Aloha,

I hope you enjoyed your holidays! We officially welcomed three new Councilmembers on January 3rd at Honolulu Hale. Congratulations to new Councilmembers Val Okimoto, Tyler Dos Santos-Tam, and Matt Weyer. I’m looking forward to working with my colleagues and community members to make a difference for District I. Happy New Year!

Sincerely,

Andria Tupola, Ph.D.

HONORARY CERTIFICATE

Joseph Simpliciano and Carmen Guzmen-Simpliciano, founders of Kingdom Pathways, were honored by the Honolulu City Council their community leadership and advocacy to make notable improvements in our neighborhoods and parks. They have been stewards of Pōkaʻī Bay and Mākaha Beach Park through the City’s Adopt-A-Park program and have helped to designate signage and an official place name for Kū’īlioloa Heiau at Pōkaʻī Bay Beach Park in Wai’anae.

ANGEL TREE

Mahalo to all of our Angel tree participents. This was a successful partnership with the Salvation Army, US vets, ARC, and HPD District 8 CPT. On December 20th, we delivered gifts to Hale Moena o Mʻāili and the US Vets shelter in Waianae. The children and recipients of the gifts were grateful for the community's generous support.

RESTORE, RECONNECT, REVIVE - HOMELESS OUTREACH

Mahalo to everyone who took part of our R3 Outreach Program in 2022. I am excited to push this program throughout the westside from Kapolei to Makaha in 2023 with the support of churches and other non-profits. We will continue our work to provide homeless individuals support to housing, legal documentation, heath care, and other resource providers.

MAKAHA SURFSIDE

Councilmember Tupola met with Makaha Surfside residents who were adversely affected by illegal camping at Lahilahi Beach Park. Their concerns ranged from loose dogs to fumes entering their homes due to trash fires. Honolulu Police officers, Department of Parks and Recreation, and the Department of Facility Maintenance conducted a Stored Property Ordinance on January 2nd and 3rd to remove illegal campers. Our office is partnering with Assembly of God to conduct weekly outreach to restore the beach park, reconnect individuals with resouces, and revive the way we do outreach by having accountability and timelines.

WAI’ANAE CHRISTMAS PARADE

This year the Waiʻanae Rotary Club brought back the Waiʻanae parade and the community was so happy to be together again bringing in the Christmas season. Many businesses, churches, schools, and sports groups attended. I joined the Honolulu Police Department float and greeted the keiki as one of Santaʻs Reideer. A special shout out to the Okimotos from Waianae store for all the candy they donated to pass out at the Waianae Parade.

DEREGULATION OF CERTAIN HOME RENOVATIONS

BILL 56 (22) I proposed a bill to help local residents that have waited months if not over a year for a permit to do component replacement on items in their own home. This bill would allow for certain renovations not to require a permit.

BILL058(22) Residents waiting over a year for permits are unpleasantly surprised when their permit is cancelled and they are forced to reapply and repay permitting fees. I worked with the Director DPP to adjust the law to require notification prior to cancellation and a refund if the Department is at fault for the delay.

RES22-260, CD1 Self Help Housing is coming to the council requesting Affordable Housing Exemptions for a new project adjacent to Helelua behind the shopping center. I support this effort to help local families build and own their first home similar to the projects in Ma'ili, Leihoku, and Pōka'ī Bay.

SOLAR PERMITS IN A DIFFERENT LINE

RES 22-299 Electricity costs are rising due to gas prices and local residents have waited too long to be approved to install solar. The State has a clean energy goal and this would greatly help everyone if the city would use a more expeditious process to help local residents and clean energy efforts.