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Committee delays sponsorships ordinance after stakeholders push for rules, limits on naming rights and cultural review
Summary
The Budget Committee amended the sponsorships bill (Bill 4 of 2025) and postponed action to allow further stakeholder review. Nonprofit and preservation groups asked for formal rules on signage and sponsorship terms, a five‑year cap on agreements and a clear exclusion or special handling for naming rights and culturally sensitive sites.
The Honolulu City Council Budget Committee on Thursday amended and postponed consideration of Bill 4 of 2025, which would reestablish a city process to obtain sponsorships for facilities, parks, programs and equipment, after public testimony and a department briefing indicated more stakeholder work is needed.
The amendment proposed by the chair would adopt the committee’s CD2 as transmitted by the mayor but postpone final action to a date set by the chair so staff and community groups could settle outstanding issues on rules, signage and naming rights.
The Outdoor Circle urged the council to require formal rules and coordination with the Department of Planning and Permitting to avoid signage conflicts and to merge and clarify clauses that address advertising and signage. "We do need rules," said Winston Welch, executive director of The Outdoor Circle, who also urged excluding naming rights from the bill and proposed a five‑year cap on sponsorship agreements so naming or sponsorship does not become permanent city branding.
Deputy Managing Director Christian Jairam told the committee the administration supports the bill’s goal to increase non‑tax revenue and that the draft ordinance provides substantial guidance across departments. "To the extent this is a discussion that I am having with corporation counsel to determine whether rulemaking is or isn't necessary," Jairam said, adding that the ordinance as written provides "a lot of consistency in terms of how the different departments and agencies need to approach this process."
Councilmembers asked whether cultural or historic resources should have an extra review; the deputy managing director said naming of facilities remains a council decision and that city naming rules already exist for public facilities. Councilmember Wires recommended considering automatic referrals of sponsorship proposals for culturally or historically significant properties to the Oʻahu Island Historic Preservation Commission for comment.
The chair adopted a path to amend to CD2 and postpone the measure for additional stakeholder input. Committee members and administration officials said the delay would allow a cleaner bill to be resubmitted for third reading.
The decision leaves open precise language on naming rights, whether rulemaking is required, and how to structure duration limits and signage rules; the chair asked city staff and stakeholders to reconvene before the committee takes the item up again.
