2025-09-02 PL-CCI-2025-000012 Suuport Testimony from Jonathan Helton, Grassroot Institute of Hawaii

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RA R T ,�50 Bisk,op Sr. #5c�$ GHonolulu, HI 96613 808-864-1776 info grassrootinstitute.org Removing barriers to Hawaii's prosperity Sept. 4, 2025, 9 a.m. Hawai'i County Council Chambers in Hilo To: Hawaii County Windward Planning Commission Louis Daniele III, Chair Chantel Perrin,Vice Chair From: Grassroot Institute of Hawaii Jonathan Helton, Policy Analyst RE: Bill 63 (2025) — RELATING TO DWELLINGS Aloha Chair Daniele, Vice Chair Perrin and other members of the Commission, The Grassroot Institute of Hawaii supports Bill 63 (2025j, which would make single-family, double-family and multifamily dwellings by-right permitted uses in the county's industrial-commercial mixed-use zoning districts. Under the bill, double-family and multifamily dwellings would be allowed at a maximum density of one unit per 1,250 square feet of land area. Single-family dwellings would not face this same density restriction. These are the same standards under which single-family, double-family and multifamily dwellings are allowed in Hawai'i County's neighborhood commercial, village commercial and general commercial zoning districts. Grassroot supports legalizing more mixed-use zoning because it would expand housing options. According to estimates from the Hawaii Research and Economic Analysis Division, Hawaii County needs 6,665 new housing units built between 2025 and 2035 just to keep up with demand.'Authorizing more mixed-use construction could help make a dent in this shortfall. This measure would also align Hawai'i County's zoning code with the state's Act 37 (2024), which made residential uses a permitted use in all commercial zones statewide. 1 Rene Kamita, "Hawai'i Housing Demand:2025-2035,' Research and Economic Analysis Division, Hawaii Department of Business, Economic Development and Tourism, March 2024, p. 11. 1050 Bishop St.#508 Honolulu,HI 96813 808-864-1776 info@grassrootinstitute.org 1