Honolulu is now requiring an AI plan-checking system for residential building permits, a change meant to cut wait times from months to weeks or days — good news for homeowners and builders stuck in the city's permit backlog.

• The city's planning department made the AI review mandatory for eligible residential projects starting today.
• New construction, additions, alterations, accessory dwelling units, and ohana units all have to go through it.
• The goal is to catch problems on the first pass so applications stop bouncing back for repeat reviews.
• Humans still do the final check and approval — the AI only handles the initial screening.

Outlook: Commercial and other project types are set to join in later phases of the rollout.