Kaʻū News Briefs, Wednesday, February 20, 2019

A HIGH SURF ADVISORY is in place for all east-facing shores, reports the National Weather Service says. An east swell built this morning, peaked this afternoon, and will decline into the weekend, NWS says, and oceanfront residents should exercise caution on shorelines exposed to the swell.

     A High Wind Warning is in effect for Mauna Loa and Mauna Kea summits. Winds of 50 to 60 miles per hour, with localized gusts to 75 mph, say forecasters, "will produce difficult driving conditions, especially for high profile vehicles." Travel to the mountain summits should be delayed until the winds subside.

Largest Hinale‘a, first and second place. Photos by Lee McIntosh

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HOW TO RESTORE HOUSING AFFORDABILITY is the focus of a new report issued by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaiʻi. The report urges "building out" to ease the housing crisis and faults artificial land scarcity for high Hawaiʻi home prices:

     Hawaiʻi has the least affordable housing of any state in the nation, and that is almost wholly because of government land-use regulations that have in effect limited housing development to just 5 percent of the state, according to a new report issued by the Grassroot Institute of Hawaiʻi.
     The report, "Build up or build out? How to make housing more affordable", was written by Grassroot Scholar and national land-use expert Randal O'Toole, who found that areas with housing affordability problems almost always have strict "growth management" land-use restrictions.

     Keliʻi Akina, Grassroot Institute of Hawaiʻi president, said, "One main reason Hawaiʻi residents leave is the state's lack of available homes and high housing costs. The housing crisis, in turn, is the result of state and county regulations that hinder reasonable residential development."

Most Fish Caught. Photos by Lee McIntosh

     In his report, O'Toole writes there are two strategies urban planners have to restore housing affordability: "Build up" and "build out."
     Building up calls for creating mid- and high-rise multifamily housing inside current urban footprints. Building out involves construction of low-rise, mostly single-family homes outside of existing urban areas.
     O'Toole's findings suggest that housing can be made affordable only through the build-out strategy, mainly because land is cheaper outside of urban zones. Construction costs also are generally lower, compared to the mid- and high-rise condominiums built in urban cores.
     According to O'Toole, increasing home affordability is desirable because unaffordable housing slows economic growth, exacerbates problems with homelessness and reduces the quality of life for eventually most people in a region. It also promotes wealth inequality, transferring wealth from the poor to the rich, the young to the old, and from newcomers to existing homeowners. Other effects include high costs of retail, commercial and other kinds of developments.
      O'Toole writes, "Nowhere in the United States, not even Hawaiʻi, is there a physical shortage of land. But there are shortages of land for housing due to government regulation or ownership of lands that could potentially be used for housing, causing the undesirable affordability issues. The solution is to build out, not up."

     Akina added, "There's more than enough land to satisfy Hawaiʻi's housing needs while protecting the environment and the beauty of nature. Currently, Hawaiʻi residents can develop homes on only 5 percent of Hawaiʻi's land mass. If we opened up just 1 or 2 percent more land, we could increase the supply and make homes more affordable."

     O'Toole's full report is available on the Grassroot Institute of Hawaiʻi website at grassrootinstitute.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/OToole_Build-up-or-build-out_full-report.pdf.

     Other writings by O'Toole include the book The American Nightmare: How Government Undermines the Dream of Home Ownership (2012), and the more recent policy analysis The New Feudalism: Why States Must Repeal Growth-Management Laws (2016).
     O'Toole will discuss details of his new report at a luncheon meeting in downtown Honolulu on Monday, Feb. 25.

FIRE ANTS AWARENESS COMMUNITY MEETING happens at Discovery Harbour Community Hall Friday, March 29, 6 p.m. to 7:30 p.m. Big Island Invasive Species Committee, sponsored by Hawaiʻi Tourism and Change Happens Foundation, will cover how to combat LFA, including how biology and behavior affects treatment, how to distinguish between products,  how to use products most effectively, and how to work with neighbors for long-term control and prevention. BIISC will also cover how to receive a free demo day with pesticide application for a neighborhood. Franny Kinslow Brewer, 933-3340, biisc@hawaii.edu

     Director Tanya N. Garfield of U.S. Small Business Administration's Disaster Field Operations Center-West states small nonfarm businesses, small agricultural cooperatives, small businesses engaged in aquaculture, and most private nonprofit organizations of any size may apply for Economic Injury Disaster Loans of up to $2 million to help meet working capital needs caused by the disaster.

     Said Garfield, "Economic Injury Disaster Loans may be used to pay fixed debts, payroll, accounts payable, and other bills that cannot be paid because of the disaster's impact. Economic injury assistance is available regardless of whether the applicant suffered any property damage.

     These low-interest federal disaster loans are available only in Hawaiʻi County. The interest rate is 3.61 percent for businesses and 2.5 percent for private nonprofit organizations with terms up to 30 years. Loan amounts and terms are set by SBA and are based on each applicant's financial condition.

     Applicants may apply online, receive additional disaster assistance information, and download applications at disasterloan.sba.gov/ela. Applicants may also call SBA's CustomerServiceCenterat (800) 659-2955 or email disastercustomerservice@sba.gov (link sends e-mail) for more information on SBA disaster assistance. Individuals who are deaf or hard‑of‑hearing may call (800) 877-8339. Completed applications should be mailed to U.S. Small Business Administration, Processing and DisbursementCenter, 14925 Kingsport Road, Fort Worth, TX  76155.