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HomeMy WebLinkAboutREP PWMTC 023 2020/07/07 2018-2020REPORT OF THE COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS AND MASS TRANSIT DATE: July 7, 2020 - Re: Comm. No. 989/Bill-No. 179 PLACE: Council Chambers Hilo, Hawaii TIME: 11:20 a.m. - Council Chair and Members Hawaii County Council Hilo, Hawaii 96720 Your Committee on Public Works and Mass Transit, to which was referred Bill No. 179, reports as follows: Bill No. 179 was transmitted by Communication No. 989 from Public Works Director David Yamamoto, dated June 17, 2020, and introduced by Committee Chair Susan L.K. Lee Loy at the request of the Administration. Committee members met by videoconference, and persons giving oral testimony spoke remotely from conference rooms in Hilo and in Kailua-Kona, in compliance with emergency rules mandating social distancing and prohibiting large gatherings of people. This bill comprises the second part of a comprehensive overhaul of the County's construction codes. The first part concluded in February 2020 with the approval of Ordinance No. 2020-10, which adopted with amendments the International Energy Conservation Code of 2015 (PWMTC Report No. 20). Bill No. 179 accomplishes the following: 1) Repeals Chapter 5, Building Code; 2) Repeals Chapter 9, Electrical Code; 3) Repeals Chapter 17, Plumbing Code; 4) Adopts a new Chapter 5, Construction Administrative Code; 5) Adopts a new Chapter 5A, Building Code; 6) Adopts a new Chapter 5D, Electrical Code; 7) Adopts a new Chapter 5E, Energy Conservation Code; and 8) Adopts a new Chapter 5F, Plumbing Code. The new Chapter 5 takes administrative provisions from the repealed chapters, consolidates and coordinates definitions, corrects references to applicable statutes, and establishes a common, simplified fee structure. Chapter 5A incorporates by reference the International Building Code, 2006 Edition, migrates amendments, includes existing appendices, from the former Chapter 5, and adds a new Appendix Y for tiny houses. Chapter 5D incorporates by reference the National Electrical Code, 2017 Edition, as adopted by the State. Chapter 5E incorporates by reference the International Energy Conservation Code, 2015 Edition, and migrates the amendments previously adopted in Ordinance No. 2020-10. Chapter 5F incorporates by reference the Uniform Plumbing Code 2012 Edition, as adopted by the State, adopts amendments, and includes appendices. The overall structure of the reorganized chapters allows for the adoption of new codes and updates to codes in a way that is coherent, logical, and consistent, and allows for the issuance of a single building permit instead of several permits with inconsistent requirements spread among multiple chapters. PWMTC Report No.: 23 PWMTC-23 Page 2 - -July 7, 2020 - These. changes, when implemented alongside the EnerGov permit management system, will reduce permit processing time, standardize procedures for regulatory activities such as inspections, and facilitate the -department of Public Works' efforts to regulate building and construction in the County efficiently and effectively for the safety and enjoyment of the public. The County faces a statutory deadline of August 21, 2020, to adopt amendments to the Hawaii State Electrical Code, which was adopted from the 2017 National Electrical Code., and amendments to the Hawaii State Plumbing Code, which was adopted from the 2012 Uniform Plumbing Code. A draft of Bill No. 179 was released to the public on May 29, 2020, at which time a deadline of June 5, 2020, was set to receive written comments. The department analyzed comments received by the deadline and incorporated them into the bill prior to introduction. The proposed changes, their rationale, and the department's actions are included in the supplemental matrix submitted to your Committee in Communication No. 989.1. An updated version of the bill was posted to the Public Works website on June 18, 2020, the day the bill was submitted to the Council. Both times, versions of the bill were sent to stakeholders in the construction industry, including architects, contractors, plumbers, electricians, unions, and local media. At Your Committee meeting on July 7, 2020, Ms. Lee Loy began by asking Acting Building Division Chief Robyn Matsumoto and Acting Deputy Building Chief Neal Tanaka to come forward, and Ms. Lee Loy provided for Your Committee a brief PowerPoint presentation, the contents of which are contained in Communication No. 989.2. Ms. Lee Loy described the current framework as the government working in isolated silos, with the Building Code contained in Chapter 5, the Electrical Code contained in