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pressing workforce needs. Although significant strides were made during the three-month Ad <br />Hoc process, additional efforts are necessary to finalize policies and conduct further stakeholder <br />engagement, ensuring future code, programs, and policies are fair and result in tangible housing <br />outcomes. <br />Guidance from General Plan and Community Development Plans <br />The General Plan and Community Development Plans identify urban areas and growth <br />opportunities, which should inform development decisions to ensure clarity and consistency <br />regarding where growth should occur. In this context, infrastructure requirements (including <br />water, wastewater, and roads) and natural and cultural resource preservation must be considered <br />holistically to support balanced, sustainable growth. <br />Recommendations by the Ad Hoc Committee <br />Excess Housing Credits: The Ad Hoc recommends phasing out excess housing credits over a <br />15-year redemption period for holders of existing excess credits, and no new excess credits <br />issued moving forward. Additionally, expanding the use of existing excess credits beyond the <br />current 15-mile radius restriction to islandwide application would create more flexibility. It's <br />worth noting that excess credits issued by the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands have no <br />geographic limits and can be used throughout the County. <br />By -Right Exemptions: By -right exemptions for affordable and workforce housing should be <br />introduced to simplify the approval process while remaining adaptable to specific property <br />characteristics. Certain allowances would significantly streamline the approval and building <br />processes while ensuring all elements of a housing project fit within a development envelope. <br />Proposed exemptions include: <br />- Waive permitting fees. <br />- Flexible road designs that still maintain safety standards. <br />- Relaxed height limits to permit an additional floor. <br />- Reduced parking requirements for kupuna (senior) housing. <br />- Permission to use adjacent parcels with different zoning for parking. <br />- Increased density allowances for optimal land use. <br />- Flexible setback requirements, assessed case -by -case basis. For example, reduce the lot <br />setback requirements for side -by -side construction. <br />- Automatic rezoning where the State Land Use designation allows for the proposed <br />project, such as SLU Urban and the County zoning is Agriculture. <br />- Relaxed landscaping requirements to preserve water resources. <br />- Adjusted energy code requirements to reduce project costs. <br />Coordinated Permitting Review: Establishing a dedicated monthly meeting among County <br />agencies, and including State Historic Preservation Division as well as Department of Health, <br />