The incentives bill offers one-time breaks, specifically waivers from building permit and plan review fees, wastewater system facility charges and park dedication requirements. The administration projects such incentives could cut the per-unit cost for home developers by between $23,000 and $64,000, depending on unit size, location and type.

Additionally, the bill provides a property tax exemption on improvements during construction of all affordable housing projects, as well as an annual tax exemption for affordable rental units for as long as they remain affordable.

Besides the two bills, Caldwell said his administration will offer a number of city-owned properties for affordable-housing development, including land in Kapolei and West Loch, the Aiea Sugar Mill and a portion of Aala Park. The Department of Planning and Permitting is now formulating requests for proposals for those sites, he said.

Additionally, Caldwell said, the new Department of Land Management will make available $100 million in proceeds from private activity bonds—tax-exempt bonds issued by a government for qualified projects—for those who construct affordable housing.

Initial reaction to the plan was mixed.

Economist Paul Brewbaker, who has been working with local developers concerned about new affordable-housing requirements, said anytime the government requires affordable units, someone needs to pay for subsidizing those units, be it the developers, the market-rate buyers or taxpayers. Typically, Brewbaker said, the cost is passed on to the price of market units, driving prices beyond the reach of middle-income families.

Gavin Thornton, deputy director of the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice, said the new requirements are necessary if the city wants to take advantage of the financial value added to private properties along the publicly funded rail line to provide badly needed affordable housing.