Council OKs incentives for owners in high-rises to install fire sprinklers

Two measures aimed at giving breaks on taxes and fees to high-rise property owners in exchange for installing automated sprinkler systems in their buildings won final approval from the Honolulu City Council on Wednesday.

Bill 101 (2017) will offer condominium and apartment owners a property tax credit of up to $2,000 if they install sprinklers in their own units or pay a share for systems in their buildings’ hallways or other common areas. Only owner-occupants will be eligible for the credit under the bill, which is expected to be signed by Mayor Kirk Caldwell. Applications must be filed within 24 months of an installation.

Also approved was Bill 102 (2017), which gives condominium and apartment owners a waiver on fees they would otherwise need to pay the city for plan reviews and building permits that are tied to the installation of automated sprinkler systems.

Bill 69 (2017), which would require the owners of about 150 Oahu residential towers to install at least common-area sprinkler systems, is still being discussed by the Council’s Executive Matters and Legal Affairs Committee. Condominium and apartment owners in those buildings argue that forcing them to install sprinkler systems is unnecessary, and could cause some of them to lose their homes.

Honolulu Fire Department officials estimate it would cost each individual property owner between $8,000 and $22,000 to install sprinklers in an entire building, and between $5,000 and $10,000 each if only common areas were retrofitted.