As we examine ways to responsibly build the rail project, we also need to address an ongoing issue in our community, which is the crucial need for affordable housing throughout Oahu.
During Wednesday’s Full Council meeting, the Council adopted my Resolution 17-28, CD 1, which is the first step toward bringing the City & State Administrations together to collaborate on affordable workforce housing solutions. As we begin to streamline City, State & Federal efforts, this is an important opportunity for us to start focusing on what’s important: building homes our local families can actually afford.
Reality: Looking at the Numbers
To date, Oahu is short 25,000 housing units to accommodate the needs of our population, and 20,000 of those units need to be affordable to households earning 80% of the Area Median Income (AMI). According to the City’s Department of Customer Services, the current AMI for a family of 4 in Oahu is $76,650 or less.
We need to build to meet the needs of these families.