Chapter 9, and the Plumbing Code in Chapter 17. Bill No. 179, she said, repeals all three chapters and places them into one section of the code under the umbrella of a single administrative code. Her presentation touched on upcoming deadlines for adoption as set by the State Building Code Council and required by Chapter 107 of Hawaii Revised Statutes (August 2020 in the case of the Plumbing and Electrical Code updates, November 2020 in the case of the Building Codes). If we fail to move in these respective codes, the State model codes will apply as an interim Building Code until such time that County amendments are adopted. Bill No. 179 is the way to stand up framework, move in the electrical and plumbing codes, and at some point, with more input, move in our building codes before November 2020. She reviewed prior efforts to circulate the bill for comment to a number of stakeholders, the replies contained in Communication No. 989.1, and the Building Division's actions in response. The bill is a very good first step that establishes a framework, and there is a lot more work ahead, Ms. Lee Loy said. Ms. Lee Loy took the opportunity, to respond to testifiers who spoke in opposition to Chapter 5A, Appendix L, relating to factory -built houses. That appendix is not new, as it was established in 2012 and has been a part of our code for the last eight years. But other appendices in Bill No. 179 relate to the use of indigenous architecture and indigenous plants, as well as tiny homes, as tools in our tool belt. Committee Member Rebecca Villegas thanked Ms. Matsumoto and Mr. Tanaka for taking time with her to go over the bill. She also thanked the Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce and their permitting task force. Ms. Villegas confirmed there are no amendments to the State or County Electrical Code because they follow the industry standard, while the Plumbing Code has some amendments, and that both have adoption deadlines in August. She highlighted an opportunity for both Planning and Public Works to PWMTC Report No. 23 -PWMTC-23 Page 3 - July 7, 2020 "cross-pollinate" and bring up the standards for both departments.- She looked forward to working together to identify some means for accountability, certainty for no arbitrary decision making, and -to ensure that timelines would be relevant. She asked Mr. Tanaka to - share efforts- on reducing permit processing times. _ Mr. Tanaka said that last year the Council approved additional positions for plan reviewers. Prior to that,the department averaged 31 days at the Building Division in Hilo to review a plan and 24 days in Kona. This year, after implementing those positions and working on training and consistency, the department has reduced it to about eight days for Hilo and seven days in Kona. The Building Division is willing to work with other departments such as Planning to achieve the transparency and accountability that Ms. Villegas sought. Committee Member Poindexter expressed concerns with the public comment period on the pre -introduction draft bill as well as on Chapter 5A, Appendix L, relating to factory -built homes, and said she would be bringing forward an amendment to remove the appendix from the bill. Committee Member Tim Richards asked Mr. Tanaka to comment on Chapter 5A, Appendix L. Mr. Tanaka first addressed Ms. Poindexter's concerns by acknowledging the seven days to comment was a short period of time, but there was a large amount of engagement and valuable comments that helped craft the bill. A public engagement process has not been attempted before this year's Energy Conservation Code revisions (Ordinance No. 20-10), so the process is still new. With regards to the factory -built housing, this has been in our Code since 2012 and it provides another tool in the tool belt to address our dire need for affordable housing, Mr. Tanaka said. He heard the concerns about balancing the economy on our island to support the local construction industry but the bill allows people to continue to have an option to buy factory -built or custom homes. Those are all avenues and tools that people can use to ensure that they can achieve housing. This is not an attempt to promote factory -built homes, he said. It gives us an opportunity to regulate, permit it, and enforce it. No one is being forced to take that opportunity, and it is not the position of the Building Division policy to tell you what choices you can make, Mr. Tanaka said. Mr. Richards asked about proposed Chapter 5A, Section 5A-3-3 (International Building Code, Amendments to Appendix C, Section C 101.2), and why it was determined that horticultural buildings with non -rigid plastic sheets are not