HomeMy WebLinkAboutResolution No. 2021-29COUNTY COUNCIL
COUNTY OF KAUA'I
1',esolution No. 2021-29
RESOLUTION REPEALING RESOLUTION NO. 2014-08 AND
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 some of 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 2019 Housing Planning Study, approximately
4,281 new housing units will be needed on Kaua'i by the year 2025; and
WHEREAS, of the approximately 4,281 new housing units that will be needed
on Kaua'i by the year 2025, fifty-seven percent (57%) (2,439 units) will be needed to
supply low-income and very low-income families; and
WHEREAS, according to Section 7A-9.2, Kaua'i County Code 1987, as
amended, Fast Track Permitting, upon Proclamation by the Mayor and adoption of a
Resolution by the Kaua'i 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 September 30, 2021, Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami 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 KAUA'I,
STATE OF HAWAI'I, 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.
BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED, that Resolution No. 2014-08 is hereby repealed
in its entirety.
BE IT FINALLY RESOLVED, that certified copies of this Resolution shall be
transmitted to Mayor Derek S.K. Kawakami, the County of Kaua'i Housing Agency,
the County of Kaua'i Planning Department, the County of Kaua'i Department of
Water, and the County of Kaua'i Department of Public Works.
KIPUKAI KUALI'I
V:\RESOLUTIONS\2020-2022 TERM\Fast Track Permitting KK_AMK_jy.docx
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