After a nine-year review, the city has finalized the revisions of a plan that sets boundaries and leadership protocols for O'ahu neighborhoods.

Honolulu Mayor Mufi Hannemann officially completed the process last week by signing the new plan and submitting it to the Office of the City Clerk.

"We are the closest entity to the people, and we start with you at the neighborhood board level. We don't do this for compensation — it's all about community service," said Hannemann, speaking to more than 40 neighborhood commissioners and board members. "There are always going to be issues where we disagree; it's very difficult to get 33 neighborhood boards on the same page."

The revised plan aligns neighborhood board elections with the city's fiscal year calendar, and clearly outlines boundaries and the guidelines for neighborhoods seeking to create boards and gain representation.

Policies outlining how neighborhood boards govern themselves and their members are included, as well as a streamlined system for processing complaints.

The 91-page revision also includes detailed descriptions of existing board boundaries.

"It's a tool that will help govern our neighborhood boards," said Joan Manke, the executive secretary of the city's Neighborhood Commission office. "All of this (work) is to become more efficient."

The Neighborhood Commission was established by the City Charter to set up a Neighborhood Plan that defines the Neighborhood Board system, according to the city.

The commission last changed the Neighborhood Plan in 2001 (allowing for uncontested elections) and made adjustments to the shared boundaries of Manoa and McCully-Mo'ili'ili areas.

This year, the board added representation for the Nanakuli /Ma'ili area.

In 1999, the commission requested that the Neighborhood Plan Committee conduct a comprehensive review and revision of the existing plan, according to the city.

The Revised Neighborhood Plan of the City and County of Honolulu was examined by the Plan Committee, which initiated a series of workshops and several draft rewrites of the plan, according to the city.

Now that Hannemann has signed the plan, it will be disbursed to the neighborhood boards for review and compliance.