The following testimony was submitted by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii for consideration by the Members of the Simplifying Permitting for Enhanced Economic Development Task Force on Nov. 17, 2025.
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Nov. 17, 2025
To: Members of the Simplifying Permitting for Enhanced Economic Development Task Force
Rep. Greggor Ilagan, Chair
From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
Ted Kefalas, Director of Strategic Campaigns
RE: PERMITTING REFORM
Aloha Chair Ilagan and members of the SPEED Task Force,
The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii would like to suggest reforms that the task force could recommend to the state Legislature that would help streamline state and county processes for approving new housing and commercial developments.
Our comments relate to the task force’s main focuses: building permits, historic preservation and individual wastewater systems.
>> Building permits
We all know that Hawaii’s building permit delays hamper critical housing, business and infrastructure projects. With that in mind, Grassroot urges this task force to recommend that state lawmakers revisit several bills considered during the 2025 legislative session but that ultimately did not pass.
Those include HB367, which sought to exempt basic repair and maintenance work; and SB588, which would have sped up the approval of solar panel permits.
Those bills were based on recommendations proposed in Grassroot’s October 2024 policy brief “Seven low-cost ways to speed up permitting in Hawaii.” That report also suggested allowing preapproved plans, grandfathering unpermitted dwellings, creating “shot clocks,” reducing permitting fees and allowing third-party approval of permits.
That last proposal — allowing third-party approval of permits — was adopted in the form of SB66, which created a framework by which architects and engineers will be able to self-certify housing-related permits starting July 1, 2026.
A more recent proposal that the task force could advance is that the Legislature consider how civil service exemptions, such as those contained in Gov. Josh Green’s emergency orders relating to affordable housing,[1] could help state and county agencies involved in constructing or approving new housing bring on qualified staff to help cover permitting backlogs.
>> Historic preservation
The 2025 legislative session resulted in four major reforms that should help speed up the state’s historic review process by the State Historic Preservation Division.
>> SB15 which requires architectural reviews only for structures 50 years or older and that could meet criteria to be placed on the Hawaiʻi Register of Historic Places. It also exempted from archaeological review lands that had been previously disturbed where no historic artifacts had been found.
>> SB79, which set up a 90-day timeline for SHPD to review housing projects developed or financed by the state or counties.
>> SB1263, which created a framework for reviewing projects near the Honolulu rail.
>> And HB830, which will allow SHPD, starting on July 1, 2026, to contract with third parties to conduct historic reviews if the agency determines it would be unable to complete them within 60 days.
A remaining concern, however, is how long it takes SHPD to review permit applications. In February 2025, Grassroot issued a brief, “Preserving the past or preventing progress?” that found the agency took an average of 94 days to review projects submitted between 2021 and 2024 — and the applications that were reviewed comprised fewer than half of those that it had received during that period.
The division has reported to the Legislature that it does not have enough staff to handle the current volume of applications,[2] so Grassroot recommends that this task force urge the Legislature to reduce the number of projects that must obtain SHPD review and encourage reform of the state’s civil service laws to help SHPD fill its vacant positions.
>> Individual wastewater systems
Cesspool conversions are another area in which streamlining the permitting process would be beneficial, and exempting them from historic reviews and Special Management Area regulations could be among the ways to do that.
Another way would be to discuss with the state Department of Health whether the list of alternatives to cesspools could be expanded.
The list currently includes septic tanks, aerobic treatment units, passive aerobic systems, bioreactor gardens, composting toilets and incinerator toilets.[3]
Finally, some cesspools are low risk and do not contaminate coastal waters. The task force could recommend that restrictions of these cesspools be loosened, or that homeowners who cannot afford the high costs associated with converting their cesspools be somehow exempted or otherwise given some sort of special consideration.[4]
Thank you for the opportunity to testify.
Ted Kefalas
Director of Strategic Campaigns
Grassroot Institute of Hawaii
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[1] “The Proclamation Relating to Affordable Housing,” Office of the Governor of Hawaii, accessed Oct. 2, 2025.
[2] “Report to the Thirty-Third Legislature 2025 Regular Session on the State Historic Preservation Program For Fiscal Year 2023-2024,” Hawaii Department of Land and Natural Resources, December 2024, p. 1.
[3] “Individual Wastewater Systems,” Hawaii Department of Health, accessed Nov. 5, 2025.
[4] Léo Azambuja, “Cesspools: Too Environmentally Harmful To Keep, Too Expensive To Get Rid Of,” Honolulu Civil Beat, Sept. 12, 2024.
