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Yahoo
17-05-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Federal funding for Hawaiian Home Lands on chopping block
The state agency helping Native Hawaiians with housing needs is at risk again of a federal funding cutoff. President Donald Trump is proposing to eliminate the Native Hawaiian Housing Block Grant program as part of a rough budget plan for the next federal fiscal year beginning Oct. 1 In a May 2 letter from Trump's Office of Management and Budget to the chair of the Senate Committee on Appropriations, OMB Director Russell Vought indicated that the federal grant funding for the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands should be cut off in part because DHHL has an accumulation of unspent proceeds from prior years. 'The program has large balances and only one grantee, which would be more appropriately funded by the State of Hawaii, ' the letter said. Annual funding from the program in each of the last three years has been about $22 million. However, such funding at times has been much lower, and got zeroed out during the Democratic administration of President Barack Obama in 2016 because DHHL had amassed a pile of unspent funding that drew the ire of some state leaders and DHHL beneficiaries. U.S. Rep. Jill Tokuda (D-Hawaii ) disagrees with the proposed move by the Republican president, but also believes DHHL needs to be spending more of its past federal grant awards. 'Sadly these carryover balances, and these high annual re-appropriations that they have, kind of made it low-hanging fruit for the Trump Administration, ' Tokuda said. 'I know for beneficiaries it's extremely frustrating because there's so much need.' Under the program, which is part of the 1996 Native American Housing Assistance and Self Determination Act also known as NAHASDA, DHHL has helped beneficiaries in ways that include homestead development, rent subsidies for low-income seniors, home loans, affordable-housing construction, land acquisition, emergency rent and utility payments, and financial literacy training. Homestead development is the agency's main mission and costliest endeavor. There are close to 30, 000 DHHL beneficiaries waiting for homestead leases that cost $1 a year but require recipients to buy or build their own homes. The homestead program was established in 1921 by Congress to return Hawaiians to their ancestral lands after the U.S. annexed the islands. The program, administered by the state since 1959, offers residential, agricultural or pastoral land leases to DHHL beneficiaries, who must be at least 50 % Hawaiian. DHHL Director Kali Watson said in a statement that the agency fully supports Hawaii's congressional delegation in efforts to educate and convince the current federal administration of the grant program's value and importance. 'We are very appreciative of the recent increased funding over the last three years and are hopeful we can continue to receive the same level of funding, ' Watson said. Tokuda said DHHL has a $53.6 million unspent grant funding balance from prior years, not including a $22.3 million appropriation for the current fiscal year. According to DHHL's most recent annual performance report for the federal program produced in September 2024, the agency's fund balance at that time was $66.6 million, of which $36.8 million was encumbered by contracts for spending and $29.8 million was unencumbered. The agency reported spending $12 million in the 2024 fiscal year, which included $3.2 million for capital improvement projects, $1.9 million for home loans, $1.8 million to assist seniors with rent, $1.5 million for planning and administration, $1.2 million for general homeowner assistance and $875, 000 for emergency rent and utility assistance. DHHL's stockpile of federal funding coincides with an effort by the agency to encumber $600 million appropriated by Hawaii lawmakers in 2022 before a June 30, 2026 deadline. Watson has said that the agency has pretty much done so, and earlier this year asked the Legislature for another $600 million that he said could roughly double homestead deliveries. The Legislature did not approve the additional funding. Tokuda is hard-pressed to understand why DHHL, which is using the state funding to produce more than 3, 000 homesteads at 29 projects and used much of the $600 million to buy land for longer-term homestead development, has not spent more of its federal funding. 'This was something that literally generations of members of Congress have fought for and protected, ' she said, 'and now it's going to be very difficult to defend why we need this money when they're not spending it.' Tokuda vows to fight the proposed cutoff, in part because she said DHHL has committed to spend most of its federal funding from past years by the end of June. She also said eliminating NAHASDA funding for DHHL disregards the federal trust responsibility to Hawaiians, and unfairly shifts the duty solely to the state, thus ignoring generations of legal, historical and moral obligations. 