute to housing unaffordability, instead blaming slow construction of new housing. Last week, the company published a blog post showing that New York City's median rent continued to rise in the two years after it passed Local Law 18, which severely restricted short-term rentals. In addition to targeting booking websites, New York City's law says owners must be present onsite when renting for fewer than 30 days and that they can't host more than two guests at a time. 'Local Law 18 hasn't improved housing availability or affordability – but it has driven up prices for residents and visitors, hurt small businesses and local resident hosts, and handed more power to hotels,' the company said. The company has fought back against New York and other cities that have held it accountable for illegal rentals. In a lawsuit filed against New York City, Airbnb argued that the law would effectively end short-term rentals in the city. Airbnb listings in the city dropped by about 90% the year after the law passed, according to the company. A judge dismissed the case and said the city's rules were not overly burdensome. Airbnb has sued other cities too, including Santa Monica, California, and New Orleans, contending their laws put the company in the position of enforcing city regulations. Heim, of the Appleseed Initiative, cautioned that booking platforms may be protected by the same federal law that absolves Meta of liability for content posted on Facebook. That's an open question, though a federal judge in California ruled in Santa Monica's case that short-term rental companies can be held liable for transactions involving illegal rentals. Litigation is ongoing in New Orleans. Airbnb has not sued Honolulu over its short-term rental law. The company didn't answer a question about whether it has considered it. A group of short-term rental owners, however, successfully sued the city over its 2022 law that said any property rented for less than 90 days must be registered as a short-term rental. The prior threshold was 30 days. That ruling spurred legislators to change Hawaiʻi law to say short-term rentals don't count as a residential use and that counties can use their zoning power to phase them out altogether. Maui County has been considering that option for almost a year. Dos Santos-Tam said Honolulu should consider it, too. ___ This story was originally published by Honolulu Civil Beat and distributed through a partnership with The Associated Press.
Yahoo
13-05-2025
- General
- Yahoo
DPP combats coconut rhinoceros beetles in urban Honolulu
Damage linked to the palm tree-killing coconut rhinoceros beetle has become more obvious in urban Hono lulu, according to city officials. Recent plantings at new privately owned building developments in Kakaako and Ala Moana show the telltale signs of CRB infestations—boreholes 2 inches or bigger in palm trunks, V-shaped or scallop-edged palm fronds and generally unhealthy-looking trees overall. CRB breeding populations also are being discovered along the palm-rich corridor extending from Iolani Palace to Diamond Head Crater, the city Department of Planning and Permitting asserts. To combat the problem, DPP says it's strengthening efforts to preserve the health of the island's urban landscapes. 'The DPP is concerned about CRB for many reasons, but primarily we are concerned about the potential rapid loss of palms in our community forest and the related safety hazards that result from damaged or dead palms falling unexpectedly, ' Alexander Beatty of DPP's Urban Design Branch, told the Honolulu Star-Advertiser. The department's main focus is on new development and replacement of landscapes, he said. 'The DPP has limited authority over private landscape ; therefore, we are focusing our efforts in street trees, which require DPP approval, and in the special districts, which often require approved landscape plans, ' Beatty added. In March 2024 the department implemented a policy aimed at slowing the spread of CRB until effective treatments are available. The policy is focused on areas under DPP's direct authority and includes the following measures :—Prohibiting palms from fulfilling street tree requirements.—Discouraging the use of palms to meet landscaping requirements.—Limiting the use of compost, wood, tree chips and mulch that may harbor CRB.—Requiring compliance with the state Department of Agriculture's interim rule restricting the movement of CRB host materials.—Mandating an invasive species management plan for affected developments.—Ensuring damaged palms are replaced with tree species that are not susceptible to CRB. Despite efforts, DPP continues to see new urban landscapes dominated by palms, such as coconut and loulu. The department encourages residents and developers to consider alternative tree species. Native and Polynesian-introduced species featured on the city's Street Tree List offer a range of sizes and benefits. Those plants include alahee, ohia, hau, milo, kou, kukui, lonomea, manele, variegated hau and kamani. Canopy trees favored Areas in urban Honolulu—including those with special districts—continue to have spots where coconut palms are common. The Hawaii Capital Special District, the Punchbowl Special District, the Thomas Square Special District, the future Transit Oriented Development Special Districts and the Waikiki Special District are among the locations, according to Beatty. 