STAND. COM. REP. NO. 1421

Honolulu, Hawaii

RE:    S.C.R. No. 69

Honorable Colleen Hanabusa

President of the Senate

Twenty-Fourth State Legislature

Regular Session of 2007

State of Hawaii

Madam:

     Your Committees on Human Services and Public Housing and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs, to which was referred S.C.R. No. 69 entitled:

"SENATE CONCURRENT RESOLUTION URGING THE UNITED STATES DEPARTMENT OF HOUSING AND URBAN DEVELOPMENT TO REMOVE DESIGNATED BUILDINGS AT KALIHI VALLEY HOMES SCHEDULED FOR DEMOLITION,"

beg leave to report as follows:

     The purpose of this measure is to urge the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to remove designated buildings at Kalihi Valley Homes from a schedule for demolition.

     Kalihi Valley Neighborhood Board No. 16 and one individual submitted testimony in support of this measure.

     According to the Hawaii Homeless Point‑in‑Time Study of 2003, of the estimated 6,029 homeless individuals in Hawaii, approximately 4,107 are unsheltered.  This is indicative of the limited number of shelter spaces available in the State.  Kalihi Valley contains the State's two largest public housing projects, one of which is Kalihi Valley Homes.  Kalihi Valley Homes was opened in 1953, and seventy-two of its units are currently scheduled for demolition by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development to create more open space at the site.

     According to the testimony of the Kalihi Valley Neighborhood Board No. 16, the buildings are intact and in relatively good condition, and therefore suitable for renovation.  Furthermore, there are apparently still residents in these buildings.  Your Committees find that these units should be renovated in lieu of demolition, as it would replenish the public housing inventory faster than rebuilding elsewhere and prevent further evictions.

     As affirmed by the records of votes of the members of your Committees on Human Services and Public Housing and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs that are attached to this report, your Committees concur with the intent and purpose of S.C.R. No. 69 and recommend its adoption.

Respectfully submitted on behalf of the members of the Committees on Human Services and Public Housing and Intergovernmental and Military Affairs,

____________________________ LORRAINE R. INOUYE, Chair

____________________________ SUZANNE CHUN OAKLAND, Chair