This year, the state Legislature’s Housing Chairs Rep. Luke Evslin and Sen. Stanley Chang took bold action to address Hawaii’s housing crisis by introducing House Bill 1630 and Senate Bill 3202. These bills would allow smaller homes on smaller lots that would be more affordable for Hawaii residents.

The bills are still alive in the Legislature, but vested interests have been actively working to undermine these efforts.

On Thursday, Honolulu City Council’s Planning and Economy Committee passed Resolution 24-65, which would have the Council express its opposition to the bills.

The original version of the proposed city resolution alleged the state bills threaten to create a “slum of small zoning lots within close proximity to each other, increasing the chances of conflict among neighbors, the spread of fire, and the proliferation of disease vectors.”

This disturbing language was amended out of the resolution, but it exemplifies the mindset of the Not In My Backyard (NIMBY) narrative and is simply false.

Currently, each of Hawaii’s four counties requires new single-family homes to be built on lots of at least 5,000 square feet or more. These mandates prevent the development of a diverse housing ecosystem, and the sprawling homes they have encouraged cater mostly to millionaires, doing nothing to help working families enter the housing market.

Sky-high housing costs mean young families are being forced to relocate to the mainland in pursuit of more affordable alternatives; our kupuna lack the opportunity to age in place; multigenerational families are crowded under one roof with minimal privacy; and, in the worst cases, people are ending up on the streets living unsheltered.

Allowing smaller homes on smaller lots would mirror a powerful approach many states and cities across the country and around the world have been using to increase housing supply — and the research indicates these changes work.

That’s why many local organizations have been supporting HB 1630 and SB 3202. The bills would allow “ohana” or accessory dwelling units on existing residential lots, and single-family homes on smaller, modest-sized lots as well.

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While still preserving county authority to control the sizes and forms of new buildings — and take into account infrastructure needs — these bills would enable a diverse housing landscape with more affordable options, such as duplexes, triplexes or small starter homes that require less space and mean cheaper housing. Such housing options would provide local residents with the opportunity to remain in Hawaii without needing to afford an entire half-acre of land.

This diversity of options would provide opportunities for people in all different stages of life, such as young families just starting out, kupuna looking to downsize, and multigenerational households seeking to keep family members close. Three generations could live together on one property with dignity, while also giving each the opportunity to build equity.

All of this would be possible because these measures would encourage more efficient land use.

Land in Hawaii is expensive. Consequently, mandating that all homes have large front and back yards virtually guarantees that housing prices will be higher than many local families can reasonably afford. Many hopeful homeowners don’t need or want that much space.

Inefficient land use also keeps urban areas stagnant, pushing growth legally and illegally into agricultural and conservation land. Enacting bills such as SB 3202 and HB 1630 would allow Hawaii to house people more affordably within our urban boundaries, without expanding into the state’s precious open spaces.

Ultimately, adopting the solutions put forth in these bills would help ensure that future generations of Hawaii residents can continue to call our beloved islands home.

We need to ignore the naysayers and do what is right for Hawaii’s housing future.

Arjuna Heim is senior housing policy analyst for Hawaii Appleseed; Ted Kefalas is director of strategic campaigns for the Grassroot Institute of Hawaii; Susan Le is coalition coordinator for Hawaii Housing Affordability Coalition.