The Honolulu City Council passed Bill 41 (7-2 vote) on Wednesday 11/10 in its 1st reading. The bill's current form is the original version and does not include any of the positive changes put forth by the DPP and Planning Commission. Several councilmembers expressed concern over this and that there is confusion amongst the public of which bill will be moving forward and considered. Councilmember Elefante who is the Chair of the Zoning and Planning Committee noted they will work to clear the confusion and move forward with one bill for consideration in his zoning and planning committee meetings.
The hearing included hours of public testimony on this measure and the City Council recognizes that an ample amount of time for public comment is needed, thus Bill 41 will be heard only for an extension of time request in the zoning and planning committee meeting on November 18th. Bill 41 is expected to be heard for action by the Zoning and Planning Committee in January.
HBR and CAC is continuing to monitor this legislation and meet with councilmembers to ensure our members' concerns are communicated. You can view HBR’s submitted testimony here.
We encourage our members and their clients to submit testimony and reach out to their councilmembers to share their personal stories on how this will impact them. We will continue to provide updates to our members as they are available.
