HCDA to schedule hearings to lower Central Kakaako maximum FAR after rule change affected tax exemptions

The Hawaiʻi Community Development Authority Kakaako board on Sept. 3 authorized the executive director to schedule public hearings under chapter 91 and chapter 201M, Hawaiʻi Revised Statutes, to amend the 2024 Kaka'ako Mauka area rules. The proposed amendment would change the maximum floor area ratio (FAR) for the Central Kakaako neighborhood zone from 3.5 to 1.5. The board voted 6-0 with three members excused; one member recorded reservations but voted yes.

Ryan Tan, HCDA director of planning and development, told the board the 2024 rules (effective January 2024) raised allowable density in Central Kakaako to FAR 3.5 but also changed the definition of floor area to include structured parking. Tan said that inclusion effectively increased counted floor area by about 2 FAR in many cases and led to an unintended consequence: some small industrial and commercial properties that previously qualified for a tax exemption under Honolulu City Council Ordinance 16-21 no longer met the exemption threshold.

Tan said the rules change has affected roughly 143 TMK parcels historically covered by the program, with about 50 to 78 recent applicants seeking certification. Staff estimated the change's impact on city tax…