Everyone Says We Need More Affordable Housing. But Oahu Voters Said No To More Money 0 The reasons behind the failure of the ballot measure are complicated but experts point to “economic NIMBYism” as a culprit.
The outcome of Honolulu’s Charter Question No. 1 on last week’s election ballots raises a question for public officials trying to provide more affordable housing in Hawaii. Even as the public and politicians clamor for more housing for people struggling to get by, are people willing to pay for it?
A majority of Oahu voters, apparently, are not.
The charter amendment rejected by Oahu voters last week proposed to increase the percentage of real property tax money that the city would deposit into the city’s Affordable Housing Fund. Instead of getting 0.5% of the total property taxes Honolulu collects each year, the fund would have gotten 1%. That would have amounted to an estimated $8 million more a year.
