Council Chair Ernie Martin has postponed a hearing on two measures related to the city’s proposed sale of 12 public housing projects due to community concerns about not being able to testify.

Bill 6, which authorizes the city to issue a bid request for the purchase of the buildings, and Resolution 14-121, which would change affordable housing requirements for several of the buildings in Chinatown, have been struck from the agenda of the City Council’s Wednesday meeting.

The monthly meeting will be held at Windward Community College instead of Honolulu Hale in downtown Honolulu because the council chambers are undergoing renovations. The location has prompted community concerns, from Chinatown residents in particular, about being able to make it out to Kaneohe to testify on the measures.

Honolulu City Council Chair Ernie Martin during council meeting at Mission Memorial Auditorium on June 4, 2014.

PF Bentley/Civil Beat

“In order to ensure public participation and that the council hears all opinions regarding these controversial measures, I decided to cancel the items and intend to place them on the council’s agenda at a later date,” said Martin in a press release.

Members of Faith Action for Community Equity, a faith-based non-profit, as well as residents of the Chinatown buildings, have raised strong objections to Resolution 14-121, proposed by Councilwoman Carol Fukunaga, which would raise income limits for the affordable housing units.

You can read Civil Beat’s past coverage of the issue here: Chinatown Housing Deal Sparks Debate on Low-Income Residents.

The measures likely won’t be rescheduled until September at the earliest, according to Laura Figueira, Martin’s policy advisor.

The housing sale, which has been in the works for years, fell apart last year when the winning bidder ran into financing problems. Bill 6 would allow Mayor Kirk Caldwell’s administration to rebid the sale. The affordable housing is costing the city about $7 million a year to maintain.

Pamela Witty-Oakland, the director of the Department of Community Services, which would help oversee the sale, said that the administration supported the deferral request.