'DHHL must step up and the federal government must not walk away, ' Tokuda said. Previously, DHHL has been able to ramp up spending of federal funds after drawing fire from federal and state leaders for amassing an even bigger stash of cash from the U.S. government. In 2012, DHHL was holding $75 million received under NAHASDA, which led to complaints that the agency was making poor use of the federal appropriations that had been around $10 million a year during the preceding decade. In 2016, during the last year of the Obama Administration, DHHL got no federal funding. And then from 2017 to 2021, which included Trump's first term and one year with Democratic President Joe Biden in office, funding for DHHL was $2 million a year. During a state budget briefing in 2016 for the administration of then-Gov. David Ige, members of Hawaii's Legislature including Tokuda and Sylvia Luke, who then was chair of the House Finance Committee and is now lieutenant governor, chastised DHHL for the hoard of unspent federal funds. 'NAHASDA money was no strings attached … ' Luke said during the briefing. 'All that the federal government wanted us to do was was to spend the money. But what does DHHL do ? They don't spend the money.' DHHL was at that time working to level-up spending federal dollars. From 2015 to 2018, the agency more than doubled such spending to around $15 million per year during those four years. Spending subsided from 2019 to 2021 as federal appropriations stayed low, but then didn't rebound much in tandem with the big appropriation increases under President Biden from 2022 to 2024. According to the most recent annual report from the U.S. Department of Housing and Urban Development, which oversees NAHASDA funding for DHHL, $155 million of such funding has been spent by DHHL over 22 years through the 2023 fiscal year largely to help develop 693 homestead lots and to build, acquire or rehabilitate 765 affordable homes. Some of the spending also was used to rehabilitate three community centers and provide 4, 098 families with housing services that included financial literacy and home ownership education, self-help home repair training and rental assistance, the HUD report said. Watson, in his statement, said continued federal funding is critical and needed to sustain a similar variety of help for beneficiaries. 'We will continue to be diligent and very active in the use of these funds, which have been instrumental in increasing our rental and homeownership housing opportunities for our DHHL beneficiaries, ' he said.
Yahoo
06-04-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Hawaiian homestead development plans questioned amid funding request
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @ Signage and fencing are posted outside a plot of land owned by the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands in Kapolei. DHHL broke ground in July 2023 on infrastructure for homestead lots in the II-C increment of Ka 'uluokaha 'i East Kapolei II master-planned community. 1 /3 JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @ Signage and fencing are posted outside a plot of land owned by the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands in Kapolei. DHHL broke ground in July 2023 on infrastructure for homestead lots in the II-C increment of Ka 'uluokaha 'i East Kapolei II master-planned community. COURTESY DEPARTMENT OF HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS State Department of Hawaiian Home Lands beneficiaries were awarded 655 leases for future lots at two homestead projects in Kapolei on Oahu during a ceremony in March. Some lots at one of the projects, Ka 'uluokaha 'i, are being funded by $600 million appropriated by the Legislature in 2022, but others are dependent on additional funding. 2 /3 COURTESY DEPARTMENT OF HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS State Department of Hawaiian Home Lands beneficiaries were awarded 655 leases for future lots at two homestead projects in Kapolei on Oahu during a ceremony in March. Some lots at one of the projects, Ka 'uluokaha 'i, are being funded by $600 million appropriated by the Legislature in 2022, but others are dependent on additional funding. COURTESY DEPARTMENT OF HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS The 161-lot Pu 'uhona homestead project on Maui was made possible by $600 million appropriated to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands in 2022. On Saturday, DHHL awarded 91 leases to beneficiaries after making 52 lease awards in June for Pu 'uhona, where completion is expected next year. 3 /3 COURTESY DEPARTMENT OF HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS