HOUSE OF REPRESENTATIVES

H.R. NO.

177

TWENTY-FOURTH LEGISLATURE, 2007

 

STATE OF HAWAII

 

 

 

 

 

HOUSE RESOLUTION

 

 

urging the united states department of housing and urban development to remove designated units at kalihi valley homes from the list of structures scheduled for demolition and to work with the hawaii public housing authority to renovate the buildings instead.

 

 

 


     WHEREAS, the most recent estimate of the total number of homeless persons in Hawaii is 6,029 on any given day; and

 

     WHEREAS, this number is a significant increase from the last estimate in 1999, which was 3,171 on any given day; and

 

     WHEREAS, the Hawaii Homeless Point-in-Time Study of 2003, from which these estimates are derived, found that approximately 4,107 of these homeless persons are unsheltered; and

 

     WHEREAS, this situation is indicative of the limited number of shelter spaces available in the state; and

 

     WHEREAS, Kalihi Valley contains the state's two largest public housing projects, with over 4,000 individuals residing in them; and

 

     WHEREAS, Kalihi Valley Homes first opened in 1953 and needed major renovations by the mid-1990s; and

 

     WHEREAS, the demolition and disposition of public housing is authorized under section 18 of the Housing Act of 1937, as amended; and

 

     WHEREAS, 72 units at Kalihi Valley Homes are currently scheduled for demolition by the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development; and


     WHEREAS, renovating the existing units scheduled for demolition would help replenish the inventory of public housing more quickly than demolishing and reconstructing units elsewhere; and

 

     WHEREAS, the sole reason that the 72 units are scheduled for demolition is to create more open space at Kalihi Valley Homes; and

 

     WHEREAS, given the high cost of demolition compared to the lower cost of renovations, these structurally sound units should be removed from the list of structures scheduled for demolition to make public housing more readily available to the homeless in Hawaii; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the House of Representatives of the Twenty-fourth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2007, that the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development is urged to remove the 72 units at Kalihi Valley Homes from the list of structures scheduled for demolition and to work with the Hawaii Public Housing Authority to renovate the buildings instead; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Resolution be transmitted to the Secretary of the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development, the Interim Executive Director of the Hawaii Public Housing Authority, and each member of Hawaii's Congressional delegation.

 

 

 

 

OFFERED BY:

_____________________________

 

 

Report Title: 

Kalihi Valley Homes; Renovation--not demolition--of buildings