Council adopts charter amendment to create Department of Housing and Land Management

The Honolulu City Council adopted Resolution 25-86 FD1 on a motion to amend and approve a charter amendment creating a Department of Housing and Land Management that consolidates city housing functions into a single department.

The measure, moved and explained by Vice Chair Aaron Weir and presented to the Council by Kevin Ogere, executive director of the Mayor's Office of Housing, passed by roll call: six ayes, one no and two members absent.

The charter amendment restructures city housing responsibilities by folding the mayor's Office of Housing into a new Department of Housing and Land Management (DHLM) and aligning staff and duties from the Department of Land Management (DLM), Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP) and Department of Community Services (DCS). Ogere told the Council the new department "will have six distinct divisions," listed in the administration's presentation as housing development, housing finance, housing policy, land transactions, housing property and asset management, and a conservation office to manage the Clean Water and Natural Lands Fund.

Ogere said the consolidated structure would create a clearer "deal flow" for the city: the land transactions team would acquire sites (for example using general obligation bonds), the housing development team would work with private partners, and a housing finance division would pursue financing beyond the city's current tools. He said 51 positions are proposed for the new department, including five mayoral appointees and four new positions that were not funded in the current fiscal year and will be requested in a future budget.

Council members asked about the disposition of specific programs and funds. Ogere stated that the Housing Choice Voucher program and the Public Housing Agency role would remain with DCS: "The voucher program will remain with DCS." He and Edward Los Banos, deputy director of DCS, also clarified DCS will retain responsibility for homelessness, supportive housing and wraparound services; DCS will continue to manage programs such as emergency shelter, medical respite and other services for vulnerable populations while DHLM focuses on land, development and financing functions.

Ogere and DCS described several funding streams and constraints discussed during the session, including Community Development Block Grant (CDBG) funds, the city's affordable housing fund, private activity bond capacity (noted in the presentation at roughly $140 million annually), and the Clean Water and Natural Lands Fund (discussed as having roughly $35 million in active transactions). Ogere cautioned that some grants require rapid deployment and can trigger federal NEPA reviews that make small awards difficult to use without advance project planning.

Council members pressed on staffing, vacancies and timelines. Ogere said many positions transferred from DPP are currently vacant and that recruitment is underway; the DHLM will not be fully funded until July. He said the administration expects the new divisions to scale as the pipeline of projects grows and that the mayor will appoint an executive for housing consistent with charter authority. The administration also reported active procurement steps: RFQs for development partners generated strong responses and several transactions are in the pipeline.

The Council heard one registered oral testifier during the item. Angela Melody Young told the Council she was "in strong support of the resolution," and suggested coordinating county and state planning processes to expedite housing development.

The Council adopted the FD1 amendment and then adopted Resolution 25-86 FD1 as amended. The Clerk reported the final tally as six ayes, one no and two members absent.

The resolution establishes the charter language to create DHLM and directs the reorganization steps described in the FD1; administrative details, funding requests for the four new positions and implementation steps were described as subject to future budget and recruitment processes.

Members of the Council and administration said they will continue coordination among DCS, DPP, DLM and other departments as recruitment, budget requests and property inventories proceed.