The 161-lot Pu 'uhona homestead project on Maui was made possible by $600 million appropriated to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands in 2022. On Saturday, DHHL awarded 91 leases to beneficiaries after making 52 lease awards in June for Pu 'uhona, where completion is expected next year. JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @ Signage and fencing are posted outside a plot of land owned by the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands in Kapolei. DHHL broke ground in July 2023 on infrastructure for homestead lots in the II-C increment of Ka 'uluokaha 'i East Kapolei II master-planned community. COURTESY DEPARTMENT OF HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS State Department of Hawaiian Home Lands beneficiaries were awarded 655 leases for future lots at two homestead projects in Kapolei on Oahu during a ceremony in March. Some lots at one of the projects, Ka 'uluokaha 'i, are being funded by $600 million appropriated by the Legislature in 2022, but others are dependent on additional funding. COURTESY DEPARTMENT OF HAWAIIAN HOME LANDS The 161-lot Pu 'uhona homestead project on Maui was made possible by $600 million appropriated to the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands in 2022. On Saturday, DHHL awarded 91 leases to beneficiaries after making 52 lease awards in June for Pu 'uhona, where completion is expected next year. On July 11, 2022, a historic bill to reduce the number of Native Hawaiians waiting for homesteads became law, but nearly three years later it can be hard to grasp how many homesteads will be produced from the $600 million Waitlist Reduction Act. A somewhat nebulous picture of homestead production by the state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands using the appropriation may be jeopardizing an effort by the agency to obtain another $600 million from the Legislature this year despite heavy backing in the House of Representatives. 'You are asking us to just blindly trust the department, ' Sen. Samantha DeCorte (R, Nanakuli-Waianae-Makaha ) told DHHL leaders during a March 11 hearing on House Bill 606, intended to make the additional $600 million appropriation. 'I need proof on what you guys have already done.' After the hearing, Senate committees on Hawaiian Affairs and Housing recommended that an additional appropriation be $50 million instead of $600 million. On Thursday, the Senate Ways and Means Committee amended the bill to provide DHHL with $25 million for 'mercantile ' projects including retail stores, and $25 million for repair and maintenance. Part of DHHL's difficulty showing how many beneficiaries will come off its waitlist due to the 2022 funding, which Gov. Josh Green signed into law as Act 279, is that much of the money is being spent on backbone utility and road infrastructure supporting homestead lot construction dependent on additional funding. Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. Other portions of Act 279 funding have gone to buy land for lot development also subject to more funding, while some of the current funding is being used to produce lots at existing DHHL homestead projects. 'The 279 funding does more than just put people on the land, ' DHHL Director Kali Watson said in an interview. 'It's a long process. It's not something that happens overnight.' Watson said some of the $600 million is being invested in real estate because it will lead to less-costly lot development that should help deliver more homesteads to beneficiaries in the long run compared with pursuing more costly near-term projects serving fewer beneficiaries. Big goals Over the next 10 years, the agency expects to move about 6, 000 beneficiaries off its waitlist by providing homestead leases. But DHHL leaders haven't always presented clear information at legislative meetings when describing planned lot production at specific projects funded by Act 279. DHHL spending plans have been hard to follow in part because the agency has repeatedly shifted gears over the last three years, adding some new projects and putting off others after the Hawaiian Homes Commission approved an original strategic plan in 2022. Watson, who led DHHL from 1995 to 1998 and later headed a nonprofit affordable-housing development company, said he has tried to take advantage of new opportunities to expand DHHL's lot development pipeline. 'As a developer, I think I know what I'm doing, ' he said. 