Kaua‘i County plans a major push to build 575 new affordable housing units. Mayor Bryan Baptiste announced the plan Tuesday, which aims at addressing a major need for such housing by low-to-moderate-income residents, If the projects go through, some residents
Kaua‘i County plans a major push to build 575 new affordable housing units.
Mayor Bryan Baptiste announced the plan Tuesday, which aims at addressing a major need for such housing by low-to-moderate-income residents,
If the projects go through, some residents who qualify for the units would have ocean views from homes built on mountain bluffs.
The mayor is calling the plan “Mana‘olana,” or hope in Hawaiian. It’s also known as Project Hope.
Baptiste said he has asked Gov. Lingle to sign over some 127 acres to the county through executive orders.
The affordable homes would be leasehold and could be sited on the Westside, Eastside and possibly Koloa, with nothing planned for the North Shore and Lihu‘e, where there are no available state lands that could be used for the projects at this time, Baptiste said.
People could move into the first dwelling units as soon as 2 1/2 years from now, perhaps three years, depending on how quickly state and county government permits are processed, Baptiste told reporters during a meeting held in his office at the Lihu‘e Civic Center on Tuesday.
If the projects become a reality, Kaua‘i County would see a building boom of affordable housing units.
Baptiste recently announced ambitious plans for a separate development of 700 other affordable housing units — mostly rental units — over the next two years.
The 700 units would be built by non-profit affordable housing groups and developers who must build such units to fulfill their land use approvals.
County officials have repeatedly said the housing situation for local residents is dire, and that without the availability of such units, more longtime residents would be forced to leave the island.
“In talking with people across the island about housing opportunities, so many of them feel that there is no way they or their children would ever be able to afford a home on Kaua‘i,” Baptiste said of his latest proposal. “I felt compelled to create rays of hope for our residents.”
Baptiste listed potential sites for the proposed affordable housing projects, all of the sites are still in the talking stage:
- 11.7 acres mauka of Kaumuali‘i Highway in Kekaha. The parcel is located near a 49-unit, affordable housing project in Kekaha the state Department of Hawaiian Homes is building for DHHL beneficiaries with Native Hawaiian blood;
- 59 acres are located on a bluff that is mauka of Kaumuali‘i highway in Waimea. “Best views ever,” was the way Baptiste described the proposed housing sites.
- 28.3 acres, comprising three parcels, located on both sides of a section of Ka‘apuni Road near the Kapa‘a Middle School in the Kawaihau District.
- 26.4 aces, comprising two parcels, flank Mahelona Hospital in Kapa‘a. The units are planned to be placed on a bluff out on the ocean.
- 1.7 acres located near the beach by Anahola Bay.
Baptiste said these sites have been tentatively selected because they are located near infrastructure, thereby helping to control building costs.
State lands in Lihu‘e could not be considered because they are generally all leased out for diversified agricultural use, Baptiste said.
Another reason Baptiste is not pursuing projects in Lihu‘e is because Grove Farm Company has built, is building and will build the lion’s share of affordable housing units in the area.
The new plan’s housing units would be built by developers of affordable housing that would be selected through a bid process, Baptiste said. Little, if any, county funds would be used, he said.
Baptiste said he has already met with affordable housing developers to “show them the projects” and to ask them to bid.
In his quest to create more housing for residents, Baptiste said he recently met with Gov. Linda Lingle to discuss transferring state lands to the county for affordable housing units.
Baptiste said he is awaiting approval of the land transfers, which, if successful, would only allow the county to use the land, not own the parcels.
Baptiste also said Offices of Community Assistance Director Bernard Carvalho and his staff are planning to conduct a survey to determine how many residents are interested in becoming homebuyers and how many are in need of rentals.
“We’re asking for the public’s help in providing us with this important information,” Baptiste said.
County employees will conduct surveys around the island. The first will be conducted at a booth set up at the Kaua‘i County Farm Bureau slated for Aug. 25-28.
Other survey-taking sessions are scheduled for Saturday, Sept. 10, from 9 a.m. to 1 p.m., at the Kilauea and Waimea neighborhood centers and at the Lihu‘e Civic Center, Mo‘ikeha Building, conference room 2A and 2B.
“The forms are fairly simple, so it shouldn’t take long to fill out a survey,” Carvalho said in a prepared statement. The county booth is to be located right next to the farm bureau’s information booth from Aug. 25-28.
The survey information and information gathered from developers will help the county develop a master plan and obtain a “fairly accurate picture of the island’s housing needs,” Baptiste said.
The type of dwelling units to be built, how many are to be built and target groups will be determined after the survey results are analyzed, Baptiste said.
Through Project ‘olana, administration officials are attempting to make sure the units are kept affordable in perpetuity, Baptiste said.
Options include having the county buy back homes through a “buyback clause,” or establishing “a tie-in of valuations with the consumer price index or other economic indicators,” Baptiste said. “This aspect of the project needs to be discussed further,” he said.
Related to the Project Mana‘olana, the county’s Housing Agency has teamed up with the Hawai‘i HomeOwnership Center to offer monthly home-buyer education classes in the Pi‘ikoi Building at the Lihu‘e Civic Center.
“Essentially, all the information and services one needs to become a homeowner are covered in the classes, including managing your money, getting a mortgage loan, understanding credit and shopping for a home,” Carvalho said.
He also announced that next month, the county’s Affordable Housing Advisory Committee will be submitting a housing policy to the Kaua‘i County Council that would include a condition stipulating residents who complete a homebuyer education program be placed on a priority list for affordable housing projects.
- For information about the home-buyer education classes, call 877-523-9503.
- Lester Chang, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 225) and lchang@ kauaipubco.com.
