Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting director, top official resign

City Department of Planning and Permitting’s top officials Director Dean Uchida and Chief Innovation Strategist Danette Maruyama have resigned from their positions as of today.

“Dean Uchida and Danette Maruyama have my utmost respect and sincere gratitude for their tireless efforts to improve the operating performance of the Department of Planning and Permitting. As in every difficult leadership challenge, those responsible for producing successful solutions must be aligned in thought and strategy,” said Mayor Rick Blangiardi in a written statement.

“We are moving forward in a different direction to address and correct the decades-old challenges.”

DPP Deputy Director Dawn Takeuchi-Apuna is now the acting director of the department.

Maruyama was the city’s deputy managing director before assuming her role at DPP in January.

The DPP is one of the city’s most challenged departments facing permitting delays and severe workforce vacancies. The department is slated to fill the 80 vacant positions and is in the process of adding another 80 new positions.

The department is also currently in the middle of rewriting the city’s land use ordinances.

Uchida is the third top official to leave the city administration in this summer as the Office of Housing and Homelessness Executive Director Trish La Chica left the position in late July and Department of Design and Construction Director Alex Kozlov left the position in June.

Design and Construction Deputy Director Haku Milles is currently the acting director of the department.

The Office of Housing and Homelessness Executive Director position is still vacant, according to the city website.