required to conform to the requirements of IBC Chapters 4-9, 11-26, 28, 30, 31, 34, and 35 of the code when located in areas zoned for agricultural use and not part of any other structure. Mr. Tanaka said this was carried over from existing language in Chapter 5, and the upcoming revision to the building codes will consider this section to see how it can be clarified. - Mr. Richards also asked about regulations for barbed wire (Chapter 5A, Section 5A-3-3, IBC Section C 101.3.2, Exception (b)), which states "barbed wire may be used in premises used for pasturing cattle or raising swine to keep pigs or other wild animals out." He expressed concern that the language might be too "species-specific." Mr. Tanaka agreed there was room for an amendment. Committee Member Karen Eoff called the bill "a pretty major accomplishment" and she thanked everyone who worked to create a revision of this magnitude. She felt this is a major structural revision that will help the County use the coming EnerGov software programs when up and running. Bills this complex cannot be expected to be perfect, and in moving forward, in coming months other needed PWMTC Report No. 23 PWMTC-23 - _Page 4 July -7,2020 changes can always be revisited; the main thing is to accomplish something that meets our -big goals. She wanted to address some of the concerns raised by the- carpenters union on factory built homes and the affordable homes issue. She trusted the process to create the bill was solid and appreciated future - opportunities to discuss the bill. _ Committee Member Maile David thanked Mr. Tanaka and Ms. Matsumoto for their outreach on the bill. She understood the bill to be a consolidation to address the many concerns about how long the building permit and approval process takes, and streamlining it. On the other hand, Ms. David could understand the concerns from the carpenters' union regarding factory -built homes. However, her question was whether this section would apply to only a certain segment of the low-income community, and would allow them an opportunity to find something that's affordable. Owner -builder types of homes would still be available, and this section allows more choice for those who live here. She said we need to have a lot of options for housing. Maybe it won't fit for everybody's use, Ms. David said. People who could afford to do larger homes would still go through the usual process, and prefabricated homes can address the affordable housing issue. Ms. David said she supported the overall idea to improve the permitting process. Vice Chair Matt Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder appreciated the effort put into the bill. He asked what solar photovoltaic system modification permits are required pursuant to proposed Chapter 5, Section 5-3- 1(b)(4). Mr. Tanaka said that current practice requires a building permit and an electrical permit for a photovoltaic system. Should that design change, it would need to get a revision to the building permit as well as the electrical permit. Under Bill No. 179, it would be covered under a single permit, and changes would require a revision to that permit. Supervising Electrical Inspector Gary Kaho`ohanohano said that when you remove and replace a system you have to do bonding and grounding to make sure it's put back correctly for the safety of the customer, and also that the installation is done correctly by the contractor. That is why a permit is required. That's not a new requirement, he said. Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder also had a question about proposed Chapter 5E, Section 5E -2-1(b)(43), where International Energy Conservation Code Subsection R404.3 provides that "an electrical rough -in of a 30 amp circuit for future electrical vehicle charger may be installed in garage/carport area." He noted that some of the chargers he has installed for Tesla electric cars have exceeded the apparent 30 -amp limit. Mr. Tanaka said this was an option introduced by the state, and he would defer to his electrical team for further comment. Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder suggested increasing the circuit allowance to be above 30 amperes to be consistent with new and emerging technology. Mr. Tanaka also clarified that Chapter 5A, Appendix L, is not new, and -has been in the code since its adoption in 2012. On the initial public comment period, Mr. Kaneali`i-Kleinfelder said seven days to provide written comments seemed "a bit light," but the industry will, roll with it. What's important is the public still has more than seven days. There remains time before the next two Council meeting for the public to provide input. PWMTC Report No. 23 PWMTC-23 - Page 5 - July 7, 2020 Ms. Lee Loy said that the changes to Chapter 5E as they relate 'to Energy Conservation Code updates would need to be addressed in a separate bill, as it-is not addressed within the scope of the title of - Bill-No. 179, and she was more than happy to_ work with him on that. She acknowledged the short time - - for initial public comment and that there remains time to gather input. In addition to what the department _ did, there was outreach to many stakeholders. - Committee Member Ashley Kierkiewicz spoke in support of the bill in the context of jump-starting the economy in a time of COVID-19. Once we get EnerGov up and running, that is key, because real properly taxes are our tax base, and getting permits out is the key to getting folks employed, she said. She asked what stakeholders were at the table other than the previously mentioned Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce because there was an insinuation that there were special interests coming to the table and getting involved. Mr. Tanaka said realtors, contractor associations, public and private industry engineers, architects, draftsman, and other county jurisdictions were contacted as well. There was never a thought in our mind it was a special interest, he said. One of the efforts that we found when we started this is that we had the three different codes saying kind of the same things but not exactly the same. Ms. Kierkiewicz asked about the plan review fee. Mr. Tanaka said initial data showed a percentage of applications go through the process and get abandoned at the end of that process. And all of that work that was done could have been applied to actual permits where actual projects could have been completed. The bill provides a 20 percent plan review fee at the start of the application to incent and push the public to move so we're not wasting time on unplanned projects. There is a new resubmittal fee to address comments that don't get addressed by the public. In conjunction with this, Building Division is working on improving consistency in reviews. That is communicated to the public in an efficient manner so that the public may understand the comments are. What we really want to do is present a clean package of submittal, he said. Clean packages ,get approved for permits. It is imperative that communication between our plan reviewers and the applicant is robust enough to get the work done, he said. Ms. Kierkiewicz asked about the importance of setting up the EnerGov digital infrastructure to allow communication on the progress of permits and any changes that have to be made. COVID-19 has definitely led the Building Division to reassess its meeting procedures, Mr. Tanaka said-. Lastly, on Chapter 5A, Appendix L, Ms. Kierkiewicz said this has been in the code for some time, and for a workable affordable housing plan we have to have all the options on the table. Factory -built homes may be an option for some families, but not all families. There's going to be a lot of work to go around, and she likes thatthere are now a lot of different options for people. Whether it is an owner - builder type or tiny houses, or prefabricated homes, let's put it all on the table and let the market decide, Ms. Kierkiewicz said. Committee Member Aaron Chung said Bill No. 179 is one of several legislative pieces to improve the permit process. The vetting time was very lengthy, from his understanding. Mr. Chung supported trying to minimize the human element in all of this. He had mentioned advocating for a separate position, called the permitting ombudsman, as a separate person to field all complaints from the public, and to make sure everything on the ground, the human part, is being applied fairly and equally. We still have PWMTC Report No. 23 PWMTC-23 Page 6 July 7, 2020 to deal with making things faster and smoother. Mr. Chung thanked everyone for all the hard work put in over the last several months. Ms. Lee Loy said she had started discussing the framework with Rotary clubs and the local chambers of commerce as far back as February, so while there was a limited window to discuss the bill, the framework has been under discussion for the better part of a year. Your Committee on Public Works and Mass Transit is in accord with the purpose and intent of Bill No. 179, and recommends its passage on first reading. ps Respectfully submitted, COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS AND MASS TRANSIT L. K. MAIN. AYES NOES ABS EX CHUNG x DAVID x EOFF x KANEALI'l-KLEINFELDER x KIERKIEWICZ x LEE LOY x POINDEXTER x RICHARDS x VILLEGAS Respectfully submitted, COMMITTEE ON PUBLIC WORKS AND MASS TRANSIT L. K. MAIN.