HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0721.012 2020-2022 F
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From- marya.mannj j,` t
Sent- Monday, April 18, 2022 7:36 AM I
To: Council Testimony 3x ` 1
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Subject: Supporting Bills 152 and 153
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Aloha nui kakou,
I hope this letter finds you well! Mahalo for the opportunity to support Bill 153, the Charter amendment bill that
appropriates one percent of the County's annual real property tax revenues (approximately$4 million) into the housing
program revolving fund.
This is a step in the right direction,as is Bill 152,which expands the housing program revolving fund for acquisition of
land and rehabilitation of existing structures to provide more secure housing options across our county. But it is not enough.
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The housing situation in Hawaii County is dire,with working class people and long-term residents being marginalized
and displaced at a rapid rate. While there are many causes of homelessness, including job loss, poverty,and medical issues,
our housing emergency in Hawaii is directly related to the lack of affordable housing.The massive influx of short-term visitors
and wealthy buyers are outpricing people who have lived in Hawaii for many decades.The people who are being uprooted
from their homes and rental units have formed the backbone of the island—the teachers and doctors, landscapers,farmers,
and service workers who make us a real community.
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Inadequate housing is breaking the backs of many—children,families,grandparents,and those who have worked
their whole lives to make Hawaii a great place to live.
Being homeless is like being cast off from society. It is destabilizing,demoralizing and depressing.You've lost your
base,a foundation from which to function. It becomes hard to focus. Constant obstacles chip away at your self-esteem and
your healthy personality withers, disintegrates,scatters.
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To be homeless is to be the unnamed and invisible ghosts of society.You can sit in a public place all day with people
going by and not one will meet your eyes.You learn tricks of survival such as gaining a meal from condiment packets at fast I
food restaurants or garbage cans. You learn quickly that you are a non-person, lost in the sea of chaos that ensues when you
have no foundation, no bed to sleep in, no place to cook meals or take a shower. I
The passage of bills 152 and 153 will help, but it can't help fast enough to save the lives and livelihoods of some of
Hawaii's most valued members of societies. We tend to think of homelessness as affecting only the few who are ill, lazy,or
crazy. But that is far from the truth. People whose great-grandparents helped create our communities, people with credit
scores in the 800s, people with long-term jobs,vocational licensing,and multiple degrees are entering the ranks of the
homeless or near-homeless because of one quality in human nature.That quality is greed.
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A two-bedroom apartment in Kealakekua, Hilo,or North Hawaii may have been listed for$1700 two months ago.
Today,that same apartment might be listed for$3000 or even$5000 per month!This obscene rate of growth stems from the
flood of tourists and wealthy individuals buying up land,condos, houses and rental complexes.They often buy, not for a place
to live, but to invest in overpriced rentals.
The situation can be made workable again, but right now, it is disastrous for far too many people. We are losing not
only our medical professionals and high-quality teachers due to the high cost of living,especially the rising cost of housing, but
we are losing what gave Hawaii its bedrock of integrity and realbeauty—our sense of Aloha.While we need Bills 152 and 153,
we also need to place restraints on the rapid growth of short-term vacation rentals. 4
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Ref. Ta- M(f --
1f. Date
APR
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On Oahu, Bill 4lCD1addressing illegal vacation rentals inthe City and County nfHonolulu, recently passed. it enforces
vacation-rental rules to increase the housing supply. My understanding is that short-term rentals less than 90 days have been
made illegal,and this is helping the free up some housing for community members' long-term needs, but again it's not enough.
Knowing this, legislators also gave the Mayor of Honolulu the power to declare a state ofdisaster oremergency inaccordance
with Article, 11,Chapter 41, Revised Ordinances of Honolulu, 1990.
To make Hawaii County's communities more stable,we need to pass a similar bill here.The housing crunch is already
at disastrous levels for many families,and addressing these challenges now is the only way to move forward with integrity and
help the community members who have sustained Hawaii asthe Land ofAloha.
Special thanks to Councilmembers Holeka Inaba and Heather Kimball for introducing these two affordable housing
bills. We would love to see more being done to create Kauhale,the community-oriented villages that give positive social
foundations and structures to all members of the community, not just the wealthy. Lieutenant Governor Josh Green is
spearheading this effort and hedeserves our support.
|fyou have any questions, please dnnot hesitate toreach out Uome.
K4aha|u nui,
W1arya Mann, Ph. D.
K8aryoMann, Ph. D.
Author, Yoga Teacher, Quantum Healer
808-345-0050
Join our Monday, 5:0DpnlYoga Gathering
Live atSNEAbeginning May 3rd
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GtayConneoted: www.ma amann.com
M 'ohehenanuikeal/ Ya. �
"No task istoo big when done together byaU." �
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