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Hawaii News

Aordable-housing rules are

tightened
By Jayna Omaye
Posted May 05, 2017
May 5, 2017

Aordable-housing advocates maintain that a city proposal for interim housing

requirements for projects with zoning exemptions in transit-oriented development
areas does not go far enough to meet Oahus housing shortage.

The citys Interim Planned Development-Transit permit allows developers to seek

zoning variances, including additional height and density allowances, in exchange for
providing community benets, such as aordable housing and open space. The permit
is used on an interim basis until TOD zoning is adopted. Once zoning is adopted in
TOD areas, developers would follow another set of zoning regulations, which is
pending before the City Council.

The Councils Zoning and Housing Committee agreed Thursday to amendments to Bill
15 that would place stricter regulations on aordable-housing requirements for
community benets.

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The proposal by the citys Department of Planning and Permitting calls for developers
seeking bonuses to provide 20 percent of all for sale units at up to 120 percent of the
area median income for at least 30 years. If developers build those units o-site, 25
percent would need to be oered at up to 120 percent of AMI.

For rental projects, 15 percent of units would need to be kept at up to 80 percent of

AMI for at least 30 years. DPPs proposal also includes an in-lieu fee of $45 per square
foot of total residential oor space for developers choosing not to build aordable
units. The fee would be paid to the city and updated annually.

Harrison Rue, TOD administrator, said the proposal is based on extensive research but
added that selection of the percentages is up to them (Council).

Councilman Brandon Elefante proposed an amendment that would increase the

aordable-housing requirement for projects with zoning exemptions to more than 30
percent of units oered at aordable rates. Additionally, for IPD-T permit projects with
more than 10 residential units, his amendments would require at least 30 percent to
be oered at up to 120 percent of AMI. He also proposed to eliminate the in-lieu fee
for community benets. Those changes were included in the bill that was reported out
of the committee for second reading on Thursday.

Catherine Graham of the Housing Now Coalition and Faith Action for Community
Equity Hawaii said there need to be more options for those earning 30 to 60 percent of
AMI. She said the in-lieu fee is a great idea in theory but that she has not seen the
fees used to provide aordable housing.

The community benets must be actual benets to the community and aordable
housing is the number-one benet, Graham said in written testimony.

Habitat for Humanity, the Oce of Hawaiian Aairs and the Hawaii Appleseed Center
for Law &Economic Justice also submitted testimony supporting stricter aordable-
housing requirements.

But Jay Fang, developer of the Hawaii City Plaza in the Ala Moana area, said he has
agreed to oer 15 percent of the 26-story towers 163 units at up to 80 percent of AMI
but that 30 percent is too much. The Council deferred a measure that would approve
an IPD-T permit for the project in February.

Committee Chairwoman Kymberly Pine said after the meeting that the Council needs
to work on nding a balance.

We certainly need to nd a way to have more aordable housing in our TOD areas,
Pine said. (But) the last thing that we want to do is make restrictions so rigid that no
ones going to build at all.

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