House Bill 1700 presented to the Legislature for the 2017 budget year has some very positive elements addressing the severe crisis in affordable rental housing and homelessness.
It is widely known that Honolulu is the worst in the nation with regard to affordable housing and homeless issues. There are many causes that go back a long time. Bringing them under control will take years and we need different solutions for different causes by different stakeholders.
These include the governor and his leadership team, the mayor and his administration, the Legislature, the City Council, developers, the construction industry (including unions), the business community, the media and the human service agencies, which have all started coming into alignment on the crisis.
But far more needs to be done to coordinate their efforts.
Everyone acknowledges that the ultimate solution is affordable housing, especially rentals. Almost everyone also realizes that it will take several years before we will see them come on line in significant numbers.
The governor’s request for $75 million for the Rental Housing Revolving Fund (RHRF) and the request to remove the cap on the amount of the conveyance tax going into the RHRF are crucial this year so that loans from the RHRF to developers of affordable rental housing can continue flowing to keep the production of affordable rental housing going and even increasing.
The same reasoning applies to the $25 million request for the Dwelling Unit Revolving Fund (DURF), which can be used to fund the infrastructure needed before development can begin in many places.
The reason Kakaako is booming — unfortunately with high-end housing — is that 30 years ago, the state pumped $200 million into infrastructure there.
A good area in which to do this now would be Iwilei-Kapalama, where there is much state and county land along the proposed rail line that could be developed for affordable rentals, such as Mayor Wright Housing. Kamehameha Schools also owns much land in the area that could be developed if infrastructure were available.
Discussions about using the Oahu Community Correctional Center for transit-oriented development would become realistic if infrastructure were available.
How to address the housing crisis in the short term?
The governor’s emergency declaration has made it easier to develop emergency and transitional housing, which is needed until permanent housing can be built.
And repairing and maintaining all the public housing units is absolutely the quickest way to house our lowest income residents. On this point, we believe the governor’s $31 million budget request is too low and that Senate Bill 2958’s $100 million is more realistic.
Other items in the budget bill would expand the “Housing First” program and provide more rent subsidies.
It is encouraging that more agencies and types of organizations are becoming involved in helping find solutions. The strong commitment of the media to keep these issues in the limelight also is a major plus and bodes well for the future. While the sums of money required are daunting, caring for the increasing numbers of homeless due to lack of housing could cost taxpayers even more.
We must plan for the future and common good of Hawaii and all its residents.
We call on the conscience of our legislators to do the right thing this session and pass the money bills required to provide the amount of affordable housing that Hawaii needs.
