Most locals realize that chipping away at Oahu’s homeless problem will require an infusion of thousands of affordable rentals and housing. Yet despite acknowledging the need, there often is lack of support or outright resistance when a project lands on a neighborhood’s doorstep. It’s a disconnect that has become glaring in recent weeks.
>> The latest project to receive a cold reception is the redevelopment of a 1.5-acre property in Pawaa bordered by Piikoi, Adler, Elm and King streets where the state is proposing an 18-story building with about 180 rental apartments above a few secure floors housing youth offenders. The Ala Moana-Kakaako Neighborhood Board entertained a motion to support the plan, but no one seconded the motion — therefore, there was no endorsement.
>> Last month, the same neighborhood board failed to endorse a 26-story high-rise proposed near Walmart on Sheridan Street that would include 163 condominiums. Twenty percent, or 33 of those units, would be reserved for moderate-income residents at affordable prices under city guidelines. One member explained the plan didn’t fit the area.
>> And last week the City Council Zoning and Planning Committee advanced a bill that proposes a moratorium on the construction of larger developments from Aiea to Kalihi as a way to help address traffic congestion.
There was strong opposition to a plan to add nearly 500 workforce housing units to the existing Moanalua Hillside Apartments, which are sorely needed. In addition, about 175 other area residents submitted a petition urging the Council to pass Bill 11 and stated the residents protest building permits to certain projects in the Aiea, Red Hill, Moanalua and Salt Lake areas.
Restricting construction simply to ease traffic is a dubious tact for the Council; the city Department of Planning and Permitting rightly pointed out that the bill would not solve traffic congestion.
What should be occurring as a matter of policy, as more neighborhoods are sure to see redevelopment, is more involvement by local transportation officials to help facilitate true traffic mitigations.
The concern of residents is understandable: development breeds more traffic, and new projects can change the landscape of established communities.
But to reach larger goals of housing the unsheltered in a state with the largest per-capita homeless population, more than 7,600 at last count, people must start accepting the reality that affordable housing stock is needed — even in our backyards and even if it’s a perceived inconvenience to existing residents.
For instance, the Pawaa project, though unconventional, is worthy of community support. The $80 million plan is being touted as an efficient and publicly beneficial reuse of a prime state property. Its dual purpose would be to serve juvenile offenders — as it currently does, but in underused fashion — as well as offer isle residents affordable units. Both are critical needs.
Funding, which is often a roadblock, appears to be on track with the Pawaa plan: the state Judiciary and the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corp., which facilitates affordable-housing development, plan to fund their own pieces of the project. HHFDC would contribute $54 million in existing housing funds while the Judiciary would allot $25.2 million.
It’s time for communities to start thinking on a broader scale when it comes our collective-community problems. Hawaii’s homelessness crisis will not solve itself. It will take an array of solutions, and key among them, is new affordable housing in welcoming neighborhoods.
