HomeMy WebLinkAboutCOM 0465.002 2006-2008 p/' 100 Kahclu Acenuo
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The Honorable Pete Hoffman
Council Chair & Presiding Officer
Hawai i County Council
25 Aupuni Street
Hilo, HI 96720
By Fax: 808-961-8912 and E-Mail: counciltestimony@co.hawaii.hi.us
RE: BILL 112 -Relating to Affordable Housing -OPPOSE WITH COMMENT
Hawai i County Council Meeting, Tuesday, July 10, 2007 - 9AM
Aloha Chair Hoffman and Councilmembers:
I am Bruce Barrett, Executive Vice President of Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii, Inc.
Castle & Cooke strongly opposes Bi11112. In general, exactions that legitimately
address project impacts should be imposed as explicit, upfront conditions to obtaining
entitlements at State land use or County zoning, and not conditions to subdivision.
Subdivision is traditionally a ministerial process after substantial planning and investment
have already occurred in reliance upon entitlements. Castle & Cooke submits that as a
matter of basic fairness, a costly and unforeseen affordable requirement should not be
imposed on a fully entitled project already under development like our Wehilani project
in Waikoloa Village.
We fully support programs and legislation that provide incentives to encourage
development of affordable housing for local families. Rather than mandate the
construction of affordable housing, we feel that the County should provide incentives to
promote the development of affordable housing to reduce the cost and risk of
development, thereby encouraging the private sector to develop more affordable housing.
We believe that Bill 112 will negatively impact the supply of housing because it makes it
infeasible to complete and go forward with entitled projects already under development,
like our Wehilani project.
We respectfully request the County Council's consideration of the following factors and
circumstances with respect to Bill 112 generally, and in particular, its unfair impact on ~
our ability to complete the Wehilani project.
It has been Hawaii's traditional practice to exact conditions at the entitlement process; at tit
the State land use and county rezoning processes. This practice results in predictability;
helps to define land planning up front and commitments for the future; and, allows
developers and state and county governments to plan and fund development accordingly. o
Bill 112 contradicts this practice by creating an affordable housing requirement at the r
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Castla & Cooke Ha~cai'i amsiats of the H~~eai'i euhsidiarics of lasde A Cooke, [nc. ~chich inelude
Casdc ~ Ciwke Hnmcs Ila~a~~ii, Inc, Cuala Z l'oo'ae Pr~~pertio~, tn., Cade Cooke R~urts, 1.LC and other subsidiazies
subdivision process and creates unpredictability and financial uncertainties at the sub-
division application process. In fact many projects secure financial commitments to go
forward based on entitlements obtained at the State Land Use andlor County Re-zoning
process. Developers, like Castle & Cooke, proceed with planning and design and
financial proformas and analysis of planned communities based on land use and zoning
entitlements and conditions and exactions imposed at that time.
The following recaps the Wehilani project's support of housing opportunities for the local
market in Waikoloa Village in reliance upon existing State land use and County zoning
and ordinances:
• In 19b9, County of Hawaii by Ordinance No. 291 granted zoning for a master
planned community at Waikoloa Village, which includes 300 acres set aside for
affordable housing, Ordinance No. 291 covers the land under our Wehilani
project.
• On August 24, 2004, Castle & Cooke Hawaii sent a letter to Mayor Harry Kim to
voluntarily commit 49 affordable for-sale (100% to 140% AMI), multi-family
units. We saw the need for affordable housing and we voluntarily satisfied it. In
addition, we committed to building these units in the first phase of development to
address the immediate affordable housing need. On September 17, 2005, Castle &
Cooke received a letter from Mayor Harry Kim acknowledging the 49 affordable
condos as "all the affordable units given to Hawaii's people voluntarily." As of
today, 52% of the homes delivered at Wehilani have been these affordable units.
• On September 2, 2004, the County of Hawaii granted our Planned Unit
Development Permit No. 72 (PUD 04-02). The PUD Permit encompasses the
development of the entire 256-acre parcel and allowed Castle & Cooke to
incorporate amenities like landscaped streets, preservation of open space, a park,
and a wide range of home offerings for Hawaii Island residents and not the resort
market. As such, Castle & Cooke proceeded with the master planning of the
entire community, with each phase being subject to final subdivision (per phase
and market.)
• Castle & Cooke has proceeded with planning, design and substantial investment
in developing the Wehilani project in justifiable reliance upon existing State land
use and County zoning and ordinances, including our agreement with the County
embodied in our PUD Permit. We are not able to incorporate a new affordable
housing requirement without substantially affecting the design and financial
feasibility of this project.
• The homes we are developing are not intended for the resort market or for second
home buyers. Our purpose is to build for Hawaii families and to provide a wide
range of housing opportunities for them; a blend of single family and multi-family
homes intended to meet market demands that ultimately results in a highly livable
community.
• If Bill 112 new affordable exaction were interpreted to apply to the Wehilani
project at this late date, it would render the project infeasible, and we would not
be able to complete and supply remaining homes and subdivision commitments
and improvements. It would place in jeopardy the planned county park, road
extension to Hulu Street, and STOP the development of the remaining 481 homes.
• Bill 112 STOPS the further development of Wehilani at Waikoloa.
Castle & Cooke is providing homes for a wide range of incomes and families in this
community. This measure, if applied to us, will stop further development and will
worsen the supply of homes for Hawaii families. For the building of housing to continue,
government needs to have a predictable, fair, and committed program to address
affordable housing. We acknowledge the County's desire to promote the development of
affordable housing but strongly recommend that the County Council re-consider Bill 112
and focus on incentives to promote affordable housing production.
As such, we respectfully request your consideration in opposing Bill 112. However,
shoutd you decide to move this bill to passage, we respectfully request you that
exempt projects like our Wehilani project based on the foregoing facts.
As always, Castle & Cooke appreciates the opportunity to share our views with you. We
thank you for your careful consideration of this request. If there are any questions, please
me at (808) 548-3746 or Race Randle, Project Manager at (808) 548-2993.
Sincerely,
Bruce Barrett
Executive Vice President
Castle & Cooke Homes Hawaii, Inc.
CC: Mayor Harry Kim, County of Hawaii