Plans to ease up the rules to allow for more secondary dwellings on Oahu’s residential lots got mostly positive public feedback at a hearing before the City Council Zoning and Planning Committee on Thursday.
Resolution 14-200, introduced by Councilman Ron Menor, would call on Mayor Kirk Caldwell to create legislation to revise the existing "ohana" dwelling law, making it easier for a homeowner to establish a second dwelling, also known as an Accessory Dwelling Unit, or ADU, that can be rented out. Specifically, Menor wants to do away with a provision that requires that a second dwelling on lots less than 7,500 square feet be rented only to a blood relative. The change would also allow ADUs to be either attached or detached from the primary residence, and make the designation available in more areas of the island zoned for residential use.
An anonymous voice vote moved the resolution out of committee.
"The purpose and intent … is to increase the supply of affordable rentals in various neighborhoods at a time when there is a severe shortage of such units," Menor told colleagues.
Caldwell has already included expansion of the city’s ADU program as one of three major planks of his recently released draft affordable-housing strategy.
Betty Lou Larson, a member of the Partners In Care coalition, said expanding the ADU program would be a win-win for many different demographics, from renters in need of low-cost housing to "landowners like seniors or struggling families who need income to maintain their lives."
She said government alone does not have the money to create the affordable rentals needed to meet demand and that individuals offering up ADUs in existing residential areas will offer a smaller footprint than new projects on previously undeveloped land would.
John Wollstein said he owns a property in Palolo with two accessory buildings that he rents out to people for residential use. He acknowledged that renting out the structures violates existing zoning laws.
But at less than $900, including utilities, his tenants pay significantly less than what they would have to pay to live elsewhere.
"If they did not have these places to live, chances are that they would be homeless," he said.
No neighbors have complained about his rentals, but the city Department of Planning and Permitting describes the accessory buildings as "storage and recreational" structures that should not be occupied. He is being hit with fines of more than $100 a day that total an estimated $150,000, Wollstein said.
Kailua resident Ursula Rutherford, one of the few people present opposed to the resolution, said she doesn’t oppose the concept of making more units available to Hawaii residents, but fears it will lead to abuse by homeowners who create the dwellings and use them as illegal vacation rentals.
Expanding the number of ADUs should be allowed only if the city hires enough inspectors to enforce zoning and building laws, she said.
"The failure to enforce (existing) regulations has resulted in the proliferation in our residential neighborhoods of thousands of illegal vacation rentals and the loss of needed housing units for local residents," she said.
City planning officials said Thursday they intend to forward new, expanded ADU rules in the couple of months. A final decision would likely be made by the end of January, Deputy Planning Director Art Challacombe said.
Planning official Harrison Rue said allowing ADUs in all residential-zoned lots of 3,500 square feet or more is one idea that may be included in the bill. New ADUs, however, would not be placed on agricultural or country lots as they currently can, Rue said.
The administration’s bill would also likely limit the size of ADUs to ensure they can be kept affordable, Rue said. The draft will likely also include a requirement of one parking stall per ADU, except in transit-oriented development zones, he said.
Another likely provision will be that either the property owner or a family member would have to occupy either the primary dwelling or the ADU, he said.
Rue said the administration has not yet decided whether it wants to include allowing any existing, nonconforming ADUs to be made legal through a "grandfather" clause, assuming basic safety provisions can be met.
"We all know they’re out there," he said, adding that the Council should at least review the possibility of making them legal.
