The Honolulu City Council voted to pass a measure that gives condominium owners more time to comply with a law that requires them to install fire sprinklers or pass a safety evaluation.

A 2018 law passed in the wake of the deadly Marco Polo condominium tower fire would affect 323 properties, which include 38,747 units.

Eight members voted in favor, with Council member Andria Tupola excused, pushing the deadline for buildings to be inspected to Aug. 31 instead of May 3. It also gives buildings until 2030 instead of 2025 to receive a passing score on the evaluation.

Only 12 of the 178 buildings that have gone through the Life Safety Evaluation have passed it, according to the Honolulu Fire Department.

Council member Carol Fukunaga, who introduced Bill 37, said it is an interim measure giving condominium owners and the enforcing agencies more time to sort out issues with the fire safety law.

“If everybody is failing, then that’s not a very good system,” she said.

“How do we get everyone on the same page as to how we’re going to interpret the criteria so that whether you hire this company or that company (to handle the evaluation), you can be assured that you would have a result that’s consistent in between all of the companies?”

The bill also gives those opting to install fire sprinklers an additional five years, until 2038, to incorporate sprinkler systems into common areas. This now applies to all buildings, as opposed to the current law, in which the bigger the building, the sooner the deadline is to install fire sprinklers.

There will likely not be any financial relief provided from the city in the form of tax credits or tax exemptions to help condominiums comply with the fire sprinkler law, because of the city’s budget limitations, Fukunaga said.

However, the Council also unanimously passed a resolution Wednesday urging the state Legislature to address the high insurance costs for buildings attempting to comply with fire safety laws.

Insurance costs are soaring for buildings that do not have fire sprinklers, even if they comply with the safety evaluation.

“(This is) either for the Legislature to evaluate whether or not those financing and insurance impacts are so severe as they need to be acted upon this year, or to have the insurance commissioner and others weigh in with specific actions that they can pursue,” Fukunaga said.

Mayor Rick Blangiardi will need to sign Bill 37 in order for the measure to go into effect. He could also allow it to become law after 10 days without his signature.