LIHU‘E — A bill that would provide an overnight parking lot for homeless persons narrowly survived a committee hearing at the House Monday morning. House Bill 535 requires that counties designate a temporary parking lot where homeless persons could park
LIHU‘E — A bill that would provide an overnight parking lot for homeless persons narrowly survived a committee hearing at the House Monday morning.
House Bill 535 requires that counties designate a temporary parking lot where homeless persons could park their cars and spend the night. The bill passed the Housing Committee with seven ayes and one excused absence, though five of the ayes were with reservations.
Rep. Dee Morikawa, D-16th District, said she would originally vote against the bill, but an amendment to soften the counties’ requirement caused her to change her mind and vote with reservations.
“I’m not sure how far this bill will go, but if it does get to the floor, I’m sure it’s going to be very controversial,” she said.
The bill was also referred to the House Judiciary Committee, but the hearing date has not been posted yet.
Testimony sent to the Legislature by state officials show the bill may have a difficult path ahead at the Legislature.
State Homelessness Coordinator Colin Kippen said in his official testimony that he opposes to the bill because “it is inconsistent with the policy report adopted by the Hawai‘i lnteragency Council to reject overnight camping for homeless individuals at public facilities.”
The proposal, he said, would divert resources away from permanent housing for homeless persons, is inconsistent with programs that created a safe transitional environment and could have added health and safety liabilities.
Department of Human Services Director Patricia McManaman said in written testimony that, in 2011, the Kaua‘i Continuum of Care worked hard to create a pilot project for a “safe parking” zone for homeless persons on the island.
The project had several delays due to safety concerns, and although some of the programmatic issues about screening were eventually ironed out, McManaman said that ultimately, no entity was willing to assume the liability and costs for sponsoring the safe parking lot project.
“Based on the experiences in Maui and Kaua‘i of attempting to provide safe parking lots for overnight sleeping areas, it appears that the biggest obstacles are private and public landowners’ inability to assume the liability associated with such a service,” McManaman said in her testimony.
Visit www.capitol.hawaii.gov for more information or to send testimony through email.
• Léo Azambuja, staff writer, can be reached at 245-3681 (ext. 252) or lazambuja@ thegardenisland.com.
