Affordable Housing: Top Democrats See ‘Emergency’ But Differ On How To Build Faster … Vick Cayetano wants to work with the Legislature to declare a state of emergency in housing, while Josh Green wants to push ahead with 42,000 stalled units.
Vicky Cayetano and Lt. Gov. Josh Green are both prepared to engage the emergency powers of state government to finally break though the barriers to rapidly developing affordable housing in Hawaii, but both candidates are vague on exactly which regulatory steps need to be suspended or scrapped.
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Green said that if he is elected he will issue an executive order to all state housing agencies to expedite permits for all projects already approved by the state Land Use Commission. He says 42,000 units are “entitled” but stalled because of government “red tape,” and specifically mentioned delays in the chronically understaffed State Historic Preservation Division.
