House Standing Committee on Housing

Good morning. Welcome to the Committee on Housing. Just. Quickly, House rules to read. In order to allow as many people to testify as possible, there will be. zero, we don't have a time limit. We only have two results today, so strike that.

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All right, we'll get started. We have just two results on today's agenda, beginning with SCR48SD1 requesting the Office of the Governor, State Building Code Council, Building departments of each county, mayors of each county, and Chairs of the Senate and House of Representatives Standing Committees on Housing to develop a comprehensive strategy for adopting updated building codes.

Chair for the testimony, please.

First up, we have Ted Kaphalis with the Grassroots Institute of Hawaii in support. Not here. Next, we have the American Institute of Architects in opposition. Not here. And then we have BIA Gina Thielen in support via Zoom. Also not here. Is there anybody else in the audience or on Zoom wishing to testify? Seeing none.

Vice Chair

Members, any questions? All right, move on to SCR60, SD1 urging the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation to develop a plan to produce efficient housing to meet the state's demand. Chair for the testimony, please, we have.

Dean Minakami from HHFDC with comments.

Morning Chair, Vice Chair, Members Dean Minakami, with HHFDC. You have our written comments. I'd like to just provide some additional comments for context for the resolution. First of all, there's a whereas clause that states that HHFDC is apparently overbuilding units for 50 to 60% AMI households under the Low Income Housing Tax Credit, or LIHTC program.

And that's not really a correct statement. LIHTC housing is for households at 60% AMI and below. It's not just for households earning 50 to 60% AMI. And according to the 2019 Hawaii Housing Planning Study, there is a shortage of 19,328 units for households at 60% AMI and below. We recently completed the Hawaii Housing Planning Study.

It's going to be released in the next two weeks or so. And according to that study, the need has grown even more where now 33,000 units are needed for household at 60% AMI below statewide. So just want to point that out for context.

And regarding the requirement that, you know, HHFDC prepare a plan to identify the sites, the densities and whatnot to meet the unmet housing need, I certainly support preparation of plans. I mean, my, my background is in urban planning. I worked as a planner for many years.

So I certainly see and understand the need for plans, but also understand that plans have to be realistic.

And it's not realistic that we're going to create a plan in the next eight months that show where exactly the 60,000 units will be built, especially since much of these units have to be built on private lands which the state has no control over.

So we have submitted comments to address what we think can be a realistic plan that we can create in the next two years.

Thank you, Dean. Thank you. Next up, we have CARES, Community Advocacy, Research and Education Services. Angela Young via Zoom. Not present. And we have one other individual testifying in support. Is there anybody else in the audience or online wishing to testify? Seeing None. Vice Chair.

Members, any questions? Yes, Member Muraoka.

Hi, good morning. Real simple question. Do you think it's a realistic outcome or do you think it's realistic that the state can build homes for the 60% AMI income population?

We are doing it now under the Low Income Housing Tax Credit program. Requires a large subsidy, but it can be done.

Okay, so I guess what's driving that question is I just recently found out in my community, you know, we're so worried about homes, retention of homes and Uluwehi in particular. These people are so afraid of losing their homes because people live there and you know, homeowners live there paying so much.

And in 2029, somebody who's paying $70 right now on their leasehold is going to pay 600. So that takes that AMI right out of the question. Now it takes a person that can barely afford that and possibly be homeless.

So when I ask about the realities, how can the state control not only that where it's happening right now, but control that in the future when you guys build homes?

Not sure what the question is.

So I guess is it a realistic... Is it something that can really happen to build homes that can stay in the 60% AMI threshold, moving into the future?

I think for rental units, it is because rents are kept at 60% AMI for, for example, for the LIHTC units, they must remain affordable at that level for a specified period which nowadays most developers are committed to 60 years or more for for sale housing.

It's a lot more difficult because there are other factors such as maintenance fees which a homeowner has to incur. Insurance costs that a homeowner has to incur and those alone might push out. Those are expenses that have to be included which may make the housing unaffordable.

Yeah, no, I understood. But I was just wondering if maybe this, and maybe this is the wrong place. Chair, I apologize if my question is not fitting. Maybe I can meet with you afterwards because right now they pay a mortgage, they pay a maintenance fee and they pay for their leasehold fee.

The leasehold fee is the one I'm talking the state controls. And that's going for some of the people in my community. It's going up in 2029 from $70 a month to 600.

Right.

And that's. That's wild. And maybe you...

We can discuss this at a later time. Yeah.

Thank you. Any other questions? All right. I just wanted to state IT stated that our zoom is down and they have been contact... They've contacted the individuals who were wishing to testify via zoom that they can do so in person. We will take a quick recess.

All right, back on. So we're ready to vote on our resolutions here. First, SCR48 requesting the office of the Governor, State of State Building Code Council, Building Department of each county, mayors of.

Sorry, building departments of each county, mayors of each county, Chairs of the Senate and House of Representatives Standing committees on housing to develop a comprehensive strategy for adopting updated building codes. We will defer this resolution. It is very similar to the House Concurrent Resolution 67, House Draft 1s.

The next measure, SCR6.0SD1, urging the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation to develop a plan to produce sufficient housing to meet the state's need.

Recommendation is to adopt HHFDC's amendments which are delete the fifth whereas clause which states whereas the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation has been overbuilding in a very narrow market, namely rental units financed using low income housing tax credits which are intended for households earning 50 to 60% of the area median income.

We will amend the sixth whereas clause. We will delete the word only and we will change 1789 rental units to 19,328 for 60% AMI and under we will add a new whereas clause.

Whereas which will state Whereas Senate Bill 26 will establish the Affordable Housing Land Inventory Task Force to assess the viability of affordable housing development in transient transit oriented zones.

And we will on the second be it further resolved on the be it further resolved, we will amend number one, we will strike site identification including density at each site and amend to state density and timing of development for projects identified by the Affordable Housing Land Inventory Task Force. Members, any questions or discussions?

All right, Chair for the voting.

[Roll call]

Thank you. Seeing no further business before us, this meeting is now adjourned.