Think creatively to add more affordable housing

The Hawaii Appleseed Center for Law and Economic Justice has it right in urging policymakers to reconsider zoning laws and other regulations that inhibit more efficient use of existing homes in Hawaii.

Many people might not know that, for whatever reason, current laws restrict how many people can live in certain homes or on certain properties. The center, thus, is urging legislators and planners to think creatively about how to change that situation.

Specifically, it is recommending that people be allowed to partition, remodel or add to single-family homes in order to create more living areas for the thousands of people in Hawaii who need affordable places to live. The center calls these places accessory dwelling units, or ADUs. They could go a long way toward relieving the housing crunch in Hawaii.

It’s an improvement, but we can do better

At least it’s not an “F” anymore.

The U.S. Public Interest Research Group has cited improvement in how Hawaii delivers online information about government spending.

The group — a good-government organization that doesn’t always have high praise for the transparency provided by Hawaii’s public sector — last year gave the state 39 points, or an “F.” The latest report, however, showed a 32-point boost. The governor credits, for one, the launch of the state’s open-data site for that improvement.

Kudos for that. But a 71 is still just a “C” — which usually also means: “Can Do Better.”