Council panel OKs transit development bills

Measures to pave the way for transit-oriented development projects along the rail corridor are advancing even though concerns over affordable-housing requirements persist.

The City Council’s Zoning and Planning Committee agreed at a special meeting Nov. 1 to advance bills that would create a TOD special district and would rezone about 305 acres of land in Waipahu to allow development conducive to the “live, work, play” concept.

Under Bill 74, regulations for the new TOD special district would help to create mixed-use developments typically within a quarter-­mile to half-mile of rail stations.

Projects in the special district would promote several modes of transportation, provide a range of housing options and direct Oahu’s population growth to the rail corridor, according to the city Department of Planning and Permitting, which drafted the proposal.

Developers seeking height and density bonuses would need to provide community benefits in return, such as public open space and affordable housing. Developers that meet all standards could proceed directly to a building permit and avoid discretionary reviews.

At last week’s meeting, concerns were raised that the measure does not include a specific formula or policy for affordable housing.

City Department of Planning and Permitting officials said they plan to introduce a separate measure in January with an affordable-housing policy for projects islandwide. But some committee members questioned what would happen were the rezoning in Waipahu to be passed before an affordable-housing policy is adopted.

Committee members also asked the DPP about infrastructure costs due to the $139 million estimate included in the Waipahu TOD plan for infrastructure improvements. DPP officials said funds will come from the public and private sectors.

On affordable housing, Catherine Graham of the Faith Action for Community Equity Housing Task Force and the Housing Now Coalition urged the city to require developers to offer at least 20 percent of rental housing projects at affordable rates of 30 to 80 percent of the area median income.

“The lack of affordable housing is the No. 1 issue plaguing Oahu today,” Graham said. “We have doggedly supported rail construction as a wonderful opportunity to ensure the construction of more affordable housing.”

Councilman Brandon Elefante, who represents Waipahu, Pearl City and Aiea, had proposed an amendment that would require projects with more than 10 housing units to provide at least 30 percent of those units as affordable. But his amendment was not included in the draft of Bill 74 that the committee advanced.

Committee Chairman Trevor Ozawa suggested the Council wait for the DPP to present affordable-housing requirements, saying there is time before the bills are up for a final vote. He added that some young professionals might fall into a gap where their salary is too high to quality for lower-­income housing but do not have enough money due to student loans and other expenses to pay market-rate prices.

“Affordability is a spectrum,” Ozawa said. “I think we need to be open-minded about what we all consider affordable.”

Elefante, however, said he would have preferred keeping his amendment in the bill.

“I’ve always been supportive of TOD in terms of building more housing,” Elefante said. “There’s definitely more of a dire need for more housing, especially for a young professional, millennials and seniors as well as for those starting out with families, too. It can be very expensive with the high cost of living.”

A second measure, Bill 76, would rezone about 305 acres in Waipahu to allow for a mix of preservation, industrial-commercial mixed use, industrial, community-business mixed use, medium-density apartment and medium-density apartment mixed uses.

The rezoning, which would make way for mixed-use communities around Waipahu’s two rail stations, includes about 115 acres around the Waipahu Transit Center station located at Farrington Highway and Mokuola Street, and about 190 acres around the West Loch station at Farrington and Leoku Street. The rezoning builds on ideas in the Waipahu neighborhood TOD plan that included community input and was adopted by the Council in 2014.

Both bills passed first reading in November 2015 and were deferred at previous meetings to allow more time for review and to gather additional community input.

The committee also advanced Bill 75, which would change some development standards islandwide for height setbacks in certain areas, as well as for bicycle parking.

For more information on the city’s TOD plans, visit honolulu.gov/tod/dpp-tod-home.html.