Kauai will be surveying
affordable housing needs

LIHUE » To combat Kauai's housing shortage, Kauai Mayor Bryan Baptiste said he is teaming up with state officials to build affordable housing units on state land.

But first, Baptiste said in a meeting with reporters yesterday, a survey of exactly how many units are needed, and how much they should cost, has to be done.

So the mayor has started Project Manaolana, which means "hope," to both find out how many homes and apartments are needed to combat the county's housing crunch and then build them within the next three years.

In the next month, county personnel will be going to the community centers around Kauai to conduct surveys to get an accurate picture of Kauai's housing needs. They will also be hosting a booth at the Kauai County Farm Bureau Fair the last weekend of August.

"The data collected in the surveys, along with information gathered from developers, will help us determine what Kauai's true housing needs are," Baptiste said, "so we can create a master plan for the island."

Part of the plan calls for seven different subdivisions from the west side to the east side on state land, with a maximum of 575 units on the properties. The land would be acquired through the Executive Order process via the Department of Land and Natural Resources, bypassing much red tape, the mayor said.

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Some of the parcels are on choice land, on bluffs overlooking the ocean.

One project, overlooking Waimea, will have "the best views ever for an affordable housing project," the mayor added.

The particulars of the project, including keeping costs affordable in perpetuity, and the exact amount of housing units are still being worked out, he said, as the survey process is completed.