'I'm always pivoting depending on the situation. It's not like we're spending money inappropriately. … I want to use (Act 279 funding ) in the most effective way.' At a March 25 rally at the state Capitol, Watson said DHHL is working on 29 projects involving more than 3, 000 homesteads. A list of projects provided by the agency since then projects delivering 2, 283 lots using Act 279 funding. DHHL received the 2022 appropriation to mainly help reduce its list of nearly 30, 000 beneficiaries waiting for homesteads. Initially, the agency estimated it could produce 2, 727 lots largely in already planned or partially developed subdivisions using most of the $600 million under its strategic plan. Act 279 provided DHHL wide spending latitude without legislative control, though the agency was required to return any portion of the appropriation not encumbered, or obligated for use, within three years. This deadline was later extended by a year to June 30, 2026. Moving targets DHHL leaders have briefed lawmakers on Act 279 spending plans several times over the last three years but haven't always been clear about what the money will produce. During an August presentation to a House working group established in 2023 to monitor implementation of Act 279, DHHL officials couldn't clearly answer a question about what $39 million from the agency's Act 279 budget was going to be used for at an existing multi-phased project on Hawaii island called Villages of La 'i 'Opua. In printed materials, the agency suggested the $39 million was for 635 La 'i 'Opua lots. But when asked by one working group member what exactly the $39 million was for, Watson didn't give a precise answer. More recently, DHHL has estimated the cost to produce 580 lots at La 'i 'Opua at $120 million to $150 million, while $39 million from Act 279 would fund a portion of that. Another project where spending plans have been difficult to follow is Waiehu Mauka on Maui, where DHHL used $12 million in Act 279 funding to buy land and said in early 2024 that it expected to spend another $82 million to produce 161 lots, followed by a 150-lot second phase subject to additional funding. DHHL later indicated that all 311 Waiehu Mauka lots would be produced with the $82 million. More recently, DHHL reallocated $59 million from the Waiehu Mauka project to buy land in Kunia positioned for faster lot development if additional funding can be obtained. Sen. Troy Hashimoto (D, Wailuku-Kahului-Waihee ) criticized DHHL leaders for the funding shift during the March 11 hearing on HB 606. 'I know you guys are trying to play around with the money, ' Hashimoto said. 'If there's a strategic plan, we should be following the strategic plan.' Watson said in an interview that developing the 311 Waiehu Mauka lots was expected to take 10 years because of heavy infrastructure needs, and that development there shouldn't slow if DHHL can obtain additional funding. A significant amount of Act 279 funding under Watson's leadership has been used to buy land for developing homestead lots with future funding. This includes $2 million for a 168-lot project site on Hawaii island, $2 million for a 108-lot project site on Oahu, $8.8 million for a 296-lot project site on Hawaii island, $12.3 million for a 207-lot project site on Maui and $20.7 million for a 1, 100-lot project site on Kauai. The Kauai project, according to Watson, is far off because a sewage treatment plant needs relocation. But he said the site is great because it borders urban parts of Lihue. DHHL anticipates being able to develop an initial 250 lots there with $120 million in additional funding. 'Paper lease' awards Although many lots in DHHL's development pipeline are subject to future funding, the agency has begun to award leases to beneficiaries for some of those sites. Such leases give beneficiaries an 'undivided interest ' in land that has yet to be subdivided into lots. On March 22, the agency held a ceremony to award 665 such 'paper leases 'for two projects on Oahu at least partially funded by Act 279. At one of the projects, Ka 'uluokaha 'i in Kapolei, slated for 700 lots, DHHL intends to use $143 million of Act 279 funding to produce 500 lots between 2026 and 2031, while another 200 lots are subject to $60 million in additional funding. At the ceremony, 605 paper leases for Ka 'uluokaha 'i were awarded. Herman Mahelona, 80, received one of those leases. But his son, Dave, who accompanied his father to the event, said no one explained when an actual lot might be ready. Diamond Badajos, a DHHL spokesperson, said this depends on how many lease recipients who have been on the waitlist longer than Mahelona opt to receive one of the 500 initial lots. Some paper lease recipients may not be ready to accept a lot lease, which costs $1 a year but requires that a beneficiary pay for or build their own home. Dave Mahelona said his father typically doesn't show much emotion but was grateful. 'I seen his smile, ' he said. 