HONOLULU (AP) — Honolulu’s launch of new building permit software last month to speed up construction approvals has not gone smoothly, with permits being issued much more slowly than they were a year ago.
Since the introduction of HNL Build in early August, the city has issued fewer than 500 building permits, according to city data shared on Thursday. The Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting did not provide a precise number despite repeated requests. Last year, the city issued 1,247 — more than twice as many — in August alone, a city report shows.
Mayor Rick Blangiardi defended the troubled rollout and, in a heated speech at the Honolulu City Council on Thursday, he lambasted critics.
Speeding up building permits was a top campaign promise during Blangiardi’s 2020 run for mayor and again when he was reelected last year. However, average permitting times have worsened throughout his tenure.
With a raised voice and pointed finger, Blangiardi chastised Councilman Tyler Dos Santos-Tam for talking to Hawaii News Now about the new system’s shortcomings and for calling city permitting officials to a public meeting.
“We’ve had a couple of bumps in the road,” Blangiardi said. “We expected that. We are about the business of fixing that. Nobody is denying anything. But we need that kind of understanding that this is a transition period right now.”
Dos Santos-Tam, who chairs the Government Efficiency & Customer Service Committee, called for the meeting after hearing complaints from the construction industry and from within the Department of Planning and Permitting. He told HNN the system has not been efficient or user-friendly, as it was promised.
The mayor said he was disappointed in those comments and that anyone with problems should approach him directly.
“If you were on our side of the fence,” the mayor said, “you would see the degree of difficulty this represents and how far we’ve come and how certain we are about the road ahead and what we’re going to get done — which is unprecedented — you never would’ve said what you said.”
The mayor also pointed at a Civil Beat reporter in the chamber and criticized the media for failing to recognize what he called a “Herculean effort.”
“It deserves respect. It deserves patience,” he said. “It deserves people not just jumping on us anytime that they feel like they’ve got a good story to print.”
Average commercial permitting time hit a record of 392 days as of the first quarter of this year. At the same time, residential permitting time had come down somewhat but was still at an average of 252 days, or eight months.
The mayor has acknowledged the city’s permitting process has been a drag on economic development and slows the construction of much-needed housing. At a Civil Beat event in June, Blangiardi teased that permitting improvements were right around the corner, saying the technology upgrades would come together by September.
“Just be patient. Just a little bit more,” he said in June “We hear you.”
The mayor told the council that the city’s contractor, Speridian, has agreed to provide long-term support, which he called “hypercare,” and intensive trainings to better assist in the transition.
After the hearing, Dos Santos-Tam told Civil Beat that he’s heard complaints about DPP from a spectrum of people, including members of the solar industry, residents trying to do simple projects and businesses trying to erect signage.
“I think that’s why this hearing was so critical,” he said, “to share how the transition to the new system is going, to acknowledge the difficulties, but most importantly, to share how the bugs are getting worked out.”
“We all want DPP to succeed in getting this system up and running to the best of its potential.”
‘Only So Much You Can Do’
The $7 million system, funded by both city and federal funds, launched on Aug. 4.
Right away, there were problems including errors in data being migrated from the old system, and questions about how new processes should work, DPP Director Dawn Takeuchi Apuna told council members on Thursday. Permits were not able to be submitted until people signed up for an account in the new system, but people were having difficulties registering.
Hiccups were to be expected with such a major system overhaul, she said. HNL Build is meant to replace software called POSSE that Honolulu has used since 1998.
“There’s only so much you can do before you turn it on, and you see some of the issues,” the director said.
Takeuchi Apuna put some of the blame on staff who are accustomed to the old software. The department, she said, needs a “cultural shift.”
“We must let go of POSSE,” she said. “Some people are having a hard time.”
Civil Beat has requested documents from DPP that would show customer and staff feedback about HNL Build, but the agency has not yet provided it. Only three members of the public testified at Thursday’s meeting and none complained about the system. Applicants have said they are fearful to publicly criticize the department for fear of retaliation.
Despite the difficult transition, Blangiardi said he retains complete confidence in DPP’s leadership. Takeuchi Apuna also expressed optimism the permitting experience will improve, although she made no promises about when that will happen.
“We’re not there yet,” she said, “but we’re going to get through it.”
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