HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.C.R. NO.

293

TWENTY-THIRD LEGISLATURE, 2006

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 
   


HOUSE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

REQUESTING THE DEPARTMENT OF LAND AND NATURAL RESOURCES TO STUDY THE POSSIBILITY OF THE STATE DEVELOPING AND OPERATING MANUFACTURED-HOUSING PARKS TO HELP ALLEVIATE HAWAII'S AFFORDABLE HOUSING CRISIS.

 

WHEREAS, Hawaii's housing costs are among the highest in the nation; and

WHEREAS, Hawaii has long suffered from a lack of affordable housing for its residents; and

WHEREAS, in Hawaii, the only options for residents are to rent or own real property in the form of single- or multi-family dwelling units; and

WHEREAS, the purchase price of fee simple single-family dwellings in Hawaii often exceeds $500,000; and

WHEREAS, the monthly rental expense for single-family dwellings in Hawaii often exceeds $2,000; and

WHEREAS, the cost of owning or renting a home in Hawaii far exceeds the ability of average working or retired residents to pay; and

WHEREAS, the development of subdivided land parcels for construction of single- and multi-family dwellings requires substantial site preparation work that can cost in excess of $150,000 per lot, without considering the additional cost of constructing the dwelling units; and

WHEREAS, in many other American locations, manufactured-housing parks provide an affordable intermediate level of housing between market-priced rental dwellings, condominium ownership, and single-family home ownership, for working and retired taxpayers with low to moderate incomes; and

WHEREAS, the cost of site preparation for a manufactured-housing park is substantially less than the cost of land subdivision for the construction of condominiums and single-family homes; and

WHEREAS, properly and responsibly developed and operated manufactured-housing parks can be aesthetically pleasing and well integrated with surrounding communities that are currently developed to their highest and best use; and

WHEREAS, a series of state-developed and state-operated manufactured-housing parks would help to solve Hawaii's affordable housing crisis, and would ultimately generate revenue for the State of Hawaii; now, therefore,

BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-third Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2006, the Senate concurring, that the Department of Land and Natural Resources, in consultation with the Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii, the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands, the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, each branch of the United States Armed Forces in Hawaii, and the Planning Director of each county, is requested to study the feasibility and usefulness of manufactured-housing parks as one possible element in the Legislature's efforts to solve the State's affordable housing crisis; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that each county is requested to consider the adoption by ordinance of appropriate zoning and building standards to allow manufactured-housing parks as a permitted land use; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources is requested to report findings and recommendations to the Legislature at least twenty days before the convening of the Regular Session of 2007; and

BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Chairperson of the Board of Land and Natural Resources, the Executive Director of the Housing and Community Development Corporation of Hawaii, the Chairperson of the Hawaiian Homes Commission, the Chairperson of the Board of Trustees of the Office of Hawaiian Affairs, the

Commanding Officer of each branch of the United States Armed Forces in Hawaii, and the Planning Director of each county.

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

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Report Title:

Housing; Trailer Parks; Mobile Homes