civilbeat:

A Honolulu City Council committee has advanced a resolution that asks the city to address the gross sewage smell in Kakaako near downtown Honolulu. 
The committee adopted Councilman Stanley Chang’s version of the resolution on Wednesday. The measure asks the city to identify the sewer problem and submit reports with recommendations for fixing it on Jan. 31 and March 31 next year. 
But the version that passed lacked some of the more stringent language initially suggested and emphasizes fixing the problem near intersections, rather than residences.
Councilwoman Ann Kobayashi and Councilwoman Carol Fukunaga had wanted a report from the city by the end of this year.
But Lori Kahikina, director of the city’s Dept. of Environmental Services, argued against the Dec. 31 deadline, saying that the problem is too complex.
“We don’t think it’s realistic that we’ll have something concrete next month,” she said. “We don’t want to shoot ourselves in the foot.”
Kahikina said that the department still doesn’t know the cause of the sewer problems that plague the area. 
The city said that delays in infrastructure projects along Auahi St. are preventing them from resolving the Kakaako issue sooner.
Kobayashi said that she had wanted the city stop issuing conditional permits for new developments in Kakaako until the sewer issue is fixed, but the idea didn’t garner enough support among council members.
There are a slew of new developments — including a 46-story tower — slated for Kakaako, prompting concern from residents about the long-standing infrastructure problems.
Richard Baker, a resident of Chang’s district in Hawaii Kai, criticized the councilman’s draft, saying it “takes the pressure off the city to really do something about this problem.”
Chang said that he thinks the resolution is a great step forward toward fixing the issue.

Courtesy of Honolulu City Council

— Anita Hofschneider