Applicants should start seeing a difference soon, the mayor says, thanks to new technology.

Honolulu will start issuing building permits faster this fall with the help of technological upgrades, including artificial intelligence, Mayor Rick Blangiardi said at a Civil Beat event on Tuesday.

The Honolulu Department of Planning and Permitting has long struggled to keep up with a backlog of applications for residential and commercial renovations and new builds. Applicants regularly wait months or even years for permission to start construction, and the total permitting time — from application to issuance — has ballooned to record-breaking levels in recent years.

At a Q&A about Civil Beat’s Permit Pileup series, during which he touched on some of the reasons for delays, the mayor said cond

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