HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution No. 2014-08COUNTY COUNCIL COUNTY OF KAUAI ik e5ottition No. 2014 08 RESOLUTION ACKNOWLEDGING THE NECESSITY TO EXPEDITE PERMIT PROCESSING FOR WORKFORCE HOUSING WHEREAS, since Statehood, the median cost of a home in Hawai`i has escalated more than two and a half times faster than Hawai`i's median income; and WHEREAS, Hawai`i has the highest median housing prices among all other States in the Nation; and WHEREAS, due to a large gap between household incomes and the ability to buy a home, many of Kaua`i's residents continue to struggle to afford basic housing and to find suitable housing; and WHEREAS, according to the 2011 Housing Planning Study, approximately 1,312 new housing units will be needed on Kaua`i by the year 2016 and only 50 affordable units have been built thus far with another 152 units being developed; and WHEREAS, of the approximately 1,312 new housing units that will be needed on Kaua`i by the year 2016, 70% (925 units) will be needed to supply low income and very low income families, and only 50 such units have been built thus far with another 152 units being developed, leaving a large deficit that must be constructed in the two remaining years; and WHEREAS, according to Kaua`i County Code 1987, as amended, Section 7A-9.2, Fast Track Permitting, upon Proclamation by the Mayor and adoption of a Resolution by the County Council, the County Administration is allowed to institute a priority permitting policy for housing developments where at least fifty-one percent (51%) or greater of the project's total housing units are for workforce housing; and WHEREAS, on January 17, 2014, Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho, Jr. proclaimed there to be a crisis in the availability of workforce housing on Kaua`i and authorized the implementation of Fast Track Permitting for Workforce Housing Projects; now, therefore, BE IT RESOLVED BY THE COUNCIL OF THE COUNTY OF KAUAI, STATE OF HAWAII, that a crisis exists in the lack of workforce housing in Kaua`i County, especially for families of low and very low incomes.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Council acknowledges the necessity to expedite permit processing for workforce housing units, especially for families of low and very low incomes on the island of Kaua`i. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the Kaua`i County Council supports the County Administration's efforts to initiate a fast track permitting process to expedite the administrative review and issuance of all County permits for projects where at least fifty-one percent (51%) or greater of a project's total housing units are for workforce housing. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the County Administration is requested to administer Fast Track Permitting for Workforce Housing for a period of five (5) years and report the progress and challenges annually in writing to the Council's Committee dealing with Housing. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that the County of Kaua`i Housing Agency is requested to develop Administrative Rules to administer this fast track permitting process. BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that copies of this Resolution be transmitted to Mayor Bernard P. Carvalho, Jr., the County of Kaua`i Housing Agency, the County of Kaua`i Department of Planning, the County of Kaua`i Department of Water and the County of Kaua`i Department of Public Works. Introduced by: A/t/V OANN A. YUKIMURA V:\RESOLUTIONS\2012-2014 TERM\Fast Track Permitting CNT_aa.doc ezxi icafe Of lfaopti,an, Ul e O. 2014-08 ty,.e 4 ,,a`ti, 6-t 4 ;.`ti, oTtitu4e, 5Ca.,,w.41,, i'1, on February 26, 2014. 02-27-2014 g.. X CLic. X J x X X 014, X 16.,.. x-/ gatd 5 0 2 0 ezxi icafe Of lfaopti,an, Ul e O. 2014-08 ty,.e 4 ,,a`ti, 6-t 4 ;.`ti, oTtitu4e, 5Ca.,,w.41,, i'1, on February 26, 2014. 02-27-2014