The Committee on Zoning and Planning met on Tuesday, September 23, 2025, at 1:02 PM to consider several resolutions, bills, and discussion items related to historic preservation appointments, special management area permits, a special improvement district, and potential changes to permit notification requirements. The meeting was chaired by Chair Kia Aina, with Vice Chair Waters and members Councilmembers Tupola, Okimoto, Cordero, and Wara (also referred to as Councilmember Wire) in attendance.
It is Tuesday, September 23rd, 2025. And the time is now 102 p.m. Will the committee on zoning and planning meeting please come to order. I would like to welcome committee members. I understand Vice Chair Waters should be coming coming here shortly. Although remote verbal testimony is being permitted, this is a regular in-person meeting and not a remote meeting by interactive conference technology under HRF section 92-3.7. Therefore, the meeting will continue notwithstanding loss of audio visual communication with remote testifiers or loss of the public broadcast of the meeting. Members of the public will be allowed to provide verbal testimony on all items on the agenda when each item is taken up in two ways in person in the council chamber and remotely via televideo conference or phone. Before testifying, each person shall state their name for the record. Each speaker will be limited to a one-minute presentation per item. All persons who register to testify in person will be called upon first. Persons who did not register will be given an opportunity to offer testimony after the registered testifiers. As both English and Hawaiian are official languages of the state of Hawaii, pursuant to Article 515, Section 4 of the Hawaii State Constitution and Section 113 of the Hawaii revised statutes. Members of the public may testify in either language. For verbal testimonies, offer it in Olalo, Hawaii. Additional time as may be necessary will be allowed for the testifier to provide an English translation of their testimony. Written testimonies, including the testifier's address, email address, and phone number will be available to the public as described on the posted agenda. As a courtesy, please turn off or silence all cell phones for the duration of this meeting. As you know, we have the bill and the attached plan. Moving to agenda item number one for action. Ms. Seifer was first appointed to the commission in 2023 for a two-year term, and it's an extremely knowledgeable in Native Hawaiian history and culture. Members, we have posted on the agenda a proposed CD1 version of the resolution, which I submitted for your information. A summary of the amendments is listed on the agenda. The CD1 makes technical amendments, including formatting changes, correcting typographical errors, and referencing the mayor's um message number. I would like to call up the appointee to say a few words. Aloha Mahilani, could you please uh introduce yourself and share a little about your current and envisioned uh future role on the commission? Aloha Mikeako Mahala for inviting me here today to offer whatever I may have to share with you. Um I'm really excited about this commission continuing to work to establish itself to show how it can help with historic preservation matters before the city. Um I'm hoping we can complete our rulemaking in the next uh few months. And there's other things that are on our plans and agenda that uh we hope will help the city in all of the things that are needed to carry out what was desired when the commission was first established. So if you have any questions, I'm here to answer the best I can. Members, any questions and welcome uh Chair Waters as well as Councilmember Dosanzo's town. I have one more thing to add. When we first proposed the commission in 1992, I think it was. Um study the history of your area because the community loves it. When you tell them what happened in their neighborhoods, they you know really light and light up. They love to hear the stories of old Hawaii before Western contact. So every community has exciting historic places. Thank you. You know, that's a great idea. I'm wondering at the appropriate time. Uh perhaps we can have an informational briefing. And uh maybe we'll have a huakai here in the city council, whereby you take a tour around the island and maybe uh talk about the unique history of each of our districts. That would be really fun. Okay, thank you for the recommendation. Thank you. Before I call up the administration, I would like to take public testimony. Proceeding first with in-person testimony in the council chamber. Clerks, do we have any in-person testifiers for this item?