Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi delivered his fifth State of the City address Tuesday with an emphasis on “wicked problems” that have long been painfully familiar to residents of Oahu — housing, homelessness and crime, as well as an outdated and cumbersome bureaucracy.
The mayor has pledged to “own” these problems, and he can point to city accomplishments. As his administration enters a second term, the city has laid groundwork for thousands of new housing units and hundreds of additional shelter units for the unhoused — though certain neighborhoods remain crowded with unsheltered people. Crime has been diminished in Waikiki and Chinatown — although on Oahu’s West side, in particular, frustration continues over violence and property crimes. And the city’s ground zero for complaints about government inefficiency, the Department of Planning and Permitting, has been re-envisioned to speed things up, with major changes underway, but far from complete.
Now the trick is to get to the finish line while staying in the black. The administration must focus on cost-efficiency and tangible results, delivering more housing and shelter, more efficiently, cutting crime and budgeting carefully.
On the housing front, the city has introduced legislation creating a new Department of Housing and Land Management (DHLM), “merging our real estate and housing experts into a single, unified operation,” Blangiardi said. This will establish a “development division” within DHLM to oversee envisioned public-private collaborations that will create new housing on city lands. It’s encouraging to see that solicitations for development of five city parcels, all in Iwilei, have been issued, with the potential to add a needle-moving 2,000 units to Oahu’s housing stock.
In Iwilei, the city is seeking a development partner to create a “world-class community our residents deserve,” Blangiardi said — and surely, Honolulu’s people deserve a community that is safe, attractive and affordable, with access to transportation and services, even as it houses low-income residents. By envisioning a mixed-use development and leveraging public land, this is within the city’s sights — and voters expect expert execution.
DHLM also includes a new finance division to manage project costs and spending. Three years ago, Honolulu successfully restarted its private-activity bond program after 23 years, and has an impressive $670 million in bond allocations in the works. That creates momentum, and the finance division is tasked with exploring other funding mechanisms.
In addressing the homelessness crisis, city and state partnerships have borne fruit, as with Kumu Ola Hou, a new shelter in Iwilei Center for people struggling with cognitive and mental health issues. It’s the first of four shelters planned in Iwilei this year. Also welcomed: expansion of the Crisis, Outreach, Response and Engagement (CORE) team to a second base in Waipahu, serving West and Central Oahu.
As for crime, Blangiardi’s zero tolerance policy appeals to a majority of Honolulu’s voters, and the city has become more “aggressive,” in his words, in rooting it out. As a result, the streets of Waikiki and Chinatown, where the city has focused programs, are generally safer and quieter. The West Side needs similar attention, with extended homelessness and housing services and a permanently increased police presence.
Finally, there’s Skyline — the city’s big baby, once it’s operational. An additional segment is scheduled to start operating on Oct. 1, taking it past the airport and to Middle Street. The city must prepare to pull out the stops on presenting and promoting this public transit game-changer once it arrives at Middle Street, strategically pumping up and improving bus connections to the University of Hawaii, Capitol District, Ala Moana/Waikiki and the Waianae Coast. Equal attention and concern for all beleaguered commuters are essential, so that there’s a clear benefit to commuters in riding the rail, and to taxpayers in funding it.
