Proposal 064: Streamline housing approvals via reform of zoning variance hearing and notice rules

Grassroot Institute of Hawaii 2025 Honolulu Charter amendment proposal

from Grassroot Institute

The following text was submitted to the 2025 Honolulu Charter Commission for consideration as an amendment to the Honolulu City Charter, with final approval to be determined by popular vote in the 2026 general election. The questions being answered were posed by the Commission.

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What issue or concern are you trying to address?

Public comment processes for proposed projects, especially housing projects, have increasingly become a bottleneck that distorts democratic decision-making and impedes the delivery of urgent community needs. 

While these hearings were once thought of as tools of inclusion and accountability, in practice they disproportionately amplify the most privileged voices whose interests lie in maintaining the status quo. Local elections are the legitimate venue through which communities express their will, through representatives chosen to make complex decisions on their behalf. Moreover, the general and development plans reflect the preferences and beliefs of a large and diverse segment of the population concerning city growth and change.

Yet after these representatives are elected, and community plans adopted, the will of the people community at large is routinely undermined by public hearing processes that tend to reward the very few with the time, money and know-how legal expertise to navigate the system built for obstruction rather than true community participation.

This dynamic is especially damaging when it comes to housing. The people who most need affordable or multifamily housing — workers and young families — are precisely those least able to attend weekday evening meetings or wage sophisticated advocacy campaigns.

Meanwhile, opponents with more vast resources and who benefit from the status quo property interests can exert outsized influence, often delaying or defeating projects that would benefit the broader community. This is not democracy; it is government by gatekeepers.

This Charter amendment is necessary to recalibrate our civic process toward serving the needs of the community as a whole and ensure that democratic accountability flows through the ballot box, not through a public comment gauntlet that too often serves the powerful few at the expense of the many.

The purpose of modifying the zoning variance section is to recognize that deviations from the strict letter of the zoning ordinance may further the goals of the General Plan in a manner that was not precisely anticipated by the zoning ordinance enacted by Council but which may meet the spirit of the General Plan.

The existing charter provision allows for proving a negative impact or hardship on the property owner or applicant, which is a worthy and fair avenue for adjudicating the unique circumstances of a given property or tract, and provides the applicant or property owner with the ability to seek relief for reasons of fairness.

The proposed second provision allows a prospective applicant to make the case that their development furthers the goals of the General Plan in a manner that may not be explicitly recognized or permitted under the zoning ordinance; see §6-1514 which requires that zoning ordinances enacted by the Council shall carry out the purpose of the general plan. The onus is on the applicant to make their case for their variance.

Describe the change you are proposing:

Section 6-1516. Zoning Board of Appeals
There shall be a zoning board of appeals which shall consist of five members. The board shall be governed by the provisions of Section 13-103 of this charter. The zoning board of appeals shall hear and determine appeals from the actions of the director in the administration of the zoning ordinances, including variances therefrom, subdivision ordinances and any rules and regulations adopted pursuant to either. Appeals involving new residential development, not including short-term rentals, may be brought by project applicants only. An appeal shall be sustained only if the board finds that the director’s action was based on an erroneous finding of a material fact, or that the director had acted in an arbitrary or capricious manner or had manifestly abused discretion.

Section 6-1517. Zoning Variances
The director shall [hear] receive and determine petitions for varying the application of the zoning code with respect to a specific parcel of land and [may] shall grant such a variance upon the grounds [variance upon the grounds of unnecessary hardship if the record shows that (1) the applicant would be deprived of the reasonable use of such land or building if the provisions of the zoning code were strictly applicable; (2) the request of the applicant is due to unique circumstances and not the general conditions in the neighborhood, so that the reasonableness of the neighborhood zoning is not drawn into question; and (3) the request, if approved, will not alter the essential character of the neighborhood nor be contrary to the intent and purpose of the zoning ordinance.

Prior to the granting of any variance, the director shall hold a public hearing thereon. The director shall specify the particular evidence which supports the granting of a variance.] of one or both of the following special reasons:

>> Unnecessary hardship, which is demonstrated upon a showing of substantial evidence in the record shows that (1) the applicant would be deprived of the reasonable use of such land or building if the zoning code were strictly applicable; (2) the request of the applicant is due to unique circumstances and not the general conditions in the neighborhood, so that the reasonableness of the neighborhood zoning is not drawn into question; and (3) the request, if approved, will not [alter the essential character of the neighborhood nor] be contrary to the intent and purpose of the zoning ordinance.

>> Goals or policies of the general plan, strategic housing plan, or development plan, which shall be identified by the applicant upon submission of the application, are advanced by the proposed development. Prior to the granting of any variance, for nonresidential projects, the director shall hold a public hearing thereon.

Section 13-106: Public Hearings; Notice —
No public hearing shall be held by any agency or the council, unless public notice is given prior to such hearing.

Notice of any public hearing shall be adequately publicized at least ten days prior to such hearing via an electronic medium, such as the Internet, and/or in a daily newspaper of general circulation in the city and may be advertised, as deemed helpful, in such other newspapers and through communications media as will afford the public maximum information concerning the hearing. The notice shall include:

>> The date, time and place of such hearing.

>> A statement in plain language of the nature of purpose, including the issues involved, if any, of such hearing.

>> A statement that all interested persons shall be afforded the opportunity of being heard.

Explain what you hope this amendment will accomplish:

The purpose of modifying the zoning variance section is to recognize that deviations from the strict letter of the zoning ordinance may further the goals of the General Plan in a manner that was not precisely anticipated by the zoning ordinance enacted by Council but which may meet the spirit of the General Plan.

The existing charter provision allows for proving a negative impact or hardship on the property owner or applicant, which is a worthy and fair avenue for adjudicating the unique circumstances of a given property or tract, and provides the applicant or property owner with the ability to seek relief for reasons of fairness.

The proposed second provision allows a prospective applicant to make the case that their development furthers the goals of the General Plan in a manner that may not be explicitly recognized or permitted under the zoning ordinance; see §6-1514, which requires that zoning ordinances enacted by the Council shall carry out the purpose of the General Plan. The onus is on the applicant to make their case for their variance.