by Andrew Walden

Unpublished UHERO research shows that permit processing for Bill 7 so-called ‘affordable’ housing projects are delayed an average of 661 days by Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting.  According to the report: "Median processing times ranged from 518 to 1,000 days."  These figures may actually understate the problem, as they do not account for permit requests not yet finalized.  

This, in spite of an alleged ‘90-day processing pathway’ written into Bill 7 of 2019.  According to the report, Bill 7 projects may actually be receivieng slower permitting than similar non-Bill 7 multi-family housing projects.

Bill 7 projected 500 units per year.  But only 189 units have been built since 2019.  

The unfinished UHERO report, labelled “preliminary findings, not for public distribution” is included as a ‘Department Communication’ to the Honolulu Council, March 27, 2026, from Kevin Auger, Director of Honolulu Department of Housing and Land Management.

Here are some key excerpts:

This report evaluates Bill 7

(2019), codified in ROH Chapter 32, as Honolulu's main infill workforce housing tool for the "missing middle." In exchange for providing rental housing affordable to moderate-income households, eligible projects receive regulatory relief and financial support, including parking exemptions, added density, fee waivers, and expedited permits. Bill 7 has already produced 189 workforce housing units and permitted hundreds more, showing that small-lot infill housing can be delivered under the program, even if it has not yet reached its goal of 500 units per year.

A prototype parcel-level pro forma simulation, adapted from the Terner Center's housing supply modeling framework, suggests that standard zoning makes most small urban sites financially nonviable, while Bill 7 moves many of those same parcels into a feasible range….

Where Bill 7 has fallen short is implementation. Although the ordinance promises a 90-day permitting pathway, observed timelines have been far longer: for mature cohorts, median processing times ranged from 518 to 1,000 days, and among permitted pending projects the average time from application to permit issuance was 661 days. In other words, Honolulu has created a program whose incentives may be strong enough to make projects pencil, but whose administrative performance often erodes much of that value. The report's central conclusion is not that Bill 7 is misguided, but that its operational model is underperforming….

Production volume and pipeline

Methodology. Bill 7 established a target of 500 units per year. We review building permit data from DPP, categorizing permits into Bill 7 multifamily, non-Bill 7 multifamily, and other. Then we compare the total number of units and projects reviewed, permitted, and constructed by year in each category, noting any distinctive trends.  

Findings. While the Bill 7 program has succeeded in producing 189 workforce housing units to date and permitting hundreds more, it has not reached the proposed benchmark for units produced in any year to date. Assuming that all "Approved & Permitted" units are completed, the program will have achieved its best year in 2022, achieving more than 50% of its goal-though more recent years may still be too soon to tell. Permit applications peaked at more than 400 units in 2023, when the program represented more than one-quarter of all proposed multifamily housing units. That proportion has fallen even while non-Bill 7 projects remain steady, signaling a concerning decline in developer appetite for Bill 7 projects specifically.

While the vast majority of other multifamily projects in a given year receive their permits and are constructed within a few years, Bill 7 projects seem to linger in the application review phase. The challenges in reaching the annual 500-unit target and the decreasing number of proposals in recent years suggests that administrative friction and market conditions (such as high interest rates) may be outweighing the policy's incentives. Inexperience with the program rules on both sides of the permit counter may also play a role in prolonging reviews. A closer analysis of interactions between OPP and Bill 7 developers is warranted to understand these trends.

Permitting times

Methodology. In this section, we analyze project and building permit data provided by the Department of Planning and Permitting (OPP) on Chapter 32 and other multifamily projects to understand whether the 90-day shot clock contained in Honolulu's Chapter 32 (Bill 7) program is functioning as intended.

Findings. A review of the permit processing data reveals a disconnect between the bill's 90-day processing mandate and the actual timelines experienced by developers. Data shows that ROH Chapter 32 projects have consistently faced delays at OPP rather than benefiting from the mandated expedited pathway. For mature data cohorts between 2019 and 2022, median processing times for ROH Chapter 32 applications ranged from 518 days to 1,000 days, far from the 90-day shot clock. Of the 59 pending projects, only 19 have received building permits. For those 19, the average time from application to permit issuance was 661 days (median 548 days), or nearly two years of processing time. Projects still under review are excluded from this calculation as no issuance date exists.

The data further suggest that the policy has underperformed standard processing routes in most years. While processing times appear to be trending down in recent years, this is primarily a result of selection bias: only the exceptionally fast applications from those recent cohorts have reached issuance so far. Ultimately, the empirical evidence indicates that the policy intent to insulate Bill 7 projects from permitting delays has not been achieved, neutralizing one of Chapter 32's primary developer incentives. …

Weaknesses in implementation

Permitting delays. A by-right or streamlined pathway loses much of its value if review times remain long and uncertain in practice. Developer interviews conducted for this report consistently identify permitting delay, internal handoffs, and infrastructure coordination as major sources of cost and risk. Preliminary UH ERO analysis of building permits suggests that Bill 7 permits are actually issued even more slowly than their typical multi-family counterparts. Any revisions to the program should first seek to understand and address the reasons for these continued delays….

PDF: Assessing Honolulu’s “Bill 7” lnfilllWorkforce Housing Program

PDF: HISTORY AND EXPLANATION OF ORDINANCE 19-8 (FORMERLY BILL 7 [2019])

HPR: Honolulu's affordable housing project hasn't delivered so far, UHERO report says | Hawai'i Public Radio