Oʻahu property owners with empty units could help ease the island’s housing crisis by selling or renting their properties, and a proposed empty homes tax could’ve pushed them to do so.
But on Monday, a measure aimed at putting the idea to Honolulu voters in November was shot down by the Honolulu Charter Commission. The group, which assesses proposed changes to the city charter and decides which questions should be printed on ballots, voted the empty homes tax question down. With eight votes in support and five in opposition, the measure was just one vote shy of the supermajority — nine votes — needed to make it to the ballot.
The decision marks the possible death of the proposal, at least for now, unless Honolulu City Council Chair Tommy Waters schedules a meeting this week for the council to vote on it…