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HomeMy WebLinkAboutMIN PCPWMT 2026/02/04 (2024-2026) DRAFT Policy Committee on Public Works and Mass Transit 9th Session Hawaii County Building 25 Aupuni Street Hilo, Hawaii February 4, 2026 CALL TO The regular meeting of the Policy Committee,on Public Works and Mass ORDER: Transit was called to order at 10:30 a.m., in the Council Chambers, Hilo, by Mr. James E. Hustace, Chair. ROLL CALL: Present: Mr. James E. Hustace, Chair Ms. Ashley L. Kierkiewicz, Vice Chair Ms. Michelle M. Galimba, Member Mr. Holeka Goro Inaba, Member Ms. Jenn Kagiwada, Member Ms. Heather L. Kimball, Member Mr. Dennis "Fresh" Onishi, Member Ms. Rebecca Villegas, Member Absent& Excused: Mr. Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder,Member STATEMENTS The Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, FROM THE Statements from the Public on Agenda Items. PUBLIC ON AGENDA ITEMS: (There were none.) CHR. HUSTACE: ,Thank you, Mr. Clerk. Before we move to the only item on the agenda ,I'm going to pass the Chair role over to Council Member Inaba for further discussion; Thank you. Relinquish Chair: At'this time, the Chair relinquished the Chair to Council Chair Inaba. ACTING CHR. INABA: Thank you, I've assumed Chairmanship of the committee, and we can proceed with Bill 127. BILLS FOR The Acting Chair directed the Committee to proceed to the next order of business, ORDINANCES: Bills for Ordinances. PCPWMT-9 February 4, 2026 Bill 127: AMENDS CHAPTER 5 OF THE HAWAI`I COUNTY CODE 1983 (2016 EDITION, AS AMENDED), RELATING TO THE ESTABLISHMENT OF A CONSTRUCTION CODE COMMISSION Establishes a construction code commission to advise the Mayor, County Council, and Director of Public Works on the adoption, updating, amendment, and interpretation of the County construction codes. Reference: Comm. 711 Intr. by: Council Members Kierkiewicz and Hustace Motion to Approve: Ms. Kierkiewicz moved to recommend passage of Bill 127 on first reading. Seconded by Mr. Hustace. ACTING CHR. INABA: Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Chair. Earlier this term, Council Member Hustace and I had advanced a Charter amendment related to creating a Department of Building. There was also a component related to a Building Commission that folks on the dais had an appetite around. And so,just because the Building Department'idca did not move forward, we still wanted to advance on this commission. Because I think there's a lot that members of our community can share with the County in the review and adoption of various Construction Codes. So, this'is not new. We're looking for everyone's continued support on this. And we certainly want to make sure that we're able to move forward on this particular language. We don't want to be excluding anyone with any kind of experience in the construction-related field. We certainly want to keep it open to folks with licenses with folks that have actual experience in building to weigh in on the codes as they come through the County. So, looking for everyone's support on this; Thank you. ACTING CHR. INABA: Council Member Hustace. MR. HUSTACE: Thank you, Chair. And thank you, Council Member Kierkiewicz for continuing this dialogue here with the body with some good discussions about the Department of Building earlier this year and part of last year rather. But yes, this was a piece that, I think, everyone was interested in and having further discussion about this piece establishes its code. So, unlike the Charter discussion before, this would be in code and really providing advice to this body; to Administration from community members that have those specific skillsets in the construction trade and industry in a variety of different sectors. So, it's definitely shared there. Page 2 PCPWMT-9 February 4, 2026 Really wanted to have that insight provided to this body when we consider changes or update to the Construction Code. So, curious on other questions you might have and happy to have that conversation here. So, thank you. ACTING CHR. INABA: Before we proceed, checking if we have anyone from DPW (Department of Public Works) online, or if not, please get down here. Thank you. Council Member Villegas. MS. VILLEGAS: Thank you for bringing this forward at a time when I remember going through the adoption of the Building Codes, and how traumatizing that was and how far behind wewere. Butalso, at a time when we're watching building prices escalate so drastically. And;L'm seeing a pattern of this requirement to build a fortress versus a shelter, which further alienates the chance of a lot of people ever getting into a home. I myself having grown up in a number of different coffee shacks thathave endured all kinds of storms and