'Yeah, he finally get one place to call home. He was really, really happy.' The homestead program was established in 1921 by Congress to return Hawaiians to their ancestral lands after the U.S. annexed the islands. The program, administered by the state since 1959, offers residential, agricultural or pastoral land leases to DHHL beneficiaries, who must be at least 50 % Hawaiian. Over the past century, about 10, 000 homesteads have been created, or 100 per year on average, largely due to meager funding and a large land base not well-suited for residential development. One reason why DHHL has begun to issue paper leases is so that a recipient can pass a paper lease to a successor who is at least 25 % Hawaiian. A beneficiary who dies on the waitlist cannot have a successor take their place unless the successor is at least 50 % Hawaiian. At least 2, 100 DHHL beneficiaries have died while on the agency's waitlist, which recently reached 29, 543 applicants. Watson said his goal is to award a minimum of 7, 500 paper leases, which promise a lot lease at specified projects and remove a recipient from the waitlist. DHHL also has awarded some lot leases for homesteads nearing completion under Act 279. In June, the agency made 52 lease awards for a 161-lot project called Pu 'uhona on Maui where 137 of the lots will have homes sold to beneficiaries. On Saturday, DHHL awarded 91 more leases for Pu 'uhona, the agency's first project delivered with Act 279 funding. DHHL used $5.5 million from Act 279 to buy the Pu 'uhona site and is spending $17 million more to create the subdivision. A developer is building the homes using private financing. Several of the homes are close to being finished, and completion of Pu 'uhona is expected next year. Sen. Tim Richards, chair of the Senate Hawaiian Affairs Committee, said he has confidence in DHHL leadership and would like to see the agency receive another $600 million for homestead development. But Richards (D, North Hilo-Waimea-North Kona ) also said the uncertain financial outlook for the state this year makes such an appropriation difficult. Rep. Luke Evslin, who helped introduce HB 606, acknowledged that the agency's plans can be confusing. But he said DHHL is doing a good job balancing near-and long-term homestead production for an overwhelming need. 'Any way that you dice the numbers, I think to me the general takeaway is that the need is so great, and essentially we need to figure out a way to get them as much money as possible, ' said Evslin (D, Wailua-Lihue ). 'I don't judge them on the way that they have tried to straddle investing in the future … at the same time as investing in infrastructure necessary to hand over (lots ) to beneficiaries.'
Yahoo
26-03-2025
- Business
- Yahoo
Prince Kuhio Day eve event rallies support for Hawaiian Homes funding
GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE @ 'Kuhio Kakou ' rally participants lined Beretania Street on Tuesday in support of a bill intended to provide $600 million to build homestead lots for state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands beneficiaries. The event was held on the eve of Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Day, a state holiday recognizing the father of the 1921 Hawaiian Homestead Act. 1 /2 GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE @ 'Kuhio Kakou ' rally participants lined Beretania Street on Tuesday in support of a bill intended to provide $600 million to build homestead lots for state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands beneficiaries. The event was held on the eve of Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Day, a state holiday recognizing the father of the 1921 Hawaiian Homestead Act. GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE @ Bearing Hawaiian flags, Alfred Keaka Hiona Medeiros, left, and Clinton Kamealoha Burns high-fived at a rally Tuesday at the state Capitol rotunda to support the passage of HB 606. 2 /2 GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE @ Bearing Hawaiian flags, Alfred Keaka Hiona Medeiros, left, and Clinton Kamealoha Burns high-fived at a rally Tuesday at the state Capitol rotunda to support the passage of HB 606. GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE @ 'Kuhio Kakou ' rally participants lined Beretania Street on Tuesday in support of a bill intended to provide $600 million to build homestead lots for state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands beneficiaries. The event was held on the eve of Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Day, a state holiday recognizing the father of the 1921 Hawaiian Homestead Act. GEORGE F. LEE / GLEE @ Bearing Hawaiian flags, Alfred Keaka Hiona Medeiros, left, and Clinton Kamealoha Burns high-fived at a rally Tuesday at the state Capitol rotunda to support the passage of HB 606. The state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands held a unity rally Tuesday at the state Capitol to pay tribute to Prince Kuhio a day ahead of his birthday and to counteract recent resistance to homestead development funding at the Legislature. Around 200 people participated in