Cleaning up Hawaii’s permitting mess

by Keli'i Akina, Ph.D., Grassroot Institute, May 18, 2025

You probably don’t need me to tell you that the process of trying to get a building permit in Hawaii is a frustrating mess.

The situation is so aggravating that a local actors group produced a comical play about it a couple of years ago based on their own true story. And two Honolulu Civil Beat reporters created an online game about it that — surprise! — is virtually impossible to win.

But even this kind of awareness hasn’t helped. A new report from the University of Hawai‘i Economic Research Organization shows that Hawaii permit delays in 2024 were at some of the worst levels ever.

Wait times for single-family home permits in Honolulu and Maui in particular were slower than at any point in the past decade — almost 400 days versus about 130 in 2014 for Honolulu and more than 300 days versus just under 100 for Maui.

But I’m glad to report policy changes at the state and county levels that could make a real dent in these delays.

Earlier this month, the Legislature passed SB66, a measure that would introduce a new element into the permit process called self-certification.

Assuming it is approved by Gov. Josh Green, the bill will allow an applicant for a single-family or multifamily home building permit to ask the architect or engineer who drew up the plans to approve the permit. This process would kick in if the respective county has not rendered a decision on the complete permit application within 60 days.

This self-certification process would also hold the county harmless from any legal issues that arise as a result of deficiencies in the permit, and require architects and engineers who self-certify the permits to have a certain level of liability insurance.

I had conversations about SB66 this past week with Hawaii residents at the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii’s statewide 2025 legislative wrap-up tour, and I can tell you that people are truly excited at the possibility of real permitting reform.

At the county level, Honolulu’s self-certification program recently got off the ground after implementation delays. It will cover solar panels and some commercial improvements and affordable housing projects.

On Hawaii Island, a report from the Office of the County Auditor has identified more than two dozen ways the county’s Department of Public Works could improve its permitting process.

Most of the recommendations have to do with the internal operations of DPW’s Building Division, but they also include several tried-and-true policy changes that the Hawai‘i County Council and mayor could implement relatively quickly, such as creating a self-certification program; using private, third-party reviewers when there are large permit backlogs; and providing exemptions for low-risk projects, such as solar panels or water tanks.

These are all things that the Grassroot Institute suggested in its October 2024 report “Seven low-cost ways to speed up permitting in Hawaii,” which the audit cited numerous times.

Hawai‘i County Mayor Kimo Alameda has already formed a task force to reduce permit delays, and the members of that group should take note of the many reforms presented in the audit and the Grassroot report.

Maui and Kauai lawmakers have also made small tweaks to their counties’ permitting systems in the past year, and I would encourage them to redouble their efforts to reduce wait times.

Overall, there is no one-stop fix for Hawaii’s slow permitting systems, but taken together, all these little steps ultimately will make a big difference.