Stop HoKua Place Kapaʻa Development
The HoKua Place Development (Kapaʻa, Kauaʻi) contested case hearing is scheduled for March 10th & 11th and is quickly approaching!
Email testimony in opposition to the Hawaiʻi Land Use Commission ASAP and apply to testify virtually if you are able. This is the final hearing for HoKua Place and if passed by the LUC would change the zoning from Agriculture to Urban and pave the way for HoKua Place to move forward.
Please submit written testimony in opposition to the change in land use designation via email before 9am Tuesday March 9th 2021.
If you submitted testimony last time, please submit again and participate in the hearing if you are able. If everyone who testified last time gets one (or two!) more person(s) to submit testimony we will really ‘show up with force’ to this hearing.
Please Submit Testimony in OPPOSITION to HoKua Place!
DEADLINE FOR TESTIMONY is TUESDAY MARCH 9th by 9:00am
Email Testimony to the Hawaiʻi Land Use Commission at dbedt.luc.web@hawaii.gov
Subject: HoKua Place, LUC Docket No. A11-791/HG
To testify (virtually) in the hearing on March 10th (starting at 9am) register at this link: bit.ly/testifyonHP Because of COVID there will be no in-person testimony.
All members of the public who want to testify by phone, zoom or computer must register for the first, March 10th, registration link.
BACKGROUND
Developers are currently attempting to change 96 acres of Agricultural District Land to Urban District Land to build 769 units on the Kapaʻa Bypass Road (across from the church) on the basis of a report that is full of misleading statements, inconsistencies, and incorrect data.
A development of such scale will urbanize Kapaʻa town and change our lifestyle and community forever. Studies from around the world show that increased urbanization of rural communities results in negative environmental and even health impacts. Drastic changes to the Kapaʻa area will result in gentrification which leads to cultural displacement.
Kauaʻi has reached a tipping point. Our infrastructure is over capacity and failing and cannot sustain this kind of overdevelopment. The infrastructure, services & waste treatment abilities of the Kapaʻa area cannot accommodate HoKua Place and it would majorly compound east side traffic problems. To top it off there is insufficient water access, public services and infrastructure solutions to meet the HoKua Place project’s needs. Aging and overstressed infrastructure is present all around us and is evident when we sit in excessive traffic delays, drive on roads that are in disrepair, when sewage overflows into the ocean, when or our school classrooms are overcrowded, and our coral reefs and environment buckle under the stress of over development.
Furthermore, the project is not actually affordable housing. We have never needed real affordable housing more, or to avoid over development to encourage more off island buyers less, than we do today.
Given the recent pandemic we should be pausing and reassessing our priorities and preserving our east side agricultural lands and the kind of future we want for our keiki.
TALKING POINTS
Testimony is always best in your own words. Include where you are from on Kauaʻi and personal concerns about how this project would impact you and your family’s future. You can also use or expand upon the following concerns:
How will the urbanization and drastic changes to Kapaʻa town impact your life?
1. This project is not a true affordable housing nor is it likely to provide average Kauaʻi income earners with homes. In the EIS the developer makes the claim that Kauaʻi needs housing yet fails to include in their assessment the hundreds of houses already approved, or being built, which do not require redistricting these agricultural lands for HoKua Place. In addition to the single family homes starting at over $650,000, it’s likely that owners of condos at Hokua Place will also have to pay a sizable maintenance fee each month as high as $800 to $1100.
2. There is limited wastewater capacity in Wailua. The Wailua Wastewater Treatment Plant and Transfer Station have already been fined multiple times by the State of Hawaiʻi for overflows and spill violations. This infrastructure is old and in need of repair before this additional project should even be considered. Paving roads and pouring concrete for the proposed HoKua Place units will clearly add an additional burden to an already overburdened system.
3. Roads are already heavily overburdened with traffic and in poor condition. Adding 769 homes mauka of the Kapaʻa bypass will turn the Kapaʻa crawl into a parking lot. The infrastructure in this area cannot accommodate this development. Our roads are already heavily overburdened with traffic and in poor condition. HoKua Place at full capacity would bring about 1,300 additional vehicles to the ByPass, the roundabout and downtown Kapaʻa. Furthermore, an outdated Traffic Study done by the state is not valid and the solutions proposed in the EIS to address traffic concerns were unrealistic and inadequate.
4. Lack of water availability is far reaching in the Kapaʻa area. HoKua Place developers dug a well, which failed to provide water. It’s not clear whether the county can provide water to this huge 760 house development. A water permit hasn’t been issued to HoKua Place by the Dept. of Water. There are already apparently several lots in Kapaʻa that can’t get permits.
