Former Lin Yee Chung Association (LYCA) Trustee Lance Luke invites the community to an online zoom meeting on Manoa Chinese Cemetery, Manoa Banyan Court, 201H, and other concerns to be held Saturday (18 Feb) @ 9am.
See flyer for details.
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Manoa Banyan Court and the 201H-38 exemption controversy received more local media attention yesterday (Mon/06 Feb).
Recall last week: Councilmember Calvin Say led City Council's vote to approve 201H-38 exemptions and tax/fee credits for Kobayashi Group's Kuilei Place hybrid affordable housing project (over objections from McCully/Moiliili neighborhood community, The Outdoor Circle, and objections from the City's Department of Planning and Permitting (DPP) which found Kuilei Place did not include enough truly affordably priced condos to qualify).
Fast forward to today: Kobayashi Group now is running "for sale" ads for their Kuilei Place condos. What do you think is happening? Has "affordable housing" become a smoke screen/trojan horse for lucrative unfettered rampant development? Will Manoa Banyan Court be more of the same? BOTTOMLINE UP FRONT: Senator Carol Fukunaga asks for community help to contact the office of Senate Housing Committee Chair Stanley Chang (email: [email protected]) , and request Sen. Chang publish a hearing notice today for SB 643 and SB 644. Today (Friday, 03 Feb) may be the final day for Senator Chang to publish a hearing notice where public input/testimony on these bills may be heard.
For more details, below is what Senator Fukunaga's office sent out yesterday: "In response to Manoa neighbors’ concerns regarding the Manoa Banyan Court project, I introduced two measures to improve environmental reviews or impose specific conditions upon Chapter 201H-38, HRS affordable housing projects on preservation, conservation and agricultural lands: · Senate Bill 643, Relating to Zoning Exemptions: Requires the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation to comply with various development statutes, ordinances, charter provisions, and rules when developing on lands of the State conservation district or a county preservation district. Senate referral: HOU/WTL, WAM/JDC · Senate Bill 644, Relating to Proposed Housing Developments: Requires the Hawaii Housing Finance and Development Corporation or an eligible developer to prepare an environmental impact statement for any proposed housing project on lands zoned as preservation or conservation by the applicable county. Senate referral: HOU/AEN/WTL, JDC On January 27th, I asked Senate Housing Committee Chair Stanley Chang (as the lead among the three committees to which the bill was referred) for a meeting to discuss SB 644. Unfortunately, he was unavailable when I visited his office with the bill. On January 30th, I sent a memo to the three committee chairs to request a hearing on the bill before the Joint/Referral Deadline of February 10, 2023 so that Manoa neighbors could express their concerns regarding the Manoa Banyan Court Draft EA and 201H affordable housing exemption process. My staff has also contacted Senator Chang’s office to seek a response to my request. To date, I have not heard back from Senator Chang’s office and tomorrow is probably the last day on which a hearing notice for a HOU/AEN/WTL Committee hearing can be posted to meet Senate notice deadlines. I encourage you to contact him at [email protected] if you’d like him to schedule a hearing on SB 644 so you can explain why neighborhood concerns must be addressed when ‘fast-tracked’ 201H, HRS affordable housing projects are proposed. Carol Fukunaga State Senator, District 11 (Manoa-Makiki, Punchbowl, Tantalus & Papakolea) Phone: 808-586-6460 Email: [email protected]" Good:
HB839, and its companion, SB644 would require Hawaiʻi Housing Finance and Development Corporation (HHFDC) or an eligible developer to prepare an environmental impact statement (EIS) for any proposed housing project on lands zoned as preservation or conservation by the applicable county. Very Bad: HB1247, and its companion, SB1436 would exempt "affordable" housing projects and certain qualifying housing development projects from public environmental protection/review"guardrails" contained in the Hawaii Environmental Policy Act (HEPA). IMPORTANT: Submit public testimony in support of the good bills, and in opposition to the bad bills: https://www.capitol.hawaii.gov/home.aspx |
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