As Honolulu Authority for Rapid Transportation’s construction of the more than $10 billion Skyline rolls toward Chinatown, city officials seek an updated agreement with the state to gain more oversight over historical sites and future development projects along the rail line’s route.

The city Department of Planning and Permitting is requesting the Honolulu City Council approve a city-initiated resolution, which calls for a new memorandum of understanding, or MOU, between the city and the State Historic Preservation Division, or SHPD, that could grant the city greater power to review permitted projects — specifically, city-authorized building projects — that may appear in the Chinatown Historic District and the Merchant Street Commercial and Civic Historic
District.

Both districts, listed in the Hawaii Register of Historic Places and the National Register of Historic Places, comprise an area populated by former Chinese plantation laborers as early as 1860.

HART is expected to complete its third segment of rail into historic Chinatown by 2030.

In a Dec. 19 message to the Council, DPP Director Dawn Takeuchi Apuna wrote that the panel’s approval of Resolution 332 will “create a separate agreement” between the city and SHPD, to supplement one enacted in 2011.

She noted the new MOU seeks to replace a condition under the older agreement — Stipulation IX.E — “regarding reasonably foreseeable adverse effects of
proposed projects on historic properties” within the two historic districts, “including contributing archaeological resources.”

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Michael Kat, DPP’s historic preservation planner, clarified that the stipulation in question “required all city agencies that are constructing projects related to the rail project within the two historic districts to coordinate activities to ensure that the cumulative effect does not have an unanticipated adverse effect on the historic districts.”

A new MOU would change that condition.

“This MOU simply delegates that responsibility to the city agency — DPP — best suited for monitoring development within these historic districts,” Kat said. “DPP is the lead agency and shall be responsible for the initial review of and making a determination for any projects within the scope of this MOU that may result in an effect on the Chinatown Historic District and Merchant Street Historic District.”

Replacing the stipulation “doesn’t bypass” state law “or cut SHPD out,” he said.

“SHPD remains involved in reviewing and consulting, and the same historic review requirements still apply,” Kat said. “The practical upshot is that the MOU establishes DPP’s role in supporting HART by creating a more
defined process for DPP to coordinate early with SHPD, monitor potential impacts
as projects are planned and implemented, and ensure protective measures are
consistently applied within these historic districts, so
issues are identified and addressed before they escalate.”

SHPD asserted it’s aware of Resolution 332 and the requested MOU.

“(The division) has been in consultation with the (city) and HART regarding the development and execution of the MOU and are thus in support of executing the MOU,” a state spokesperson said.

According to SHPD, Stipulation IX.E required HART to track projects that occurred within “transportation oriented development zones” that affected properties that were 50 years old or older in order to track and identify the indirect impact of the rail project on historic
properties.

“SHPD has been actively working with the City and County of Honolulu, HART, and other stakeholders to find a better method of understanding and accounting for indirect effects to
historic and cultural
resources within the TOD Zone and placing the responsibility for tracking those
impacts onto the most appropriate entity,” the spokesperson said. “HART has limited ability to do this as their mission is limited to their alignment and service, thus the City and County has been identified as the more appropriate partner in this.”

According to Resolution 332, the requested MOU is needed “to fulfill long-­standing commitments” made by the city under the original programmatic agreement, or PA, for the rail corridor.

“While HART assumed the city’s role in implementing the rail project and remains responsible for meeting PA requirements tied to federal funding, it is not the appropriate agency to monitor private or city development that may affect historic districts,” Kat said. “DPP, which reviews and issues building permits, is better positioned to carry out this responsibility.”

He added “the MOU is important because it formally establishes a clear process for DPP to monitor and review projects that could affect these historic districts, ensuring the city continues to meet its commitments under the PA and protect the historic character of these areas as future development occurs.”

But Kat said the rail project is still governed by the PA, and the existing MOU does not apply to work associated with the rail project. “This MOU applies to projects undertaken by the City and County of Honolulu, or private parties, within the Chinatown Historic District and Merchant Street Historic District,” he added.

Council’s Resolution 332 states the city entered into a PA with the Federal Transit Administration, SHPD, and other consulting parties on Jan. 18, 2011, which has since been amended, to govern compliance with National Historic Preservation Act, in relation to the rail project.

Kat said there is no specific deadline to create the city’s newly requested MOU with the state.

However, because the prior PA “has already been fully executed and the MOU is intended to supplement it, it is important that the MOU be finalized as soon as practicable,” he said.

Council staff confirmed Resolution 332 was referred to the panel’s Committee on Infrastructure, Transportation and Technology for further review.

The committee is tentatively scheduled to meet
at 9 a.m. Wednesday at
530 S. King St.