5. In addition to maxed out infrastructure needs our schools and critical community infrastructure are stressed. This shortage is evident in the lack of teachers in the Kapaʻa schools, which are already at or nearing capacity.
6. More than ever, we have recently been reminded with the COVID pandemic that we need to be protecting and preserving agricultural lands in each ahupuaʻa. We should be seriously reconsidering changes to designation and instead developing in areas already marked for urban and where infrastructure is built to suit.
Proposed Location of HoKua Place Development
HoKua Place is NOT Affordable Housing for Local Families
Generally, housing is considered “affordable” when costs are at or below 30% of household income. Families who pay more than 30% of their income for housing are considered cost burdened and may have difficulty affording other necessities (HUD, 2012). The median household income for Kauai is $62,101, with and average household size of 3.07 people. Most affordable housing programs determine eligibility based on the percent of average medium income (AMI) of a given household's income. At 100% AMI a single income earner should be spending approx. $1,700 / month or less for rent/mortgage and housing costs. The equation for “affordable” also has to include utilities, taxes, insurance and HOAs.
The proposed HoKua Place development will consist of 183 multi-family residential units priced at $175-275,000 that they are claiming are “affordable housing”.
How do we know this isn’t being designed as affordable housing?
In the report, the projected prices are in 2015 dollar estimates and are subject to market conditions. This is incredibly vague and not affordable housing. Furthermore, the development may now be exempt from providing affordable housing at all now that county conditions have changed. Market conditions, particularly in a market where nearly half (45%) of all residential sales are to non residents and foreign buyers, cannot be the metric for determining what is to be labeled “affordable housing”.
There is no specification is provided on the size of these units, or how many attached units within a complex. This does not appear to be a realistic price range for built-out units unless they are equivalent to studio apartments.
There is no assurance on who will be buying these “affordable” housing units and how HoKua Place will be screening applicants (potential buyers) to ensure they meet the “affordable” threshold.
There is no clear indication of how they will maintain this affordable housing inventory of HoKua Place and what will be put in place to prevent buyers paying so called affordable housing rates, then turning around and flipping the “affordable housing” property at market rates.
Monthly HOA fees are expected to be between $800-$1,200/ Month
THANK YOU FOR TAKING ACTION!
Additional Details on How to Testify for LUC Hearing During COVID Restrictions
Testimony to Commissioners/Board Members must be submitted no later than 24 hours before the meeting to ensure time for Commissioners to review it. Email testimony to the LUC via: dbedt.luc.web@hawaii.gov
The mailing address for the Land Use Commission is P.O. Box 2359, Honolulu, Hawaii, 96814-2359. Mailed-in testimony must be received no later than 24-hours prior to the meeting to ensure review.
To provide live oral/video testimony during the online meeting, you must register in advance—with your name, email address, and the agenda item you would like to testify on during the meeting—using the LUC link. March 10, 2021 registration link: bit.ly/testifyonHP
If you would also like to watch the second day of the hearing and remaining testimony you must also register for the second day, March 11, at this registration link: http://bit.ly/HPday2
Once your request has been received, you will receive a Zoom link via which to attend the meeting. You will need a computer with internet access, video camera and microphone to participate. If you require access by phone only, please indicate that in your email request. Public testimony will be taken when each agenda item is discussed.
Testifiers will be called on by the Chair to offer testimony. The Chair will call your name and enable you to join the on-screen panel. The Chair will unmute your microphone and turn on your video for you. When it is your turn to speak, you will be given full access to the meeting.
After the public testifies, the parties will begin their case with Hokua Places witnesses going first. After the HoKua Place/developer witnesses testify, the County, then State Office of Planning and finally the Intervenor, and their witnesses will testify.
We expect public testimony to be open starting shortly after 9am on March 10 until the commission has heard from all those registered in the audience who ask to provide oral testimony. Because time is limited the best thing to do is to get a written copy sent to the commission via email in advance– that way it can be circulated ahead of time to each commissioner for review. Then show up to provide oral testimony if you are able. Oral testimony will be limited to a maximum of three (3) minutes per person, per item.
When testifying, please state your first and last name for the record. If you are testifying on behalf of an organization, please include the name of the organization as well. You will be given notice when 30 seconds remain. If you continue to testify beyond your allotted time, the Chair will kindly ask you to complete your testimony. If you have submitted written testimony and have also signed up to deliver it orally, the Chair will ask you to kindly summarize your points. When you have finished testifying, please wait to see if the parties or Commissioners may have follow-up questions. If not, the Chair will return you to the audience side of the Zoom meeting. Staff will be monitoring people joining by video and will do their best to take each person in an orderly fashion.
