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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0989.020 2018-2020 o GONKU1 From: Tom Leonard COUNTY CLERK Sent: Monday, July 06, 2020 8:11 AM co TY 'oF HAWAITI To: Council Testimony RECEIVED Subject: Testimony re: Bill 179 - Electronic Submission T$ Date -1U-1A 2020 Testimony relating to Bill 179 - An Ordinance Establishing a Construction Code ... Section 5-4-1(b) Aloha Council members, my name is Tom Leonard_ While I: • Work for the Hawaii Technology Development Corporation as a business mentor to expanding Hawaii Island companies, • Am a member of both the Kona Kohala Chamber of Commerce (KKCC) and Hawaii Island Chamber of Commerce (HICC), • Sit on the Economic Development Committees of both KKCC and HICC, • Am a member of the KKCC Permitting Task Force (PTF), • Have many decades of experience in managing technology development projects, • Am a member of the County of Hawaii, EnerGov steering committee, representing the public user community. I testify today is as a private individual. I do, however, fully endorse the goal of the KKCC PTF to: Support improvements and efficiency in the permitting process, especially as it pertains to the County of Hawai`i procedures. In a previous round of comments, I submitted the following recommended change: I 5-4-1(b) After the authority having jurisdiction implements its electronic filing system, applicants raw lust submit documents -writi g-o—i=electronically. i The response from the Department of Public Works was: This is currently the proposal except that plans will need to be prepared electronically or scanned for review. While I understand the comment, the proposed ordinance as drafted would still allow paper permit applications at the discretion of the "authority having jurisdiction". The county has been working for some time to implement EnerGov, an electronic permit management system. From my perspective, EnerGov is intended to: i I • Streamline application submission. • Establish a consistent review process. • Enable electronic review. • Provide a public facing dashboard to allow an applicant to view review progress. • Accumulate and report performance metrics. Comm. No. • Manage permit approval and fee collection. Ref.To:��WNh'CL • Improve inspection efficiency. Ref. Date • Enable comprehensive archiving of permitting documentation. One of the key components for achieving greater process efficiency is electronic review. Instead of having to pass a set of paper plans from reviewer to reviewer, multiple reviewers are able to work on a given application simultaneously. Each reviewer independently records his or her comments as part of the permanent record. The 1 collected comments are forwarded to the applicant when all review steps are complete. Electronic review is only possible if the application is made through BnerGov and the supporting documentation is submitted electronically. An applicant who is unable to apply for a permit electronically can go to the Planning or Public Works counters for assistance. Computer kiosks are being installed in Kona and Hilo for this purpose. 2 i Testimony relating to Bill 179 -An Ordinance Establishing a Construction Code ... Section 5-2-5. Adoption of rules. i While I'm testifying as a private individual, I fully endorse the goal of the Kona Kohala Chamber of Commerce, Economic Development Committee, Permitting Task Force (KKCC PTF), of which I am a member, to: Support improvements and efficiency in the permitting process, especially as it pertains to the County ofHawai`i procedures. One of the objectives of the KKCC PTF is to: Seek clarity on building code interpretation and implementation,from Hawai`i Countv. In my view, the most appropriate place to do this is in in "rules" rather than the "ordnance" itself As defined in FIRS Chapter 91, a "Rule"means each agency statement of general or particular applicability and future effect that implements, interprets, or prescribes law or policy, or describes the organization, procedure, or practice requirements of any agency. Rules are established by the administration, can be adopted or changed relatively quickly, do not require County Council action, while still being subject to public review and comment. Another use for rules it to establish service level commitments. As an example, a service level commitment could be something like "90% of single family residential permit applications not requiring a septic system, will be processed within 30 days". This is similar to the Maui Mayor's recent commitment that "Initial review of building permits (that do not require electrical or plumbing permits) will be completed in 95 calendar days or the application will be considered approved." I suggest that the adoption of rules be mandated, rather than left optional. I also believe that the ordinance should put a time limit on their initial adoption. Section 5-2-5, Adoption of rules. The authority having jurisdiction may must adopt rules pursuant to chapter 91, Hawaii Revised Statutes, necessary for the purposes of the construction code. Mahalo, 1"orn L.,eonar tom()hawaiian.net 1808-936 .0222 1