Council Chair Waters recommended and the Committee on Zoning and Planning amended Bill 33 (2025) on Thursday to allow the Department of Planning and Permitting to physically post a notice of violation or notice of order on a property when other service methods fail, and reported the bill out for passage on third reading.

The change gives DPP an additional enforcement tool when property owners “deliberately avoid or refuse to accept service,” according to the bill summary. The ordinance also makes conforming changes to other sections of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu (ROH) and states the ordinance would take effect upon approval; portions of the administrative enforcement amendments will supersede language adopted in Ordinance 25-2, which becomes effective Sept. 30, 2025.

Dawn Takeuchi Apuna, Director of the Department of Planning and Permitting, told the committee the department supports the CD2 version and proposed a verbal amendment to the bill’s language. “If we could add… ‘or upon receipt of the notice of violation,’ that way we can either put a specific date or, depending on the type of violation, it makes sense that they correct it upon actual physical notice,” Apuna said during the meeting.

The committee adopted the DPP director’s verbal amendment, amended the bill to a hand‑carried CD2, and the chair recommended reporting the measure out of committee for passage on third reading. No roll-call vote was recorded in the transcript; the chair stated the recommendation and, hearing no objections, ordered the amendment and the report-out.

Key provisions in the amended bill remove a proposed requirement that a notice of violation include a statement of actions necessary to correct the violation, add conforming renumbering changes to ROH 32-5.4, and clarify the ordinance’s effective date. The committee record shows the amendments were made at the request of DPP.

The measure now proceeds toward third reading on the Council floor with the committee recommendation to pass the CD2 version incorporating the DPP amendment.

Sources and next steps: The Committee on Zoning and Planning meeting record and statements from Dawn Takeuchi Apuna, director of DPP. The committee’s amendment and recommendation were announced on the record; final Council floor action and any recorded votes will confirm adoption.