HIGHLIGHTS OF NOVEMBER 1, 2006 HCDA MEETING

Following is a summary of actions taken and informational items presented at the November 1, 2006 meeting of the Hawaii Community Development Authority (HCDA).

State of Hawaii Homeless Shelters in Kalaeloa

The State administration has opened the first of two transitional apartment shelters in Kalaeloa for the homeless who had been living on beaches and parks along the Leeward Coast.  State homeless solutions team coordinator Kaulana Park said that about 150 people from 30 families have moved into a newly-renovated three-story transitional shelter that was once a military office building at Kalaeloa.  Called Onelau‘ena, the shelter will house an additional 50-60 people when renovations are completed later this month.  The Waianae Community Outreach organization is running the facility, which also offers assessment and transitional services, as well as job placement assistance.  Park explained that the State is exploring the possibility of establishing another second transitional shelter to serve an additional 200 people in Kalaeloa. 

Waterfront Advisory Working Group

The Authority authorized the HCDA Executive Director to contract with consultants necessary to form an Advisory Working Group (AWG) that will advise on land uses for 36.5 acres of State-owned land in the Kaka‘ako Waterfront area.   The purpose of the AWG is to establish a community participatory planning process that will engage the public in the planning process and result in a consensus land use plan with analysis of various alternatives that will result in development of the Waterfront lands for the benefit of not only the Kaka‘ako community, but for all the people of Hawaii.  The goal is to employ a process that will be fair, transparent, and inclusive by reaching out in multiple ways to multiple constituencies, including the public-at-large. 

The first phase of the process is the organizational phase to establish the AWG.  The facilitator will actively reach out to stakeholders and solicit input in a systematic way.  The facilitator will conduct a series of meetings with each of the identified stakeholder groups, key individuals, and additional stakeholders who surface during the information gathering process.  Key issues and ideas regarding the possible usage of the Waterfront site will be identified and documented.  Following the series of meetings, the facilitator will work with HCDA on confirming the list of groups that will be invited to nominate one member and an alternate to serve on the AWG.  HCDA will then convene the first meeting of the AWG to confirm roles and responsibilities, procedures, outcomes and products for the next phase.  This first phase will span about six months and include a process for the Authority and public’s review in selecting a permanent facilitator for the second phase.

In the second or planning phase, the AWG will chose the Phase 2 facilitator who will assist the AWG in identifying an appropriate vision, philosophy and the preferred land use for the Waterfront lands for consideration by the Authority.  Ground rules and protocols that encourage broad participation will be adopted to ensure an effective process.   Other professionals (such as engineers, architects, marketing and real estate economic analysts, etc.) will be used to support the AWG in making its recommendations.

Housing Task Force on Reserved Housing Study

HCDA staff presented an update on the work of the Housing Task Force (HTF) that was formed to review HCDA’s reserved housing rules and to make recommendations for revisions and improvements.  The HTF, composed of HCDA members Georgina Kawamura (represented by designee Stanley Shiraki), Jonathan Lai, Theodore Liu (represented by designee Mark Anderson), and Kay Mukaigawa, has drawn up several tentative policy suggestions for revising the reserved housing rules.  (Click here for an initial list of issues and potential recommendations generated by the HTF.)  Some of the proposed policies include:

• Maintaining HCDA’s focus on “gap group” or “workforce” rather than “affordable” housing;
• Retaining current buyback provisions;
• Establishing a preference for units over collection of in-lieu fees;
• Offering incentive bonuses on a selective basis and establishing public-private joint ventures;
• Simplifying the reserved housing rules; and
• Merging Mauka and Makai Area Rules as they relate to reserved housing.

HCDA also held a focus group meeting to solicit input from community leaders, developers and design professionals.  This group provided feedback in the form of objectives, problem identification and proposed solutions.  (Click here for a summary of results of the focus group meeting.)  The objectives identified by the focus group include:  developing “workforce” housing; establish separate rules for developing reserved housing; and maintaining permanent reserved housing.  Identified problems include obsolete rules; inadequate floor area; and high land costs.  The focus group’s proposed solutions include: allowing reserved housing outside the Kaka‘ako District; simplifying rules; eliminating cash-in-lieu provisions; more frequent adjustment of rules; awarding incentives based on economic conditions; and stimulating development of small lots.

The HTF is recommending that their policy suggestions and the feedback from the focus group be analyzed further by a consultant with the necessary expertise in devising and analyzing policies and rules for the development of reserved housing.  This will involve researching other jurisdictions and developers.  There will also be opportunities for community input as the results are refined.