Aloha North Shore Community

It has been wonderful to start the new year with you—talking story with kūpuna groups, joining rallies, attending town halls, and seeing the amazing commitment and passion of our diverse community. To kick off our first Council meeting of the year, it was an honor to recognize Captain Clifford Chillingworth for his lifelong service to ocean safety, our community, and our country. From his tireless efforts as a lifeguard, including mentoring watermen like Eddie Aikau and Mark Cunningham, to his dedication as a Korean War veteran and paddling coach, Captain Chillingworth has left a lasting legacy of safety, leadership, and aloha. Mahalo for your unwavering commitment to the community!

As we approach the upcoming budget season, we are closely monitoring announcements about changes in federal funding. We are working with the City Administration to identify contingencies as needed; however, current federal funding has been restored. Our team is here and will continue to be here to answer your questions, address City concerns, and connect you to available resources for issues outside the City’s jurisdiction. If you are a resident or an organization that provides services within District 2, please contact our office at any point if you find yourself impacted by changes to federal policies, programs, or grant funds. This will help us assess budgetary needs for City-related programming or connect you to the appropriate contacts for those services outside the City’s jurisdiction.

Community Updates

Laniakea Realignment: With the recent groundbreaking for the road realignment project at Laniakea, I look forward to the state measures that will reduce congestion, traffic, and safety concerns. We encourage everyone to track Hawaiʻi Department of Transportation project updates, including road work notices and project timelines, at hidot.hawaii.gov.

Kawailoa Transfer Station Green Waste: Mahalo to everyone that is participating in the City’s green waste composting program. Residential users can continue to dispose of their green waste at Hawaiian Earth Recycling Products Monday through Saturday at no charge. For convenience purposes, the City does allow for green waste disposal at the Kawailoa Transfer Station on Sundays due to Hawaiian Earth Recycling Products being closed. Since the green waste deposited at the Kawailoa Transfer Station is burned at H-Power, however, we encourage community members to make use of the free services for composting at Hawaiian Earth Recycling Products when possible.

Pupukea Bike Path: At the request of several community members, our team wants to remind folks that green waste should not be left along the bike path, and we included this reminder in the letter we sent out in November 2024. Preventing the piling up of green waste and mulch helps protect against the coconut rhinoceros beetle, which can utilize green waste and mulch piles to propagate. Mahalo to everyone in the community for doing your part.

Legislative Updates

Resolution 25-003, reaffirming the City policy that municipal solid waste landfills should not be located above our drinking water sources, passed unanimously out of the City Council in January. Going forward, we will continue to use every legal tool available to project our aquifer and prime agricultural land. Please sign up for our newsletter to receive updates about how to engage and testify.

Bill 64 (2024), which we co-introduced with Councilmember Cordero, would expand the eligibility for the City’s down payment loan program. By expanding the eligibility criteria, we can get more families into homes. Those interested in finding out more about the City’s current program can visit https://www8.honolulu.gov/ dcs/.

Bill 51 (2024) passed full Council and was signed into law by the Mayor in January. We introduced Bill 51 to facilitate adaptive reuse projects in the urban core, allowing for unused commercial space to be converted into housing with safeguards to protect residents’ health and safety.

As always, I hope that this update finds all of you well and feel free to reach out to me at (808)768-5002 or at mweyer@honolulu.gov.