LIHU‘E — A question regarding a housing-policy-reform bill in front of the Kaua‘i County Council pit current incumbent councilmembers against challengers during a virtual candidate forum Thursday night.
The Community Coalition of Kaua‘i hosted the event, which was live-streamed on Facebook, and centered its discussion on affordable housing.
The county’s Housing Policy was enacted over a decade ago, and has resulted in zero affordable-housing products. Bill 2774 is before the council with 28 new amendments that would include exemptions on multi-family projects developed in town cores of Lihu‘e, Koloa and Kalaheo.
Candidates were asked about their views on the exemptions, where affordable housing should come from and abandoned buildings. Candidates were on the same page regarding the need for affordable housing, but some opposed the bill in its current form that was introduced by Councilmember KipuKai Kuali‘i and Council Chair Arryl Kaneshiro in January.
“Affordable housing has been a top priority for a long time,” said Kuali‘i, the council’s Housing Committee Chair. “The bill and its proposed changes are necessary if we are serious about addressing affordable housing.”
Councilmember Luke Evslin pointed to two county studies that new developments are happening on agriculture land, which create more emissions, as well as a commissioned study that the current ordinance makes development “infeasible in our town cores.”
“We cannot develop in our town cores, so we are sprawling outward,” Evslin said. He went on to explain specifics of the current bill and, in his last seconds before getting cut off for time, offered solutions, like taxing short-term rentals to bring in more revenue.
Councilmember Felicia Cowden said the question was misleading because the bill is continuing to be amended, and said a goal is to bring supply up to demand.
Part of that, for Billy Decosta, is working with developers and private landowners, who he said need incentives, which will lead to more supply.
But Jakki Nelson said she’s “mostly opposed” to the bill in its current form, as it doesn’t invest in the future. “We’re making it so hard for working-class folks to stay here.” She said the bill needs to look further out.
Wally Nishimura offered a pivoting direction. “I don’t see a real impact for the need,” he said. “One of the biggest things that I think everybody needs to support running for council, regardless of if its in our oversight, is Hawaiian homelands. It has been underfunded, under-supported for way too long.”
Candidates also discussed reopening the island to tourism, discussing the importance of reopening for tourism as well as the precautionary measures that go along with this.
Ed Justus, who brought a flow chart along, shared how he envisions a safe reopening of the island, which includes multiple rounds of testing, specific quarantine locations, and services and contact tracing check-ins while visitors are on the island.
Part of that, one candidate offered, was changing how the county markets itself away from being seen as a paradise. “We’re about to have a really large volume of tourists,” said Mike Dandurand, a professional deejay and emcee. “I think we should have a better quality of tourists. We should focus on improving the quality of life (for residents).”
Donovan Cabebe agreed, saying that Hawai‘i is “romanticized” traditionally. But Cabebe shared that he thinks the state needs to step up and hold itself to a higher standard, making sure airlines and cruises experience extreme cleanliness.
Sixteen of the 21 candidates running participated in the two-and-a-half-hour forum, which kicked off with a question regarding agriculture and trying to determine different avenues to jump-start more sustainable farming.
Many candidates focused on the local, with Cowden mentioning how restaurants can better suit their menus to local crops or vise-versa, and Dandurand’s ideas for creating local food hubs through advanced farmers’ markets.
But Kaneshiro, whose family owned a recently-closed-down pig farm, had a simpler approach.
“I think the best thing that legislative bodies can do for farmers is to stay out of their way,” Kaneshiro said. “Let farmers farm.”
A taping of the forum can be viewed on the Community Coalition of Kaua‘i Facebook page.
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Sabrina Bodon, public safety and government reporter, can be reached at 245-0441 or sbodon@thegardenisland.com.
