WHEREAS, the housing market in Hawaii continues to be one of the most expensive in the country not only for homeowners but for renters as well; and

WHEREAS, a critical and urgent need exists for affordable housing in Hawaii; and

WHEREAS, the Legislative Housing and Homeless Task Force projected a need for 15,590 low-income household units on Oahu by 2009; and

WHEREAS, Kauai County's Housing Agency announced that 350 new affordable housing units were needed in December 2003 and 500 new units would be needed by 2008 on Kauai; and

WHEREAS, the mayor of Maui County estimated in February 2004, that Maui County needs an additional 4,000 affordable homes; and

WHEREAS, the Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii currently manages only 5,363 federally funded public-housing units statewide; and

WHEREAS, the scarcity of housing is most pronounced in the urban areas of the state in which people cluster because it is proximate to jobs and amenities; and

WHEREAS, part of the affordable housing problem is being unable to determine which lands are available for development of affordable housing; and

WHEREAS, a study was prepared by Wilson Okamoto & Associates, Inc., for the Office of State Planning (OP) in 1991 entitled "State Land Use District Boundary Review, Urban Land Requirements Study" (Urban Lands Study); and

WHEREAS, the Urban Lands Study identified, by island, all vacant and developable urban lands in the state that were available for building affordable housing; and

WHEREAS, the available lands of the islands have changed since 1991 when the most recent Urban Lands Study was conducted, especially with population growth and accelerated development of luxury homes; and

WHEREAS, due to the outdated review and study, it is difficult to determine which lands remain available for affordable housing; and

WHEREAS, an updated review and study are needed not only to identify the urban lands available for the development of affordable housing but also to determine whether the land can be efficiently serviced by infrastructure and other public facilities, and whether development will affect our native forest and its inhabitants, wetland and stream ecosystems, watersheds, significant historic sites, coastal areas, and scenic and open space resources; and

WHEREAS, the updated review and report will also benefit the state and its residents by identifying agricultural lands in need of preservation; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, that OP is urged to update its 1991 Urban Lands Study to determine the amount of urban land available in the state for affordable housing; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that OP is urged to also include in its study:

and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that OP is urged to submit the results of the study to the Legislature at least 20 days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2007; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Director of OP, Commissioner of the Land Use Commission, Chairperson and members of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, and administrators of each of the county planning departments.

Report Title:

State land use district boundary review; Urban land requirements