Honolulu officials say more land and city subsidies are needed to speed up the construction of affordable housing on Oʻahu.
The city wants to build 18,000 affordable housing units by fiscal year 2029, according to its 2023 housing plan. However, the availability of land and city funding continue to be two of the most expensive obstacles.
Chapter 38 of the Revised Ordinances of Honolulu gives developers the ability to lease city-owned land, allowing the private sector to build affordable housing.
But Denise Iseri-Matsubara, the executive director of the city’s Office of Housing, said it’s not a very effective process in its current form.
She told the Honolulu City Council that the head of the Department of Land Management, Catherine Taschner, is trying to streamline the procedure.
“ I think the greatest impact we can make is in an area the council has expressed earlier — making our lands available under Chapter 38. … This is a five to seven-year process, and that’s why Director Taschner is trying to work to amend the ordinance,” she said.
The city’s housing plan notes that the request for proposal process under Chapter 38 includes city council resolutions and their public hearings, which in part makes the process longer.
Iseri-Matsubara also said the city’s roughly $8 million Affordable Housing Fund is too “small” to subsidize all the construction that’s needed for housing projects. The fund is meant to provide and maintain affordable rental housing.
The fund is replenished with half a percent of the city’s estimated real property taxes. She’s in favor of the passage of the city’s Bill 3, which would expand the financial incentives for developers to build affordable housing.
Andrew Kawano, director of the city’s Department of Budget and Fiscal Services, said additional revenue for affordable housing will be difficult to increase. It would likely come from increased taxes, which is unpopular with the public.
The city noted that regulations are also a burden for those who want to build affordable housing. The requirements and delays in Hawaiʻi to build affordable housing are more daunting than in many other states.
The state Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism in March released its projected housing needs report for the upcoming decade. It said up to about 24,000 units will need to be built on Oʻahu by 2035 to meet the housing demand.
