U.S. Sen. Brian Schatz, chair of the Senate Appropriations Subcommittee on Housing and Urban Development, announced Wednesday that Hawaii will receive over $6.6 million in new federal grant funding to support housing development.

The $6,631,950 in funding comes from the inclusion of a new $85 million grant program, established by Schatz’s bipartisan “Yes in My Backyard” legislation, which was first financed in the fiscal year 2023 appropriations bill.

The new federal “Pathways to Removing Obstacles to Housing” program incentivizes state and local governments to reform land-use policies and eliminate local barriers that restrict the supply of affordable housing.

Lack of infrastructure has been cited as an important obstacle to building more housing in Hawaii. The PRO Housing grant will help establish a State Infrastructure Bank, offering long-term financing to boost large-scale housing production.

According to Hawaii’s PRO Housing profile, the state has the highest housing costs in the country and will need 50,156 new units by 2025 to address the housing demand.

Gov. Josh Green recently signed three emergency proclamations aimed at addressing barriers to expanding affordable housing, providing flexibility for housing development, expediting processes and enhancing local capacity-­building efforts.

In 2023 the state secured over $600 million for affordable housing and homelessness services for fiscal year 2024-2025, alongside the announcement of the Ka Lei Momi Redevelopment Project, which aims to construct over 10,000 additional units, with 90% designated for households earning 120% or less of the area median income.

The state also has established a Transit-Oriented Development Council and formulated a preliminary plan to utilize $600 million in 2022 appropriations to develop about 2,700 homestead lots.

“Solving our state’s housing crisis is one of the biggest challenges of this generation,” Schatz said in a statement. “It will take our collective efforts — federal, state, and county — to solve it. That’s why we created this grant program and are helping reward states like Hawai‘i that are doing the right thing to build more housing and help local families find an affordable home.”

According to the statement, local zoning rules and infrastructure gaps have slowed housing growth for decades, causing a national housing shortage. The PRO Housing program aims to change the trend by rewarding states and local areas that update zoning, boost infrastructure and create more affordable housing, including adding housing in transit-­friendly areas, simplifying permits, allowing more types of housing in single-family zones and converting unused offices into homes.

In its inaugural round, the program received applications from over 175 communities across 47 states and territories, representing diverse demographics, geo­graphies and population sizes.