Latest ‘monster house’ bill adds restrictions

The latest version of a comprehensive bill aimed at halting the growth of large-scale houses in residential zones would require smaller homes to abide by the same rules limiting the number of wet bars, bathrooms and laundry rooms allowed per dwelling, as well as provisions for more parking and a limit on the percentage of cement or other impermeable surfaces.

City Councilman Trevor Ozawa, who detailed the latest draft of Bill 79 at Thursday’s Zoning and Housing Committee meeting, stressed that he wants the Caldwell administration to offer its views on the ideas before the final language is passed. The committee gave preliminary OK to the bill, which now goes to the full Council for the second of three approvals next week.

The Department of Planning and Permitting and Council members have struggled to deal with the proliferation of “monster houses” mostly in older residential Oahu neighborhoods in recent years. Neighbors say they are out of scale and character with their communities and are used as illegal rentals, boardinghouses, vacation units or other businesses typically not allowed in residential zones. Critics also argue that they overburden sewer lines, street parking and other infrastructure and could result in higher property assessments.

But the strong reaction to large-scale houses has, in turn, caused a backlash from builders and others who think going too far in regulations would make it more difficult to obtain already often-stalled building permits and, in the long term, limit the island’s housing stock during a housing shortage.

On Thursday members of HI Good Neighbor, a group comprised of those pushing for more laws against monster houses, testified in support of the bill and said they like Ozawa’s version. Several homebuilders, however, raised concerns about overregulation.

The key provision of Ozawa’s draft is that it bars a builder or homeowner from putting up a house with a floor area greater than 60 percent of a lot’s size, or what’s known as a floor area ratio (FAR) of 0.6. The administration had proposed a 0.7 FAR.

Current law does not use floor area to determine how big a house can be in a residential zone, but instead requires that the footprint of a home cover no more than 50 percent of the lot.

Among the other major requirements in the latest draft:

>> No more than one wet bar for a residential lot up to 9,999 square feet, two wet bars for lots 10,000 square feet.

>> No more than one laundry room for each dwelling unit.

>> No more than 3.5 bathrooms for a zoning lot of up to 4,999 square feet, 4.5 bathrooms for between 5,000 and 5,999 square feet and then one additional bathroom for each additional 1,000 square feet but no more than 9.5 bathrooms.

>> Capping the percentage of cement, concrete or other impervious surface at no more than 75 percent of a zoning lot area.

>> Requiring two parking stalls per unit but an additional stall for every 500 square feet of area over 2,500 square feet, excluding a garage or carport.

Ozawa said the regulations would not be retro­active and would only apply to new houses or renovations where relevant.

Pending approval of a permanent set of rules governing large-scale houses, a temporary moratorium that prohibits new building permits for single-family homes over 0.7 FAR has been in place since March.

Also on Thursday the committee advanced Resolution 18-272, urging the Caldwell administration to implement emergency procedures to address a growing outcry about building permit delays.

Kathy Sokugawa, acting DPP director, said the agency already is beginning to implement some of the ideas laid out in the resolution.

The Council earlier this month passed Bill 64, requiring the administration to process building permits for one- and two-family residential dwellings within six months after hearing complaints from the building industry that they sometimes take a year or longer to obtain.

Caldwell on Wednesday allowed the bill to become law without his signature, warning that the legislation could result in unintended consequences such as longer delays for the processing of other permits. Caldwell also announced a series of other changes aimed at speeding up the permit process.