Hawaii has attempted for decades to address the need for affordable housing. Over the past 40 years, state and county governments created a web of policies and programs intended to provide for the needs of the people while protecting the landscape and culture of the islands. At the time, considered in the vacuum of the individual moment, each policy seems harmless. But when considered as a collective group of policies that all affect the process of affordable housing development in Hawaii, they make it impossible to provide affordable homes for families and individuals.

As if this recipe for disaster wasn’t bad enough, we watched in horror as the start of the 21st Century brought the Great Recession to the United States, and finally, in 2008 to the shores of Hawaii. We watched large corporations go out of business, leaving thousands of workers unemployed. Mass government layoffs and furloughs were the answer to cut government spending. The ability of the working class to afford to stay in their home became dependedent on sacrificing food, health care, transportation, or educational needs, resulting in unstable homes. Even those sacrifices weren’t enough, and the lack of affordable housing during the economic crisis, pushed thousands more (particularly workers) into homelessness. Homelessness and unstable homes beget higher rates of depression, crime, poor health, educational instability, unemployment, abuse, and suicide; all of which burden the safety net and cost the State more money in the long run.

This year, at a time where the state has no money, the Legislature should adopt a 3P strategy for affordable housing: Provide, Preserve, and Plan. Let’s examine each of these in more detail.

To increase the supply of affordable housing, the state and counties can both Provide and Preserve affordable housing units. Here are some ways that wouldn’t cost government anything:

1. Examine regulations that act as barriers to the permitting process in Hawaii; these barriers increase the cost of the unit, which ends up getting passed on to the buyer or renter. Between 2007 and 2009 Hawaii conducted a statewide comprehensive review of housing regulations and made recommendations to the legislature in their report, “Affordable Housing Regulatory Barriers Task Force.”
2. Create new land use policies that include a housing element similar to that in California.
3. For the next five years, allocate 100% of the conveyance tax revenues to the affordable housing fund.
4. Allow ohana units in all residential and commercial zones.
5. Allow self help housing to be constructed off the grid, without requirements to hook up to public utilities, provided health and safety are addressed.
6. Require the state pension fund to make a fair share allocation to acquire and finance affordable housing located in Hawaii, like is done in California. The money will be invested anyway, why not invest it locally, in a way that provides multiple benefits to its members?
7. Incorporate inclusionary zoning and linkage fees with preservation requirements.
8. Place a moratorium on condominium conversions to preserve current stock of affordable housing.
9. Enact a crawl back provision for recipients of state subsidies for affordable housing who convert the housing to market rate units; fees and penalties can be used for future affordable housing.
10. Add a rapid building permit process to Chapter 201(H) for affordable housing projects.

In addition to increasing the supply, Hawaii should simultaneously plan for meeting the needs of communities. Here are some areas and strategies to examine so when we are experiencing a brighter economy, we are ready to invest.

1. Provide a housing impact analysis requirement for every bill that the legislature or county council passes. This provides some context for planning and foresight.
2. Review and update the reserved housing requirement for Kakaako and Kalaeloa.
3. Develop a state affordable housing development model that encorporates the business model of the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, and the master planned development model of Kapolei.
4. Develop a plan to address the aging in place needs of the baby boomers, including residential and health care.
5. Develop a housing planning strategy that links transportation to housing needs. Monitor the efforts of the City and County of Honolulu Sustainable Communities Grant and any progress on transit oriented development as a tool for affordable housing development.
6. Engage business and create Employer Assisted Housing partnerships.

As you can see, there is no shortage of solutions. The Legislature must embrace one of the most difficult tasks to ever be confronted with: solve a crisis their own policies have unintentionally compounded.

Affordable housing has been studied in Hawaii for decades and, thankfully, some great ideas have been discussed. Even though the state has no money, the legislature can still do many things for housing. Now they can take action on items that don’t cost any money and retool how policy is made: approach affordable housing from all sides, holistically. Further burdens on our safety net and government programs will bankrupt our islands financially and socially. Forty years of the same thing not working is long enough. The time for change is now. Use this time to Provide, Preserve, and Plan.