Top Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting officials resign

Sep. 8—Director Dean Uchida and Chief Innovation Strategist Danette Maruyama resigned from their positions Tuesday citing differences with the mayor as their reasons for leaving.

Differences with Mayor Rick Blangiardi led to the resignation of the city's Department of Planning and Permitting's director and another key administrator in the troubled department.

Director Dean Uchida and Chief Innovation Strategist Danette Maruyama resigned from their positions Tuesday citing differences with the mayor as their reasons for leaving.

"It has been quite an eventful 21 months with your administration, " wrote Uchida in his short resignation letter to Blangiardi.

"Unfortunately, we have some philosophical differences on what is needed at the Department of Planning and Permitting to correct the decades of poor management and leadership. I believe it is an appropriate time for me to step away and allow you and your administration to move in a different direction."

Blangiardi in a written statement pointed to strategic differences between himself, Uchida and Maruyama.

"Dean Uchida and Danette Maruyama have my utmost respect and sincere gratitude for their tireless efforts to improve the operating performance of the Department of Planning and Permitting. As in every difficult leadership challenge, those responsible for producing successful solutions must be aligned in thought and strategy, " he wrote.

"We are moving forward in a different direction to address and correct the decades-old challenges."

DPP Deputy Director Dawn Takeuchi Apuna is now the acting director of the department.

DPP has come under fire in recent years over its management, severe staffing shortage and prolonged delays in issuing of permits. The department also is still reeling after four of its employees were charged in March 2021 by federal authorities for allegedly accepting bribes to accelerate permits for building projects.

Uchida, whose appointment as director was confirmed in February 2021, was working on filling the 80 vacant positions and in the process of adding another 80 new positions. Uchida was also spearheading technology upgrades to more quickly process permits.

Honolulu City Council member Andria Tupola said she received information from DPP about the number of permit applications it currently is processing. As of August, there were about 3, 500 applications in the pre-screening phase, 4, 780 permits being reviewed by DPP plan examiners, and about 1, 100 permits that were approved and waiting to be picked up by applicants, according to Tupola.

The department also is in the middle of rewriting the city's land use ordinances, proposing sweeping changes that would affect agricultural land, wind farms, housing and short-term rentals. The proposals in DPP's Bill 10 were reviewed Wednesday by the City Council.

Maruyama's resignation letter cited Uchida's departure as one of the reasons that she would be leaving. "I thoroughly enjoyed working with the Director of Planning and Permitting, and supported the strategic direction he set for the department. This resulted in many successful outcomes in a short period of time under difficult operating conditions, " she wrote. "Since the director is scheduled to leave ... and with the uncertainty of the department's strategic direction and citywide support going forward, it will be extremely difficult for me to achieve the outcomes expected for the department that will benefit the Oahu community."

Maruyama was the city's deputy managing director before assuming her role at DPP in January.

Uchida is the third top official to leave the mayor's administration this summer. Office of Housing and Homelessness Executive Director Trish La Chica left the position in late July, and Department of Design and Construction Director Alex Kozlov left in June.

The Office of Housing and Homelessness executive director position is still vacant, according to the city's website. Design and Construction Deputy Director Haku Milles is now acting director.