Construction permit woes continue amid ongoing improvements at DPP

HONOLULU (HawaiiNewsNow) – Members of the construction industry and government shared their frustrations dealing with the City’s Department of Planning & Permitting at an event discussing Grassroot Institute’s new report “Seven Low Cost Ways to Speed Up Permitting in Hawaii.”
“I would stipulate that the reason why we had five people at DPP go to jail is because people got impatient and tried to find a way around that line and get a front of line privilege. And there were some people who were unscrupulous that are no longer at DPP, that were willing to facilitate that,” said Ted Peck, president of Holu Hou Energy, who says his clients often pay the price for reviewers’ mistakes.
One reviewer “kicked that one back, something that he had already approved, because the stamp was expired. It took two months for that to get fixed, and that two months cost the customer, the small business, over $10,000,” Peck said.
From corruption to mistakes that cost money and time, attendees said the government needs to do more to speed up the process.
Our clients “say it’s been two years. We don’t have a permit,” said Angelica Rodriguez, permit processor with Structural Hawaii. “Some people have leases and they’re paying two mortgages, so timing is a big issue for them.”
Hawaii has some of the longest wait times in the nation for construction permits. Grassroot urges officials to consider these policy changes based on research and best practices from the continental U.S.:
In a statement, DPP Director Dawn Takeuchi Apuna said: “Most of the Grassroot Institute’s recommendations have been in the works or are already implemented at DPP, including exemption of basic projects under Ord. 23-13, streamlining of solar projects, allowing third-party approvals, and ‘shot clocks’ for delayed permits. In the last five months, the residential code review by DPP has been dramatically reduced. And we’re doing even more, including a new permitting software that will provide greater automation in mid-2025, integration of guided artificial intelligence (AI) in the code review also in 2025, and upgrades to our electronic plans system that are ongoing. DPP will continue to improve the permitting process for both residential and commercial projects that will positively affect the housing crisis.”
DPP also suggests “design professionals do their part by improving the quality of building plans submitted to DPP that will reduce the number of review cycles, thereby shortening the overall permitting process.”
While the City has some of the suggested policies in place, attendees say the challenge is accountability. Prescreening is faster but certain reviews still take several months.
City Council member Tyler Dos Santos-Tam said DPP should be incentivized to reduce delays, such as offering higher salaries and hiring more staff.
The City brings in $30 million in permit fees, which barely covers DPP’s operation costs.
“We want a system where there’s certainty. We want a system where we know what the expectations are, and whether that’s a 60-day shot clock where you know, you get it in 60 days or not,” Dos Santos-Tam said.
Attendees also discussed focusing less on creating a perfect permitting process and giving DPP more power to hold bad actors accountable.
“There is a lack of enforcement and meaningful penalties for those who don’t follow the rules and who clog up the system,” Dos Santos-Tam said.
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