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HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0072.015 2004-2006 ~~~~'t,~_~~~ . ~~.a-z~` "Affordable Housing" is an Oxymoron (a self-contradiction, e.g. "cruel kindness") The majority of previous County Councils have created a stratified social and economic society in Hawaii County by treating young and working class families as social and economic "untouchables". This has occurred because of an assortment of bad legislation: a) "Forever permits" that continue when a property is sold. Allowing a permit to follow the sale of the property creates land and housing speculation, driving up the prices to unaffordable levels by our working families. Speculators are easily identified because they get a permit and immediately place the land for sale at a much higher price. It is time for us to deal with the reality of land speculation. The new property owner invariably returns to the Planning Commission or County Council complaining that they cannot afford to build the development as originally designed. They then request a change in the design of the project, removal of provisions, requirements, and infrastructure to increase their profits. The County historically allows the new owner to change the original project to something entirely different. Saiutiar7: ,~rry permit is 8tr2tsniatiGaiiyeancelled upon the sale of TI7e properfiy with no grandfathering of existing permits. Since the needs of the community znd the County cnanae over time, the new owner must apply for a new permit and comply with the ~.urrent ~tieeds a;tL' requit~~ents c4 the CoiAi',`iy. This is not a taking si;+ce the original permitee has r+,ot test any;+_hing and the ne~~.~ 12nd OwTtP.C Y~litl kf19w tt3at fha Ind COm°S without a permit. b) Inadequate fees in lieu of producing sufficient and varied topes and prices of housing units. Any prudent business person will choose to pay low in lieu fees rather than build a unit with a lower profit margin. In lieu fees actually drive the developers' behavior and financial decisions to build the most expensive housing units they can and eliminate housing for lower income families. Inadequate in lieu fees cannot build a housing unit so the County uses the fees to subsidize rent. Once the one-time payment of in lieu fees is expended for rent subsidies, there is nothing with which to build a housing unit. By actually building a housing unit, we have 30+ years of use of the unit with rental or mortgage payments entering the economy. Salut.~~a~: ~ith~rmake in lieu fees eruat to highest priced property in tl;a development ?nd have the County build the housing unite or eliminate in lieu fees aitogeilner and force the developer to actually build units inside the development tnai are afforda~te to th-;~sr; famit°~s „oa'.:ir.~ X30-h5K per year. c) Inadequate mix of apartments, duplexes, triplexes, 4-plexes, condos, and houses for rent and for sale within new housing developments. Developer claims that they cannot afford to build housing with lower profit margins are untrue. It may require that the County increase the density within the section of the project that includes mufti-family units and decrease the density in other sections of the project to meet overall zoning requirements. Salutian: tiequire that every development have a mix of ftCrtasing unit types and prices with the overall density meeting %ounty requirements.l'ra not aifow the total density to violate County zoning e cquirements. d) Provisions allowing lower income housing to be located 15+ miles from the new development. This is merely a ploy to restrict lower income families from living in the development. It creates more commute traffic, more busing of students to more distant schools, inhibits students from engaging inafter-school activities, and forces less supervision of children by parents or mentors in after-school programs. As I drive the roads on school days, I see children standing at the school bus stops before 7 AM. Our roads are frequently gridlocked and commutes of 1-2 hours in each direction are common. Solution: require twat every tsousirrg rE<-. yaninremnnt Cf; r~P~1r? m;w ~Vf t':n%c=r~~ '-=_8n9t t ~°S .''.°°:l''~ ~r?c_ nce~o 4@?b rrn ~y o§.3 ®ntr Comm. No._ z~ is , - -f~af. To: Pres6+U+r~ ~~G~1Ci Ref. Uo7e JAN 2 1 2005 e) The current federal formula for "affordable housing" guarantees housing for families making $72,000+ per year but actually prevents the constnaction of housing for families making $30-45K. This formula is totally inadequate for Hawaii County. We have a large population of retirees and second-home-owners from the mainland with incomes in excess of the 120% of the median income of $61 K. The "median income" is created by the high-income retirees. The current federal formula being used in Hawaii County is detrimental to young and working class families and is used by developers as an excuse to not build housing units in the price ranges needed by our people. Solution: Create a formula that includes adequate affordable housing for rent and for sale for families making between $30-45K per year. These are the fam"s4ies the ge=~ernment is supposed to ::e helpsng -not rich retirees. f) Zoning that does not allow for a mix of housing unit types within a project. This is where a PUD could be used for the benefit of our community. Instead PUDs are used to create more resorts. We do not need more resort communities; we need housing for the 40% of our population who make $30-45K annually. Solution: Change the zoning code or require P13Ds f'cr eve~^,c housing development and include a mix of housing types and prices. g) Acceptance of developer claims that they can only afford to build housing with a price more than $250K, less infrastructure, or roads that do not connect to other arterials. Housing prices in excess of $250K caters only to the relatively wealthy retirees. Areas within a development used for mufti-family housing could have a higher density. Sotutian: Require development to havx a pErmit only if it meets Caut~t=;fCommunity needs far 'snfrastructure and housing. h) Expecting that the State of Hawaii will provide matching funds for "affordable housing". Let's look at the history of the State of Hawaii. First, the State does not have the money for the match without raising taxes or cutting other programs. The State cannot even find the money to fix our schools. It has allowed total corruption in the management of public housing in Hawaii County. The public housing situation is slowly being rectified but the State allowed the public housing in our County to deteriorate to the point that it was only fit for rats to live in. 50% of the units were uninhabitable with falling ceilings and floors, toilets that did not work, sewer lines that were broken, and gang cess pools that overflowed in heavy storms. We cannot expect the State to get us out of the housing crisis that we created. We catered to developers and we must change the way we do business in housing development. If we get money from the State, then great! Solution: Do not look to the S°ate to fix our problems. We need to enact the previously mentioned solutions to begin to move in the right direction of providing adequate housing for all of our residents not just the rich ones. It will take years so we must start now.