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Committee forwards Bill 107 to council to streamline fire-code adoption
Summary
The committee voted 9-0 to forward Bill 107, which would simplify Hawaii Countyfire-code adoption by defaulting to the statefire code when the state adopts updates; county staff said the change will reduce design confusion and staff will consider a friendly amendment modeled on MauiCounty.
A county committee on [date not specified] voted to forward Bill 107 to the full council with a favorable recommendation after hearing from Hawaii Fire Department leadership and brief questions from council members.
Battalion Chief Roy Henderson of the Hawaii Fire Department told the committee the proposal is intended to simplify the county code-adoption process. "I am battalion chief Roy Henderson with the Hawaii Fire Department," Henderson said, explaining that code adoption occurs at the national, state and county levels and that automatic adoption at the county level when the state updates would reduce confusion for designers and members of the public. He said the change would help avoid repeated redesigns when county-adopted versions lag behind state changes.
The measure received quick support from council members. Councilman Rungishi asked whether the approach would address local water-pressure and infrastructure differences, noting some districts have small mains that complicate certain projects. Henderson said the countystandard for water is addressed elsewhere in planning code and that allowable requirements can vary by building type and by project; he said department staff regularly work with designers and developers to resolve site-specific issues.
Councilmember Inaba praised staff work on the update and singled out Jacob Perry of the Legislative Reference Bureau for helping guide the effort. Councilmember Kimball said she "absolutely support[s] this concept" and offered to draft a friendly amendment patterned on Maui Countylanguage that would adopt the state fire code automatically while preserving existing county amendments unless the new state code prohibits them. Henderson said the department would "entertain anything that makes sense for the public to understand things better and move things along," and agreed to work with staff on the proposed language.
The chair called the vote to forward Bill 107 to the council with a favorable recommendation; the clerk recorded nine votes in favor and none opposed. The committee adjourned at 9:40 a.m.
What happens next: the bill will be considered by the full Hawaii County Council, and counsel/staff will draft or review the proposed friendly amendment language before second-stage consideration.
