Bills requiring Waikiki property owners and businesses to pay into a fund that would help pay for replenishment of Waikiki beach areas and related improvements were adopted by the Honolulu City Council on Wednesday.

Bills 81 (2014) and 82 (2014) establish a special improvement district that charges businesses and property owners a fee that goes to a fund to pay for shoreline improvement, restoration and protection projects carried out by the state, city and other entities.

Ocean experts and Waikiki merchants and landowners maintain that the situation is dire and say beach areas are eroding at a rate of about a foot a year.

The initial plan calls for the district to charge the owners of all commercial properties in Waikiki 7.63 cents per $1,000 of the assessed value of their land with the goal of collecting $600,000 annually.

References to areas east of Kapahulu Avenue were deleted from the bills after concerns were raised by advocates for Kapiolani Park, Kaimana Beach and the Natatorium War Memorial. Even so, Kapiolani Park preservationists continued to oppose the improvement district.

NEIGHBOR ISLANDS

Faulty equipment on jet replaced

A Hawaiian Airlines plane that made an emergency landing on Maui after a problem with its cabin air is back in service after faulty equipment was replaced, an airline spokeswoman said.

Equipment that controls air pressure and recycles cabin air malfunctioned shortly after Hawaiian Air Flight 24 took off for Oakland from Maui on Friday, said Hawaiian Airlines spokeswoman Ann Botticelli.

The Boeing 767-300, carrying 224 passengers, aborted its flight shortly after its 11:18 a.m. takeoff and returned to Kahului Airport, where it made an emergency landing at about 11:50 a.m.

Botticelli said an odor in the cabin "was caused by a seizure in the air cycle machine, which brings in ambient air, pressurizes it, heats it then cools it via expansion and sends it back into the cabin as refrigerated air."

She added: "This was not a safety of flight issue. … However, anytime we have an indication of a possible malfunction, we stop the takeoff process and make sure we check it out."

The equipment was replaced Monday night, Botticelli added.

No serious injuries were reported, but two people were treated for the minor injuries suffered when they had to leave the aircraft using its emergency chutes.

The Federal Aviation Administration and the National Transportation Safety Board are investigating the incident.