The Bill 7 Report - Expectations Vs. Reality. Why was it renewed for 10 yrs?

Bill 7 was a "pilot project" meaning, they were going to run it for 5 years and see if it works, then decide if it should be renewed.

A report was mandated by the bill at the end 3 of the 5 years to determine the value of the program.

HERE'S THE REPORT. It's so short you could have written it on a cracker.

If you have any questions about it feel free to call:

Dean Uchida

Director at Department of Planning and Permitting

(DPP)

(808) 768-8047

Report to Council

Bill No. 7 (Ordinance 19-8) and

Bill No. 1 (Ordinance 21-12)

Relating to Affordable Housing

November 4, 2021

Ordinance 19-8 was approved May 21, 2019 and contains a repeal date May 21, 2024.

Ordinance 19-8 contained the following reporting requirement:

No later than two years prior to the repeal date of this ordinance, the Director of Planning and Permitting shall submit to the City Council a report on the number of affordable rental housing units developed under this ordinance, and a recommendation regarding the repeal, modification, or extension of this ordinance.

Ordinance 21-12 was approved April 21, 2021, and contained a repeal date same as Ordinance 19-8, May 21, 2024.

Ordinance 21-12 contained the following reporting requirement:

The director of budget and fiscal services and the director of planning and permitting shall provide reports to the city council every six months beginning on the effective date of this ordinance that at a minimum must include:

1. The number of building permit applications submitted under the grant program established by this article for the six-month period and cumulatively;

2. The number of building permits approved under the grant program for the six-month period and cumulatively;

3. The number of grant applications submitted under the grant program at each AMI tier for the six-month period and cumulatively;

4. The number of grant claims approved under the grant program for the six-month period and cumulatively;

5. The number of affordable rental housing units supported with grants for the six-month period and cumulatively;

6. The amount of grant funds disbursed for the six-month period and cumulatively;

7. The number of waivers granted under Section 42-4.2(m) for the six-month period and

8. The number of affordable rental housing units built under the grant program for the six-month period and cumulatively; and

9. A description of any violations of this article discovered during the six-month period and actions taken against the violator.

We apologize for the delay in our reporting; however, much of the delay is due to confusion over how sections of Bill No. 7 are being interpreted by the Bill No. 7 Developers.

Certain exemptions or modifications to various code requirements in the bill created problems for Bill No. 7 developers to comply with either what is provided in Ordinance 19-8 or the applicable codes. We have been working with the proponents of Bill No. 7 on how the bill should be interpreted; however, we have not reached an agreement at this time.

The attached spreadsheet shows the current status of the sixteen projects building permit applications.

Two of the sixteen have been approved to date.

The sixteen projects have a total of 445 units priced at the 60 percent to 100 percent AMI.

Of the 445 units, 54 units have been permitted.

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So my Question is this...

https://www.civilbeat.org/2019/10/3-possible-ways-to-create-affordable-housing/

According to the above civil beat article, Hawaii needs 65,000 affordable rental apartments.

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=3mAggWiEHNk

According to the above press release by BOH Bank Of Hawaii's Cheyanne (Cheyenne.Martinez.Boyette@boh.com, 808-694-4907), Bill 7 could make way for 500 new rental units to be approved every year, that would mean that in theory, it would only take 130 years to build enough units.

But the reality, according to the report, of how many units were actually approved, 50 in 3 years.

So at a rate of 50 units every 3 years, as per the DPP director's report, it will only take Bill 7 and its developers 5,200 years to build enough affordable housing for Oahu.

So how was Bill 7 such a stellar success that it needs to be continued for 10 more years via Bill 8 if " construction has not been completed on the two projects"

The only 2 projects approved have not been completed as of 11/4/2021, granted yes developing takes time, but is this bill really the savior it's cracked up to be, or is it just a loophole/backdoor to stop pesky town laws from getting in the way?

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I hope you find this useful and helpful

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How to Get Involved:

Let them know if you are for or against Bill 7 and the 330 Kuulei project being built beyond and above the town’s 40 foot height limit laws! [whatever you do, please be kind]