A proposal to offer city land for development of lowincome or homeless transitional housing sits on a back burner and is likely to remain there for months.

The plan emerged from the City Council in November, and at least one potential developer has expressed interest. But the Hannemann administration said nothing can move forward until someone can be hired to run the program.

Even that will have to wait until the city budget is approved, said Cyndy Aylett, with the city Performance Management Office. The mayor has yet to unveil his budget, and months of hearings will follow before final council approval.

Meanwhile, the council has reiterated its support for the proposal, which calls for the city to provide the land at little cost and partner with private businesses or nonprofits that would develop the housing.

PLANS AND PERMITS

Councilman Todd Apo said the council's Committee on Affordable Housing wants to see the proposal pick up momentum as the state is moving ahead to create shelters and transitional housing.

Apo said he had hoped the administration would put together proposals to deal with the properties by the end of 2006.

He said the administration needs to take the list of properties and put together a program that ties into the state effort.

"It shouldn't be the city developing housing, but there's obviously some important step and important roles that the city needs to have in the overall housing issues," he said. "One of the major ones is having the Department of Planning and Permitting organizing itself and prioritizing itself to ensure that when someone does come in with a project for affordable rentals that they don't get stuck in a quagmire."

The lack of affordable housing has been identified as a key component in the state's homelessness problem.

The list prepared by the city at the request of the City Council identifies 12 city-owned properties that could be used for lowincome rental housing or transitional shelters for the homeless.

NEIGHBORS BALKING

Four of the sites — in Kailua, Kunia, Wai'anae, and on River Street — were identified as ready for immediate development.

Two other locations, in 'Ewa Village and Kailua, would need additional preparation time; and six others would require longer preparation time.

If the sites were fully developed, they could offer housing to hundreds of people.

Because the city would make the land available at little cost, that removes one of the main barriers to providing affordable housing, Apo has said.

Aylett has said that Mayor Mufi Hannemann is committed to doing "what we can on this."

But she also said the list may not be complete and that if any of the properties falls along the proposed transit system route, that would affect the administration's decision-making process.

Recently the city announced that it is getting out of the affordable housing business and selling its affordable rentals. The new proposal isn't meant to get the city back into the business but gives it an avenue to help in solving the homeless problem without the expenditure of major resources.

Apo said reaction to the list of potential sites has been mixed.

In Leeward, the concern is that an islandwide issue will have a Leeward solution, especially with the state opening shelters and transitional homes in that community, he said.

"Unless we start doing something in other places, we will have unfortunately localized the problem on to the Leeward Coast," Apo said.

Other communities on the list are voicing concerns, including Kailua, which has two potential sites on the list — a well-used parking lot and vacant land on a hillside.

The Kailua Neighborhood Board has taken action to try to control development on the sites, including asking the City Council to rezone the vacant property near Kalaheo High School from residential to preservation. The board's reasoning for its unanimous Jan. 4 vote of 17-0 was that the soil is unstable and not suitable for development.

That same day, the board voted 16-1 to oppose both Kailua sites and asked the city to seek alternatives.

A group calling itself KAPU also formed in Kailua and is particularly opposed to the parking lot site because so many businesses depend on it and construction would interrupt commerce, said KAPU spokeswoman Bonnie Heim.

"We're hopeful that Mayor Hannemann will consider looking for a solution that is a win-win solution and not a one-sided solution," Heim said.

Reach Eloise Aguiar at eaguiar@honoluluadvertiser.com.