Editorial: Mayor unpacks ambitious agenda

It’s past halftime into his first term as Honolulu’s mayor, and Rick Blangiardi, the former sports coach and broadcast executive, is finally articulating and accelerating a dynamic gameplan for tackling Oahu’s most entrenched problems.

In his annual State of the City address on Tuesday, it was encouraging to hear emphases on needed actions toward innovation, collaboration and especially “systemic change” to meet the many challenges facing Oahu. Blangiardi outlined an expansive playbook for teamwork on what he called entrenched “wicked problems”: too much homelessness and too little affordable housing, the “antiquated and broken” Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP); and the controversial rail transit project; among others.

On many fronts, making headway will rely on strong collaborations — such as, Blangiardi noted, the aligning of efforts and funding between the city’s affordable housing and homeless programs with the state Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp. and the statewide homelessness and housing office. Oahu residents, too, will need to welcome — not instinctively oppose — developments that deserve to be built, as the city rolls out a variety of housing and homelessness projects, such as more kauhale or village-type transitional rentals.

And at long last, it was good to hear Blangiardi talk about affordable housing in tandem with rail — the long-promised element of transit-oriented development (TOD) that’s barely been realized yet. On the horizon:

>> The old Dee-Lite Bakery site in Dillingham, bought in 2019 by the Caldwell administration, to be transformed into an affordable housing project along the rail line.

>> The old Kunia box car lot, a prime 5-acre city parcel in Royal Kunia, heading out for community input with conceptual plans for a 200-plus unit affordable rental complex, child care center and park-and-ride facility to connect to the rail and bus.

>> Site assessments on a Waiawa city-owned property near the Pearl Highlands rail station, possibly for a TOD affordable housing development.

>> Due diligence underway on two properties: one in Ewa Beach, totaling 100 units; and a 4-acre Iwilei parcel with “extraordinary” potential for “an iconic TOD complex” with 1,000-plus affordable housing units, commercial mixed-use retail and a park-and-ride for rail.

The rail system itself, long overdue and well overbudget, is now scheduled to open in July. And though it will be a mere half-opening of the 20-mile system, from East Kapolei to the defunct Aloha Stadium, it will be a relief to have it running, providing some traffic relief for West-side commuters in particular. The city is budgeting $85 million annually for rail operations and maintenance.

On the “wicked problem” of backlog at DPP, an agency key to enabling progress on so many fronts, Blangiardi must make good on pledges to shorten unwarranted and “painful” permit-approval wait times, and to improve operations with better information technology, procedural streamlining and filling of vacancies.

Beyond DPP, longstanding workforce issues impel a sense of urgency to reform the city’s sluggish hiring practices, in order to more swiftly fill vacancies with good workers. “Those personnel shortages,” Blangiardi said, “threatened to prevent us from optimizing our ability to deliver core city services.”

DPP has about 105 vacancies, for example, while the Honolulu Police Department has some 360. In his speech, the mayor noted the city’s need to expand emergency medical services islandwide, so will have 48 new EMTs entering the recruit academy in July; to combat homelessness, CORE is seeking to hire 20 more members for its roving social services/health care diversion teams, bringing that total to 50.

Let’s hope that staff expansion, coupled with reforms for better efficiency, will indeed fix some persistent problems — and not merely add to the city’s payroll.

To progress, Blangiardi noted overall, “It’s about execution, based on knowledge, risk-taking and innovation.”

Yes, it’s a robust lineup. Time to break huddle, Mr. Mayor, and put these strategies into action, to execute so that Oahu changes for the better.