HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0281.038 2020-2022 P/Cowld
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VIBRANT
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Maile David,Chair
Hawaii County Council
Dear Council Chair David,
1 would like to provide this letter and written testimony on behalf of Vibrant Hawaii and the Hawai'i
Island Housing Coalition, in support of Bill 44 and respectfully request the Council postpone any
consideration of amending Appendix U Factory Built Housing pending the outcome and findings of the
State Building Code Council Investigative Committee on Modular Manufactured housing/Off-Site j
Construction.
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Vibrant Hawaii initiated as a result of the 2018 ALICE report that showed more than 501 of Hawai'i
Island working families do not meet the minimum threshold of a survival budget to cover their expenses
of housing,transportation,food, healthcare and child care.The 2019 Hawaii Housing Planning Study
shows that 30.6%of households on Hawai'i County are shelter burdened and that by 2025,our island
needs an additional 13,300 units.With the additional cost of transportation,the HTA Index shows that
Hawai'i County households spend 611 of their income on just housing and transportation alone—the
highest percent across all counties in our state.
On July 14, 2021,the Hawai'i Budget& Policy Center published a report commissioned by the Maui
County Council and showed that when considering building new housing units, "It's important to not
just keep track of how much housing was built, but at what price it was sold or rented. In other words,
for whom was it affordable?A$2,000 apartment is therefore considered affordable to a household with
at least$6,600 in total monthly income, or$79,200 a year."
The median houshold income in Hawaii Island according to the Census Data Highlights published by the
Hawaii State Data Center on September 17, 2020 is$67,075.This means that Hawai'i County
households need housing options that is no more than$1,676 monthly rent or mortgage.
1 am confident that you are fully aware of the ongoing affordable/attainable housing crisis being faced
by our local community and across our entire state. Multiple reports have identified similar barriers to
developing affordable and attainable housing to include but not limited to lack of infrastructure,
geographical limitations of developable parcels, cost of construction, and government policies or
regulations. Current County of Hawaii building permit data shows that less than 15%of new home
permit applications are for projects of a scale and scope of typical factory-built housing concepts(less
than 1000 square feet)yet accounts for one of the largest gaps in our community's housing need. As it
pertains to the issues of cost of construction and government regulations,the amending of existing code
to limit or restrict Factory Built Housing clearly encompasses those two barriers to attainable housing.
The State Building Code Council had acknowledged that the topic and concepts of off-site construction
and factory-built housing were complex and diverse. As the body delegated by state statute with the
authority and responsibility to adopt our State Building Code,the members agreed to establish an
investigative committee to review those concepts and provide comments and recommendations for the
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SBCC to consider with future code revision and adoption. Attached is a list of the members of the
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Investigative Committee and as noted,the representation and participation includes building code
officials, representatives of the professional design and engineering community, representatives of the
labor and trade unions,representatives of the building industry, representatives of various social service
non-profit organizations focused on the housing crisis and needs of the community, and members of the
community. The committee has convened its first meetings and continues to deliberate on the matter
and has thus far compared existing language in all four county codes. One of the next action items is to
review how each county is implementing its code provisions and ensuring the safe and regulated
construction of these alternative housing solutions. Based on the intent and purpose of the
investigative committee and with its well-rounded membership makeup, it would appear to be both
responsible and prudent to await the findings and recommendations of the committee before making
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hasty and unsubstantiated amendments to the code and restrict or limit much needed solutions.
The passage of Bill 179 late last year established sufficient and effective regulatory controls and
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oversight of factory-built housing that can be verified and validated by our county building
officials. Further amendment without completing a comprehensive due diligence assessment would be
premature, irresponsible, and a disservice to our community. We need to consider and support a
diverse and full spectrum of housing options and solutions.
Thank you for considering my testimony and I implore you to postpone any further amendment of the
building code as it pertains to factory-built housing and off-site construction alternatives until the SBCC
investigative committee concludes its review and presents its findings and recommendations.
Respectfully,
r
Jai ekeda
Executive Director
Vibrant Hawaii
Hawaii State building Code Council
Investigative Committee on Modular Manufactured housing/Off-Site Construction
Membership
Kika Bukowski, Plumbers and Fitters Local 675
Francis DeGracia, United Brotherhood of Carpenters and Joiners of America
Christopher Delaunay, Pacific Resource Partnership
Ashley Loa, Faith Action Hawaii
Jeff Gilbreath, Hawaii Community Association
Joy Kimura, Hawaii Laborers and Employers Cooperation and Education Trust Fund (LECET)
Dean Au, Hawaii Regional Council of Carpenters
Nathanial Kinney, Executive Director, Hawaii Construction Alliance
Ryan Kobayashi, Laborers International Union of America Local 363
Darryl Oliveira, HPM Building Supply
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Kraig Stevenson, International code Council )
Brian Lee, KEC T )
Be ndee v emn o, Hope Services Hawai'i
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Pane 9eama+ Hawaii Construction«Gnc )
Steven Gangwes, DRHorton. ]
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