New Honolulu housing bill seeks the middle ground

Local affordable housing advocates touted Cadwell’s original proposal as “revolutionary” and preferred that all units remain affordable 30 years.

“We just can’t afford this public investment in rail to be squandered after five or 10 years,” said Gavin Thornton, the co-executive director of the Hawaiʻi Appleseed Center for Law & Economic Justice.

Developers building projects around planned rail stations will need to double the number of affordable units they build only if they are seeking height or density bonuses.

If a developer offers the affordable units as rentals rather than for-sale, the units must remain affordable for at least 30 years to people making at or below 80 percent area median income (AMI)—an individual in Honolulu making $58,600 annually.

Among local governments with inclusionary zoning policies, more than 80 percent require that units stay affordable at least 30 years, roughly a third have a 99-year requirement.