EDITORIAL
Economy requires quality permit system
As the administration of Honolulu Mayor Jeremy Harris enters its final months, one important task on the table is finishing the work of modernizing the city's building permitting system.
Much has already been done. An antiquated, multi-step process that seemed to work best only for canny insiders who knew the ropes has been replaced by a modern, "one-stop" automated permitting process.
This is all to the good. But as a recent audit by City Auditor Leslie Tanaka pointed out, there is much more to be done.
Tanaka noted that the permitting center is understaffed and that workers are not yet up to speed on the automated system, which requires considerable data input.
"Despite technical improvements and existence of a hard-working and dedicated staff, the permit centers have not resulted in the projected efficiency and effectiveness improvements," Tanaka wrote.
Staff writer Johnny Brannon reports that long lines of permit applicants begin forming outside the center at dawn and four-hour or longer waits are not unusual, the auditor said.
The basic problem, the city explained, is a surge of permit applications accompanied by a decline in the number of workers due to budget and staff cuts.
By the numbers: Planning Director Eric Crispin says the number of permits issued has jumped from some 14,000 to 18,000 over the past three years while the staff has declined from 259 to 226.
In effect, the permitting process has become a choke point or bottleneck in what has become a booming part of our economy: construction.
Low interest rates and a rash of refinancing and "upgrading" of homes have fueled the construction boom. It will only get hotter when massive military housing projects come on line.
As a plain matter of economic development, the city must find ways to finish the task of modernizing and streamlining the permitting process. This will entail costs, to be sure, but it will pay off in speed and quality of service to our robust and growing construction industry.
