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Follow on Google News | We need a New Approach to Address the Housing Crisis!By: MPJ Media Conslutants Housing prices in Hawaii are insane. Friday's Star Advertiser reported on its front page that Oahu home prices now average $810,000. The current administration has moved at a snail's pace to address this crisis - perhaps not seeing this as a crisis at all, and has choosen to use tax payer funds to pay developers to ensure a limited number of affordable housing units are built (in some cases, these units ar built far from the deveopers' luxury condo buildings). We must lower the cost-of-living in Hawaii, and that especially includes housing. According to a Harvard report late last year, half of Honolulu residents spend more than 33% of their income on rent, and 29% are spending over half their salary on housing. On Kauai and Maui, the situation is the same, with roughly 24% of renters spending 50% of monthly income on rent. This is shocking when you compare it to the state's "low unemployment rate" - while many are 'employed' (DOL includes part-time workers in this definition), they are mostly in low wage part-time or service positions, making too low a salary to support their housing and necessities. In fact, the average wage in Hawaii is $16/hour, while $36/hour is needed to afford a modest two-bedroom apartment (according to National Low Income Housing Coalition). The current administration says it is handling this situation by spending large amounts of taxpayer funds on affordable housing. At one point, Gov. Ige claimed that he completed 5300 housing units under his administration (see HNN July "Superdebate) were for affordable housing. Then in late July, the Star Advertiser reported that "a review of the governor's housing figures ... shows that he's including hundreds of pre-existing units that have undergone renovations, projects in Kakaako that broke ground under former Gov. Neil Abercrombie, and homes that have been built in the new Hoopili subdivision -- a private development ... that received its major state approval in 2012." (Star Advertiser, "Gov David Ige's housing claims questioned"). In other words, not much has been done during the last four years of the Ide administration. Putting aside these unimpressive and distorted numbers, and the fact that these projects have moved at a snail's pace, Hawaii residents should question whether this is the most effective approach and whether this really reaches the root of the housing crisis problem. The fact is, the root of the housing crisis comes from the short supply of land available to be developed. In fact, only 5% of land that could be developed in Hawaii is actually used for urban development (Hawaii Office of Planning). True enough, most of the land here is used for conservation, as it should be, and 47% of the land is designated for agriculture, but with a total of over 4M acres of land in Hawaii, perhaps there should be a review of why land available for housing is so scarce here. One factor limiting land development is the time it takes to obtain a building permit here - an average of 17 months. This makes it much more difficult for local developers to build homes, which in turn limits the supply of housing and increases prices. We need to streamline regulations - the Wharton Residential Land Use Regulatory Index ranks Honolulu as the most regulated US city "with multiple layers of rigorous, lengthy review by both state and county governments for all new development projects." All of this slows supply and drives up costs. Some have pointed out that the development permits have mostly gone to developers who target high-end housing that are eventually sold mostly to wealthy non-residents for vacation homes; while I am a proponent of bringing money into Hawaii, this aspect should be addressed and could be alleviated if far more permits were dispersed, eventually leading developers to fill market needs in different areas. Another factor is lands held supposedly for the benefit of native Hawaiians, and yet much of these available lands are not disbursed. The Department of Hawaiian Homelands (DHHL) - a department based on an decades-old land trust of 200,000 acres - has a waiting list of 27,000 applicants. This system is not helping native Hawaiians - the long waiting times and bureaucratic requirements of the program are only placing more people in a desperate housing crisis situation. Related to this is the administration's restrictions on the lands that are supposed to be managed by the Office of Hawaiian Affairs; freeing up this land would also provide land supply for development and lower costs. I am aware that there are other factors contributing to the housing crisis. For example, I am not turning a blind eye to the fact that the housing stipend (and subsidized base housing) for many deserving military families raises the demand for rental housing and drives costs up, especially for lower to middle income families. But the current administration, and recent past administrations, who have touted military spending in Hawaii, have done nothing about this aspect of the housing crisis. A conscientious administration would work with the military to alleviate this problem. Should I have the honor to become governor of this great state, I will ensure all these factors are dealt with in a fair and direct manner. It is not a sustainable solution and without immediate and drastic changes, Hawaii will continue on its path of expanding the housing crisis. The current administration has not worked for a solution, but has merely paid lip service to the public in an effort to show that it is doing "something." must partner with the business community to find more efficient solutions to finding affordable housing for all. Luke Bellocchi End
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