City searches for a way to encourage affordable housing near rail stops

Elefante’s draft, which was approved last week by the council’s Committee on Zoning and Housing, is simpler.

It would make developers set aside 30 percent of units as affordable. It says that at least two-thirds of the affordable units must be affordable to households with incomes no greater than 100 percent of the Honolulu area median income and one-third affordable to households with income no greater than 80 percent of the area median income. According to the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, the median family income for Honolulu is approximately $86,600; 80 percent of that would be about $69,200.

The units must be on site under the bill, and in lieu fees are not allowed.

The vast majority of those who have testified have supported the measure. The Hawaiʻi Appleseed Foundation for Law & Economic Justice described the bill as a way to ensure that rail-oriented development includes housing opportunities for working taxpayers who are helping to pay for the $10 billion project.

“The billions of public dollars invested in the rail are increasing the value of properties in close proximity to rail stations,” Appleseed wrote in testimony submitted to the Zoning and Housing Committee. “Affordability requirements such as those proposed … can be used to capture the community’s fair share of the value created by this public investment, rather than providing a windfall to landowners and developers.”