Bill Text: HI SCR93 | 2010 | Regular Session | Amended

NOTE: There are more recent revisions of this legislation. Read Latest Draft

---

Bill Title: HHFDC; Single Room Occupancy

Spectrum: Partisan Bill (Democrat 1-0)

Status: (Passed) 2010-04-21 - (H) Received notice of Agreement and Adoption (Sen. Com. No. 625). [SCR93 Detail]

Download: Hawaii-2010-SCR93-Amended.html

---

THE SENATE	S.C.R. NO.	93
TWENTY-FIFTH LEGISLATURE, 2010		S.D. 1
STATE OF HAWAII

SENATE CONCURRENT

RESOLUTION

 

 

REQUESTING A REVIEW OF THE FEASIBILITY OF DEVELOPING SINGLE ROOM OCCUPANCY DWELLINGS IN TRANSIT ORIENTED DEVELOPMENT PROJECTS TO ALLEVIATE THE AFFORDABLE HOUSING SHORTAGE.

 

 

     WHEREAS, the Legislature recognizes that the need for more affordable housing in Hawaii remains a significant problem affecting all segments of society; and

 

     WHEREAS, single room occupancy (SRO) dwellings offer a viable housing option for low-income individuals, students, single tenants, seasonal or other traveling workers, empty nester widows or widowers, and others who do not require large dwellings or private domestic appliances; and

 

     WHEREAS, SRO dwellings are an option to alleviate the affordable housing shortage, especially in urban areas with high land values; and

 

     WHEREAS, a typical SRO dwelling is a single eight-by-ten-foot room with shared bathrooms and kitchens; and

 

     WHEREAS, cities across the United States have a history of SRO dwellings or "residential hotels" that were populated by low‑wage workers, transient laborers, and recent immigrants; and

 

     WHEREAS, SRO hotels in the nineteenth century were extremely vital to immigrant populations; and

 

     WHEREAS, in the second half of the twentieth century, as the prices of land increased, landowners across the United States demolished an estimated one million SRO hotels; and

 

     WHEREAS, an epidemic of SRO demolitions was one of the primary causes of widespread homelessness in the United States; and

 

     WHEREAS, currently, the United States Department of Housing and Urban Development has an SRO Program that provides rental assistance for homeless persons in connection with moderate rehabilitation of SRO dwellings; and

 

     WHEREAS, the federal SRO Program is designed to bring more standard SRO dwellings to the local housing supply to assist homeless individuals; and

 

     WHEREAS, the SRO dwellings may be in a rundown hotel, an old school, or even in a large abandoned home; and

 

     WHEREAS, with the evolution of our society, SRO dwellings can accommodate a broader spectrum of individuals who are homeless or among the working poor; and

 

     WHEREAS, the City and County of Honolulu supports the development of SRO dwellings as a part of transit oriented development projects in Honolulu and is actively engaging in neighborhood transit-oriented development efforts; now, therefore,

 

     BE IT RESOLVED by the Senate of the Twenty-fifth Legislature of the State of Hawaii, Regular Session of 2010, the House of Representatives concurring, that the City and County of Honolulu is requested to review the feasibility of developing SRO dwellings in transit oriented development projects to alleviate the affordable housing shortage; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the feasibility study include findings on the impact on transit oriented development projects, estimated costs, target beneficiaries, short-term and long-term effects, and sustainability of developing SRO dwellings in transit oriented development projects; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that the City and County of Honolulu is requested to report its findings and recommendations to the Legislature no later than twenty days prior to the convening of the Regular Session of 2011; and

 

     BE IT FURTHER RESOLVED that certified copies of this Concurrent Resolution be transmitted to the Mayor of the City and County of Honolulu and Director of the City and County of Honolulu's Department of Planning and Permitting.

Report Title: 

HHFDC; Single Room Occupancy