HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0989.009 2018-2020COUNTY CLERK p/rIwItt�
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JAL 0 6 2020 CHAMBER OF COMMERCE
July 6, 2020
TO: Hawaii County Council Committee on Public Works and Mass Transit
FROM: Dennis Boyd, Chairman, Permitting Task Force, Kona Kohala Chamber of Commerce
RE: Support for Council Bill 179
As Chair of the Permitting Task Force of the Kona Kohala Chamber of Commerce I support Bill 179 as a
necessary first step towards improvements in Hawaii County's permitting process.
My own efforts in trying to affect a change in the permitting process began in 2018 after listening over and over
again to the experiences of local entrepreneurs in my capacity as Director of the West Hawaii Small Business
Development Center. I heard strikingly similar stories about the frustrations these people encountered in the
delays and confusion of the County's permitting process. In many instances, business owners' plans came to a
virtual standstill and they faced severe financial difficulties resulting from that lack of progress. It became clear
to me that the permitting process in Hawaii County was functioning as a barrier to economic development.
We took these concerns to the Kona Kohala Chamber's Economic Development Committee, which voted to
establish a Task Force to work on improvements and efficiencies in the permitting process. The almost 20
members of our committee, professionals from all facets of the business community involved in some way with
permitting, have put in hundreds of hours in discussion with County personnel, Council Members, and subject
matter experts on this topic. We submitted 38 comments on the Rules before you today.
While we do support Bill 179, 1 must emphasize that we consider this to be only a first step in building a
foundation for more comprehensive permitting reform. Our end goal is a permitting process that is predictable
and efficient and assigns clear accountability for performance in administering it to the Department of Public
Works. System predictability, efficiency, and accountability are attributes the Task Force and many others in the
business community consider as minimum requirements for economic development.
Speaking to accountability, we note there are numerous requirements placed on the community in this Bill in
the forms of timelines, fees, and building specifications. There are no corresponding performance
requirements for the Department of Public Works. We consider this to be an out of balance framework for
promoting the public good. In that regard, I point you to a recent audit of the City and County of Honolulu's
Permitting Process, which concluded there was no point in attempting reform without direct and transparent
accountability for administering the process. We would hope that the Committee consider favorably one of our
comments suggesting measures for accountability be included in the permitting framework before you today.
Bill 179 is a-goodfirst step, and we applaud Committee Chair Lee Loy's efforts in managing the endless details
involved in ,developing it, but we have a long way to go. The Kona Kohala Chamber is committed to working with
the County as we proceed along that road.
Yours truly,
Yo
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KKCC Board Member and Chair of the KKCC Permitting Task Force
Kona-Kohala Chamber of Commerce Comm. No.
75-5737 Kuakini Highway, Suite 2081 Kailua-Kona, Hawaii 96740 Ref.'To: fXAQ(
808-329-1758 l'info@kona-kohala.com I www.kona-kohala.com Ref.. Date