the 'Kuhio Kakou ' rally, which included music performances, hula, sign waving on Beretania Street, voter registration, speeches by elected officials and pleas to lawmakers on upper floors of the building to support a bill intended to provide $600 million to build homestead lots for DHHL beneficiaries. Posters and T-shirts honoring Kuhio were printed to commemorate Tuesday's event on the eve of Prince Jonah Kuhio Kalanianaole Day, a state holiday recognizing the father of the Hawaiian Homestead Act passed by Congress in 1921. Yet a big purpose of the event, which lasted three hours, also was to rally support for a bill introduced in January to appropriate $600 million for DHHL mainly to develop more homestead lots three years after lawmakers appropriated $600 million for the same purpose in a historic move to reduce a waitlist of nearly 30, 000 homestead applicants. 'Let's put some pressure on our state legislators, ' kumu hula Vicky Holt Takamine said at the Capitol rotunda shortly after the rally began at 9 a.m. 'Let's figure out how we can influence our legislators to make the right decisions. … Every two years is an election.' The funding legislation, House Bill 606, is a top priority of the 13-member bipartisan House Native Hawaiian Affairs Caucus, and passed the full House of Representatives in a 48-1 vote on March 4 after an initial House committee changed the appropriation amount to an unspecified sum, as is common for many appropriation bills early in the legislative session. Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. HB 606 ran into resistance last week when two Senate committees advanced the bill further but also requested in a side note that the next Senate committee in line to review the measure consider inserting $50 million for the appropriation sum. The Senate committees on Housing and Hawaiian Affairs made the request in committee reports as part of advancing HB 606 on March 18 after a contentious March 11 public hearing. During the hearing, a few DHHL beneficiaries and a former Hawaiian Homes Commission member opposed the funding bill over what they characterized as deficient use or accounting of the $600 million appropriation made in 2022 via Act 279. 'Where is our money going ?' Patty Kahanamoku-Teruya, a former com missioner, asked at the hearing. Sen. Samantha DeCorte, a Senate Hawaiian Affairs Committee member, questioned whether DHHL was making good use of the 2022 appropriation based on a shifting and wide-ranging number of beneficiaries who DHHL estimates will receive lot leases due to Act 279. 'The department has not proven themselves to be fiscally responsible to do the job of Act 279, ' DeCorte (R, Nanakuli-Waianae-Makaha ) said during the hearing. Sen. Troy Hashimoto, Senate Housing Committee vice chair, said it's been hard to track DHHL's use of Act 279 funding because of repeated changes to an initial strategic plan approved by the commission. 'Things aren't adding up, ' Hashimoto (D, Wailuku-Kahului-Waihee ) said during the hearing. Sen. Kurt Fevella, a Housing Committee member who supports $600 million in added funding, said during the hearing that it pained his heart to see Hawaiians opposing Hawaiians over HB 606. 'The only people that are losing right now is the Hawaiians, ' said Fevella (R, Ewa Beach-Ocean Pointe-Iroquois Point ). During Tuesday's rally Fevella gave two impassioned speeches urging more Hawaiians to vote and to unite behind giving DHHL another $600 million to produce more homesteads. 'We need to make our people strong, and we need to get back to the aina (land ), ' he said. 'We got to stop tearing each other down in committee hearings.' Later, Fevella added, 'We need to rally my colleagues in the House and the Senate to do what is right.' Rep. Daniel Holt, co-chair of the House Native Hawaiian Affairs Caucus, said DHHL has shown that it can dramatically expand homestead lot development, and told rally attendees to keep up pressure on the Legislature to pass HB 606 with a $600 million appropriation by submitting testimony on the bill. 'This bill is very important, ' said Holt (D, Sand Island-Iwilei-Chinatown ). Val Kekawa, a DHHL beneficiary on the agency's waitlist since 1973, said more support for HB 606 from Hawaiians is needed to obtain land that is owed to them. Kekawa suggested that lawmakers need to know what rally participants want. 'I need to make this very loud and clear, ' she said, gesturing to the upper floors of the Capitol overlooking the rotunda. 'What's up there needs to come down, and what's down here needs to go up.' The homestead program, administered by the state since 1959, aims to return Native Hawaiians to their ancestral lands after the U.S. annexed the islands. The program offers residential, agricultural or pastoral land leases to DHHL beneficiaries, who must be at least 50 % Hawaiian. Lot leases cost $1 a year, and beneficiaries must pay for or build their own homes. Over the past century, about 10, 000 homesteads have been created, or 100 per year on average, largely due to meager funding and a large land base not well suited for residential development. At least 2, 100 DHHL beneficiaries have died while on the agency's waitlist, which recently reached 29, 543 applicants. DHHL Director Kali Watson said the agency has 29 projects progressing under the 2022 appropriation that should result in more than 3, 000 homestead leases but that it will take $6 billion to provide homesteads for everyone on the waitlist. 'The need is very, very great, ' he said at the rally. 'When you talk about $600 million, it's a step in the right direction, but it is not enough.' Rep. Mahina Poepoe, lead introducer of HB 606, said a second $600 million appropriation represents an obligation that has been too long delayed. 'This funding is not a gift, ' said Poepoe (D, Molokai-Lanai-Hana ). 'It's a payment on a long-overdue debt.' Kuhio Lewis, CEO of the Council for Native Hawaiian Advancement, said a rally to support DHHL funding shouldn't be necessary. 'The state is not fulfilling its constitutional obligation to Native Hawaiians, ' he said. 'That's the bottom line. … I'm tired of coming over here and asking for what we should already be given, what is due to us as Native Hawaiians.' The rally also had a mix of entertainment and advocacy that included veteran radio personalities Lina Girl and Davey D serving as emcees. Jonathan Osorio, dean of the Hawai 'inuiakea School of Hawaiian Knowledge at the University of Hawaii, sang two songs, including 'Ka Hulina Au, ' about a turning time that could apply to the present. HB 606 is referred to the Senate Ways and Means Committee, which has yet to schedule the bill for consideration and possible advancement to the full Senate.
Yahoo
23-03-2025
- General
- Yahoo
New leases fill Hawaii wait listers with ‘more hope'
KAPOLEI, Hawaii (KHON2) — Hundreds of Native Hawaiian families are a step closer to securing a place to call their own after the Department of Hawaiian Home Lands awarded over 700 project leases on March 22. KHON2 spoke with some of the beneficiaries about what this life-changing moment means for them. Hawaiian Home Lands: Why is it taking so long? There were many smiles in Kapolei as the DHHL waitlist for Hawaiian homes shrunk by 735 on March 22. The first two awardees called had application dates from the 1950's. 'I've watched for years, decades, really, where things just didn't happen, not because people didn't care, perhaps, but because they just somehow got stuck,' said Gov. Josh Green. 'Today that all ends.' It is bittersweet for some, like Elaine Kekahuna — her husband had been on the waitlist since 1976. 'And so we waited all this time. The sad thing is that he just passed away last year,' Kekahuna said. 'I wish that he was here. I know that he is, you know, in the spirit.'The leases awarded on March 22 connected those on the waitlist to specific locations — or projects in development. Awardees also had the chance to choose successors who the homes will be passed on to. 'They're the root of Hawaii, you know? And to get a final 'Whew,' final chance of our ground, and of our Hale. Oh, my God. You know, carry it on to the generation,' Kekahuna said. 'Plenty of different emotions, but all happy. Just finally getting my own place. And not just for me, but for me, for my kids and my grandkids,' said recipient Kealii Hanohano. 'That's major, that's more than big. That's the whole world to me.' Billions to build Hawaiian homes: 'The math is not mathing' Several vendors were on site to offer help through the process, those who were awarded leases today will need to get qualified for a mortgage loan by the time the homes are ready. DHHL officials said the first homes will be ready in about five years. 'Now more hope man, something to work more harder for,' Hanohano said. Reps. Diamond Garcia and Darius Kila were in attendance along with Councilmember Andria Tupola. Project leases of this type were last issued in the early 2000's and more are planned in the coming months. 'We're so grateful for DHHL, for all the people that have made this possible. Generations of Hawaiians will thank you for the work that you've done,' Tupola said. 'May we continue to strengthen one another. And God bless these families. Bless the land that they're going to live on. Bless us that we might be able to thrive.' The next step for the awardees is to go through a financial assessment process to see what kind of home they can receive. About 400 more leases are set to be awarded on Hawaii Island in April and almost 1,000 will be awarded on Maui in the fall. Copyright 2025 Nexstar Media, Inc. All rights reserved. This material may not be published, broadcast, rewritten, or redistributed.
