Council measures seek tougher laws against ‘monster houses’

Stricter enforcement of regulations on so-called monster houses is the focus of a package of four measures introduced this week by Honolulu City Councilwoman Carol Fukunaga.

Three bills, along with a resolution that asks voters to consider an amendment to the City Charter, will get their first airing at Wednesday’s Council meeting.

Fukunaga’s district includes the Kalihi-Kapalama area, where many of the large-scale houses targeted in the proposals have emerged. She said the measures are based on recommendations made in a recent report by the Office of the City Auditor criticizing the Department of Planning and Permitting for being lax, inconsistent and ineffective in coping with the monster house issue.

Allowing property owners and contractors to continue working even after their permits are expired is among the criticisms the auditors lodged against DPP.

Bill 65 would force DPP to revoke a building permit if authorized work does not start within 180 days or is halted at any point for 120 days or more. Revocation would also result if work is not completed within a stipulated time, which would typically be three years.

A second measure, Bill 67, would prohibit DPP from reducing fines imposed for building permit violations. DPP has repeatedly defended its policy of accepting often significantly lower fines, arguing that compliance and not punishment is the agency’s goal.

The third measure, Bill 66, would require DPP to include sworn affidavits in building permit files showing that the layout and use of a structure are consistent with the description in the permit application and will not be altered. Those affidavits now are filed with the state Bureau of Conveyances. That would continue, but DPP would also be required to have it on file.

Resolution 19-325 would place on the 2020 Oahu general election ballot a question asking voters to approve splitting DPP into two agencies: one dealing with permitting regulations and the other devoted to long-term land-use planning. There were two agencies — the Department of Land Utilization and the Department of Planning — up until 1998, when voters approved an amendment to the Charter combining the two departments as part of former Mayor Jeremy Harris’ vast reorganization plan aimed at streamlining city functions.

The breaking up of DPP was not a direct recommendation from the audit, but Fukunaga said that with the advent of issues involving large-scale houses and illegal vacation rentals, the agency has become too large and saddled with too many responsibilities.

“We must focus on scofflaws who build structures that are thinly disguised apartment buildings in single-family neighborhoods,” Fukunaga said. “They create tensions among nearby residents who suffer adverse impacts from such structures, including loss of on-street parking, increased density and loss of ground cover that causes drainage/ sewage issues.”