The Honolulu City Council Committee on Zoning on April 3, 2025, amended and then postponed further action on a resolution (Mayor’s Message 44‑20‑25; resolution 25‑86) that would initiate charter amendments to reorganize housing functions and create a Department of Housing and Land Management (DHLM).

The mayor’s submitted CD1 would consolidate the Office of Housing with the Department of Land Management and take selected functions from the Department of Community Services, Department of Planning and Permitting, and Department of Budget and Fiscal Services, as part of an executive reorganization. The administration’s executive director of the Office of Housing, Kevin Auger, told the committee the administration supports the proposed CD1 and is available to answer questions.

Committee members pressed administration and Department of Planning and Permitting officials for details about staffing, duties and how responsibilities would shift. DPP staff told members that consolidating housing tasks with land‑management transactions may increase efficiency because some housing responsibilities — for example, private activity bond administration and certain affordable‑housing agreement reviews — are not core daily functions of the planning division. The administration said the reorganization would create three new divisions within DHLM: a housing development division to work with private developers, a housing finance division to pursue financing tools and grants, and a housing policy division to coordinate policy; the mayor’s proposed platform originally sought 51 positions but, because of budget timing, would begin with 47 positions if the budget is approved. The Department of Land Management currently has 23 filled positions.

Members expressed concern about a charter‑level specification that the executive for housing would be an appointed position and would be required to have “a minimum of three years of experience in administration of affordable housing programs or projects.” Several members asked that the experience requirement remain flexible so future administrations can recruit varied candidates with policy, finance or development backgrounds. Vice Chair DeSantos Tam and other members also asked for a clearer division of ongoing grant administration responsibilities between the Department of Community Services and the proposed DHLM.

Given the scope of the change, the committee chair recommended postponing final action. The chair asked the administration to provide a PowerPoint illustrating the current and proposed staffing and position breakdowns, budget detail for the new positions and a schedule of next steps; the chair also proposed an information session for the Council’s Housing Committee and scheduling consideration by the full council before the May 7 deadline for charter measures. The committee amended the CD1 as posted and then postponed further action to a date and time to be determined by the committee chair.

No final vote on charter amendments occurred at the April 3 meeting; the committee expects further briefings and follow‑up from the administration before it reschedules the item for action.