Report Title:

Affordable Housing; Fees; Incentives

Description:

Requires counties to offer incentives for affordable housing development.  Requires counties to provide flexibility in public facility requirements for rental housing projects with units for tenants at or below median income levels, 40 percent of which units are for tenants with incomes 80 percent or below the median.  (HB363 HD2)

HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES	H.B. NO.	363
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2009		H.D. 2
STATE OF HAWAII

A BILL FOR AN ACT

RELATING TO AFFORDABLE HOUSING.

BE IT ENACTED BY THE LEGISLATURE OF THE STATE OF HAWAII:

     SECTION 1.  In August 2007, Hawaii accepted an invitation by the United State Department of Housing and Urban Development to join the National Call to Action for Affordable Housing through Regulatory Reform.  The Call to Action presented an opportunity for Hawaii to receive technical assistance from the federal government and collaborate with other states, counties, municipalities, and organizations to knock down the barriers imposed by governments in hopes of building more affordable housing.  Governor Lingle convened a statewide task force comprised of representatives from the counties, business, labor, developers, architects, nonprofit providers of services, the State, and the legislature to carry out the mission of the Call to Action and recommend solutions to address barriers to affordable housing.  Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to implement the legislative recommendations of the task force.

     The State recognizes that the need for more affordable housing in Hawaii remains a significant problem affecting all segments of society.  The development of residential housing is bridled by significant varying regulations placed on the industry at both the state and county levels.  Recent analysis shows that regulations and conditions placed on developers can potentially delay a project for up to seven years.  This delay in time leads to a level of uncertainty for the housing industry, adds cost to the total development project, jeopardizes funding streams for affordable housing projects, and ultimately results in a more expensive home for the home buyer or renter.  The State recognizes that impact fees, connection fees, and other conditions that are imposed on housing developers during this uncertain time of permit approvals can increase the cost of the home or rental unit by $10,000 to $50,000.  Accordingly, the purpose of this Act is to provide fee waivers and other incentives for the development of affordable housing.

     SECTION 2.  Section 46-14.5, Hawaii Revised Statutes, is amended to read as follows:

     "§46‑14.5  [Land use density] Incentives and infrastructure[; low-income rental units].  Notwithstanding any other law to the contrary, the counties [are authorized to] shall provide [flexibility in land use density provisions and] incentives for the development of affordable housing that may include density bonuses, height waivers, cluster zoning, greater design flexibility, waiving water and sewer connection fees, priority infrastructure financing, and site flexibility.  Counties shall provide flexibility in public facility requirements to encourage the development of any rental housing project where at least a portion of the rental units are set aside for persons and families with incomes at or below one hundred [forty] per cent of the area median family income, of which [twenty] forty per cent are set aside for persons and families with incomes at or below eighty per cent of the area median family income."

     SECTION 3.  Statutory material to be repealed is bracketed and stricken.  New statutory material is underscored.

SECTION 4.  This Act shall take effect on July 1, 2020.