Special Action Team on Affordable Rental Housing

On June 29, 2016 Act 127 was signed into law establishing an affordable rental housing goal and establishing a Special Action Team on affordable rental housing, led by Director of the Office of Planning (OP), to make recommendations on actions to promote rental housing.  The goal is to develop or vest the development of at least 22,500 affordable rental housing units, ready for occupancy between January 1, 2017 and December 31, 2026.  The goal may be met through conversion (non-affordable to affordable) or new development.

The Special Action Team is established, for administrative purposes within OP.  For a current list of Special Action Team members or designees click here.

The Special Action Team has tackled the tasks of a dynamic work plan that will continue to provide it with  the ability to efficiently complete the tasks assigned to it in Act 127.

Since being established, the Special Action Team met four (4) times in 2016 and transmitted a report to the 2017 Hawaii State Legislature.  To view a copy of the December 2016 report, please click here.  In 2017, the Special Action Team held eight regular meetings on Oahu, two Neighbor Island meetings, and two special workshops.  To view a copy of the December 2017 report to the 2018 Hawaii State Legislature, click here.

The Special Action Team submitted legislation proposing amendments to the Hawaii State Planning Act (Chapter 226, HRS), including an update of the State Housing Functional Plan, in the 2017 Legislative Session, to prioritize housing opportunities for extremely-low to above moderate-income households.  The amendments were enacted under Act 82, SLH 2017.

The Special Action Team produced an Affordable Rental Housing Report and Ten-Year Plan to set out its findings, recommendations, and implementation plans to fulfill the following tasks enumerated in Act 127.

  • Recommend actions to be taken to achieve the 22,500 affordable rental housing unit goal by December 31, 2026
  • Establish performance measures and timelines for the development of affordable rental housing units for the listed increments of area median incomes
  • Address and make recommendations to reconcile public interests that compete against and restrict development of rental housing
  • Develop a ten-year plan that identifies state, county, and private parcels of land suitable for affordable housing units, for incorporation into the State Housing Functional Plan

The Special Action Team presented its Affordable Rental Housing Report and Ten-Year Plan to the governor on July 27, 2018.  To view a copy of the report, click here.

Please return to this page for updates.

Email the Special Plans Branch at [email protected] should you have questions or would like more information regarding the Affordable Rental Housing Special Action Team.