Committee amends Primary Urban Center development plan; Bill 24 advanced to council for third reading

The Committee on Planning, Infrastructure and Transportation on a recommendation from Chair Cordero amended Bill 24 (2024 CD1), the Primary Urban Center Development Plan (PUCDP) update, to a CD2 that incorporates multiple council communications and floor changes and recommended the amended bill be reported out for passage on third reading; the committee recorded no objections.

Chair Cordero said the CD2 will incorporate amendments submitted in council communications from Councilmember Dos Santos Tam (CC 69 2025), former chair Councilmember Kia‘āina (CC 76 2025), and the chair’s own CC 84 2025, plus additional mapping fixes and floor amendments discussed in the committee. The changes include adding a caption calling for redevelopment of public housing to revitalize communities and add affordable rental units; several place‑type and figure map edits affecting the Aiea Town Center area (the committee accepted edits to figure 2.1 and figure 2.2 to lower certain place types and to extend a sensitive FAA height zone); and other district‑specific adjustments.

Don Apuna, director of the Department of Planning and Permitting, told the committee staff was generally “agreeable to the draft and the floor amendments,” but flagged one item of garbled text on page 27 of the posted PDF that staff requested be corrected. Apuna and DPP staff were available to answer technical questions and to coordinate map revisions.

Multiple Aiea residents and community representatives urged map changes that would preserve open space and reflect the Aiea Town Center Master Plan. Claire Tamamoto of the Aiea Community Association asked the committee to change the place type of a parcel behind existing homes from near‑town to open space preservation and to lower place types near the Aiea Town Center to better match the community’s vision. Allison Kaolino Kaimana Yasuoka submitted written testimony and a petition supporting biocultural restoration and said the amendments “strengthened the primary urban center development plan and honor…25 years of envisioning by the Aiea community.” Kehaulani Lam and other speakers thanked the chair for working with the community on map edits.

Chair Cordero thanked DPP staff, the Office of Council Services, community groups and council members for their participation and said the updated PUCDP provides guidelines for future area plans while not prescribing zoning changes directly. The chair moved the bill to a CD2 incorporating the listed amendments and floor changes; the committee accepted the recommendation with no objections and recommended the CD2 be reported out for passage on third reading.

Next steps: The amended Bill 24 CD2 will be transmitted to the full council for third reading and, if passed, will replace Article 2 of Chapter 24 in the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu (2021). DPP will correct the identified PDF language issue and continue technical coordination on map exhibits.