Candidates talk housing, business in Kapa‘a

KAPA‘A — Fifteen candidates for County Council and the state Legislature gathered behind the Dolphin Touch Wellness Center Thursday evening to talk politics over musubis in an event hosted by the Kapa‘a Business Association.

As has been the case at most recent council meetings and forums, housing was on the agenda.

Current councilmembers and candidates for office took turns laying out their vision for fixing the growing housing crisis — where high rents and home prices are forcing many local families off-island.

Among the ideas presented was first-time County Council candidate Lila Balmores Metzger’s suggestion for a tax on out-of-state home-buyers, the funding of which would be used to subsidize the sale of homes to local residents, a proposal which some other candidates criticized as unconstitutional.

“We charge out-of-state tuition for college students,” Metzger responded.

Candidate for state Senate Ana Mo Des plugged the Republican plan recently released by gubernatorial candidate Duke Aiona, which she referred to as an ethical plan which maintains capitalism, while Councilmember Billy DeCosta suggested partnering with large landowners to provide housing.

Councilmember Luke Evslin — who has been a driving force behind several recent housing initiatives at council — described a five-point plan which includes increasing funding for affordable housing and discouraging vacant homes and vacation rentals.

Housing is going on the agenda at council this week as well, where Councilmembers Evslin and Mason Chock are reviving a plan to appropriate a minimum of 2% of real-property-tax revenues to affordable housing each year. Evslin and Chock have stressed that this commitment allows the County Housing Agency improved ability for long-term planning and more options for going after bonds.

A plan to do this through the county charter was struck down by councilmembers in an August meeting, but the new measure would do this through the county code instead.

Meanwhile, Councilmembers Bernard Carvalho and Billy DeCosta are proposing their own housing measures, including a resolution that would allow the county to pull affordable-housing funding from the Reserve Fund, and another that would amend the structurally balanced budget resolution to include affordable housing provisions.

Business and traffic

Also up for discussion Thursday was the strategy to invigorate Kapa‘a businesses, with businesspeople in the audience initiating discussions over grant-funding for redevelopment, traffic-reduction measures and crafting a community plan.

Many candidates agreed on the need for a Kapa‘a community plan to guide development. It has been about 50 years since an East Kaua‘i community plan was published — though one is budgeted for next year.

“This is the most populous part of the island,” said Kapa‘a business owner Neill Sams. “Not having a plan for this area isn’t right.”

Such a plan might include steps to reduce traffic while improving pedestrian access.

Republican candidate for state House Steve Yoder, who appeared at the forum with a large-sized map of the island to illustrate his plan to reduce traffic, proposed a series of new road openings.

Some of the most significant disagreements came over the 2016 federal TIGER (Transportation Investment Generating Economic Recovery) grant, which saw criticism from several candidates, including former Councilmember Mel Rapozo, who said the grant would have “been money better spent” in Kapa‘a or Hanapepe.

The 2016 project used $13.8 million in federal funds with a smaller match from the county to improve pedestrian access on Rice Street in Lihu‘e.

Bernard Carvalho, mayor at the time the grant was secured, Evslin and President of the Rice Street Business Association Dr. Addison Bulosan, who pushed for the funding, defended the grant and the project at large.

Current Council Housing Committee Chair KipuKai Kuali‘i pointed to the connection between adding housing to town cores and improving the environment for local businesses like those represented by KBA.

“We want our town cores to be places where people are not only working and shopping but also living,” said Kuali‘i. “If we create housing in our town cores, we can create more customers for you and less traffic.”

The council will convene at 8:30 a.m. Wednesday in the council chambers on the second floor of the Historic County Building on Rice Street in Lihu‘e. The election is set for Nov. 8 this year, with all seven council seats up for grabs.

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Guthrie Scrimgeour, reporter, can be reached at 808-647-0329 or gscrimgeour@thegardenisland.com.