HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0750.012 2020-2022 P1 11 160
COMM.15D
From: David Webb
Sent: Monday, May 16, 2022 11:58 AM
To: Council Testimony COUNTY CLERIC
COUNTY OF HAWAII
Subject: Bill 160
RECEIVED
Time f l 58 am. By
Date MAY 1 _6 2022
Dear Council Members:
The high cost of housing and the inability to pay for it are what make housing less
affordable. Thus, to make it affordable we need to decrease its cost and increase our ability
to pay for it. Neither of these is done by Bill 160, according to the brief description that was
given in an email from Ashley yesterday.
The bill appears to use millions of dollars to subsidize the housing at whatever total cost it
may already have. To lower the cost, we should improve our building methods. Building
requirements are taken from international standards of which many are not appropriate in
Hawaii. For example, affordable housing would not need double wall construction because no
heating or air conditioning is necessary. Also, we could use local materials such as
bamboo. Thirdly, we could incorporate solar energy in place of power lines, modern
catchment purification techniques in place of water lines, and modern compost technologies
in place of expensive septic systems. These improvement also have other tremendous
benefits.
We could and should also increase our ability to pay for the higher costs by using the millions
of dollars to fund new economic enterprises. Alnstead of using a million dollars to build
several homes, it could start an enterprise that gainfully employs a dozen people. This also
has other tremendous benefits such as employing the people, growing larger, providing tax
revenue, and alleviating the need for people to use commute more on our highways for more
distant employment.
Sincerely,
David Webb
Comm. No. 150.12
Ref. To: P��L
Ref. Date MAY 1. 7 2022
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