'These areas rely heavily on palm plantings, and that reliance poses a real threat to our urban forest, ' he said. 'It also creates an elevated hazard since these are more pedestrian-oriented and highly trafficked areas. Kakaako is also in this area but is not under the jurisdiction of the DPP for landscaping.' He noted coconut trees themselves are not effective canopy trees either. 'Canopy trees offer exceptional public benefits relative to their cost—providing shade, mitigating the urban heat island effect, managing storm water and enhancing the pedestrian experience, especially when diverse species are planted, ' he said. A result of this effort has been a renewed focus on incorporating Hawaiian canopy trees, according to Beatty. 'Several projects in Waikiki have already replaced palms in their landscape plans with more canopy trees, ' he said. 'For example, Hilton Hawaiian Village plans to significantly increase canopy coverage around the edges of their campus, particularly near the lagoon.' Another hope is tree growers will increase availability of these species so they can be used more often and at larger scales, he said. 'We also hope that other projects, including those in Ala Moana and Kakaako, will see the wisdom of diversifying the planting to make a more resilient community forest and take action on their own, ' he said. 'Damaged trees that have been treated are still a hazard, and should be replaced. 'We understand that this will require a shift in thinking from the community, including developers and landscape architects, ' he said. 'However, planting shade trees and replacing damaged palms with shade trees will help create a more resilient community forest.' As far as DPP's efforts, no city funds have been spent to quash the CRB threat. 'We are operating within the existing regulatory framework of zoning and street trees, ' Beatty said. Jeanne Rice, an Ala Moana-Kakaako Neighborhood Board member, said the CRB problem is a threat to all of Oahu, not just in the vicinity of her longtime residence near Ala Moana Regional Park. 'I think everyone needs to be vigilant regarding these beetles. I've seen the damage they can do personally ; it's such a shame, and I know the state has been trying for many years to eradicate them too, ' she added. Few success stories First detected in Hawaii in 2013 after being discovered at Joint Base Pearl Harbor-Hickam, the ravenous beetles have spread to different parts of Oahu where coconut palms and other palm varieties have become their main source of food. The insects are native to Africa, China, Myanmar, India and Southeast Asia. Adult beetles are black, 2 inches long and have a visible horn. They typically take wing at night and can fly up to 2 miles if looking for a food source. Female beetles might lay 50 to 140 eggs in their lifetime, which is four to nine months. And although the insects don't bite, they can carry disease and should not be handled with bare hands, if possible. CRBs create bore holes in palm trees that can lead to an individual tree's untimely demise. They then eat palm fronds to the point where the foliage is unable to photosynthesize, or turn sunlight into chemical energy for the tree to grow or survive. As insecticides and other bug-stopping methods have proved only moderately effective in controlling the spread of CRBs, the City and County of Honolulu has worked to identify and remove dead or dying coconut palms at city-owned parks, as such trees can become CRB breeding grounds. Many of those parks are located along the Leeward Coast and the North Shore. 'Really, the unfortunate truth is it's going to get worse before it gets better, ' said city Department of Parks and Recreation spokesperson Nate Serota, during an October news conference at Haleiwa's Bill and Peggy Paty Kaiaka Bay Beach Park, where many palms needed to be cut down due to CRB infestations. 'We're going to have to start removing more and more of these palms, really out of concern for public safety.' But, according to Serota, CRBs don't stop at just palm trees. He said the destructive insects threaten 'heritage plants ' as well, including taro and other staples brought by the Polynesian voyagers who first populated the Hawaiian Islands centuries ago. The Coconut Rhinoceros Beetle Response Team, administered through the University of Hawaii and funded by the U.S. departments of Agriculture and Defense, is also part of the effort to control the beetle. At the same news conference in October, Keith Weiser, a CRB Response Team member, said 'success stories ' in fighting these insects are few and far between and mainly occur only in urbanized areas. He noted that a combination of netting and insecticides—typically with the use of plant-based pyrethrins—can be used to control CRB infestations. For more information on DPP's program, visit.
