HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.R. NO.	182
TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2008		H.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

HOUSE RESOLUTION

REQUESTING THE HAWAII PUBLIC HOUSING AUTHORITY AND THE HAWAII HOUSING FINANCE AND DEVELOPMENT CORPORATION TO CREATE A REDEVELOPMENT MASTER PLAN FOR KUKUI GARDENS AND MAYOR WRIGHT HOMES.

WHEREAS, Kukui Gardens and Mayor Wright Homes are large affordable housing complexes located in Palama in the City and County of Honolulu; and

WHEREAS, Kukui Gardens is a low-rise complex comprised of 857 affordable units, and it houses approximately 2,500 residents; and

WHEREAS, Mayor Wright Homes is a low-rise complex comprised of 363 units that have continuously suffered from maintenance problems; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii is in need of more affordable housing units for low- and moderate-income households; and

WHEREAS, homelessness and a shortage of affordable housing continue to be two of the State's most significant and challenging social problems; and

WHEREAS, the Hawaii Public Housing Authority (HPHA) indicates that the waiting list for public housing is approximately 7,000 people; and

WHEREAS, Kukui Gardens and Mayor Wright Homes are located in an area zoned by the City and County of Honolulu as an A-2 medium-density apartment district with regulated building heights of 150 feet; and

WHEREAS, there is a planned transit stop at the nearby junction of Dillingham Boulevard and Liliha Street; and

WHEREAS, lower income families are the most likely to use public mass transit; and

WHEREAS, the Kukui Gardens and Mayor Wright Homes properties are not being used to their highest and best use; and

WHEREAS, the State owns half of Kukui Gardens, all of Mayor Wright Homes, and a strip of land located on Liliha Street between the two complexes; now, therefore,

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2008, that HPHA and the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation (HHFDC) are requested to create a master plan, in collaboration with Kukui EAH/DGI Associates, L.P., to redevelop Kukui Gardens and Mayor Wright Homes while also using the state-owned strip of land located on Liliha Street to include mixed-use commercial and residential market rate housing as well as low- to moderate-income housing; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that HPHA on behalf of itself and HHFDC is requested to submit a report of their findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than 20 days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2009; and

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Executive Director of HPHA and the Executive Director of HHFDC.

Report Title: 

Kukui Gardens and Mayor Wright Homes; Development; Master Plan