HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0281.003 2020-2022 3
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June 14, 2021
Susan L.K. Lee Loy,
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Committee Chair Committee on Public Works and Mass Transit
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COUNTY CLERK
County of Hawaii COUNTY OF wiz'I
RECEIVED
25Aupuni Street Hilo, HI 96720
Time
91d
Date JUN 1 4 2021
Dear Chair Lee Loy,
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Thank you for your team's efforts and hard work with developing the proposed Building
Code amendments. I would like to ask that the County Council postpone any i
consideration of amending Appendix U, Factory Built Housing, until such time that the
State Building Code Council's Investigative Committee concludes its review of this
construction concept. In my work I advocate for ending family homelessness on Hawai'i
island.
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Each night dozens of keiki still sleep unsheltered and trends in real estate do not
show this slowing or stopping. We know that by 2025 Hawai'i needs 13,300 new homes
built to prevent an ongoing housing crisis, and current trends are not enough to address
even a fraction of this. Children who grow up homeless are much more likely to
experience poverty and homelessness as adults. Hawai'i has disproportionate family i
homelessness and our local families deserve more. Expediting factory built homes for
our community can help.
As you may be aware, the State Building Code Council (SBCC), by statute (HRS
$107-24), is charged with the duty to establish our Hawaii State Building Codes. I also
ask that the County Council postpone any consideration of amending Appendix U until
such time that the SBCC receives the recommendations of the committee.
Thank you for the opportunity to provide testimony in support of Bill 44 as drafted
and for your consideration of this request to postpone any action on amending Appendix
U at this time. Hawai'i needs affordable housing for all and we must do all that we can to
make sure we can house our community. Obstacles to this should be removed and
safe, efficient factory built homes need to be embraced to house our community.
Thank you,
Kaikea K. Blakemore
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