earthquakes, and all kinds of things. Just really looking for some of that balance for shelter versus a fortress; and where those requirements come from,and if they're related directly to our current home insurance crisis. So, I think it would be helpful for us to have the expertise from those that live and work in our communities in'the fields to bring some of that simple wisdom and knowledge versus just the book side of things and the number crunching side of things,'but the actual, we can make this for this, and it's safe. So, thank you, I'll be in full support. ACTING CHR. INABA: Council Member Onishi. MR. ONISHL Thank you, Chair. This is a great idea. It's like, I mentioned to Ms. l6erkiewiczx,when I was on the Council previously, Mayor Kenoi's Administration, his'Public Works were really aware of what's happening—I think it was in'the 2008 International Building Code that we had to adopt. But they really reviewed it. They had amendments, and the Council worked with the different departments to help change it to make it, I guess, less costly for anyone to build a home. So', for example, I worked with Fire, because the requirement now, any new homes with catchment would have to have two separate catchments; one for fire use, one for home use. So, working with Fire, we created one catchment. Half of the tank would be for home use, and the bottom half would be for Fire; so, they saved on that. So, we worked great. But I guess as the administrations passed on, it got different on how things were operating. Page 3 PCPWMT-9 February 4, 2026 So, this is a great idea. I look forward to seeing a little bit more improvements. Maybe like, for example, as I was talking to Ms. Kierkiewicz again, basically, you have the International and then the State adopts it, right? And then it's passed down to the Council. So, I think this commission needs to be working or finding out what the State is looking at. Because I think that's where we have to make the adjustments. Because it's always when the State adopts it, they don't really consult with the counties, right? So, whatever they pass, it's more restrictive for us as a county. And it's harder for us to do adjustments. Because you cannot make it with less restrictive. It's got to be either the same or more. So, that's where I think this commission would be really great, because you're going to have these guys,you know, eyes and ears of what's happening at the State. I know, this last session of the Stag Legislature, they were a group that vas trying to do some amendments to the Building Code. But then, I don't think anything happened. So, it's something to maybe think about to the authors to maybe add something in there. So, then these guys are going to be very busy. So, I don't know, they might need some funding"to help support them in whatever ways, because they mighthave trips to Honolulu, maybe, right, to help lobby and so forth; making sure that they have a clerk or secretary that's going to be able to help them to also monitor this whole situation. So,just my suggestions. Thank you, I yield. ACTING CHR. INABA: Council Member Kagiwada. MS. KAGIWADA: Thank you, Chair. Just one suggestion, and you can take it or leave it,obviously. But expertise related to building material supply. I wonder if we made itbuilding materials without the supply, it's still allows for those in building material supply, which would also allow for building material expertise like around selecting,,testing, and applying materials in addition to that. So, that would be a small suggestion that I would have, is to open that up a little bit more for other kinds of building material expertise. Otherwise, I'm very supportive. Thanks. ACTING CHR. INABA: Council Member Kierkiewicz. MS:"KIERKIEWICZ: Thank you, Council Member Kagiwada. We would be open to a friendly amendment. Council Member Hustace and I will certainly work on that. Thank you, Council Member Villegas for your thoughts on this. I completely agree that this body can serve as a sounding board for the Council and the Administration. We as Council Members may not have this particular expertise. So, it's great to work with folks that are using these codes every single day, and us having access to their mana`o. Page 4 PCPWMT-9 February 4, 2026 I wanted to ask Corporation Counsel Schoen a quick question based on something that Vice Chair Onishi just shared about State Building Code Council; our participation there or lack thereof, if they're not convening. Council Member Hustace and I are advancing this because we are our own best advocates as the County. But something that he mentioned about, we are required to adopt more restrictive language for our Building Codes. And I don't know where that's stated