If there’s one thing we can all agree upon in Honolulu, it is this: We don’t have enough choices when it comes to housing. I hate to use the term “affordable” since it gets caught up in government red tape about how much money a family earns as a percentage of this or that. The simple truth is that we desperately need more reasonably priced residences — condos and rental apartments — that most of us can afford.
And not just housing based on price. We need more housing choices that allow more people to live closer to where they live their lives: work, schools, shopping and entertainment.
That’s why I support the Honolulu rail project, all 20 miles of it. Yes, it’s a transportation solution, an important way to deal with the terrible traffic on our highways for those who commute to and from town from central and west Oahu. Yes, it’s a critical component in our ability to direct growth along the mostly urban rail route and away from our dwindling open spaces.
But most importantly, the Honolulu rail project is our best opportunity in decades to deal in an impactful way with the shortage of homes that most people can afford. Thanks to policies that encourage diversified growth around the system’s 21 planned stations, the likelihood is high that developers will be keen on building a wide range of housing options, including badly needed rentals, around the rail stations.
In doing so, we can avoid the bureaucratic sleight of hand that currently allows developers to build “affordable” housing away from their fancy market-priced condos. The rail stations will be the magnets — thousands of people moving through each station every day — for housing developers, as well as a host of businesses.
In fact, if we look ahead 30 or 40 years, and consider how much investment in new housing and businesses will likely follow the rail route, I think it’s safe to say the Honolulu rail system could be the biggest economic development driver in Hawaii since statehood. That’s how big the potential is, and with that will come more tax revenues for both city and state governments.
But it starts with completing the rail system from Kapolei to Ala Moana Center. We must have a workable transit system in place to drive the full potential of developing integrated communities around the rail stations.
I understand the financial and political issues that dominate today’s discussion of rail. I’ve been at this long enough to know that those are critical considerations and making the right decision — to ensure funding for the complete route — will require political leadership with courage and vision.
I hope our leadership will think of the rail system’s future in a broad context: what it means for economic development, for housing choices, and above all, for improving the quality of life for tens of thousands of Oahu residents.
The Rev. Bob Nakata is a long-time leader of Faith Action for Community Equity (FACE Hawaii), with particular focus on housing issues; he is a former state legislator.