Yahoo
26-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Bill aimed at inflation could make shoreline development easier with no public say
HONOLULU (KHON2) — A bill moving to the governor's desk could allow more development in coastal areas without needing additional environmental reviews and oversight or a public hearing. HB732 has many environmental groups and residents concerned that it could open the door to harmful development. Over 100 cleared from Diamond Head during homeless sweep Special Management Areas are found on all islands typically near the shoreline or coast. Most areas are makai of major roadways or highways like Farrington Highway, Kuhio Highway, Kamehameha Highway and Honoapiilani Highway. Some counties have exceptions and include valleys or areas mauka. If you want to build within an SMA you are required to get a special permit which is either an SMA Minor or SMA Major. The SMA permit was established in 1975 so developments within an area along the shoreline do not impact valuable resources and ensures adequate access to public beaches and natural reserves. An SMA minor is an approval for developments within the SMA with a value of $500,000 or less, if it does not otherwise have substantial adverse environmental or ecological effect. The review process does not require a public SMA Major is a project with a construction value of $500,000 or more, or may have a substantial adverse environmental effect and requires a public hearing. HB732 bumps that line up to $750,000 to factor in inflation and rising construction costs, but some say developers already cheat the system. 'We've seen developers basically low ball by a huge percentage so they can avoid public scrutiny and avoid environmental review,' said North Shore resident and activist Denise Antolini. 'That is a big problem they know how to play the game and they get evaluations ridiculously low.' A North Shore neighborhood board member says she's seen it happen many times and there is no way to prove the value of a project. Download the free KHON2 app for iOS or Android to stay informed on the latest news 'You just have the word of that applicant, and that's a dangerous, dangerous place to be in,' said North Shore Neighborhood Board Vice Chair Racquel Achiu. 'You are relying on the developer that wants the world.' Honolulu's Department of Planning and Permitting says applications for an SMA permit must include an estimate of the valuation of the development. If an applicant concedes that the valuation of a project is greater than $500,000 or the application is for a special management area major permit, a detailed project valuation is not required and a general overall estimate for project cost is acceptable. If the application is for a special management area minor permit, a detailed project valuation is required and must include all related installation, materials and labor costs of the development based on current market values and prevailing wages. Dillon Gabriel drafted by Cleveland Browns in round 3 of 2025 NFL Draft Applicable structural, civil, utility, service equipment, and outdoor improvement costs must also be included in the project valuation. Costs relating to grading, removing, dredging, mining or extraction of any materials must be included in the project valuation, provided that the costs directly related to demolition and removal of structures will not contribute to the overall valuation when the demolition and removal work is not considered development. The Department of Planning and Permitting said all estimates must be prepared by an impartial, third-party licensed contractor or professional estimator, must be itemized and detailed and must include the square footage basis, if any, being used. The bill also allows inflation adjustments every five years, but those in opposition say it's a step in the wrong direction. 'This is about our special management areas, our coastlines, our shorelines and the appropriate use and protection of those spaces. Adding inflation into it just sells us out,' Achiu said. 'It just allows something that is a little harder to attain when it should be as it was intended to be.. a protection for these places.' Puna woman arrested following deadly domestic dispute 'We need to do more to protect our shorelines from development, rising sea levels, severe weather and intense erosion areas, and this doesn't do anything to help,' Antolini said. Sierra Club of Hawaii Director Wayne Tanaka said the bill asks if there should be more or less public input when it comes to coastal development proposals. 'This measure says we should have less, which I think is a dangerous position to take,' he said. 'Public input is important to inform these permitting decisions so we can protect the public interest in our coastlines.' 'This measure, in a way, encourages that almost makes it that much easier for offshore investments to develop without community input,' Tanaka continued. 'I think there's some desire to facilitate development, they're talking about rising construction cost, to justify raising the threshold, but should rising costs mean we turn our backs to rising seas?' FBI arrests a Milwaukee judge accused of helping a man evade immigration authorities Honolulu's DPP submitted testimony in support of the measure saying increasing the threshold would provide a more streamlined review process as it would receive more SMA minors than majors to approve. 'For both permit types, the agency is required to make a finding that the proposal has no substantial adverse environmental or ecological effects. The DPP performs a thorough review of SMA Minor projects based on the review criteria, policies, and guidelines listed in HRS Chapter 205A,' the testimony said. 'If we find that a project may have substantial adverse environmental, ecological, or cumulative effects, the SMA Minor permit is denied and the project may proceed by applying for an SMA Major Permit, which is a lengthier and more involved process that requires City Council action. Given all this, we believe that allowing more projects to be processed as minor permits will streamline the permitting process without sacrificing environmental review. 'If something is going wrong, you don't continue to let it go wrong, you fix it, and this bill doesn't fix the underlying problem,' Antolini said. 'So, while I understand the counties cry for help, it's a very bad reason to change policy that protects our shorelines.' Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
