Tax Hike Pending in Honolulu City Council for Hawaii Historic Properties

The Honolulu City Council has introduced Bill 55 (2010) to amend the historic residential property tax exemption ordinance by requiring the property owner to pay some unspecified percentage of the assessed value, rather than the minimum annual tax that is currently required.

Council’s Budget Committee, chaired by Councilmember Nestor Garcia, will hold a public hearing on CB55 on Wednesday, November 10, 9:00 a.m., in the Council Committee Meeting Room, on the second floor of Honolulu Hale.

At the same meeting, the committee will also consider Resolution 10-274, which urges the city administration to enforce the visual access requirements of the historic residential property tax exemption.

Historic Hawaii Foundation is opposed to CB55, as raising taxes on historic homes provides a disincentive for their preservation and maintenance, while doing nothing to ensure that the public benefits associated with the program are furthered.

HHF supports better enforcement of the visual access and other conditions associated with the tax exemption, but disagrees with the statement in Resolution 10-274 that there is no other public benefit from the program without the visual access.

Contact Your Elected Officials

• Please contact your elected officials and let them know why preservation of our historic communities is important and how the tax relief program helps protect our historic homes.
• Submit your written testimony via fax to 768-3827 or via email to  https://www.honolulu.gov/council/emailbud.htm
• Sign-up to speak at the hearing:
  
• Use the On-Line City Council Speaker Registration form available at https://www.honolulu.gov/council/attnspkbud.htm;
  
• Send a fax to 768-3827 indicating your desire to register to speak, along with your name, phone number and subject matter;
  
• Fill out the registration form in person; or call 768-3818.

Submitted by the Historic Hawaii Foundation

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