Council members also listened to those who called for even more affordable housing in transit-oriented development, the projects going up around rail.

“The public has invested billions of dollars into rail. That is increasing the property values around rail stations, and allowing people to build higher and more densely. That is all worth a lot and we need to get back some of our public investment by building more affordable housing,” said Gavin Thornton with Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice.