Experts discussed ways to increase affordable housing in Hawaii at the 2024 Hawaii State of Reform Health Policy Conference. They discussed challenges related to the permitting process, as well as legislation related to the cause.
Josh Wisch is president and executive director of Hololuma Collective, which works to keep Hawaii’s working families in the state. He said the state needs to build 50,000 housing units by 2025 to keep up with population growth and fluctuation. So far, the state has built about half of that.
“We’re definitely not on pace to build enough housing.”
— Wisch
On average, Hawaiians spend 50 percent of their income on housing and 30 percent of it on transportation costs, Wisch said. From July through October last year, 20 cross sector in-person meetings were held to address the issue, which over 100 individuals attended.
“We had people come together from our profits, nonprofits, government, and labor across four different topic areas we specifically selected,” Wisch said.
The four topic areas included housing affordability, energy affordability, planning and permitting, and creating a strong economy. The sessions led to the development of legislative proposals (a total of seven bills).
Wisch said House Bill 1630 (the proposed “Starter homes” bill) addresses building density and zoning. The bill would address large suburban lots for single-family homes.
“This proposal says we’re actually going to reduce the minimum lot size … You can put at least four units on those lots, and you can do this on lots that already exist,” Wisch said.
Wisch said the bill would be an antidote to “monster homes,” and would allow for four affordable dwelling units (ADUs) to be built on a plot of land, rather than just one mansion. According to Wisch, the increase of ADUs will assist younger adults with obtaining starter homes, and will also assist the aging population, who don’t necessarily require large homes.
Wisch discussed HB 1631. It would examine Department of Education (DOE) facilities, which is building educator workforce housing on underutilized DOE property. Wisch said this type of housing initiative has been proven to be effective by the University of Hawaii, which provides housing for professors as a way of recruiting and retaining talent.
Wisch also discussed HB 2507, a remote work option bill, which would identify state jobs that are fitting for remote work. This would pair residents who are without access to employment opportunities with lower-cost housing areas.
Wisch discussed the Maui wildfires in Lahaina, and how his organization became involved with providing temporary housing directly to displaced Hawaiians. He said they have a master piece of land, and are looking at building a group of ADUs on that property as temporary housing, and potentially pairing those units with services like child education and wellness centers.
“We put people in the ADUs while their homes are being built, and the kind of ADUs when, once their homes are rebuilt, they can actually pick those up and bring them back to new homes and have them as ADUs on property.”
— Wisch
Hilton Raethel, president and CEO of the Healthcare Association of Hawaii, said permitting is a major issue, along with the practice of individuals purchasing housing and turning it into short-term rentals, which removes housing options from the market.
“We cannot keep doing what we’re doing and expect something to change,” Raethel said. “We cannot keep stalling.”
Raethel said density needs to increase because building condominiums and single-family homes is costly and doesn’t address the massive housing crisis.
Lisa Rantz, president of the Hawaii State Rural Health Association and director of the Hilo Medical Center Foundation, said workforce training can lead to young folks leaving the islands for the mainland, but they often return. She assists young adults with obtaining scholarships on the mainland, and once they return, they can do volunteer work to pay back their scholarship money, which keeps them connected to Hawaii.
Some students will participate in a residency program on the mainland, but Rantz focuses on bringing them back. She noted that 85 percent of individuals want to stay in the area where they graduate their residency.
“We can keep them connected through these programs so they can come back,” Rantz said. “Having housing availability to do that is key.”