Office of Planning and Sustainable Development

Purpose: “To improve the planning process in this State, to increase the effectiveness of government and private actions, to improve coordination among different agencies and levels of government, to provide for wise use of Hawaiʻi‘s resources and to guide the future development of the State.” See HRS §226-1.

The Special Plans Branch is tasked with carrying out the functions of the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development related to statewide planning under the Hawaiʻi State Planning Act. The following are recent and ongoing projects.

Updating the Hawaiʻi State Plan. In 2018, the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development undertook a comprehensive review of Hawai‘i Revised Statutes (HRS) Chapter 226, the State Planning Act – with respect to how it aligns with current and emerging conditions and issues and its effectiveness in addressing the needs of Hawaiʻi’s people and providing for Hawaiʻi’s future. The result of this was the Hawaiʻi State Plan Update Phase 1 report.

Building on the Phase 1 findings, Act 36, Session Laws of Hawaiʻi 2024 commences Phase 2 of the update and establishes a Task Force responsible for developing recommendations that will align the State Plan with current needs, goals, and long-range objectives. The update aims to improve the plan’s implementation and coordination activities.

During the update process, OPSD is conducting ongoing legislative research on several relevant topics. Included in this is a catalog of all amendments that have been made to the State Plan since it was enacted.

Economic Development District (EDD) Designation. Hawaiʻi is now the nation’s first statewide Economic Development District (EDD), approved by the U.S. Department of Commerce’s Economic Development Administration (EDA). The Hawaiʻi Regional Economic Stewardship and Advancement EDD (HIRESA) will be led by a governing board chaired by DBEDT Director James Kunane Tokioka and supported by a program of the same name under OPSD’s Special Plans Branch. This designation expands access to EDA funding, which was previously limited to specific geographic communities meeting the agency’s “economic distress” criteria. See the EDD Designation Request here.

Hawaiʻi Statewide Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS). The CEDS is a strategy-driven plan for regional economic development. Through county and community level data collection and community input activities, the CEDS provides the foundation by which the public sector, working in conjunction with the economic actors (individuals, firms, industries), creates the environment for regional economic prosperity. The Hawaiʻi Statewide CEDS must be updated every 5 years for entities to qualify for funding under the US Economic Development Administration (EDA) Public Works and Economic Adjustment Assistance programs.

Hawaiʻi Economic Recovery & Resilience Project (HIERR). The HIERR Project aims to enable actions toward a more resilient, equitable, and sustainable economy. This planning process is designed to learn from the economic impacts and experiences of hardship associated with the COVID-19 pandemic to inform actions and develop capacity to strengthen Hawaiʻi’s long-term resilience. The HIERR Project will build on both the statewide and county-level goals and objectives for economic development and resilience identified in the Comprehensive Economic Development Strategy (CEDS).

Special Action Team on Affordable Rental Housing. On June 29, 2016, Act 127 was signed into law. Act 127 addresses rental housing by establishing an affordable rental housing goal, and establishing a Special Action Team on Affordable Rental Housing, led by the Director of the Office of Planning and Sustainable Development, to make recommendations on actions to promote rental housing. The goal is to develop or vest the development of at least 22,500 affordable rental housing units, ready for occupancy between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2026. The Special Action Team set out its findings, recommendations, and implementation plans in its Affordable Rental Housing Report and Ten-Year Plan presented to the governor on July 27, 2018.

Kalihi 21^st Century Transformation Initiative. With the possible relocation of the O‘ahu Community Correctional Center (OCCC) from its current location in Kalihi, Governor Ige seeks a renaissance for Kalihi. The Office of Planning and Sustainable Development lead a group of community leaders (Vision Committee) in convening a series of community meetings to let Kalihi speak about what Kalihi wants and what role it will play in the future of Honolulu.

Special Plans Branch Archive. The Office of Planning and Sustainable Development is dedicated to creating an accessible digital environment where all new documents are considered accessible. Documents on this page are considered archived for accessibility purposes under the Hawaiʻi Electronic Information Technology Disability Access Standards and are kept only for reference, research, or recordkeeping purposes.