LEO 'ELELE - TRUSTEE MESSAGES

Affordable housing is
everyone's problem

Vice-Chair Walter M. Heen Trustee, O'ahu

Lewa i ke alahaka o Nu'alolo
“Lacking security, especially of one who has no home.”
— Pukui, 'Ōlelo No'eau, Number 1989

That Hawaiian 'ōlelo appropriately sums up the helpless and hopeless feelings not only of the homeless in our islands, but even those who live within a home which is not really theirs – it may belong to their parents or other family members.

Last week, many Native Hawaiians attending a series of community meetings coordinated by the Hawaiian Caucus of the State Legislature echoed that sentiment either for themselves or generally for the homeless in the parks or on the beaches. The ultimate question they posed is: “What is the Legislature, or OHA, going to do to provide affordable housing for our people?

There are, of course, a number of reasons why housing costs are so high: population growth, lack of land, stringent government requirements, high costs of materials and labor, and high taxes. As the cost of living rises, so does the cost of housing, and what may be affordable today may not be affordable tomorrow.

Several attempts have been, and are being, made by the State and County to address the problem, usually by requiring a land developer to offer a portion of his project at “affordable prices.” But the problem continues to grow.

Last week, as a preliminary step in developing a Housing Plan to address the issue of affordable homes for our beneficiaries, the OHA Board received a preliminary report that very cogently described the enormity of the problem, just for Hawaiians. The following are excerpts from the report:

• 113,000 households statewide have at least one Native Hawaiian resident;
• 34,000 households statewide are two paychecks away from becoming homeless, or consist of “doubled up” or “tripled
  up” families or individuals (“hidden
  homeless”);
• 22,000 households may be living in homes that are dilapidated or too small or costly for their incomes (low to
  moderate);
• 56,000 households statewide with at least one Native Hawaiian need affordable housing or housing assistance;
• $300,000 is the estimated “total development cost” per unit for affordable rental units or single family homes, including cost of land, planning, design, construction, financing, developer overhead and profit.
• The total approximate development cost for providing the 56,000 homes or rental units for those in need is: $16.8 Billion.

Of course, not all of the 56,000 Native Hawaiians will want a separate home; nevertheless, providing homes for Native Hawaiians is a daunting task, and OHA cannot do it alone. Even in concert with the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands (DHHL), it is an almost insurmountable challenge. But we need to try, and we are taking some preliminary steps now.

The Trustees recently approved an agreement with DHHL that will surely prove helpful in the long run. Under the agreement, OHA will, over the next 30 years, pay the interest on a $100 million DHHL bond issue. OHA's obligation is approximately $3 million annually. The bond funds will allow DHHL to develop, at various locations across the state, infrastructure, roads, water, etc., essential to the development of house lots for its (and OHA's) beneficiaries.

But OHA's beneficiaries are not all eligible for DHHL assistance. Therefore, OHA must explore in depth how it can partner with the State and City governments, and landowners, developers, financiers, labor unions, and everyone who is interested in alleviating the problem of affordable housing in the present real estate market. OHA must seek all possible assistance.

Finally, the issue of affordable housing for the general community requires that the State and County governments consult with OHA in a movement to universally solve the problem. The issue of affordable housing is everyone's problem.