in statute. Like, what specific provision, and if that is actually the case then I'm wondering if you can share light on that. (Note: At this time, Corporation Counsel Renee Schoen came forward to address the members of the Committee.),'_ MS. SCHOEN: Renee Schoen, Corporation Counsel. So, I am not familiar with that language, that we are mandated and I don't want to guess. My understanding though is that unless we'adopt our own version by a particular time period, then the State's Code would, I guess, Would'have to be followed within our County. As to whether or not it has to bemore restrictive, I'm not sure. But I can follow-up and come back to you next time, MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Okay, it would be great to get some kind of memo, so that we can be crystal clear. I'd love for us to exercise some home rule and leadership around this, and adopt codes that are common sense and make it affordable for more of our local families to be building homes. Thank you, Corporation Counsel, I yield. ACTING CHR INABA: Council Member Onishi. Sorry, Council Member Kimball— MS. KIMBAIL: I actually have the answer for you, Ashley. So, HRS (Hawai`i Revised Statutes) 107-28(a), "Authorizes the counties to amend, adopt, and update.the State Building Codes without the Council's approval." And in that case, the State Building Code Council. And then, HRS 46-1.5(13) says, "The counties shall have the power to enact ordinances,provided those ordinances are consistent With and don't defeat the intent of any State statute." But does not disclose an expressed and applied intent, and that statute shall be exclusive or uniform throughout the State. Soy I think what we can take from that is, it doesn't say more restrictive necessarily, it just says that we cannot defeat the intent. And so, for example, last term when we looked at the wind speed and we actually made it less restrictive than what the State had required, that was from the perspective that, that didn't change the safety intent of what the Building Code is for. Page 5 PCPWMT-9 February 4, 2026 That's the primary purpose of the Building Code is public health and safety. As long as you're maintaining that intent. But I think intent is one of those legal words, and I'm sure Corporation Counsel would agree that intent is a vague word. So, I think we have potentially more flexibility than we typically exercise. But having people that have the expertise to really dive into whether or not something is going to go against the intent of the statute, I think is a very important consideration. That's why I appreciate this legislation'being put forth. I would concur with Council Member Onishi that having some responsibility for this commission to interact at both the state and the national level like that is something that we talked about a couple of years ago, is that'Hawai`i County or the State of Hawaii should actually be sending people to participate in the National Building Council meetings to make sure they're aware,- - - I've got to tell one little funny story. `My daughter who's living in Oregon State right now was freezing in her apartment,,and we're like, we'll just turn on the heat. She's never seen a thermostat before. ,She didn't know what it looked like, and she didn't know it worked. Because, you know, our house is completely open; air ventilation and all that stuff. So, the heating and cooling that is required on the mainland, very differentfrom what we require here. And we need to be elevating that to the national level. I want to check something else in the Charter here, because I have one more suggestion.-But one other additional duty for this body could potentially be evaluating variances or denials of variances by the Director. That has been something that has come up in conversations over the years, that there's a desire to have some other lens on that particular issue. ACTING CH. INABA: The question was whether the Board of Appeals is not already,handling issues like that. MS. KIMBALL: Not variances. So, thank you. ACTING CHR. INABA: Council Member Onishi. MR. ONISHL Thank you, Chair. So, another example was so, the requirement back then was to have a safe home, because of all the tornadoes and hurricanes that were happening in the mainland. So, what we did is instead of having an extra safety room we made it where you could within your home, one of the rooms could be reinforced, and that would be your safe room. So,you didn't have to add an additional room for your safe room. So, that way, it kept the cost down for a builder. Page 6 PCPWMT-9 February 4, 2026 Because at the time I guess the requirement was, you needed to have a separate safe room, but we adjusted that. What we were told back then