HONOLULU — Honolulu Mayor Kirk Caldwell vetoed a measure that would have given condominium owners two extra years to comply with a fire safety law.
A law requiring high-rise buildings to perform fire safety evaluations within three years was enacted earlier this year after a fire raged through the 35-story Marco Polo building in July 2017, causing the deaths of four people, the Honolulu Star-Advertiser reported Tuesday.
The high-rise was not equipped with sprinklers. It was built in 1971, before the city required all new condo projects to have a sprinkler system.
The council had considered requiring the nearly 370 buildings on Oahu that do not have sprinklers to install systems, but citing cost concerns, the council allowed buildings to pursue alternative fire prevention measures.
The law signed in May mandates that all buildings with 10 stories or more must have a fire safety evaluation within three years and steps need to be taken to comply with the evaluation within six years.
The City Council unanimously passed a bill last week, giving condo owners an extra two years to conduct the evaluations and to implement findings.
Caldwell rejected the measure, saying a two-year delay is “way too long, way too much danger, too much risk for everyone involved.”
It requires six votes to override the veto.