Yahoo
22-03-2025
- Business
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Leases for future Hawaiian homestead lots set for awarding
JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @ / FEB. 6 The state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands broke ground in July 2023 on infrastructure for 127 homestead lots in the II-C increment of the Ka 'uluokaha 'i East Kapolei II master-planned community. Today, 665 'undivided interest ' leases will be awarded. Above, a view of the land owned by DHHL. JAMM AQUINO / JAQUINO @ / FEB. 6 The state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands broke ground in July 2023 on infrastructure for 127 homestead lots in the II-C increment of the Ka 'uluokaha 'i East Kapolei II master-planned community. Today, 665 'undivided interest ' leases will be awarded. Above, a view of the land owned by DHHL. More than 650 Native Hawaiian households are slated to receive advance homestead leases today for as-yet-undeveloped house lots in Kapolei. The state Department of Hawaiian Home Lands intends to award 665 'undivided interest ' leases this morning for future house lots in the agency's Ka 'uluokaha 'i and Kaupe 'a communities. The event at the Salvation Army Kroc Center repre sents the first time DHHL has awarded such leases since the 2000s. Awarding what are sometimes referred to as 'paper leases ' is in part intended to allow awardees to prepare themselves financially to become homeowners. Such leases also can be transferred to a successor who would not qualify to receive a lease directly from DHHL, because of blood quantum requirements, if the awardee dies before an actual lot lease is issued. Under DHHL rules, beneficiaries must be at least half Hawaiian and can pass on a homestead lease to an approved successor who is at least a quarter Hawaiian. At least 2, 100 DHHL beneficiaries have died while on the agency's waitlist. The agency has a recent waitlist of 29, 543 applicants seeking homesteads. Under the program, beneficiaries receive a homestead lease for $1 a year but must buy or build their own home. Don 't miss out on what 's happening ! Stay in touch with breaking news, as it happens, conveniently in your email inbox. It 's FREE ! Email 28141 Sign Up By clicking to sign up, you agree to Star-Advertiser 's and Google 's and. This form is protected by reCAPTCHA. DHHL Director Kali Watson said in 2024 that he intended to issue nearly 3, 700 paper leases at numerous envisioned homestead projects, including some with uncertain funding prospects and development timetables. During a state House of Representatives briefing in January 2024, Watson said undivided interest award recipients can look at model homes for an existing phase and see house lots on plans that they might like. 'They also can have the assurance that they'll have a lease, and should the unfortunate situation arise (of a paper leaseholder dying ), they at least have an opportunity for the successor to take over, ' he said. Receiving paper leases, however, comes with some uncertainty over when a lot lease will follow. In one prior big push that involved awarding 1, 434 undivided interest leases in 2005 and 2006, about half of the paper leases had not been converted to homestead leases with beneficiaries moved into new homes 16 years later. At today's event DHHL plans to award 605 paper leases for Ka 'uluokaha 'i and 60 for Kaupe 'a. DHHL received $600 million from the Legislature in 2022 to accelerate homestead lot development, and the agency indicated earlier this year that it intends to use $141 million to produce 450 lots at Ka 'uluokaha 'i. A second phase with 250 lots is projected to cost another $68 million and is subject to DHHL acquiring additional funding. DHHL also plans to use $22 million of its 2022 appropriation to develop 60 lots next to its existing Kaupe 'a subdivision, using $8 million to buy land for the additional phase and $14 million to develop the 60 lots. Overall, DHHL anticipates being able to produce 2, 180 lots with its $600 million appropriation, and seeks more funding from the Legislature this year. 6 Comments By participating in online discussions you acknowledge that you have agreed to the. An insightful discussion of ideas and viewpoints is encouraged, but comments must be civil and in good taste, with no personal attacks. If your comments are inappropriate, you may be banned from posting. Report comments if you believe they do not follow our. Having trouble with comments ? .
