Affordable Housing Fund increase approved by City Council

FOR IMMEDIATE RELEASE

Dec. 1, 2021

Affordable Housing Fund increase approved by City Council

Charter Amendment seeks public approval to fund more housing

HONOLULU, HAWAI‘I — A Honolulu City Council effort to increase affordable housing will go to the voters, following unanimous approval of a proposed Charter Amendment by the full Council today.

Introduced by Councilmember and Zoning and Planning Committee Chair Brandon Elefante, the Charter Amendment will ask voters if the amount of real property tax revenue minimum set aside for affordable housing should be increased to 1 percent, from the current 0.5 percent. If supported by Honolulu voters, the Charter Amendment would increase the minimum amount in the budget each year to 1 percent of real property taxes deposited into the housing fund.  Real property taxes make up just over half of all funding sources for the City.

Affordable housing funds are used to develop housing for residents earning 60 percent of the Area Median Income (AMI) or less, provided that the housing remains affordable for at least 60 years. Sixty percent AMI equals approximately $50,760 for an individual or $72,480 for a household of four. Units built with these funds must be rented at rates that are considered affordable for those families. In 2021, those rates were a maximum of $1,269 for a studio or $1,632 for a 2-bedroom unit. These rates are required to include most utilities (electric, water, gas and sewer) as set by the Department of Housing and Urban Development (HUD).

Recent projects built with the City’s affordable housing fund have included both those built or acquired directly by the City as well as those built by non-profit affordable housing developers.

Examples include:

●        114 tiny homes at Kahauiki Village in 2019-2020, which today provide permanent homes for more than 600 previously homeless residents, including 300 children

●        30 units at Kumuwai on Young Street, a previously empty office building purchased in 2019 and repurposed into permanent housing for homeless seniors

●        28 units at Maunakea Marketplace, which took previously under-utilized storage space in 2020 and created permanent housing, including units set aside for homeless youth

●        20 units for community-style housing for homeless persons receiving services at Pūnāwai Rest Stop, finished in 2020-2021

●        Derelict property on Ala Wai Blvd. is currently being condemned with the goal of partnering with a non-profit affordable housing developer to convert it to permanent housing

“My colleagues on the Council and I have been steadfast in our promise that we would not raise property taxes during the pandemic, despite the desperate need for housing and other urgent needs facing the City,” said Councilmember Elefante. “This measure honors that commitment and instead, simply increases the dedication of funds already collected, toward affordable housing.”

Res21-192 https://hnldoc.ehawaii.gov/hnldoc/document-download?id=11832

Revised Charter of the City and County of Honolulu: https://www.honolulu.gov/rep/site/cor/rch/Charter_2017_Ed_01.04.21_Clean_01.15.21.pdf

Honolulu City Councilmember Brandon Elefante represents Council District 8 which includes Lower ʻAiea, Pearlridge, Waimalu, Newtown, Pearl City, Seaview, Crestview, Waipiʻo Gentry and Waipahū. He also serves as Chair of the Council Committee on Zoning and Planning.