Posted on: Thursday, March 24, 2005

Native Hawaiian housing bill advances

By Vicki Viotti
Advertiser Staff Writer

A bill to give Native Hawaiians an advantage in qualifying for future affordable housing units has survived a round of scrutiny by the state Senate, passing three committees yesterday.

The measure, House Bill 1731, is part of this session's flood of proposals on ways to produce more housing units for lower-income residents and to provide more public funding to underwrite that expansion. It was heard earlier this week by the three Senate committees that deal with land, housing and Hawaiian affairs.

This bill, however, attempts to underscore the state's long-standing public policy of serving the needs of the Native Hawaiian population.

It proposes that the state identify public land suitable for housing and to require that all developers building on this land set aside 20 percent of the units — whether for purchase in leasehold or fee, or for rent — for those of Hawaiian ancestry.

It's a limited gesture, however: The law would be in effect only until July 1, 2010. And, if one of the proposed Senate amendments survives, the units reserved for Native Hawaiians would be released to the general population if a qualified buyer or renter isn't found within 120 days of the completed project's acceptance by the state.

That last change was proposed by the Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawai'i, the state agency that will prepare the inventory of public land. The corporation will consult with the state Department of Land and Natural Resources.

Another of the Senate amendments also includes the Office of Hawaiian Affairs on the consultation list; OHA officials testified that the office wants to be sure that none of the "ceded lands" — the former government and crown lands under the Hawaiian kingdom — are sold without the consent of OHA trustees.

Reach Vicki Viotti at vviotti@honoluluadvertiser.com or 525-8053.