is,you cannot make it less restrictive, but you can make it the same as the intent. But also, being creative of how you can adjust it, right, or the other option is that you've got to make them just all restrictive. But you're trying to keep it as minimum as possible, right? The other thing, for example, which just passed a couple years ago was about having the plyboard below your roof. You've got-tee put your plyboard first, and then you have to put whatever roofing material on top., So, that was an added cost to all the builders. Because the plywood board'was 4 x 8,and was maybe $75 a piece. So, I don't know if at the time we could'have done adjustments to see how we could have not required that and have maybesomething else put in. But that's the kind of stuff we could look at. That's why great with this commission; they could come up with all those different ideas. But also, having the State realize that by approving this, it could add more costs by X-amount to the homeowner now. And we talk about affordable housing. We're talking about workforce housing. If we continue to just adopt what the mainland is making, we're going to drive people out of buying a home or building,a home, right, so this is something great to start with. So, I just wanted to clarify on'that part of trying to resolve on what the intents are. Thank you, I yield. ACTING CHR INABA: Council Member Kimball. MS. KIMBALL Council Member Onishi just gave me an idea of somebody that we mightwant to add to this, or atype of expertise is around insurance. Because the flipside of not following the National Building Code of which you're making amendments is the potential of insurance increases, like if you didn't have that sheathing there. So;having that expertise as a possible component of the membership might make sense. I don't know if you saw the one testimony about just adding potentially the language about relevant licensure in the state for the professional. Like the engineers; the architects, and whatnot. You know, on previous debates on other items, you know, professionalism to me is important. And I think that might be language that makes sense, as it was presented in the testimony from one of the architects in the community. And I'm happy to put that together if you'd like. ACTING CHR. INABA: Alright, any other discussion? Okay, with that, I'll be sending a letter out to the Administration after this. I think we need to have department representation when we discuss matters related to specific departments. So, not sure where DPW was today. Please make sure you folks are Page 7 PCPWMT-9 February 4, 2026 here at the Council reading; whether you folks are in favor or have reservations on this bill. Your opinion and your expertise should be here in the room. I'm totally in support. I think the only question I have is for the last Subsection (4) "Review technical guidance,policies, and interpretations made by the director relating to the Construction Code." Can you maybe clarify what you mean by interpretation? And my intent is to make sure we have a nice clear line between this and the Board of Appeals. And the Board of Appeals hears and makes the final decisions. But just wanted to make sure we're clear. And if there's language, I can help with that. If not, Council Member Kierkiewicz, maybe intent there? MS. KIERKIEWICZ: Sure, thank you, Chair. The intent around this was, well, to just kind of luminate things, the Planning Director often has Planning Director memos. I'm not sure if the Public Works Director or Building Chief has ever issued guidance via a memo. If they der,then I think it's really important that this commission had the opportunity to review,that,before it is shared with the public. ACTING CHR. INABA. Perfect. I'm comfortable with that language. I think that helps provide some information and context should anyone ever need intent, you can look back at these minutes. So, with that, all those in favor of forwarding Bill 127 to Council with a favorable recommendation, please say, "aye." Any opposed? Vote on Bill 127 The mention to recommend passage of Bill 127 on first reading (Approved) was carried by the following voice vote: Ayes: Committee Members Galimba, Hustace, Kagiwaday Kierkiewicz, Kimball, Onishi, Villegas. and Acting Chair Inaba—8. Noes: None. Absent: Committee Member Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder— 1. Excused: None. ACTING CHR. INABA: That brings us to the end of our agenda. The time is 10:51 a.m.' Mahalo. Page 8 PCPWMT-9 February 4, 2026 ADJOURN- There being no further business, Acting Chair Inaba adjourned the meeting MENT: at 10:51 p.m. Approved. Mr. James E. Hustace, Chair (Date) Policy Committee on Public Works, and Mass Transit JEH/dt Page 9