HONOLULU (KHON2) -- In an effort to get more affordable housing built, Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi signed Bill 3 into law to offer more incentives for owners and developers.
Honolulu City Councilmember Tyler Dos Santos-Tam initially introduced Bill 3 at the beginning of the year. Honolulu City Council passed the bill on Aug. 7 before it was signed into law during a ceremony at Honolulu Hale on Tuesday.
This bill will create rental properties on the market that are actually affordable for hard-working people who want their own place to live and the dignity that comes with that. This bill will also help mitigate the exorbitant costs that are forcing too many of our loved ones to leave their homes and families here on Oʻahu.
Honolulu Mayor Rick Blangiardi
According to reports, the bill will increase "post-construction grant amounts for privately financed rental housing projects."
The action will help developers face challenging construction environments and barriers such as high interest rates, supply chain shortages and more.
Under the new law, developers are eligible to receive $40 per square foot for units under 300 square feet in size.
For units that are 300 square feet or larger, developers can receive $12,000 per unit.
"We have suburban sprawl out in west Oahu, we have luxury high rises coming up in Kakaako. What's missing is products that local families can afford. Units in town and units near where people live, work and play," explained Honolulu City Councilmember Tyler Dos Santos-Tam.
Officials said Bill 3 also increases the incentives from Bill 1, which was introduced in 2021 by the Blangiardi administration.
“We can’t solve the housing crisis without building more housing that local people can afford. That starts with Bill 3. It creates hundreds of affordable units - for our young people, our workers, our local families," Dos Santos-Tam added.
Ten million dollars will be available for these incentives to help "reimagine how we use our existing spaces to create sustainable communities that keep families on Oahu."